Results 1 to 12 of 12

Thread: A beginners 'riff' and my thanks to mandolin cafe

  1. #1

    Default A beginners 'riff' and my thanks to mandolin cafe

    As a very, very new member, where can I post my thanks to Mandolin Cafe, and express my appreciation of the Forum and its members. I'm impressed by the speed of responses to my beginners, probably asinine questions. Those responses have helped me hugely in terms of my progression, to become a 1,000th part decent mandolin player. (Sycophants anonymous).

    A beginner has so many questions needing resolution, in order to get to the starting line. These are not necessarily found in tuition books (written by experts, so overly familiar with playing the M that they miss explaining really basic stuff eg which direction to turn the tuners to higher/lower a string, G D different to A E, why? and I have many more queries), or youtube etc video's. This is where Mandolin Cafe comes in.

    My incentive to play, was originally to be able to give some sort of rendition of Greensleeves, a piece written, lyrics and notes, by Henry VIII (he of the 6 wives) but at that time played upon the lute, an honorable member of the family. (I'm sure I'm insulting your intellects by writing here what you already know).

    But what inspired you to choose the mandolin as your instrument of choice? Hearing it played solo/group, wanting to play a particular piece or genre, loving the sound of it? In the UK, it's not high up in the top 50? as an instrument to learn to play. Sad.

    Before this string/thread becomes a book, I close now, and thank you for your indulgence.

  2. The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to Sue D For This Useful Post:


  3. #2
    Professional Dreamer journeybear's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2007
    Location
    Northeastern South Carolina, west of North Carolina
    Posts
    15,346
    Blog Entries
    2

    Default Re: A beginners 'riff' and my thanks to mandolin cafe

    It seems like you have pretty good instincts, or perhaps are just a lucky guesser. This right here IS the place to post your thanks! "General Mandolin Discussions" is a wide-ranging catch-all description for a place for wide-ranging catch-all discussions of wide-ranging catch-all topics - part of the genius with which this site was designed. Whether or not this was so intended, it has thus evolved. And so, welcome to our world, our little corner of it, at least.

    I did not choose the mandolin; it chose me. It was a gift from my mom, who had sensed an abiding interest in music, and as a creative person herself, wanted to nurture this. She'd tried a guitar a couple of years earlier, which didn't work. Six strings, four fingers, couldn't do the math. She happened upon a mandolin, and this made sense, mathematically. And the way the double strings rang, it just sounded pretty all by itself, enough to keep me intrigued until I could sort it out. A book of chords, some song books of bands whose music I knew and liked, and a field across the street where I could bang away without bothering anyone and correlate these two information streams - that plus some time was all I needed. In those ancient times, before the internet, with no nearby music teacher, that's how it was done.

    Someone is bound to chime in that Henry VIII didn't write "Greensleeves," as much as he would have liked to take credit and others would like to bestow said credit upon him. But I'll not do so. I just thought I'd give you fair warning.

    Welcome to the Café!
    But that's just my opinion. I could be wrong. - Dennis Miller

    Furthering Mandolin Consciousness

    Finders Keepers, my duo with the astoundingly talented and versatile Patti Rothberg. Our EP is finally done, and available! PM me, while they last!

  4. #3
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Oct 2019
    Location
    England - Norfolk/London
    Posts
    46

    Default Re: A beginners 'riff' and my thanks to mandolin cafe

    In answer to your question, I fell in love with the sound, and playing many other stringed instruments immodestly found the tuning to be the most intuitive tuning of any instrument I play.

    As for the cafe I’d agree with you that the members on here are amazing. I don’t think I’m understating in saying how amazing this website and it’s community are. Truly the most incredible community who really show passion for the instrument and give time for small questions.

    Hope you get to playing green sleeves soon,
    -Ross.

  5. #4
    Registered User Jill McAuley's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Location
    Co. Mayo, Ireland
    Posts
    3,569

    Default Re: A beginners 'riff' and my thanks to mandolin cafe

    Welcome Sue!

