Tunes Written for Solo Mandolin?

[Rob_NZ]

Hey All,

I'm looking for the names of some Celtic tunes that sound rich and full when played on a single mandolin, no other instruments. Any ideas?

Thanks!
Rob

[Beanzy]

Simon Mayor often arranges folk tunes for solo mandolin.
Though even the Irish ones end up with a very elegant English accent to their playing when he does them.

As he plays mostly with Hilary accompanying on guitar there aren't too many that show them stand alone. But most of his arrangements work very well when played solo.
You can buy books of his arrangements on his site http://www.acousticsrecords.co.uk/mandolin-guitar/new-celtic-mandolin-book.html#
and there's a freebie of his Wasp Reel which you can also listen to.
http://mandolin.co.uk/the-wasp-reel/

Here are a few;
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[Rob_NZ]

Beautiful stuff, thanks Beanzy! I'll check out the CD and book as well. Much appreciated :)

[BJ O'Day]

Celtic tunes that sound rich and full when played on a single mandolin, no other instruments. Any ideas?
Rob

Rob,
I think any Jig sounds great on a mandolin. It's easy to keep picking through jigs. I prefer tunes that make good use of the D and G strings. Tunes played mainly on the first and second strings sound a bit thin to me when there are no other instruments, (this is only MY opinion):)

Some tunes that I really like are: Black Rogue, Farewell to Ireland, Dancing Eyes, Kitty's Wedding and Lilting Banshee.
BJ

[DougC]

Most of my favorite Irish tunes on mandolin are O'Carolan tunes. I suppose because the melodies 'tell a story' or have a beginning, middle and end. And the Irish wire harp sounds similar.

[CES]

Check out the late John McGann's octave mandolin book...there are some gems in there...and, they translate very well to, mando...honestly, I enjoy playing them more on mando than OM. It's more of a repertoire book than a method book, for sure...

[JeffD]

Most of my favorite Irish tunes on mandolin are O'Carolan tunes. I suppose because the melodies 'tell a story' or have a beginning, middle and end. And the Irish wire harp sounds similar.

Yes great idea. A lot of the O'Carolan tunes feel like performance tunes. And they have enough interest to be appreciated as a solo.

[Rob_NZ]

This is awesome, thanks everyone :) My first time posting in one of the forums here and your input has been really valuable thanks! Can't wait to get home and do a bit of digging into these suggestions :)

[Baron Collins-Hill]

Check out Luke Plumb and James Mackintosh's album A Splendid Notion. Mandolin and percussion only, every tune is a winner.

Thanks
Baron

[Rob_NZ]

Awesome, I'll check it out thanks Baron! And thanks for mandolessons.com - I (finally) made a little donation the other day :)

[John Kelly]

Do not forget the vast repertoire of Scottish Highland Bagpipe tunes. They translate really well to mandolin and as there are only nine notes on the pipe chanter most can be played on two strings. Look for marches in 2/4 and 6/8 time as they are especially good, I feel. But then as a Scot I am a wee bit biased. Look at YouTube for TheOldBores (my page) and you'll get some ideas, though most have accompaniment on guitar, but I think you'll see that the tunes can stand alone very well.

[kypfer]

Hey All,

I'm looking for the names of some Celtic tunes that sound rich and full when played on a single mandolin, no other instruments. Any ideas?

Thanks!
Rob

More or less anything arranged for the "Irish" banjo ... check out "Sully's Irish Banjo Book" if you can find a copy. Whilst written by a "champion" banjo player principally for the banjo, he does make suggestions for the mandolin where the style may differ during a particular phrase.

Also, I'll second the suggestion for Scottish bagpipe tunes. There's a wealth of excellent material freely available on the 'net :)

[kypfer]

Nigel Gatherer http://www.nigelgatherer.com/ has a wealth of Scottish-orientated arrangements available ... have a dig around ;)

The original forum had a crash last year some time and some links were lost, but a lot of stuff is still there ... enjoy!

[CHASAX]

I like

https://www.amazon.com/Mandolin-Instrumentals-Mel-Bay-Presents/dp/0786673028/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1490912727&sr=1-2&keywords=mandolin+instrumentals


chord melody
Has chords, many are simple open strings.

[John Kelly]

Nigel Gatherer http://www.nigelgatherer.com/ has a wealth of Scottish-orientated arrangements available ... have a dig around ;)

The original forum had a crash last year some time and some links were lost, but a lot of stuff is still there ... enjoy!

I can second Nigel's website as a source of great material, and not just Scottish.