Well, been at the Mando for a couple weeks now. Appreciate all the advice and encouragement received thus far (thx Landshark!). I’ve got a few songs down now, and continue working on playin along with tunes on CD (Treasury of Bluegrass by TimeLife is great for practicing). I picked up a DVD of Sam Bush recorded Live in Austin in 2006 (most tunes from ‘On The Road’) … and learned to pretty much hack out Eight more Miles to Louisville, and Girl from the North Country just by watching and playin’ along with the DVD … easier than I thought it would be … surprised myself even LOL.
At any rate, just felt like throwing an update on here. I look forward to following along one some tuneage during the condo crawl at Telluride this year! (then again, always have the guitar to fallback to ).
Well, not many on mando (yet) …
Old Joe Clark
Cripple Creek (pretty much)
Girl from North Country (workin on ‘lead’ tho)
Eight more miles to Louisville (again, workin on lead)
… can follow along (percussion/chop) on quite a few standards (key’s of ‘G’ , ‘A’ and ‘D’) … of course … workin’ on fillers/transitions
…on guitar, thats a whole other story LOL. Probably have a dozen or more bluegrass tunes that I know, and can follow about anything.
… Give me another month and a half, and I’ll have several more known on mando.
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:wave I better get busy!! :thumbsup
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LOL. What other instruments do you play? I’ll have the mando and a guitar and a fiddle. As I learn tunes on Mando, I’m workin’ on them with the fiddle as well. My cohort at TBF plays banjo, so, could be fun! :). Can’t wait for the condo crawl for some versatilistic (is that a word) tuneage!!
Sounds like you have an awesome style of your own there, Landshark. … Building a mandolin this summer? Are you attending a workshop or something for that? Or is it something you’re striking out on on your own? Just wondering.
Oh, by the way, I’m workin on a few tunes by the band Bonepony on mando these days … awesome stuff. They actually played at T-ride several years ago, but have yet to be asked back. I think there was some drama that took place with the ‘powers that be’. Maybe you saw them there years back.
At any rate, keep on pickin’! Chop-Chop Hammer-on, Slide, and Chop!
hi! :wave looks like you’ve been busy! great to see you’ve stayed just as motivated as you were at first! this dang career thing has really put a damper in my practice time . . . that and I’ve hit a plateau I think, and not a good one . . . ah well, it’s still fun and that’s what matters! can’t wait to pick with you!
I almost always just use a damp cloth during re-stringing. When the fret board starts looking really bad, I’ll douse it with linseed oil. A friend of mine actually uses 40W oil (motor oil) on his fret board.
HEHE - hiyas LS. Good to be seen. Nice to see u2. The wife and I bought a house late last year (dear lord the honey-do list is HUGE!). Then I got pretty sick and spent more time than I care to remember at University Hospital (a whole other story). I’m finally settling down and have time to visit my normal haunts.
One interesting thing about my surgery. They stuck a bunch of holes in me on my right side. Doesn’t bother me with the mando - but when I play guitar - OUCH! Jams right into my side. I’m going to have to learn how to play with my guitar strung low like a teenage grunge band. LOL!
Isn’t it great? Music is just as hard as you choose to make it. You don’t need difficult for great music. Often, less is more. Of course, with beer, more is more - but that’s another story.
If you’re still jonesing to play and your blisters are barking, just use super glue on em. Seriously!
I’m loving your enthusiasm - keep it up! Playing in a band requires 10-15 hours a week of work (between practice and gigs) - if not more. The times I get to sit and practice or play for fun are few and far between. Another reason I can’t wait for Rockygrass! Hope I get tix.
HOLY CRAP! If you’re playing through your super glue, damn girl, you’re on fire!
I sat down and learned Stonehenge (mando part) tonight. Man, I was laughing the whole way. It’s up on mandocafe and not too hard. Actually, I can see it being played at any festival. Nice little piece. It’s from the movie Spinal Tap if you don’t remember. Give it a shot - even if you hated Spinal Tap!
I don’t know… I bet the mando building class is going to be just incredible. I built a dulcimer when I was in college at UK and it was an incredible experience. I learned so much. In fact, I have a good story to tell about it.
I was having difficulty on an element of the project, and my prof. recommended I go see a friend of his, Homer Ledford, in Winchester KY. He had built thousands of dulcimers. So I call him up and he agrees to help me out on the project. I spend a few hours in his shop and he’s a great help. We go up to his living room and sit down afterwards and are having a glass of iced tea, when the doorbell rings. Who walks in but Bill Monroe. For the next 30 minutes or so, I get to visit with one of my hero’s.
Anyway, don’t discount the personal benifit of building your own instrument. You’ll feel a connection to it unlike any instrument you ever buy. There’s always next year for taking the class. Maybe I can join you for the class next year!
Advanced smanced. Here’s a secret a lot of ppl may not know about picking circles. If you can’t burn it up on your instrument - bring something else to the table. Ability is by NO means the only thing that makes a jam successful.
-Memorize the words to some songs. I can’t tell you how many jams I’ve been at no one knew any words. BORING!
-Organize it. Meet the people, bring them together and have the extra chairs ready at your area. Making it comfortable for players makes them want to stay and make music.
-Supply the snacks and cold beverages. Food & Bev is a great way to keep people around.
-Be nice (or - in your case - just be yourself). I’ve left a few circles becouse it just wasn’t fun.
As my grandaddy used to tell me (and it sort of applies here), there are no stupid people, we’re all just ignorant on different subjects. One thing I’ve noticed about Rockygrass and Telluride, most circles are very welcoming of lower skill levels as long as you follow the basic rules of jamming.
LOL - no kiddin. We played a wedding a few weeks back that was sorta high up (maybe 8k feet). Coming from Denver area, I was running late. I knew I may not have time to warm up at the gig, so I warmed up real fast (and tuned up) at the house. Indeed, traffic sucked and I got there with little time to spare.
Everything was setup, and I pretty much had time to grab a beer, plug in and go. Man, I was like a half step out of tune. That first song was just UGLY!
On another note - I got a ticket for Saturday. If you have a change in plans and decide to attend - let me know. Would be great to meet you landshark.
Next June I’ll have a 3 year old and a 5 month runnin around. I wouldn’t enjoy it by myself without the wife - and I’m not sure how much fun I’d have with the 2 kids (1 boy and 1 who knows!) at that age. It may be a few more years before I’m ready to do the multi-day camping at festivals with the family. I know plenty of peeps that do it, I just don’t see how. I took my son to the fireworks up in Avon last weekend and he was all over the place. It was so much work to keep him close. The kid just doesn’t sit still. Plus, he sees any instrument and he’s up banging on it. Not sure how some of the pickers would like that!
On another note - our band played the Stanley Hotel up in Estes last weekend (on their front lawn no less). What a view. Prettiest gig we’ve had. Days like that I’m just amazed we get payed to play music. Drove right past Rockygrass site and got me jonesing for the festival. I only get to come 1 day - but my word am I looking forward to it. If you happen to find your way down there, we’ll find room on our tarp for ya!
Haven’t posted in about a million years, I am finally thinking about taking lessons. I know it will motivate me to practice, which I don’t have too much of at the moment. Anyone have any suggestions about mando lessons in the Denver or Boulder area, not overpriced. I’m not working a ton of hours anymore so can’t afford to pay too much, but that goes two ways, now that I’m not working so much I have time to play.
How did your mando turn out Miki? My goal is to practice so next summer we can rock it at TBG.
Beth :flower
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