Top Fifty-plus Reasons

[RolandTumble]

(Course, it could be a whole lot worse.... how many female lead guitarists do you see out there?)

Lita Ford
Bonnie Raitt
The (Amazing? Incredible? Self-aggrandizing?) Kat

Must be more, but no other names pop into my fuzzy conciousness....

[mandopete]

Okay, now I think I get it....

<span style='color:red'>Top 10 Reasons Mandolin Players Take Up Guitar:</span>

#10...Drop D tuning
#9....Campfire Sing-A-Long's
#8....Covers up a "beer belly"
#7....Feedback (on electrics only)
#6....Whammy-bars
#5....Eb7b9b11b13+
#4....The chicks, the chicks, the chicks!
#3....Playing "fingerstyle"
#2....Fingers are just plain too big for them itty-bitty necks

..........and the #1 reason:

#1....So I can use a CAPO!

[RolandTumble]

On another note, consider that Mr. Anderson's flute chops have never been "good" (at least not on record), despite being perfect for the music he's making. Six months should give you a decent start. Then, if you stick with it, you'll have a lifetime of improvement ahead of you--just like any other instrument....

(Flute was my grade school instrument. After (too many) years away, I've recently been spending about half my music-making time with a wind-controlled synth, and find I have to overcome some of the flute habits. Ah, well...).

[mandocrucian]

On another note, consider that Mr. Anderson's flute chops have never been "good" (at least not on record), despite being perfect for the music he's making.

Well, it was certainly on the raw side on the earliest records; but he seems to be playing fairly well in the past ten years, though I admit I don't know enough about the instrument to be a good judge. #However, it's still the early Tull records (This Was, Stand Up, Benefit, Living In The Past, Aqualung) that I like the most.

I don't know about the term "good" in terms of the chops - I have some problems with it. It's no secret what a lot of classical violinists think of the "chops" of "fiddle players". #It's all wrong - wrong tone, bad intonation, wrong bowings etc. etc. etc. Doesn't meet the classical aesthetic ("my way or the highway"). #Doesn't matter that when they take a shot at fiddling, it's usually awful.

So I imagine that Anderson's overblowing and/or singing through the instrument causes some classical ears to cringe. #But my take on that is that he's playing the instrument like an overdriven electric blues guitar when he's doing it. There's a lot of stuff one can hit by accident, but when it's a controllable sound(s)/effect(s) that can be summoned up at will, it is a set of chops in its own right.

When I want that sour Yank Rachell slightly out-of-tune sound, I don't slightly detune the string pairs as many might do. I'm able to push (bend) the treble side of the pair into the other so they are off from each other, and play breaks with this effect, turning it on or off at will. There are times when this sound is absolutely the most appropriate one for the song. And as such, it is an advanced "extended technique", to borrow from terminology used by the wind players.

Anyway, I have no aspirations to classical flute proficiency, but whatever technical profiency I do pick up, I'll be able to exploit to the max. Might be rockabilly guitar licks or Sugarcane Harris elec violin stuff though. BB King solos might sound good. Any instrument I do pick up I want to become an extension of anything/everything I'm already playing (and for that to also work in reverse.) I am the instrument, what's in the hands at the moment is just a tool. The carpenter builds the house, not his tools. ("Try to take the pebble from my hand grasshopper."

(BTW MandoPete, you don't need the switch to guitar for your reasons #3 and #1 - just as applicable to the mandolin. On electrics... feedback and whammy-bars are great when used by the player who can control them and applies them musically.)

mandolin, in any context other than BG, celtic, classic or folk is going to be considered a novelty instrument

Yes, it's "Charley Pride syndrome. Unfortunately, there's a lot of "mandolin players" who also have the exact same view of the instrument.

NH

[mandopete]

Niles - seriously, good luck with flute. #FWIW, I took up the flute in high school upon hearing Ian Anderson. #I never got too far with it. #I could play a bit of Bouree and such, but woodwinds are pretty tricky. Here's a couple of other flautists I dig:

Herbie Mann
Tim Weisberg
Matt Eakle

[RolandTumble]

Niles:

I should've known you'd say that, and I'm actually in complete agreement with you--that's why I put "good" in quotes, and made a point of saying that it was perfect for Tull's music (I have to confess that I haven't listened to anything more recent than "Too Old...", at least not to know it).

As for extended technique, I know there's a book on the subject, specifically for flute, out there somewhere. I can't tell you title, author, publisher or whether it's even still in print. I had it out from the Portland, OR, library more than once, mourning not having a flute at the time.... Also, one of the reasons I let the flute pass into "used to" status is that it's awfully hard to make "nasty noises" on (not impossible).

mandopete:

add Eric Dolphy to that list, for my money.



We now return you to your regularly scheduled mandolin discussions....

[mandopete]

What mandolin discussions?

