Your worst mandolin 'compliment'?

[Tim2723]

What's the worst thing someone has said about your instrument or your playing what was really meant well, but just went wrong?

Mine:

"My daughter is taking up the ukulele too."

Thanks a lot. It's NOT a ukulele and I took it up forty years ago. Sheesh, am I that bad? :))

[Geoff B]

either "it looks really nice" or "it sounds really nice" but not together...

[MarthaWhitePicker]

so... is that a B*anjo... J/K! :grin:

[Tim2723]

I wonder if banjo players ever have their instruments mistaken for anything else?

[MarthaWhitePicker]

I wonder if banjo players ever have their instruments mistaken for anything else?

Oh boy! That sounds like the opening to a good B*njo joke!

[Fretbear]

I hate it when pretty girls call it "your little instrument......"

[Matt DeBlass]

I hate it when pretty girls call it "your little instrument......"

not exactly mandolin-related, but that reminds me of the time I was playing my Irish lap harp at an open mic and some cute girl blurted out "wow, I've never seen one so SMALL before!"

[OldSausage]

Someone once came up to me after the show and told me she had always wanted to play the piccolo just like me :(

[Daniel Nestlerode]

"So that's a uke, right?"
"Uh, no ma'am. It's an electric mandolin."

Daniel

[John Flynn]

As I was packing up after playing a church service, a lady with a thick Eastern European accent came up to me and said, "What is name of instrument?"

"It's called a mandolin," I said.

"Ah, yes, is Romanian instrument, no?"

"Well, from what I've read, I think it originated in Italy."

Very excitedly, she said, "No, no, I grow up in Romania! Is Romanian instrument, I know!"

I just said, "I'm sure you're right." And then she walked away with a self-satisfied look on her face.

[megamafro]

I am forever being asked "what is that tiny guitar you play, is it a uke?"

[Ted Eschliman]

"That a guitar? Where's the rest of it???"

[Tim2723]

As I was packing up after playing a church service, a lady with a thick Eastern European accent came up to me and said, "What is name of instrument?"

"It's called a mandolin," I said.

"Ah, yes, is Romanian instrument, no?"

"Well, from what I've read, I think it originated in Italy."

Very excitedly, she said, "No, no, I grow up in Romania! Is Romanian instrument, I know!"

I just said, "I'm sure you're right." And then she walked away with a self-satisfied look on her face.

That's why I like my Ovation. Is strong like Romanian woman. Is beautiful like tractor!

[billkilpatrick]

it's not so much what's said that gets me, it's more the incredulous, wtf, clint eastwood look that sometime accompanies the "was'at?" question - i get it for the charango and oud as well:

[Laird]

"That's really something. Is it supposed to sound like that?"

[John Flynn]

That's why I like my Ovation. Is strong like Romanian woman. Is beautiful like tractor!
LOL. You should make a suggestion to Ovation that they use that theme to market their instruments. I think it would work really well! :))

[re simmers]

Years ago we rented an apartment above a country store. There was a couple in the apartment next to us. I practiced my mandolin in the laundry room at the far end so it wouldn't bother the neighbors. But they had to walk by the laundry room every time they came in or out. I was playing all tabbed fiddle tunes; devil's dream, sailor's hornpipe, new camptown races, salt creek, etc. One day the neighbor, Brian and his wife approached me in the parking lot with big smiles on their faces. Brian nodded and said, "wow, you sure are gettin' good on that banjo." Brian went on and on about the banjo players he knew, hee haw and dueling banjos. I couldn't interupt if I wanted to.

Bob

[MikeEdgerton]

"He always said he wanted to learn to play the mandolin in the worst way and it looks like he has suceeded".

I love that line.

[jim_n_virginia]

What's the worst thing someone has said about your instrument :))

None ... I own a Gibson ... :grin:





<sorry I couldn't resist :)) >

[JaybirdNC]

A famous player played my Kentucky Dawg, then handed it back to me and said, "It sounds good for you, but I can't get anything out of it."

I offered my Ludewig to a picker friend I see once a year. He said, after having played it the year before, "Let's see if it has opened up some." The mandolin was built in 2000...

John Bird

[Steve Ostrander]

I'm 1/2 of an acoustic duo. A couple of weeks ago a young man came up to me and said, "I don't know what that is, but it sounds great with that guitar!"

I took it as a compliment.

[bobby bill]

Did a benefit at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. It was a dinner affair. Little old lady comes up afterwards and says, "we really enjoyed your music - we could hear each other talk."

But I'll take any compliment I can get.

[BillD]

I was once in a trio and much of our material was played with Mandolin, Concertina and Penny Whistle. A frequently heard comment was sometime like "ya'know, you can't go just anywhere and hear music like that". After some consideration we agreed they might have been compliments!:confused:

[Martian]

That didn't suck!

[CES]

My wife, "Dude, that's loud!"

Me, "I know, it's really got great volume!"

My wife, "No, seriously, Dude, stop it...that's really loud." Then she said something about it being kindling for the banjo fire she's starting. And, mando is her favorite of the instruments I play...

[Nolan]

"I really like what you're trying to do"

:confused:

[Phillip Tigue]

"That a guitar? Where's the rest of it???"

Just tell them what I do...."Oh, I threw it in the dryer by mistake!"

