Thanks for visiting! After many years of contemplatiing, I finally decided to buy a mandolin and teach myself how to play it. I set up this blog mainly in order to track how I am going. Feel free to follow my progress here too. (And yes, in case you're wondering, I did name the mando after Mycroft Holmes).
I'll admit it. I've become slightly addicted to fiddle tunes. Problem is there are so many good ones but we only seem to do the same ones at our regular jams, so I've decided to set myself a goal to try to learn one fiddle tune every month until... well, I guess until I know them all!
And then there is the fiddle tune I've just learnt for the month of August, Big Sciota. Still at a loss for how to pronounce it (Skee-oh-tah? Shee-oh-tah? Skoh-tah?) and every time someone announces it in a YouTube video they sort of mumble over it and I still don't catch it! Just polishing this one up and then I'll post it.
That just leaves the ever growing list of fiddle tunes I'm yet to learn:
Attended my first bluegrass festival a couple of weekends back. It was only a matter of time, really. It seemed like a really long drive to the Redlands, but I made it just as things were starting to fire up. Literally. They actually had the fireplace going in one of the rooms! (Fire? Pfft really?? As if we'd need a fireplace to keep warm, we're in Queensland! As I put my 5th layer of clothing on I began to understand that the Redlands is one of those bizarre little geological pockets that somehow manages to have a weather system completely independent of the city.)
First up was the Friday night concert. It was pretty dark, but I managed to recognise fellow band mate, Anne-Marie, from the back of her hair and she was sitting up front with a few other Hills Bluegrass folks. They'd luckily saved a seat for me so I flopped down to enjoy the concert with them. We were thankful Anne-Marie had the foresight to bring a nana blanket along, even with it spread across us it was still pretty darn nippy. The concert was fun. All bands I haven't seen before (no surprises there, really, considering I'd only been on the Brisbane bluegrass scene for less than a year) but we were all getting fidgety towards the end (c'mon... we want to jam!).
And boy did we jam. We set up our little group in a prime space: the laundry! You may laugh, but the acoustic was quite good, even if it was a little cramped. Here I met some pickers who were new to me but the others knew them from other festivals. Lex, with his beautiful velvety bass voice and Greg, who had an uncanny knack for hijacking other people's songs and taking them over! Everyone had called it a night by about 4am but I wasn't particularly gravitating towards bed yet so I went hunting to see who else was up. Found Milan (another Hills Bluegrasser) in one of the rooms with a fairly inebriated fiddle player and a few other Hills folks lurking in the corner. We tried to play a few fiddle tunes... tried. Someone suggested we move to the room with the fireplace, so we did, then fiddle boy decided to light up a pipe - not kidding, a freakin' pipe! - and passed me a cup of something I can only assume was some kind of moonshine. I politely took a few sips and tried to join in the music making, but by this stage things had deteriorated. I am not a huge fan of music that is out of tune and has only a vague sense of rhythm and unity, so at 5am I decided to take up Kay's offer and kip on the spare bed in her dorm.
A few hours later an obscene noise came from my phone, indicating it was time to get ready to attend a mandolin workshop. At 9:30am! That's just mean... I may have hit snooze a few too many times. And by the time I managed to drag myself into the showers and assess the damage of a very long night, hunger had taken over as being of higher priority. So I missed the mando workshop. Oh well. But breakfast (and coffee) was very welcome.
Just pickin' and singin' away at one of the outdoor jams, having a great old time. Guessing by the bags under the eyes this was Saturday at some point.
Saturday, let's see... what else happened Saturday... I meant to go to all these workshops, but honestly I just got caught up in the casual jamming! One workshop I did make it to was an intermediate jam workshop, which one of the bands was running. I was very conscious of the time as our band was going to have a little rehearsal before our big debut at the walk-up concert. So, I just had time to sit in and learn a few things, then they had us do a song and a few people took leads. I put my had up to say I'd be willing to give it a crack (hadn't heard the song before) so they eventually passed on to me. Some stroke of good fortune resulted in me pretty much nailing the break and then I basically had to get up, say thanks a bunch and make a hasty exit, which must have looked pretty funny. Who the heck is this hotshot mando player no-one's ever seen before who just comes along to part of a workshop does an awesome break and then leaves?! It wasn't that awesome, but it was pretty good for my standards and Pete Denehy and his band seemed fairly impressed :)
So anyway. Rehearsal followed, with the Wayward Angels. We worked on our three songs and got increasingly nervous. WAIT! STOP THE PRESS! Have I mentioned the band in previous posts?? I don't think I have... whoops, I'm slack. We're the good looking bunch of girls in the picture below who formed out of the Hills Bluegrass Jam earlier this year.