    I first was inspired to pick up a mandolin because I was trying to learn the fiddle at the time and thought it would be a handy way to learn tunes more quickly (I was a long time guitar player so found the mandolin easier to come to grips with than the fiddle) with the intention of then transferring them to the fiddle. Never happened, ended up giving the fiddle to a friend. I was also playing the tenor banjo at the time and living in a tiny studio apartment with extremely thin walls, so the mandolin was a kinder option for my neighbours volume-wise, resulting in the tenor banjo getting neglected for a couple of years.
    2018 Girouard Concert oval A
    2015 JP "Whitechapel" tenor banjo
    2018 Frank Tate tenor guitar
    1969 Martin 00-18




    my Youtube channel

  6. #5
    The Amateur Mandolinist Mark Gunter's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2014
    Location
    South of Cleburne, North of Hillsboro, Texas
    Posts
    5,089

    Default Re: A beginners 'riff' and my thanks to mandolin cafe

    By happenstance, on my usual search for more guitars, I saw a very inexpensive, 100 year old bowlback mandolin on eBay and bought it. Fixed it up, played some tunes I knew from guitar, found this site and a couple others, played it at a local jam playing aforementioned guitar arrangements, had a blast, then gave it to a buddy who'd been a violinist in high school.

    Then the sound of it started to haunt me, so 6 - 8 months later I bought a brand new, cheap, f-style-mandolin-shaped-object and began to learn fiddle tunes from mandolessons .com - and actually began posting here and in the Newbies Social Group. That's how I came to get serious about learning mandolin some five or so years ago.
    WWW.THEAMATEURMANDOLINIST.COM
    ----------------------------------
    "Life is short. Play hard." - AlanN

    ----------------------------------
    HEY! The Cafe has Social Groups, check 'em out. I'm in these groups:
    Newbies Social Group | The Song-A-Week Social
    The Woodshed Study Group | Blues Mando
    - Advice For Mandolin Beginners
    - YouTube Stuff

  7. #6
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Dec 2012
    Location
    Albany NY
    Posts
    2,065

    Default Re: A beginners 'riff' and my thanks to mandolin cafe

    inspiration-Norman Blake and David Grisman mostly, but at the time I would go to a jam and there would be nothing but guitar players- trying to play fiddle tunes, so needing to be unique I decided I would learn the melodies on mandolin, for a while it was good then suddenly there were more mandolins than guitars at the jams! There was nothing for it -had to take up mandola! I still play mandolin but find myself more interested in the mandola, working different tunes on it, adding the alto voice to mandolins in jams. One instructor told me I was the only guy he knew that preferred mandola over mandolin, I couldn't be happier about that!
    Stormy Morning Orchestra

    My YouTube Channel

    "Mean Old Timer, He's got grey hair, Mean Old Timer he just don't care
    Got no compassion, thinks its a sin
    All he does is sit around an play the Mandolin"

  8. #7

    Default Re: A beginners 'riff' and my thanks to mandolin cafe

    I decided to learn to play mndln after seeing Sam Bush and company perform - sometime in the early 90s. As one who started on stringed instruments early in life, it was very easy to get into.

    The thing it did most for me was help my fiddle-playing; I acquired a double-case (like Sam had) which consequently led me to embark on a whole-lot more fiddle playing in public.

    Because I play a whole bunch of stuff, for which mndln isn't well-suited, I play it very little these days. (But I still enjoy talking about music stuff on the Cafe )

  9. #8

    Default Re: A beginners 'riff' and my thanks to mandolin cafe

    Wee and having said all that! - I've enjoyed my little bowl-back mndln several times over the past weeks. I just pulled it out and YES it is a sweet little thing.