[Ray(T)]

It really has to be the comment from a fellow mandolin player at a musician's wake - "That sounded good. Is it a Gibson?" - needless to say, it wasn't.
Ray

[Charley wild]

When our Bluegrass band started gigging I got one from a person I knew slightly, "When did you take up that thing? You don't sound half bad". Is that the same as not sounding half good? I always wondered.:))

[blawson]

David Grier recounts a story of how a little old lady approached him after a show, saying "I don't really like music, but I like what you do!".

[Nolan]

This past sunday we played a party and a lady walked up and asked, "Now, what is this? A little guitar?"
I told her that yes, it was indeed a little guitar. I think it made her feel good to actually guess correctly what it was.

[Rex Hart]

Mine was..."well, you have a really good voice!"

[stonefingers]

In church just a few weeks ago...

"Listen to him play that banjo..."


}:-(

[pager]

At a bluegrass camp - a young girl asked me:

"What kind of mandolin is that?"
"It is a Collings MF-5", I replied.
She said - "Oh. I have a brand X (hint ... these sell for $50.00 new at Musicians Friend). Maybe someday you will be able to afford one of these!"

I just smiled and said, "I sure hope so."

jillian

[Paul Kotapish]

"I really like what you're trying to do"


Oooh. That's my favorite damned-with-faint-praise "compliment" too.

The other one that makes me cringe is "that's a great-sounding mandolin," which sounds pretty good until you realize that it should have been "you make that thing sound really good."

It's not unlike the difference between telling my wife "you look good in that dress" and "that dress looks great on you." It's a subtle-but-important distinction.

[allenhopkins]

"Is that a mandolin?" (Usually asked when I'm playing anything but a bowl-back.)
"Yes."
"My grandfather had a mandolin, but it didn't look like that."
(Insert prolonged discussion of different mandolin styles/shapes, delivered to an audience showing increasing disinterest.)
"Yeah, my grandfather had a mandolin. He could really play it!"

Since apparently I can't really play it like Grandpa, I move over to Autoharp...

[GRW3]

It really has to be the comment from a fellow mandolin player at a musician's wake - "That sounded good. Is it a Gibson?" - needless to say, it wasn't.
Ray

If honest curiosity, OK but if you sense the twerp factor you can say "No it's an X but I'd have been surprised too if a Gibson would sound this good too!"

[Charles E.]

I actually had a woman ( after watching me play at a function ) say " You must be easily amused"

[Nick Triesch]

A guest was over for dinner a few weeks ago and I played her a song on my F type mandolin . She said it sounded "like a toy".

[cathal627]

I've had an elderly couple ask me at a session "Son, what's that you're playing?" and several people ask, "Is that your banjo?" When they see photos of it. A fellow banjo player also told me "Good man" after I finished a tune even though I knew I screwed it up

[Nick Triesch]

Got one more...My best friend was over a few years ago and I played new mandolin for him. Then I played my old Snakehead. He told me" not to worry, some day my new one will sound good also!"

[Mandoviol]

so... is that a B*anjo... J/K! :grin:

I hate it when people do that! For some reason, it's like 80% of the American population (teenagers, mostly) have never heard or seen either a mandolin or a banjo. We must educate them!

[AlanN]

A guest was over for dinner a few weeks ago and I played her a song on my F type mandolin . She said it sounded "like a toy".

So you should have played

Tiny Broken Heart
Two Little Boys
Cowboys and Indians

[Tim2723]

I've had an elderly couple ask me at a session "Son, what's that you're playing?" and several people ask, "Is that your banjo?" When they see photos of it. A fellow banjo player also told me "Good man" after I finished a tune even though I knew I screwed it up


Hi, and welcome to the fun!!

[GDAE]

After playing a song with lots of tremelo, for someone who'd never seen or heard a mandolin before:

"Is it supposed to sound like that??"

[dulcillini]

Mine was actually when I was playing my mountain dulcimer. The comment: "I didn't know anyone could make a hog fiddle sound like that."

Actually I took it in some historical context, thinking the person does know that a slang term for a mountain dulcimer is "hog fiddle" because in some parts of the country, the mountain dulcimer is sometimes bowed as well as plucked. Also, I play my mountain dulcimer flat pick and cross pick style, arpegiating chords rather than the typical strum method. Hence, my style is not the most common way.

No harm done. I am too old to be concerned about ego ! I think it is fun to hear stuff like this. It keeps us all grounded and not taking ourselves too seriously.

Mike

[mando on the side]

I was all excited about teaching mandolin again, so I posted on Facebook:

"is excited about teaching Mandolin!!! :-)"

And then an old "friend" posted a reply:

"Sweet! I've been thinking about giving Kazoo lesson...lol"
:mad::mad::mad:

[Brad Weiss]

"That is the coolest ukulele!"

[Laird]

Then there's always, "You looked like you were having fun up there."

[Charles E.]

Mine was actually when I was playing my mountain dulcimer. The comment: "I didn't know anyone could make a hog fiddle sound like that."

Actually I took it in some historical context, thinking the person does know that a slang term for a mountain dulcimer is "hog fiddle" because in some parts of the country, the mountain dulcimer is sometimes bowed as well as plucked.

Mike

Mike, when I was living in WV and playing the dulcimer I heard someone say that the reason they call it a Hog Fiddle is because it is so easy to play that even a hog could play it. Needless to say I was slightly offended but saw the humor.