<span style='color:red'>The Top 10 Reasons Mandolin Players Switch To Flute</span>

10...No more "A-Style" vs. "F-Style" arguments
9....No strap required
8....No need to learn chords like Eb7b9b11b13
7....No need to buy strings
6....No endangered species involved
5....The chicks, the chicks, the chicks
4....Embouchure vs. Callouses
3....Looks cool standing on one leg!
2....Nobody cares who the builder is

.......and the number 1 reason:

1....It beats playing bluegrass trombone!

[mandocrucian]

The Top 10 Reasons Mandolin Players Switch To Flute

10. #Too much trouble cleaning out the basement in order to set up the full drum kit
9. #Not enough money to buy a Hammond B-3 organ
8. #Not enough space to set up a Hammond B-3 organ
7. #For the mental workout of "mapping" the layout an unfamiliar instrument (great for the teaching perspective)
6. #Added breath control will come in useful while sparring with karate classmates who are 6'3" and/or 20 years younger
5. #Same fingering system as saxophones
4. #ultra-convenient 4"x16"x2-1/4" size of carrying case
3. #"casual Friday" attire (Aqualung) quite acceptable at gigs instead of the hassle of having to dress up in a Sunday monkey suit
2. #Total control of the tone, volume, articulation of the notes/sound (far beyond an intial pick strike) without having to use volume pedals etc.

.......and the number 1 reason:

1. #"Locomotive Breath" is a request tune I actually like (vs. "Rawhide" or "Rocky Top")

[Ted Eschliman]

Top Ten Reasons to Switch to Bluegrass Trombone

10. Arms too long for mandolin work great for trombone slide.
9. No 4th finger pinky stretch.
8. No need to achieve "woody" chop.
7. Slide oil.
6. Tonegard can be used to prevent foreign objects being thrown into bell.
5. No more "Is that a little guitar?"
4. Teeth for trombone mouthpiece good; Toothless for banjo, better.
3. No arguing about legitimacy of a capo.
2. Bib overalls don't scratch the finish.

......and the number 1 reason:

1. Spit valve. to expel drool.

[mandopete]

L.O.L. !

You guys are too much!

[ira]

what, no top 10 for switching to cowbell???

[kvk]

what, no top 10 for switching to cowbell???

10. Bolt it to a chair and you only need one hand to play. Leaves one hand free for beer.
9. pinky, we don't need to stinkin' pinky. Just give me a gosh dern stick.
8. Anyone can make a hunk o' metal clank.
7. Rust.
6. Scrap metal to make bells is cheap.
5. You can hit any unappreciative audience members with your instrument. It might even improve the tone.
4. The heifers. the heifers. the heifers!!!
3. One note, anytime, all the time. no need to tune up.
2. You don't even need fingers to play. Just ductape the stick to one arm.
1: You can be in any band that covers Mountain's "Mississipi Queen".

[ira]

excellent!

[mandopete]

Cowbell? #That ain't no part o' nuthin'

Okay, now let's list our favorite cowbell tunes....

Dont Fear The Reaper - Blue Oyster Cult
Mississippi Queen - Mountain
Honky Tonk Woman - The Rolling Stones
Were An American Band - Grand Funk Railroad

<span style='color:red'>More Cowbell!</span>

[Dave Gumbart]

Niles, when you have the Martin Barre solo from Backdoor Angels figured out on flute, please send me a copy! Ah, to have an older brother who had War Child - Hoo-rah!

[luckylarue]

Re: Cowbell Tunes -

"Hair of the Dog" - Nazareth
"Time Has Come Today" - Chambers Bros.

[luckylarue]

Re: Reasons to play guitar - Joe Strummer and Mick Jones.

[Fretbear]

The hilarious thing is that Anderson took up flute after hearing Clapton, Hendrix, etc., and deciding he'd rather "rule in hell"...I personally couldn't care less if the electric guitar had never been invented, but then I'm a big Tony Rice (and Niles Hokkanen) fan.

[fangsdaddy]

"Re: Reasons to play guitar - Joe Strummer and Mick Jones.

amen, brother.

[luckylarue]

...and to think, I was about to trade in the Tele for a nice acoustic guitar the other day. After watching the Clash documentary, "Westway to the World", I've decided scrap that plan and keep the Tele. "Complete Control" just wouldn't cut it on an acoustic.

[mad dawg]

More cowbell!

[Pete Martin]

Joe Pass
Django
Jerry Thomasson (tenor)

[mandopete]

Joe Pass is no cowbell player!

[OdnamNool]

<span style='color:red'>More Cowbell!</span>

What? Nobody mentioned "The Concrete and the Clay?"

...My all time favorite cow bell tune...

[OdnamNool]

Ha ha hahahah ha ha hah!

So, out of the blue, what should come on the radio just after I posted the above?

"Grazin' in the Grass! That old instrumental version... remember? With all the horns...

Can you dig it?