Re: How do you hear yourself?
Picking a particular instrument out of a "mix" is not just a matter of volume, it's a matter of tonal quality. If you know what your instrument sounds like by itself, you can generally hear its "voice" in the group, even if the other instruments are louder. And if you're holding it, you can also "feel" the vibrations through your body.
It helps if there aren't similar instruments playing in the same range -- if you're the highest-pitched, or the lowest, or the only one in the middle. The only time I really couldn't separate out my instrument, was in a group with another person also playing English concertina. I really couldn't distinguish his notes from mine, but I suspect that's a characteristic of that particular instrument.
If I'm the only octave mandolin player in a group, I can pick out the sound of my instrument; my notes move in a range, direction and spacing unlike any other instrument, so my brain can select them and process them.
Allen Hopkins
Gibsn: '54 F5 3pt F2 A-N Custm K1 m'cello
Natl Triolian Dobro mando
Victoria b-back Merrill alumnm b-back
H-O mandolinetto
Stradolin Vega banjolin
Sobell'dola Washburn b-back'dola
Eastmn: 615'dola 805 m'cello
Flatiron 3K OM
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