[re simmers]

"I'm sure you would sound a lot better if you got yourself a good mandolin."
Herschel Sizemore to me at my lesson with him.

I have a '91 Flatiron F5 that I once thought was great.

Bob

[Tim2723]

If he had said something like that to me, I'd be looking for another mandolin, but not for the reasons he suspects. I go through a lot of them (mandolins and self-righteous instructors). Celebrity don't mean squat to me.

[jim_n_virginia]

"I'm sure you would sound a lot better if you got yourself a good mandolin."
Herschel Sizemore to me at my lesson with him.

I have a '91 Flatiron F5 that I once thought was great.

Bob

Herschel was my teacher and I know him well enough to know that he would never put your mandolin down because of the brand it had to be something wrong with it he heard he has an incredible ear. He is one of the nicest guys I know!

And I had a 1994 and a 1995 Flatiron F-5 both Performers series and they were great mandolins!

Did your's have the integrated neck? I know he doesn't like those maybe he was talking about that I dunno!

[Paul Kotapish]

This isn't about mandolins, per se, but I heard about a great backhanded compliment delivered by Danny Thompson, the brilliant English acoustic bassist (Pentangle, Richard Thompson, and hundreds of great recordings).

Danny was dragged down to a gig to see his buddy's son play bass in a seriously less-than-inspired punk band. Afterwards, the kid asked Danny how he liked the show.

Danny, not wanting to offend the kid in front of his father, responded by asking, "How did YOU like it yourself?" The kid responded, "I had a great time."

Danny's reply: "Well, that's the main thing, isn't it?"

Subtle, but deadly.

[Laird]

Danny, not wanting to offend the kid in front of his father, responded by asking, "How did YOU like it yourself?" The kid responded, "I had a great time."

Danny's reply: "Well, that's the main thing, isn't it?"

Subtle, but deadly.

Subtle, deadly. . . and the truth! It really is the main thing--having a great time--and sometimes we lose sight of that.

[David M.]

"...you look like you fit the part..." :))

"...play some of that Tiny Tim stuff..."

"...can I get less of David in my monitor?" That one made me laugh really hard.

[Matt DeBlass]

"...can I get less of David in my monitor?" That one made me laugh really hard.

HA! reminds me of my old church choir days: "sing into the microphone, move closer... except you Matt, I can hear you fine where you are."

[allenhopkins]

HA! reminds me of my old church choir days: "sing into the microphone, move closer... except you Matt, I can hear you fine where you are."

My singing partner, Bonnie Abrams, says that when she was in grade school playing in the "rhythm band," the teacher took the sand out of her maracas so that she was inaudible.

[groveland]

After hearing my rendition of "Confirmation":

"Charlie Parker tunes always sound good."

[David M.]

My singing partner, Bonnie Abrams, says that when she was in grade school playing in the "rhythm band," the teacher took the sand out of her maracas so that she was inaudible.

Like when The Band would turn down Robertson's mic so he couldn't be heard. That's one reason they weren't on the Woodstock sountracks.

[John Flynn]

My singing partner, Bonnie Abrams, says that when she was in grade school playing in the "rhythm band," the teacher took the sand out of her maracas so that she was inaudible.
That is a great story! It is both sad and funny at the same time. On one hand, I think that was a cruel thing to do to kid. On the other hand, "taking the sand out of your maracas" is an apt metaphor for so many things in life, as in "Whatever you do, never let anyone take the sand out of your maracas!" :mandosmiley:

[journeybear]

While playing my MandoBird on the street, with battery-powered amp and wah-wah: "Hey you sound pretty good on that. What is that, Guitar Hero?" :disbelief:

Don't these need a computer? :confused:

[Taylor and Tenor]

A fellow ITM session player who had just finished leading a great jig set with his 1923 Gibson F4 mandolin was asked by a new uninvited Bodhran player who was hoping to break the ice and get asked to join the session "Where did you buy that uke - it sounds great".

The conversation went downhill from there.

[Patrick Hull]

I once played my mandolin and sang at this church, which had two services. For the second service my mike was turned off. They swore it wasn't intentional. That doggone preacher...yada, yada....but I'm not so sure....lol

[Mandoviol]

While playing my MandoBird on the street, with battery-powered amp and wah-wah: "Hey you sound pretty good on that. What is that, Guitar Hero?" :disbelief:

Don't these need a computer? :confused:

I'm pretty sure that mandolins DON'T have giant colored buttons and NO strings. What has society come to when people consider black plastic game controllers shaped like guitars to be real instruments and vice versa?

...makes me wanna vomit all over myself!

[dulcillini]

Charles E. re: mountain dulcimer = hog fiddle

That is funny !! I have never head that one yet ! It makes sense though. It is easy to play in a sense, in that you can learn some tunes pretty quickly. However, when you expand your repertoire, it is just as challenging and demanding as any other instrument. I am still laughing about that one--that is great !

Thanks for lifting me up--that is what I love about the folk music folks. They don't take themselves too seriously. I really believe that is why they have so much fun and bring so much joy to others in the process. I have met so many wonderful people on the Mandolin Cafe and Everything Dulcimer sites. Thanks to all of you.

Love my mountain dulcimer and my mandolins.

Mike

[Sam Bush Fan!]

"When you get to be 20 you'll be good on that thing."

