How has the mandolin changed your life?

[Jim Garber]

My house is full of these mandolins. Of course there are other instruments as well. I would have to say it is music in general and musical instruments that are the center of my life for many decades. If I have to say what changed specifically concerning the mandolin is that I prob play more different genres of music on the mandolin than any other instrument. I do play fiddle and have been playing it as long as I have the mandolin, but I would never attempt classical music on the violin.

The other effect that the mandolin has had on my life is the amount of time I spend on these forums, reading them and posting just about every day. For better of for worse...

[Stephen Perry]

I kind of like them. The mandolin really expanded my concept of how to increase the performance of things. I suddenly had a platform that was responding to the things that work on violins, and begged me to blend in some guitar things. Looking back, I really have greatly refined my knowledge of and ability to increase the performance of almost anything that vibrates by working up my mandovoodoo stuff. I can't recall where much of what I do came from, other than following my nose, or getting annoyed at some minor flaw in sound!

So it's a big change. I can see how to do a piano up, but don't have the time. I've made fishing rods super sensitive. Honed my touch for when a steak is done. And made friends all over the world!

But I'm still mainly a pianist!

[chasray]

I watch less TV, exercise the brain more by attempting to learn new songs, and notice the mando is a great stress reliever. I really don't feel playing an instrument is a waste of time (like many TV shows).
I haven't thought about it before, but is the mandolin the reason I appreciate cowboy boots? And I just bought my first man-purse. What's happening?

[JeffD]

I never seem to have nothing to do. And everything non-essential is questioned - for example do I mow the lawn or work on some traditional French fiddle music.... The mandolin and music has given me a clear set of priorities.

Well years ago I bit the bullet and found someone to take care of my lawn for a reasonable amount. Done. Would I rather have the money and less time to play music? No. The house and yard are presentable, and I am off to a jam session.

[JeffD]

I have taken to buying old old chairs, just 100 year old armless wooden chairs, for very cheap. I glue them up and fix them up and paint them garish colors and bring them out for the jam.

[OldSausage]

I have taken to buying old old chairs, just 100 year old armless wooden chairs, for very cheap. I glue them up and fix them up and paint them garish colors and bring them out for the jam.

This is just a horrible thing to do. Do you have like 500 cats as well?

[Ivan Kelsall]

Everybody enjoys doing something that they're even moderately good.The mandolin has proved to be an added enjoyment & a real break from having played Bluegrass banjo for 51 years. I still enjoy playing the banjo,but an overwhelming sense of 'deja vu' hits me every time i pick it up. On mandolin,with still so much to learn,it's a whole new game & i'm loving every second of it. It's kept the 'ole grey matter' on the move & i seriously think that it's kept me mentally more alert,something that i fully intended it to do.There's nothing like a mental challenge as you get older to keep you feeling 'younger' .I decided at age 60,that i needed something to really keep me mentally alert & the mandolin,which i'd loved for 40 years or more,was just the thing, Ivan

[Eric C.]

Because of my job, I end up spending quite a bit of time in hotel rooms. That time felt like wasted time for the most part until I started bringing the mandolin with me. I try to learn, or at least practice a new song with each stay.
The people in the adjoining rooms may not be as enthused with this new productivity as I am.

Haha that Weber of yours is quite loud!

[John Flynn]

It led me down the road to perdition. It made me start drinking, stealing to buy new strings. I lost my family, my home. People I'd known for years crossed the street to get away from me when they saw me carrying my case...

Oh wait, it was the banjo that did that. Mandolin? I'll have to get back to you...

[Bob Clark]

But I'm still mainly a pianist!

This is actually the one and only down side of my mandolin obsession. It has taken me away from my piano, which I also really love.

Piano was my main obsession for many years, but this little instrument got between me and my piano and refuses to move out of the way. I am sure I will get back to my piano (I'd better...it takes up my whole living room), but I am not sure when.

Bob

[Astro]

Used to wear briefs. Now I wear boxers.

Next, I'm taking up Djembe and joining a drum circle. They dont wear underwear.

[bart mcneil]

The mando has not changed me.. I have changed myself to fit my interest in mandolin and banjo..... Like you the most important change was to eliminate television from my life. I also do not go to movies. While my disability and family responsibilities keeps me from going out much I make up for it in my playing instruments, mandolin and banjo primarily. I also spend lots of time repairing and restoring old worn out or damaged instruments and always have three or four instruments in progress.

[UsuallyPickin]

I take a mandolin with me when I know I will be waiting somewhere and play quietly. This has gotten me thrown out of one place but in more places a few tips and a much more pleasant wait. I never used to do that with a guitar. Just too big to pack around. It also led me to playing a fiddle........... but that's another story... R/

[Carl Robin]

The mandolin has saved me from the doldrums of "permanent potential". I love Irish music, but neither the harp, nor the flute, are my 'forte'. This I know from experience (although both are still fun to dabble with). Since I started playing the mandolin, I have learned many times more new music, and have been enjoying steady progress all along the way. Those fast jigs and reels are accessible for the first time ever. After starting with tender fingers 2 years ago, I can't imagine giving it up or slowing down. I still like technology, and watch TV though, and have no wish to wear cowboy boots.

[Bertram Henze]

1-...
2-...
3-...
4-...

Ditto on #1,#2,#4

Plus:
- helped me get into stage fright and out again, leaving behind more than just musical fears.
- helped me get over other people's views and opinions.

[JEStanek]

For me, still very much a low skilled player, it has increased my appreciation of anyone who plays an instrument (even the beginners) because I know it takes work and dedication. I appreciate the skill that goes into building these instruments.

I have been able to meet a bunch of players, famous ones, and found them to be just cool regular folks.