Wayward Angels just before the Walk-up Concert
We were standing around outside the tent where the walk-up concert was and this old fellow named Tom asked us if we needed a bass player. We said we'd be grateful if he'd join us and it turned out he was one of these Redlands guys who'd been doing bluegrass for eons, so he was mighty helpful! Gave us some great tips about how to sing with the mic and picked up the songs quickly even in our slightly wayward keys.
Wayward Angels take the stage (plus our fabulous ring-in on bass)
And before we knew it, we were on. Only got to do 2 of the 3 songs, but
that was all good, it was a lot of fun. Here's a video of "Worried Man Blues".
More jamming followed a long Saturday night concert (Mustered Courage were very impressive as were the Company), but this was much earlier night than the previous one. Oh, and the mando player from Mustered Courage has a Collings... I'm slightly jealous.
Sunday was considerably more subdued. I'm not sure what went on in the morning as I had to get up early and drive back to Brisbane for my church gig, but by the time I got back everyone had settled down to a nice little jam under the tree, which I happily joined. The evening encore concert followed where all the bands did a short set each and then it was all done and dusted.
It was a really good weekend. Will definitely be back next year. Hopefully with a little Collings of my own, if I'm lucky :)
Here's an attempt at Blackberry Blossom. It's a transcription of Chris Thile doing it, which I found on the mandozine.com website (under Practice Tunes they have a whole heap of TablEdit files people have submitted - great resource) and the backing track is from this. Not sure how accurate it is as I can't find the original to be able to compare it, but hey, it's better than anything I'd come up with, so I figure it's worth practising. I'm not really playing it note for note anyway, as I get lost a few times (which you'll hear) and start improvising (rather poorly).
Before anyone points it out, yes, I know it's a bit rough and I'm probably trying to play it a bit too fast. I have also been practising this tune slowly and using a metronome on the backing track, so don't shoot me, I just like to challenge myself. Really annoyed that I stuffed up the little Pink Panther quote Thile managed to work into the B section... oh well.
For those who are counting, I've now been playing about 10 months. Sort of feel like I've plateaued a bit, but I haven't been practising as much as I'd like to lately. Too much jammin' not enough hard work :-)
Yeah yeah, I know, I'm a slack tart... haven't posted about Mycroft in ages... yada yada yada. But I have been picking lots! I promise!!
In fact, it's been so long since I last posted that I have made no mention of the regular bluegrass jams I've been attending since January. I stumbled across this group on the Australian Bluegrass website - it was just a basic post with some elaborate directions on how to get to these bluegrass jams held in Everton Park every 1st and 3rd Tuesdays. The post was old and there were no contact details so I took a bit of a punt and tried to find this place on one of said Tuesdays, expecting to find either nothing at all or a few scary, toothless banjo players who may or may not attempt to disembowel me and make strings from my guts... OK so my imagination may have been going a little bonkers as I cautiously trekked through this quiet leafy church ground trying to find these guys...
And then I heard it - the unmistakeable root/fifth of a bass line, and as I got closer, some guitars and banjos, a lonely sounding mando and a fiddle. To my surprise, when I entered (a little tentatively I admit, given my bluegrass playing experience was absolutely zilch at that stage) there were even a few females and under 40's in the group. They welcomed me, I introduced myself and told them I was a cheating beginner who'd been playing 5 months, and I joined the circle and started trying to work out the chop chords. When it came to my "turn" I of course didn't know any bluegrass songs they'd know (just Punch Brothers songs really), but they let me play Jerusalem's Ridge, which I butchered slightly, but oh how marvellous to have live music backing you!
The weeks passed on, and I started learning the songs and having a crack at something new each week, and it turns out a few of these guys hold jams of their own, which have been great fun. The banjo players in particular always seem to be up for a jam, bless them, and they will jam on until the wee hours... We've only had the cops arrive once ;-)
These jams have been so vital for me to extend myself and learn new skills. I always used to avoid improvisation (on my other instruments) primarily because I was so bad at it, but because this group has a wide range of abilities I felt comfortable to have a go at the breaks and making an ass of myself was not such an issue. I was also fairly weak at playing chords but it's all so much easier on the mando than it was on piano. The improv is coming along gradually and the chop chords are almost second nature now, which is great, because I sure as hell wasn't practising them at home!
You gotta love community music making, it brings all kinds of people together with the common goals of having a great time and making some music.
Yet another attempt at the Bach presto. I feel like it is gradually getting closer... slowly. I've now been playing around 4 and a half months.
While I was trying to do this, I stuffed up the cadence of the first section and thought I would share, because it was such a disgusting chord to finish on! Instead of a regular perfect cadence (A7-D) I accidentally barred the E string and struck it which had the effect of adding an augmented 4th to the D chord - NOT very Bach. Here's samples of the two endings, in case you're not sure what I'm talking about. The first sample being the cadence that Bach wanted, the second is my rather offensive stuff-up.
Ah, I see I'm neglecting the blog already. Never fear, it doesn't mean I've been neglecting Mycroft, just that I've had a few too many fails with technology and have become a bit disgruntled with it.
I was determined to record duets with myself (seeing I don't have a jamming buddy) but it turns out all those cute little YouTube videos of people for example singing all 6 parts of such-and-such a capella must be made using some fancy program... because I sure as hell can't find something that will allow me to essentially merge the audio and visuals of two videos together! Nothing free at any rate.
Anyway, rant over. I gave in and had to extract the audio from two videos to make this one. It's the Bach D minor two part invention (originally written for piano... and I have played it many years ago on piano too, if memory serves me). Had to transpose most of the lower part up the octave as it was written in bass clef. Now there's a nice way to screw with your mind - transpose on a not very familiar instrument! Had a bit of difficulty syncing the two tracks correctly, but I think I got them pretty close in the end. Some wayward rubato tripped my up when I was trying to record the second part. It's harder than I anticipated to duet with a partner who is COMPLETELY inflexible. Oh, and my trills are pathetic. Obviously I need to work on those!
It's been a bit of big day for Mycroft. First headed down to Hillcrest to try out and buy an armrest. Considering most of the demand is in the States, I was very surprised to find that one of the few people making them is right here in Brisbane (well, almost). David at King Brown Mandolin Armrests was awesome and knocked together a bit of a selection for me to check out. I settled on the standard design, but he also does some over the tail-piece armrests and can add a lovely little inlay if one so desires.
They look good, but the best part is of course what they add to the playability of the instrument. I find it much more comfortable on the forearm, and don't end up with a massive indent from the edge, and I believe it does open up the tone a little too.
After this purchase I headed back into city territory to The Guitar Shop at Paddington to pick up a hard case I had ordered. This is something I probably should have done sooner considering how clumsy and uncoordinated I am, but thankfully no disasters befelled Mycroft while he was housed in a soft case. Sigh of relief now that I've got the hard case.
So here's little Mycroft, all dressed up in his new mando-bling. Now we just wait for the strap. Oh, and the strings. Looking forward to trying some nice new Elixirs.
Right, here we go again. The Bach is almost up to speed now, but still with mistakes. Stupid nerves.
Temporary solution to the crap strap problem: use it like a necklace! Gets the mando into more or less the right position, but that thin round braid really cuts into the neck. I ordered a beautiful flat braided strap to arrive from Lakota. Can't wait for it to arrive.
Okay. I think I've finally sorted out this strap business and I've come to the following conclusions about my particular mandolin strap:
a) It's crap
b) It's too long
c) It's too thin as a round braid
d) It's crap
e) It's got about as much grip as a thin, lubricated snake
Did I mention it's crap? So, it doesn't position the instrument correctly as it's too long, and as it's thin and gripless the headstock is irresistibly drawn towards the ground. It even creaks when you have the intended loop around the scroll! Need I add that this thing is seriously crap.
I have, however, managed to tweak it so that it works more or less like a mando strap should, by feeding the loop back on itself and wrapping it around the scroll again. This solves the "too long" issue and then presto - what folks have been saying on the mandolincafe forum starts to happen - I can more or less keep the mando in position just with the pressure from my right forearm. Drop the pressure from the right forearm, though, and the "no grip" issue takes over, sending the headstock not quite so far groundwards.
But...
FREEEEEDOME!!! I can move! I'm not stuck in this awkward seated position while playing and I can even go for a wander around the house while I play if I want. Jury's still out on whether or not I actually play any better standing, but it feels better. That's important, right?
I'll replace the strap, I think, because it's now actually a tad short and the thin braid kind of cuts into my shoulder. Folks on the cafe have made some very useful suggestions, and I will try to follow their advice by getting a thicker, flat strap, preferably with a bit of grip. The straps made by Lakota (from elk) look absolutely gorgeous and importantly are soft, from what I've heard, and last an age so I may just give in and cough up the dough to ship in one over here.
Moral of the story? Straps are awesome. This strap isn't.
So, I have been playing my mando in all kinds of awkward positions in the attempt to keep the neck at a comfortable angle whilst avoiding having the left hand bear too much of the weight. I have played with my feet up on a laundry basket, I've played in the car with one foot planted into the compartment below the stereo (surprisingly comfortable and effective, actually!). But always seated. I thought that the best solution for this might be to get a strap, and this would fix everything... I was quite wrong.
This is one of the sucky things about living in Brisbane: music shops don't stock mandolin stuff. They rarely even stock more than one or two token mandolins, let alone straps, strings, picks, tone guards and all that jazz. So how am I supposed to try stuff out and see if it works for me? I can't. Just have to order stuff online and hope for the best.
My strap arrived from the US and here's what happened.
Well frak. That's pretty much the opposite of how I want the weight distributed...
How the heck do I make this work...?
Guess I could get used to playing like this. Not.
How are people supposed to use these things?! Is my mando just weighted weirdly or is the strap somehow not functioning how a strap should? I guess it's a little slippery, but surely even with a little grip this would not be enough to stop the mando falling the wrong way. Grrr. The quest for a good playing position continues.
I've been playing mandolin for a little over one month now, so I thought it was time to share how I'm going with the Bach again. It's still nowhere near ready, but I've more or less memorised all of the notes now. A few mistakes, and I'm suffering from a bit of alzheimer's towards the end, but I hope to work on this in the coming weeks.
Can't seem to stabilise my pick-grip, which is a bit annoying, because it makes a surprisingly big difference to the tone. The one I'm using in this take is probably a bit unconventional... oh well, call the mando-police! I might just keep experimenting.
Still uber excited about my new Mandolin. Mycroft may be a cheaper Chinese knock-off, but I'm quite happy with how it's sounding and playing.
The new E strings seem to be holding up alright, after I managed to break them both in an attempt to lower the bridge action. D'oh! They're a tad tinny sounding though, and probably too bright compared with the other strings so I'm tossing up if I should try medium gauge strings next time or if I just need to try a different brand. There are a few variables to consider - who would have thought a silly string instrument could be so complicated!
After two and a bit weeks playing mandolin I have almost got the A section of the Presto from Bach's G minor Violin Sonata down. This is really making me appreciate just how much thought string players put into hand positions. There are always a couple of solutions for every phrase, so I have had to make some decisions... eep! Still not quite happy with some of my choices, but I may yet find better solutions. We will see.
Here's me, not quite rockin' the Bach yet, but getting there:
Here's Chris Thile rockin' the Bach big time. How to put a beginner to shame:
I finally bought a mandolin. It's been a long time coming, and technically I have the Punch Brothers to thank in a very round about kind of way, though I think it was inevitable that the day would come.
It began when I was a kid and I heard REM's Losing My Religion. Though I was a fairly grungy kid, and dabbled on guitar from time to time, I distinctly remember hearing that mandolin and thinking "Geez, there's something a bit special about that...". Of course I got distracted by other bands and had flings with other instruments (brass is to blame, mainly) and started having to focus more solidly on piano during high school.
The mandolin was somewhat forgotten until years later my uncle brought one back from Vietnam. Ooooh the envy. I had a bit of a play and it seemed a fairly decent instrument considering the price. When I mentioned I'd like to get one some day, my uncle kindly offered to get me one next time he went to Vietnam. But even then I was quite an audiophile and was a little freaked out by the idea of buying an instrument I had neither tried nor heard. It didn't end up happening and I forgot again - memory has never been a strong point.
Then came the Punch Brothers. Can't precisely recall how I stumbled across this group. I think I was doing some research into mandolins and progressive rock and I found some Chris Thile videos on YouTube which led to one of them doing a Radiohead cover. Oh my GOD!!
Radiohead... ah... Folks who know me know that I'm a little obsessed, so this was a perfect match really. I knew then that I definitely wanted to (nay, needed to) start learning. But I still wasn't in any rush to blow my precious dollars on a new instrument.
I'd been listening to the Punch Brothers albums on high rotation (between Radiohead) for a few weeks when the announcement came that they were coming to Australia. I could hardly contain myself. And then I looked at the dates and venues. They were coming to Sydney and Melbourne and even Adelaide, for f%@& sake, but not Brisbane. Gutted. Desperate, I looked into getting a flight to Sydney to see them, but the best case scenario would have be at least $250-$300. I could put that kind of money towards something that would last a lot longer...
So, I did it. I went to the only music shop in Brisbane that stocks more than a couple of second-rate mandolins (thank you, The Guitar Shop at Paddington!) and was in raptures with the little entry level F style Eastman - the MD315. It was bright but not tinny and had some nice, sweet overtones. "Fruity" as the helpful sales assistant described it. It's no Gibson, but it sure kicks the ass of the entry level Fender.
Introducing Mycroft the Mandolin, my new favourite distraction. ❤