[Coffeecup]

My singing partner, Bonnie Abrams, says that when she was in grade school playing in the "rhythm band," the teacher took the sand out of her maracas so that she was inaudible.


Any tips on how to remove the "shakey" from shakey eggs? ;)
(while the owner isn't looking)

[Tim2723]

What inbred, lawless, morally depraved, genetically degraded, intellectually deficient, overtly violent, incessantly drunken, blatantly incestuous, godless heathen invented the 'shakey egg'?

[Tim2723]

I have met so many wonderful people on the Mandolin Cafe and Everything Dulcimer sites.



I thought that must be you. Did you know this was me?

[Jim Garber]

Then there's always, "You looked like you were having fun up there."

That is funny. I would truly take that as a compliment, not a slam. The best musicians do look like they are having fun and also make it look easy.

[allenhopkins]

What inbred, lawless, morally depraved, genetically degraded, intellectually deficient, overtly violent, incessantly drunken, blatantly incestuous, godless heathen invented the 'shakey egg'?

Grandson of the person who said, "Hey! Two spoons! Bet they'd make a cool rhythm instrument, if I banged 'em on my leg!"

[Coffeecup]

What inbred, lawless, morally depraved, genetically degraded, intellectually deficient, overtly violent, incessantly drunken, blatantly incestuous, godless heathen invented the 'shakey egg'?


I guess that about sums him up. :))

[journeybear]

Now available in the shape of apple, avocado, banana, cherry, eggplant, orange, and pear, for vegetarian shaker shakers.

My favorite "compliment" is the joke I tell on myself. When someone compliments me and asks how long I've been playing, I often say "A little over forty years now. I figure if I keep at it, I'll get good someday." ;)

[Matt DeBlass]

Oh, if we get into our on-stage patter, the line I've been using for years is "well, I really only have two jokes, one is my singing voice and that was the other one."

[journeybear]

Ba-DUM-bum! :))

[Jake Wildwood]

Hmm... selling instruments is pretty depressing.

"Why are there so many different kinds of banjos?" is the question I get asked most, referring to any instrument that's not a guitar.

I tend to not even try explaining the difference between a mandolin and mandola anymore, because both are "great sounding yookyoolaylays!"

[journeybear]

According to my Hawai'ian-English dictionary, "mandolin" translates as "kika pukiki," or "Portuguese guitar."

I believe Portuguese sailors are credited with introducing the ukulele to Hawaii, but what happened after that is anyone's guess ... :mandosmiley:

[Golman8]

The first F-style mandolin I owned was delivered to me at a Doyle Lawson performance. It was an Aria Pro II and solid wood and sounded so much better than the $100 a-oval hole piece of trash I had bought at the Canton Texas giant sale and I was proud of it. The guy who sold it to me said I aught to ask Doyle to play it at the break and I did. Doyle took it, looked it up and down before hitting a couple of notes on it. He handed it back to me and said, its heavy ain't it? I almost cried! I later learned that it was heavy, but it served me well for about 10 years. G.B.

[Mandoviol]

I tend to not even try explaining the difference between a mandolin and mandola anymore, because both are "great sounding yookyoolaylays!"

I play baritone uke and I can tell the difference! :crying:

It really distresses me, though: nobody (outside of actual musicians and bluegrass fans) knows what a mandolin is! How can our instrument here be so popular and yet so obscure at the same time?!!

At least they didn't call it a guitar...(and yes, that has happened to me, too.)

[Tim2723]

Having swtiched back to an Ovation from an F-5, I must once again brace myself for the continuous onslaught of mistaken identity. You can't really blame anyone for it when you play an Ovation though. It really does look just like a little guitar, and since little guitars are ukuleles (right?), it's just a natural mistake. Heck, there are even eight string ukuleles. I'm still happy when someone takes enough interest to ask. I still don't understand the confusion with a banjo though.

[Mandoviol]

I still don't understand the confusion with a banjo though.

I think Rule #2 may offer some insight into this strange behavior.....:)

[journeybear]

I guess people realize it's not a guitar, so their minds go to the next most familiar stringed instrument they have experienced, that being a banjo (apparently). Maybe they've never seen a banjo either, :confused: but are aware of them. And a lot of people really aren't all that observant, so they don't notice the difference between a small eight-stringed wooden bodied instrument and a drum with a neck and strings. :disbelief: A while back when Tiny Tim was popular, or at least well-known, guessing "ukulele" made sense. Still does, kind of ... at least more sense than "banjo." :mad:

[Nick Triesch]

Because even though there are thousands of us who love the mandolin, there are millions who think it is a little guitar or a toy.. You just don't see them out and about that often. Most bands do not have them in country or rock. You really only see mandolins at folks private homes or at club meetings and such. Even here in San Diego at our local bluegrass night there is only a handfull of people that come to listen. Most of those folks are in their 50's and 60's or 70's.

[Mandoviol]

Maybe they've never seen a banjo either, :confused: but are aware of them.

Unfortunately a lot of the ones I've encountered have never seen a banjo either....

We should commission posters to be put in schools....

[Tim2723]

Yeah. With an Ovation, confusing it with a ukulele makes sense. It looks like one. But a banjo? Even if you only knew the banjo by its characteristic sound (and that's bloody hard to mistake), you wouldn't think an Ovation was a banjo.