Through the Cafe, I've become friendly with a very broad range of people I may not meet or know IRL.

I've been exposed to great mandolin music outside the bluegrass genre defying my earlier expectations.

I've been able to make my own music. That's a great gift to have for myself and the people who I get to actually play for.

Jamie

[Mark Wilson]

I quit watching TV too. Also smoking and drinking. Nightclubbing -- that's out. Women -- forget about it. I've quit eating sweets and make sure to brush and floss 4 times a day. Also make sure to look both ways before crossing the street. Cancelled all my subscriptions to various magazines and other periodicals. And I quit doing the hootchy-coo.

I get that. But my point wasn't offered for pious reasons. I didn't intend to stop anything. I just ended up playing mandolin all evening, every evening and finding that much free time meant dropping something else I'd done all my adult life.

And I've made enough progress to understand now, how valuable that time really is. So pious or not, that is how mandolin has changed my life

[Gelsenbury]

For me, still very much a low skilled player, it has increased my appreciation of anyone who plays an instrument (even the beginners) because I know it takes work and dedication.

That's one. I listen to music with a different appreciation of skill and expression. Playing mandolin has also changed the music I like, and made visits to music shops a favourite thing to do when visiting new places. It has also intensified relationships with existing friends and family members who like music.

And I'm resisting MAS so far, so it's all been change for the better.

PS: I forgot an important point: The mandolin is my first proper instrument. When I was younger I tried keyboards, saxophone, and some others. The mandolin is the first that I stuck with. So it has changed my life by being "my" instrument and showing me that, yes, I can play music. It has made me a musician - it has given me music as a hobby, not just mandolin.

[darylcrisp]

after having played fingerstyle guitar for a couple years, I found a desire to have a more haunting, simple style of music in my life. by accident I discovered clawhammer banjo about 2 years ago, late in the wee hours of morn. it was a 20ish year old lady playing a soft slow quiet version the "cold frosty morn".
I fell in headfirst, spent 6 days in the high Allegheny Plateau of West Virginia with Dwight Diller, where no cell phones would work and the cool mountain air carried the notes of the old ways into the night.
I came home with a whole different appreciation of music, and what I wanted to get out of my own music. Shortly after, in the cold dark wee hours of morn of this past winter(I always do my most important time of each day in the early hours of morn when things are quiet, peaceful, and the mind is at rest and full of potential). I discovered the mandolin.

I love the portability of the mandolin, and the beauty of such a small instrument. I like slower played songs that carry a lonesome voice, and having recently discovered Bill Monroe and his style of music, I've become invested in learning this wonderful sound and feel of the mandolin.

I let go of TV, and most modern gadgets of the modern world years ago. My days are spent ,outside of my job, moving my body thru yoga and in nature thru running, daily dog walks in the woods/streams, whitewater kayaking. playing soft lonesome music at night on the guitar, open back banjo, native American flute, and mandolin puts the finishing touches to a day well lived and blessed.

There is something very very special about the size and feel of a mandolin. It is much more than an instrument and more of a very close friend. And I think there is something special about the people who are drawn to it.................we are different

love it

d

[Ellen T]

I've been stressing lately over an upcoming event with my husband's huge family. Now, for the most part, I am very fond of them, and we get along just fine. HOWEVER! There are some who are quite loud about their points of view, which are the complete opposite of mine in many areas. I won't argue with family, so now, instead of several hours of clenching my jaws, I can go through my entire mandolin repertoire in my head and ignore the loudmouths. So this is another way the mandolin has brought me peace of mind.

[Jimmy Kittle]

It's left me broke, with a worn out car and happy about it!

[Paul Merlo]

The mandolin has helped me come to terms with the idea that I'm kinda like a lot of people.
Except I'm a little bit different and usually mistaken for something else.

[Jack Roberts]

All my life I have loved music, but with the job and family I was a listener rather than a player. Then, about 15 years ago, I started losing hearing in one ear. It made listening to most music annoying rather than enjoyable. I can't describe the sensation, but it is no longer all that pleasant to hear music on the radio or even on my prized audiophile system, which I hardly ever use anymore.

But I took up the mandolin and started playing in a band. Now I play in public regularly, and I can enjoy music that I make myself, with all its imperfections, rather than trying to enjoy commercial music. I love music more than ever, although I don't play the sophisticated jazz and classical music that I used to enjoy. I can play Bach Cello suites, but I mostly enjoy fiddle tunes and chopping chords along with the singers and guitar players in the band.

I never have nothing to do. I also don't watch ANY television. I don't even own one. There is no time, and I can't hear it well enough to enjoy it anyway.

[bratsche]

Not much, if at all. It's just another instrument I can play, and that's about it. Mandolin, life-changing? Nope, not really. Was it supposed to be? What a peculiar question. Indeed.







Oh, mandola, on the other hand... whoa! Don't get me started! I can't stop playing one of those! I no longer have any social life, all the hobbies I once had have disappeared - only boxes full of evidence that they once existed remain.

I never was much for TV, but I used to make stuff, and do all these crafts and other interesting things... alas, no more. Just let me near a mandola!

When I do chores and other monotonous or boring things like that, my brain is in another gear, busily working out things to play on a mandola.

The mandola has called me, seduced me, and taken over all my spare time. Mandola fever is permanent, haven't you heard?

That is a slight bit of hyperbole there (just very slight...)

bratsche

[journeybear]

Spoken like a true violist.

Curious how people keep piping up about TV. (Thanks a lot, jaycat! ) I watch a ton of TV and still get plenty else done. I'm just very selective about what I watch. Just like anything - got to focus on the good stuff and eliminate the dross. As it is said: Accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative, and don't mess with Mr. In Between.