Sad or pretty mandolin songs

[Lightbread]

I was just wondering if y'all knew any sad or pretty or emotional songs for mandolin, i cant find any tabs, thanks for any help

[Jim Broyles]

Aren't "sad" and/or "pretty" in the ears of the listener? There are thousands of mandolin tabs available on the internet. Pick a song you think meets the criteria and search for it.

[Jim Broyles]

Here are some mandolin tabs.

[Michael Nelson]

I would vote for Ashokan Farewell, although I think it works best on fiddle.

[Ed Goist]

I was just wondering if y'all knew any sad or pretty or emotional songs for mandolin, i cant find any tabs, thanks for any help

sad, pretty, emotional.

[pinky57]

Danny Boy aka Londonderry Air comes to mind. It's very emotional and pretty. When I play it, it's just sad(I mangle it).

[Ivan Kelsall]

If you mean sad / emotional songs that can be accompanied on Mandolin,then there are hundreds. In the US a 'tune' ie. a 'melody',is (can be) often refered to as a 'song',so please forgive me for not giving a 'proper' answer. For me a 'song' has words & a 'tune' doesn't.
A song that always moves me emotionally,is Tim O'Brien's song "Late In The Day" from the "Hot Rize" recording "Untold Stories".
You can't get more emotional than Bill Monroe's classic "Body & Soul",possibly my favourite of his songs. If you want a real tear jerker,totally outside the Bluegerass genre,but with a gorgeous,slow melody that could sound beautiful on played on Mandolin,have a listen to Beth Nielsen Chapman's song "I Find Your Love" from her CD "Look",& if you sing it,the words will bring tears to a glass eye,
Ivan

[Ed Goist]

Danny Boy aka Londonderry Air comes to mind. It's very emotional and pretty. When I play it, it's just sad(I mangle it).

Agreed! Here's a nice 'beginner friendly' tab. (This is the first melody I learned to play on the mandolin...definitely an 'audience favorite')

[MikeEdgerton]

In my opinion one of the prettiest mandolin songs there is would be A Place in the Heart. Go to this page, it's the second song listed. There is a link to the Tab and the MP3.

[mculliton123]

I would recommend that you shuffle on over to the Song A Week social group here in the Cafe and browse the many, many tunes/songs posted there by the members. Almost every one will have TABs, Std Notation, and ABC's posted as well as videos by the members featuring a wide variation in interpretations. We have almost every genre, too; BG, ITM, Old Time, Blues, Swing, you get the idea.

[ellisppi]

flatbush waltz

[AlanN]

I like Down Home Waltz by Buck White for pretty. I picked it for Butch once, he said 'Now that's pretty'.

[Mike Black]

Hector the Hero is a nice goopy tune.

The TAB is here on the Cafe.

[Capt. E]

Hector the Hero is a nice goopy tune.

The TAB is here on the Cafe.

Ashokan Farewell can be pretty and sad, but I often find myself playing it more up tempo which kind of takes away the sad part. One slow, sad song I like is "In the Pines". Definitely sad lyrics (lots and lots of verses have been written for it). A beautiful and sad "cajun" song is "Je Passe Devant ta Port" (I Passed By Your Door).

[Willie Poole]

Everything I play is SAD and nothing I play is PRETTY....Like a lot of us....Willie

[Jim P.]

It seems, to my ear anyway, that some fiddle tunes, if played at a slower than dance tempo, have a feeling of wistfulness about them. I've noticed this in slower versions of 'Bonaparte Crossing the Rhine' and 'Sally Ann.' Might be just my imagination but tossing it out for what it's worth.

[Hayduke]

While not a bluegrass or mandolin tune, the song "Mama Hated Diesels" by Commander Cody and the Lost Planet Airmen has long been considered by some, the sadest song ever written.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BoyEHeID8U

[mandroid]

Work those Minor Keys .

[KennyE]

I took Jazz and Theory for two years. I was playing a song for my instructor and mentioned how sad the piece was. His reply? The only thing sad about it is the way you're playing it. That was the day I decided I'd had enough Jazz and Theory. .....

[Bob Bronow]

"Shenandoah" would get my vote.

[Coffeecup]

A couple of slow tunes that I like are Josefin's Waltz and Inisheer. I would say they're pretty rather than sad, although the latter can sound a bit that way on a low whistle.

[Ed Goist]

Interestingly, this timely story was posted to npr.org today!