[Matt DeBlass]

Unfortunately a lot of the ones I've encountered have never seen a banjo either....


...and that's unfortunate how? (Oh, come on, somebody had to do it:grin:)

I get a lot of confusion with the harp (smaller folk harp), people used to ask me if it was a mandolin. Now I can point to my other music stand and say "no, that is."

Speaking of which, the funniest one with the harp happened one nice day when I was practicing outdoors in a local park. A couple were walking one of those little dogs and stopped to chat. The guy asked me whether what I was playing was related to the harp.
"It's a lap harp," I said,"a lot like the ones you see in the orchestra, but smaller."

Their puppy was sniffing at my leg by then and I said "cute dog."

"Oh, he's a lap dog," said the fellow, "a lot like a regular dog, but smaller." :))

[jim simpson]

The other week the band I play with opened for Dry Branch Fire Squad. Ron Thomason told me my mandolin (Daley) was really loud. That could have meant "loud bad" or "loud good". I hope it was "loud good". A couple of DBFS members were curious about it. They had the Red Diamond and Ron's Loar in their arsenal. They were great and gracious.

[Tim2723]

I get a lot of confusion with the harp (smaller folk harp), people used to ask me if it was a mandolin. Now I can point to my other music stand and say "no, that is."



Matt, you're kidding, right? Nobody, I mean NOBODY, not even the Grand High Lord Of Twits from the United Kingdom of Hopeless Twits, could mistake a harp for anything. Even a banjo has a neck, but a harp? Get off. :))

[journeybear]

... Ron Thomason told me my mandolin (Daley) was really loud. That could have meant "loud bad" or "loud good". I hope it was "loud good" ...

Oh, you mean Ron "We ain't good, but we're loud" Thomason?

HA!!! :)) :)) :))

[Mandoviol]

Matt, you're kidding, right? Nobody, I mean NOBODY, not even the Grand High Lord Of Twits from the United Kingdom of Hopeless Twits, could mistake a harp for anything. Even a banjo has a neck, but a harp? Get off. :))

I don't think the twits had to identify a mandolin as part of the Twit of the Year competition...they did have to kick beggars and shoot themselves, though :grin:

Yeah, I like Monty Python....

[re simmers]

To Jim n Virginia,

Herschel Sizemore is indeed one of the nicest individuals I have ever met. He was not putting down my mandolin and meant no insult at all. I ran out of my J74's and had a set of some cheap strings that someone gave me on my Flatiron and it sounded really thin. I certainly was not insulted. I got to play his 4 Loars and his Derrington Gibson!

Herschel discussed mandolins with me at length and has called me several times when he ran across a decently priced Gibson.

Bob

[Mike Bromley]

a new uninvited Bodhran player

Needs no further explanation.....

....I always like the "What's that little [insert incorrect instrument name here] you're playing?

I respond with "[insert incorrect instrument name here], silly!"

Somewhere in the Haiku Section:

Ukulele? NOT!
I hear it all the time. So,
Educate yourself!

Now, I'm a big strapping lad. My response to the wiseacre who says "You know what they say about big guys with little guitars...."

I glower back, snapping: "no, what?"

Usually ends the conversation.

I know who the mando-friends are, and that's all that matters [he said, hopefully].

[kkmm]

comment: must be a Chinese to play this instrument ?
answer: lot of American musicians play mandolins in Texas

[raulb]

"He always said he wanted to learn to play the mandolin in the worst way and it looks like he has suceeded".

I love that line.

Hey! I resemble that remark!!

[Jim Bevan]

I played a session in Halifax recently – really great players, all of them considerably better than me – and a woman came up and said enthusiastically, “I just got back from Ireland, and you guys sound almost as good as they did!”

I turned to the guitarist next to me and quietly said, “In other words, what she heard there is better than what she’s hearing here!”

[Geordie]

Last week I introduced my new mandolin banjo to my band during a couple of acoustic tunes. Afterward I asked how they liked it. One guy said, "We'll find a place for it somewhere."

[LastMohican]

"He always said he wanted to learn to play the mandolin in the worst way and it looks like he has suceeded".

I love that line.

this reminded me of the old Rodney Dangerfield line:

The other night I said to my wife, "I want to make love to you badly."

She said, "At least you don't over-estimate yourself."

[Gerry Hastie]

I was busking in Edinburgh and this family group stood for a while and looked to be very interested in what we were playing. I thought we sure to hear the clatter of change in the case but after the tune - Bluegrass Stomp - I was asked, "what is that you're playing?" "It's a mandolin," I replied smiling. "Oh, that what's my dad said it was." And off they went. No clatter, no change in the case!

[oldmandolin]

At the very end of Alison Krauss and Union Stations "Paper Airplane" appearance David Letterman turns to Dan and says "Your a grown man, get a real guitar".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aj-arJr3kzM&feature=related

[Laird]

Last week I introduced my new mandolin banjo to my band during a couple of acoustic tunes. Afterward I asked how they liked it. One guy said, "We'll find a place for it somewhere."

That would be the storage loft in the garage?

[William Smith]

I was playin a gig years ago,,and these young girls at the bar were like "look at the baby guitar" oh wait,that was good it opened up for a lot of conversation!!
I think I'm with the previos guys message right now,,I'm upset with ignorant Letterman!!!!!!

[Beanzy]

Just imagine how annoying he'd be if he had a talent to his name.