  10. #9
    Registered User Theo W.'s Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2011
    Location
    Western Slope of Colorado
    Posts
    159

    Default Re: A beginners 'riff' and my thanks to mandolin cafe

    Welcome to the Cafe! As for me, I'd say, like journeybear, the mandolin chose me. When I was about 9 years old my parents took me to a number of bluegrass festivals where I got to see young Chris Thile, Tim O'Brien, Peter Rowan, Sam Bush, Del McCoury, and others. I was immediately hooked on the lovely and beautiful little sound of the instrument... However, I was also taken by the beauty of an F-style.. That didn't help my wallet later in life!
    Theo Wecker
    www.theowecker.com

    Currently waxing poetic about:
    2008 Weber Buffalo
    2016 Collings MT
    2016 Martin D-18

  11. #10
    Every day is a gift. Sheila Lagrand's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2020
    Location
    San Tan Valley, Arizona
    Posts
    271

    Default Re: A beginners 'riff' and my thanks to mandolin cafe

    Welcome! This place is amazing, isn't it? I'm continually amazed and gratified at the help and support I find here.

    I began playing the violin when I was eight years old. By junior high, all my buddies were getting into guitar. About then, our church decided to add a "contemporary" service and brought a guy in to teach us kids in the children's choir how to play guitar, so I signed up. But that neck felt gigantic in my hands and I just didn't like it at all, though I liked singing those songs and being done with the six-fold amen.

    Then I met a mandolin, played with it for a few years, then set aside all my music when adulthood, marriage, and motherhood came along. Forty years later, my husband decided last September that he'd like to learn mountain dulcimer, so I decided I should get a mandolin to keep him company. So now "we" have his dulcimer, a mandolin, an octave mandolin, an octave resonator mandolin, a violin, a keyboard, and a cajon. It's all for both of us, you understand.
    Phoebe, my 2021 Collings MT mandolin
    Dolly, my 2021 Ibanez M522 mandolin
    Louise, my 193x SS Maxwell mandolin
    Fiona, My 2021 GSM guitar-bodied octave resonator mandolin
    Charlotte, my 2016 Eastman MDO 305 octave mandolin
    And Giuliana, my 2002 Hans Schuster 505 violin, Nehenehe, my 2021 Aklot concert ukulele,
    Annie, my 2022 Guild M-140 guitar, Joni, my 1963 Harmony 1215 Archtone archtop guitar,
    Yoko, my ca. 1963 Yamaha Dynamic No.15 guitar, and Rich, my 1959 husband.

  12. #11
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Sep 2015
    Location
    Ohio
    Posts
    1,322

    Default Re: A beginners 'riff' and my thanks to mandolin cafe

    Welcome to the Cafe!

    I got inspired at Colonial Williamsburg, saw one in the musician's shop(?)/building area, and was intrigued as to what it was. Saw one some years later in a pawn shop in my area, but never stopped in to see what they wanted for it. But it remained there for several years, and I saw it about every 2 weeks. Then one day it was sold, so I looked on the internet, found Mandolin Cafe, did some research here, purchased my first mandolin, and the rest is history....

  13. #12
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Feb 2018
    Location
    Guildford + Falmouth England
    Posts
    916

    Default Re: A beginners 'riff' and my thanks to mandolin cafe

    Kind of neccessity. I've played fiddle and other stuff for years. Back In December I managed to somehow bring on rotator cuff tendonitis in my left arm (bad fiddle stance combined with playing too loud and long every week at a new bar session, probably). Playing fiddle was Yeouch!, and this malady can take months to fix. So I fought the cobwebs and miscellaneous small furry varmints till I got my music cupboard door open, and unearthed a small 'travel mandolin' I bought on a whim years ago - but never played much. I checked out the playing position, and yes, I could hold it and play. My picking wasn't much good (now it's better but still not much good), but I knew where the notes are, and could just about manage a tune slowly. I always meant to learn more about bluegrass and old time, and with any luck will also have learned useful stuff transferrable to fiddle when (ever) I get back to that universe. I Googled 'mandolin forum', and of course found this place. It seemed remarkably comprehensive and extraordinarily helpful, just like some forums used to be before FB killed them off and Internet discussion turned into a too often infantile and malevolent pastime. I pestered those here Who Know The Answers until I got a plan and materials together for learning mandolin, and eventually bought myself a grown up mandolin. I found that it played better than the previous cheese graters I owned had led me to expect (One had Ivan on the headstock, for ...The Terrible). So after 3 months here I am asking stupid questions with the best of them and getting remarkably useful and patient answers. Now I need a mandolin and fiddle case...

Bookmarks

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •