Technique makes a huge difference in both volume and being heard. Marla Fibish plays an oval hole A model Gibson and can be heard well in most sessions. She plays a rounded 1mm Clayton pick - it...
Type: Posts; User: mikeyes
Technique makes a huge difference in both volume and being heard. Marla Fibish plays an oval hole A model Gibson and can be heard well in most sessions. She plays a rounded 1mm Clayton pick - it...
There is no magic formula, just the combination that is optimal for each instrument. Optimal because technique also makes a difference, something the banjo players are learning.
I've found that...
I had the pleasure of taking Mary Coogan's advanced mandolin class at the O'Flaherty irish Music Retreat last week and it was an eye opener.
To my mind there is no consensus on how the mandolin...
Marla Fibish (who I consider to be my model Irish Trad Mandolinist) uses a triplet/treble in this slow tune, The Parting.
https://youtu.be/gK2ceda8hcg
She plays a Gibson Model A which has...
Mary will be teaching at the O'Flaherty Retreat near Dallas in October. I'm signed up for her class and have always been very satisfied with the experience at O'Flaherty. It should be great.
...
I really like this mandolin I'd love to play one if possible one day,
BTW, it's "New Five Cents", a Kentucky tune from Isham Monday. I have it by Cecil Goforth.
Mike Keyes
Every year has been terrific and I've only missed three of them. What John is not telling you is that he is teaching the beginner mandolin and banjo classes. He is one of the best teachers I've had...
An historical note: the (most likely) first recording of an ITM tune with a mandolin was by Mick Moloney on one of the Johnston albums. Mick said that he saw a bowl back mandolin on the wall and...
Jeff,
That was not my experience and I have brought several Gibson mandolins to Ireland. Of course, they may have just been having fun at your expense or they may have really liked Jimmy Rogers,...
Here is a long youtube video that shows some of the chordal techniques from Mick.
https://youtu.be/mmmfH6Pjixw
Mike Keyes
When I took Mick Moloney's class mandolin last year at the O'Flaherty Retreat in Texas, he mentioned that the mandolin had one advantage over all other instruments: the ability to make a large...
I think you will find that there are several points of view here -this is a common question on this forum - and that most will tell you that a) play every kind of mandolin and choose the one you like...
Mick was playing a Tom Cussen mandolin. Tom is a well known banjo maker in
Galway.
It was October, but October in
Texas.
Mike Keyes
I can't get enough of my Herb Taylor #173 either. Herb is a genius whose instruments call out to you once you play them. I had no intention of spending the money (I got a good deal and they are a...
Check out my latest blog entry at http://itmbanjo.blogspot.com/ I have a lot of videos on it, all banjo-centric, but you get the idea of what the concerts were like.
Mike Keyes
The mandolin class at the O'Flaherty Irish Music Retreat was a wonderful event. Mick Moloney has stopped teaching classes like this but he did so for Ken Fleming, the director of the retreat. We...
Mike,
Mick never teaches classes like this anymore. I suspect that his friendship with Ken Fleming (the director of the camp) has a lot to do with his being there. I've taken several classes...
I don't have any problems with music students learning good technique and skills, but the whole idea of such a structured approach to what is a folk tradition (and this includes the fleadh rules)...
Wow! That list is a real buzz kill. I don't recognize any of the examiners (there is a McPeake, however) and the idea of earning those diplomas sounds like work to me.
I don't have anything...
It will be taught by Mick Moloney this year and he never gives classes like this. Who all will be there?
Mike Keyes
Every Loar that I have played has been owned by musicians who play them on a regular basis. If you are so concerned about an accident, or being stolen, then sell it and move on. There are plenty of...
Back in the days when they made you check your instrument no matter what, I used to use to use a tennis bag with my mandolins on planes. My thought was that they assumed anyone with several tennis...
The beauty of the mandolin is that it can't be heard in a session unless you really want it to be heard.My wife and I always go to Ireland in the off season and we almost always go to Shannon then to...
Here is another pick comparison, this time with my Gibson F-5 and eleven different picks ranging from a .63 Clayton to a 100 Blue Chip. You can decide which one suits the instrument the best, I'm...
Excellent advice!