[Steve Sorensen]

I was "playing" a new mandolin in the white that I had just strung up for a test-run at a jam a few weeks ago.

Afterwards, an old fellow came over, looked at the mandolin and said, "Too bad we can't trade some of your woodworking ability for some of my playing skills. . . "

Sadly, I realized I can sell my woodworking ability, but I can't buy the ability to play. So the deal is off.

Steve

[AnneFlies]

Recently, I played a tune on my mandolin for a friend, first time I'd played for anyone besides my instructor and my dog. When I was done, he said, "I'm sure that was fine, but I'm tone deaf." Made me nervous about playing for anyone since then.

[journeybear]

I think I'm with the previos guys message right now,,I'm upset with ignorant Letterman!!!!!!

Oh, please! He was just being funny - and he actually was. Maybe not hilarious, but funny. Better grow a thicker skin - you're bound to hear a LOT worse than that along your way. ;)

He has seen mandolins before. This may have been the first time - it's a classic. Interview starts at 4:00.

6AoysLSHNSo

[Psyberbilly]

Oh, please! He was just being funny - and he actually was. Maybe not hilarious, but funny. Better grow a thicker skin - you're bound to hear a LOT worse than that along your way. ;)

He has seen mandolins before. This may have been the first time - it's a classic. Interview starts at 4:00.

6AoysLSHNSo

One of my all time favorites ! I was watching when that originally aired , I almost fell of the couch laughing . " Yeah , that's a REAL dumb question ..." I remember at the time Letterman kind of had the rep for making folks uncomfortable and keeping them off balance , and here comes a country boy all tattooed up , full of p*ss and vinegar , nothing but pure attitude and backed him off a little , put the shoe on the other foot . Seems like just yesterday , but gosh , both of those guys look a LOT older now , I wonder what happened ? Letterman seems to have mellowed at little since then , Steve probably not so much.

One time years ago I was told by a friend ( in jest I hope ! ) after a jan session that I "had the hands of a singer " .

[BlackChris]

My wife, very supportive of my constant playing though she is, will say 'i can almost hear the tune in that'.

[journeybear]

Ouch! The last couple are real zingers. It hurts more coming from someone who really knows you. :(

I think Letterman's question is actually pretty good, but he set himself up - a set-up like that is hard to pass up. I sometimes explain to people what a mandolin is by saying it's like a cross between a violin and a twelve-string guitar.

[Ivan Kelsall]

No Mandolin content here - Years ago,back in the mid '60's,a friend of mine had a Rock'n Roll band in which he played Piano.He was quite good,but a bit of a 'poser'. His band played at my local Youth Club one Sunday night.After they'd finished & they were packing up,i heard one guy speak to him - he said - "you play just like Floyd" (Floyd Cramer was BIG at the time).The Piano player replied "you mean Floyd Cramer",the other guy said - "no,Floyd Patterson",the world #1 Heavyweight boxer at the time - the best & funniest 'put-down' i've ever heard,
Ivan:))

[mandolirius]

I got a rave review in the local paper after a perfomance many years ago. One of the best, the reviewer said, ukulele players he ever saw. Too bad ukes weren't cool back then.

[jmagill]

I actually had a woman ( after watching me play at a function ) say " You must be easily amused"

This is still the funniest entry so far....

[Mandolin Mick]

When I play the Milwaukee Rescue Mission monthly I frequently get the compliment, "We really like it when you play the ukulele for us." :(

I always take the opportunity to educate them and try to turn it into an experience where I make a mandolin convert! :mandosmiley:

[Steve Ostrander]

My own bandmate said, "when you get good on that kiddie guitar we'll get you a full-sized one!"

He was joking, of course. I think....

[journeybear]

Last week I introduced my new mandolin banjo to my band during a couple of acoustic tunes. Afterward I asked how they liked it. One guy said, "We'll find a place for it somewhere."


That would be the storage loft in the garage?

And waste some perfectly good kindling? Naaahhh ... :grin:


...i heard one guy speak to him - he said - "you play just like Floyd" (Floyd Cramer was BIG at the time).The Piano player replied "you mean Floyd Cramer",the other guy said - "no,Floyd Patterson",the world #1 Heavyweight boxer at the time -

Brilliant! It requires a bit of erudition to really "get" it, but well-done on the critic's part. Literally pounding on the keys! :))

[journeybear]

I just remembered - I heard something just the other day that kind of threw me, from a friend, no less. His wife is probably my biggest fan, and they come to just about every show. He was paying me what he thought was a big compliment, marvelling at the variety of sounds I produce in the course of an evening - that I make it sound not only like a mandolin but a guitar and a banjo. A banjo?!? :crying: I kept a straight face while I wondered how he had gotten that impression, and puzzled over this for the next day, trying to figure out how I had screwed up so badly. :disbelief: (I thought he was about to say "pedal steel," as that is the sound I go for on some of the slower songs we do, which it takes a bit of doing, and these are the moments of which I feel most proud when I get them right.) Then in the middle of our next gig, while we were doing Justin Townes Earle's "Hard Livin'," I realized that the quick cross-picking I do in that must be what he meant - all those rolls that sound like fingerpicking. I can live with that. ;))

[jmalmsteen]

I haven't heard any weird mandolin comments but oh my if I walk around with my banjo. We travel a lot and I always take my mandolin and banjo. As soon as anyone sees the banjo they can't help but make some dumb comment about carrying guns in the case?? Nobody flinches when I play the mandolin but taking the banjo out seems to be an open invitation for everyone who is bored to come over and tell me a bad banjo joke or ask me to play deliverance.

[Phil Sollins]

During yet another an unpaid gig (fiddle, banjo, and me on mando), someone came up and said "you guys sound good, but you need percussion". Like a hole in my head, I didn't say. (Oh, sorry, that's concussion, not percussion - is there a differenece?) Then there's TSA. Somehow it doesn;t bother me when they ask if that's a banjo? As long as they let me through.

[greg_tsam]

The first band I was in was kinda tragic but we were all new to our instruments playing at the local cafe for the dinner crowd for free, of course. Some yahoo wearing sunglasses inside, at night, saunters up to me while I'm taking a lead and whispers "Give me a call if you ever need me." and walks out. He was a local music instructor. hahaha.... He caught the other band members during the previous break with similar comments. What an ass. Funny though now that I look back on it.

[Chip Booth]

The comment wasn't specific to my mandolin playing, but I was recently told essentially the same thing at two gigs in a row: " You guys were great, it was so quiet we couldn't even hear you, and that was perfect."

[pager]

One time at a festival - the announcer starts talking on the mike after we just finished our set. As we were walking off (he is still on the mike) he looks at me and says " you play pretty good mandolin for a girl that looks like a Penthouse Pet". :whistling:

Jillian

[Jim]

" His little Guitar really fits him" Spoken to a friend by his girlfriend regarding me after a performance. Not sure what to make of this, we got a standing O at that performance.

[Nick Triesch]

My Wife told me that to her the mandolin sounds like "deek, deek, deek, deek, " over and over again. She said they sound terrible when they are played without other instruments. I just play alone now. Deek.

[Ed Goist]

My wife greatly prefers the tonal range of the octave mandolin.
Every time I play it she says afterwards: "That big mandolin sounds wonderful, why don't you play it all the time?"

[Elliot Luber]

This talk of "confusing" instruments reminds me of a story. I was at a very fancy French restaurant with some important clients at the NAMM show once, and someone from my company arrives late, and is completely out of place in a fancy restaurant. He's speaking too loudly. His Brooklyn accent is booming across the room where everyone else is whispering. He's drinking a beer while everyone else is drinking wine (this is not a sin). So the Maitre D' comes over to settle him down a big, and my friend's obviously come from the bar.

"Sir, is there anything I can do to assist you?" -- this is the guy's code word for sit down and be quiet.

My friend responds, "Yeah, you could tell that piano player to play something a little more lively!"

"But Misseur! It is a harp!" (This is at the NAMM Show, mind you)

[Marty Henrickson]

My Wife told me that to her the mandolin sounds like "deek, deek, deek, deek, " over and over again. She said they sound terrible when they are played without other instruments. I just play alone now. Deek.
According to my wife, it's "tinka-tinka-tink, over and over", whenever I play single-note lines. Apparently, chords don't bother her as much.

[Rroyd]

My favorite was the comment made to a player with absolutey abysmal technique that "you don't play too bad for as bad as you play." (He eventually required several surgeries to repair the damage caused by his Quasimoto approach to making music.)

[Tim2723]

This stuff is hilarious! BTW, who dug this old thing up from the dust? I started this over two years ago. Somebody's using the search function again.

[Tim2723]

Oh, it looks like it was 'kkmm', another Ovation player, almost two years to the day. That figures. :grin:

[journeybear]

Oh, but it's a classic. An oldie but a goodie. ;) A nicely twisted angle on the mandolin experience. And some of these anecdotes are by turn hilarious :)) and heart-wrenching, :crying: often at the same time, replete with irony. Just like life. :mandosmiley:

[BlackChris]

I told my wife about this thread and now she is taking great delight in thinking up good comments to make about my playing (just for fun of course - she loves the playing but just likes to take the mickey).

I've been playing this weekend quite a bit. I was playing in bed while my wife read - she leant over and twanged the mando strings and said 'see it's not that hard - that sounded just like you'. Thanks my love!

[Marty Henrickson]

Chris, wives can be brutal, I know. Out of curiosity, what does "take the mickey" mean, if you can say on a family-friendly forum?

[BlackChris]

Hi Marty, yes they can, she makes me laugh with it though. Taking the mickey is making fun of something - i have no idea where it came from!

In the UK though it's a fairly common saying although most people would now insert piss instead of mickey!

cheers

chris

[journeybear]

Well, I did what seemed sensible to me - I looked it up (http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/344000.html)- and then waited for Chris to ring back, because I thought someone more accustomed to actually using the phrase would have a clear insight ... :whistling: ... Well, anyway, it seems its origin, like that of so many charming slang terms, is shrouded in mystery:

There are various forms of this: take/extract the Mick/Mickey/Michael, although the 'take the Mickey' version is most often used in print.It is sometimes reported that the phrase originates as a variant of the slang phrase 'take the piss' and the the 'Mickey' refers to micturate. This seems rather fanciful and there's no evidence to support that view. It is now more generally accepted that the phrase came about as rhyming slang. 'Taking the piss' does play its part as the rhyming slang refers to a (yet to be identified) character called Mickey Bliss. So, 'taking the piss' became 'taking the Mickey Bliss' and then just 'taking the Mickey'. An early citation of the longer form 'taking the Mickey Bliss' would be useful here, but I've not come across one ... [etc etc etc]

I agree with the writer concerning the unlikelihood of it deriving from micturate, a word seldom used, methinks. At any rate, I deduced what Chris meant from the context. :grin:

[Marty Henrickson]

That's great, JB, thanks for the link. I will definitely use that site again. I'm always interested in learning more about interesting figures-of-speech, that's why I did what seemed sensible to me - I asked.

[Bertram Henze]

There are various forms of this: take/extract the Mick/Mickey/Michael, although the 'take the Mickey' version is most often used in print.It is sometimes reported that the phrase originates as a variant of the slang phrase 'take the piss' and the the 'Mickey' refers to micturate. This seems rather fanciful and there's no evidence to support that view. It is now more generally accepted that the phrase came about as rhyming slang. 'Taking the piss' does play its part as the rhyming slang refers to a (yet to be identified) character called Mickey Bliss. So, 'taking the piss' became 'taking the Mickey Bliss' and then just 'taking the Mickey'. An early citation of the longer form 'taking the Mickey Bliss' would be useful here, but I've not come across one ... [etc etc etc]

Reminds me of a saying that was around in my youth: "Tel Aviv, such is life" (as derived from C'est la vie), later shortened into "Jerusalem". Witticism is definitely for those eager to follow winding paths.

[journeybear]

That's great, JB, thanks for the link. I will definitely use that site again. I'm always interested in learning more about interesting figures-of-speech, that's why I did what seemed sensible to me - I asked.

I dunno, maybe it's just me - it often is - but I usually have a little look-see on the interweb before I go asking, partly because I don't want to show my ignorance (damn pride!), partly because Im not inclined toward chatting. Suits my generally antisocial nature. Besides, most of the time I just want to understand something, and don't care how/where I get the info. Don't mind me; just taking the mick, a bit. ;)

That's a pretty good site on the subject, and I've found a few others I like. British slang is quite colorful (American has its quirks too, just different), and generates volumes of analytical treatises, plenty of which are online. Sometimes this stuff can be a bit too "scholarly" for my liking, but they could be worse - sites that are all "nudge-nudge, wink-wink" are really annoying. Just sayin' ... :whistling:

[AlanN]

I may have posted this on here already (not about to go back and look, me lazy...), but when we moved down south and I hit the jams, I used to get "You pick purty good...(pause)....fer a Yankee". It stung a bit. Now, I just get the first part.

[tprior]

I played Mando on one song on a gig a few weeks back, I never played Mando out live...one of my band mates said...

"Uhmm, that was interesting"

Of course I let it go at that .

[Jim MacDaniel]

I am my own worst critic, so I can take pretty much anything I hear about my playing in stride. I am also used to people not recognizing my mandolins as mandolins, so that doesn't bother me, but it feels a bit emasculating when someone calls them "cute".
(I think I would be OK with "beautiful", but "CUTE"? :( )

[kkmm]

someone asked: "you play tennis ?"

[Mandolin Mick]

Taking a what ? ... excuse me? ... :))

[Bradley]

Ha, happened just the other day. I was playing my Ellis A model, a beautiful example
of Toms work to say the least and a guy came up afterwards as said "is that one of those
kit mandolins you can buy online and build kinda like a model car"........If it wasnt a church gig I might have lost my cool :mandosmiley:

[Elliot Luber]

I posted a cool video to FaceBook of me sitting back on the couch (not the best posture for playing I admit) and playing the theme to the Godfather. The response was fantastic, except for my wife, who posted: "Good. Now I can share my pain with the rest of you." I guess practicing can be hard on the family. :)

[Cheryl Watson]

Comment from my oldest brother: "When you play the mandolin it makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up...and not in a good way."

[epicentre]

"I thought ukuleles only had four strings."

"Well, most of them do, but I took a leap of faith"

"You made this??"

"Yup"

"Well, jeez, it sounds ok, but I thought they only had four strings"

"Ever heard the expression 'outside the box?'

"Of course, but I thought they only had four strings"..............................:cool:




{I think we demand far too much of people who only want to hear music}

[BlackChris]

Ha-Ha, Epicentre, that's priceless!! Some people just won't listen!!

[ricklmf]

I gotta say, I thought either you were making it up, or some really stupid people said they liked your ukelele. Someone I know is smart, actually asked my how long I had been playing a Ukelele. Oh well.

[Bertram Henze]

"I thought ukuleles only had four strings."
"Well, most of them do, but I took a leap of faith"
"You made this??"
"Yup"
"Well, jeez, it sounds ok, but I thought they only had four strings"
"Ever heard the expression 'outside the box?'
"Of course, but I thought they only had four strings"..............................:cool:


Kidding ignorant people is like swatting a fly after tearing out its wings.
They are an open invitation for easy revenge, and it seems a good way to get entertainment out of an annoying situation.
However, you have to check if revenge is justified in each and every case. Sometimes, someone is just not good at trying to be nice by showing interest.

[billkilpatrick]

since reading this thread i've had two occasions to receive impressions of my mandolin - both of which fizzled out to "mmm's" and a quick nod of the head. maybe it was my expression - wide-eyed and expectant, like someone about to pounce on a punch line.