What I did in 2011

[Randi Gormley]

I was just reading over the thread on new year's resolutions and what people hoped to accomplish and what they did (or didn't).

It got me to thinking of what I actually did this past year (I don't set new year's resolutions) and thought it would be fun to see not what people didn't accomplish, but what they did.

I continued taking lessons and branched out into choro, a bit of klezmer, some gypsy and now am solidly in the middle of brushing up some baroque duets. I moved out of my ITM comfort zone into second and third position fingerings (still working mightily to master even the beginning of this).

I went to a choro workshop and have signed up for a classical mandolin workshop, to add to my usual Irish Catskills/Grey Fox workshop trips.

I bought a new mandolin and sold one I wasn't all that pleased with any more.

I acquired a dozen new music books and have managed to play through many of them, plus going through some of the old ones to keep tunes fresh.

I managed to make several sessions that are around the area and not just keep to my Monday night community band routine, including one while on vacation, meaning I just sat in with a bunch of people I didn't know and tried to keep up and was delighted to find I knew far more of the tunes than I thought I would.

Expanded the tune list my husband and I play 'solo' so that if we're asked to do something during a gig, we can play more than just Chief O'Neill's hornpipe!

[Denny Gies]

Randi, you were sure busier than I was.

[Ed Goist]

Impressive list of accomplishments, Randi! Well done and Congratulations.
Thanks for the inspiration.

[terzinator]

Sold my regular-nut MT to buy a wide-nut MT and I LOVE it.

Played a bunch of fun gigs with my band (http://www.facebook.com/TresMotoMusic), and helped organize a weekend-long fest (http://www.facebook.com/BluegrassOnWater) this past fall at a local coffeehouse.

Attended two outdoor fests (http://www.mbotma.com) and played with some really GREAT people.

Started taking lessons and I feel like I'm making progress, bit by bit.

Bought several new mandolin instruction books and videos and I'm learning that just purchasing them isn't enough.

Started really working on fiddle tunes, which I love figuring out. (Never really took to playing them on guitar, but on mandolin, they're fun little puzzles.)

Essentially went from being a guitar player who mostly plays mandolin to becoming a mandolin player who occasionally plays guitar.

[neil argonaut]

In 2011 I started playing mandolin, after an unexpected tax return in march lead to an impulse purchase, and after that didn't get much done in the rest of my life :) Spent most of the summer starting to get to grips with chords and learning some fiddle tunes, scales plus endlessly reading old threads about technique on here ;Started incorporating Ffcp excercises into my daily routine; Managed to spend a month playing 6 hours a day, which really helped; played in public for first time, at a pub bluegrass session, took a couple of internet lessons with Don Julin, which also helped massively, started contributing to the Song a Week group after aquiring a webcam, started practicing with a guitarist regularly. I also don't want to make any resolutions (apart from maybe working on my voice and gigging), as at the start of 2011 I had never held a mandolin or logged on to mandolin cafe, so any resolutions taken then would soon have been rendered obsolete; if I get as much done in 2012 as 2011 I'll be more than happy.

[jaycat]

Got my 1916 Gibson A back in February.

Joined a weekly jam session in July. Got kicked out by the banjo player in August for playing country songs instead of bluegrass (some of you may remember that thread).

That was 2011 for me, mando-wise!

[Matt DeBlass]

No major mando-related accomplishments this year, although I did get a band started with myself primarily playing mandolin instead of guitar or percussion, so maybe 2012 will bring some success with that!

[terzinator]

Got kicked out by the banjo player in August for playing country songs instead of bluegrass (some of you may remember that thread).
If you travel to the Twin Cities, you're always welcome in our weekly bluegrass jam! We've been known to play Mrs. Robinson and Jet Airliner and Beatles tunes with bluegrass instruments.

Sometimes we get tired of too much bluegrass. Heck, Old & In The Way played Wild Horses, didn't they?

[Laird]

My goals were pretty low for 2011, since I knew I wouldn't have much time left after providing childcare during the days and fitting in a 60-hour-a-week job on nights and weekends. I knew my days of practicing at least an hour a day were gone, and will be till my son's in school. That's said, I may have made a tiny bit of progress:

-I continued playing at our weekly jam, which gives me plenty of space to experiment with leads and fills.

-I switched picks a few times (Wegen to Blue Chip to Wegen to Jazz Mando to Blue Chip to Wegen).

-My band had several gigs, since 2011 was the 250th birthday of my village.

-I won 90 days of free Academy of Bluegrass lessons (Thanks, Mando Cafe!) which has been an inspiration, and has led me to learn a few new songs.

-I'm getting better at using my pinkie more assertively--not just as an occasional reach but as a regular part of most lead runs.

So with my priorities remaining 1.) Put food on the table and pay the mortgage, and 2.) be the best daddy I can be, I have no great plans for mando growth in 2012. That's okay. I'm at a pretty good place with it, and it's always fun.

[journeybear]

I started the year playing solo Italian music in an Italian restaurant on Friday evenings, commuting 100 miles each way by car, and ended it playing a mixture of Americana, classic rock, some bluegrass, folk, blues, and country, more electric than acoustic, in a trio at one of the top clubs right here, on Monday nights, commuting one mile by bike. I believe this is progress! :grin: Although this is a cut in pay, even after gas expense, and I am missing out on a very nice linguine dinner weekly, I must say I prefer playing this kind of music - much closer to getting my ya-yas.

I also started playing some with my neighbor, who plays accordion and ukulele as well as guitar, and includes more original songs in the repertoire. It's a little strange playing with someone half my age, but his liveliness is contagious. He also has begun managing a small bar, which leads to more gigs there, plus at an established place owned by the same people. Things are looking up here as well.

The winter tourist season brought the return of the seasonal Cajun/country/bluegrass band. While this is a good fun band, the gigs have not ben there for us, and we pretty much just play for tips at one ramshackle restaurant one night a week. I am getting tired of the bass player's nearly incessant needling, which lends an air of dread to the proceedings. I don't know what to say to get her to stop, and am too much of a gentleman to haul off and sock her. This was offset by a pedal steel player sitting in with us a few time. The guy is a seasoned pro, picks up stuff fast, runs arrangements on the fly, and even knew how to fill in when the bass player flaked out one time.

And I bumped into the guy I played some reggae stuff with a few years back. We did a few gigs, which felt nice - this kind of music doesn't get played anywhere near enough around here, sad to say - then he drifted off again. People come and go here at an alarming rate ... curiouser and curiouser ...

I have spent a bit of time modifying and adjusting my gear, mostly simplifying it. Some of this was forced upon me, as my main effects unit announced it was retiring after 23 years of service. It was a pretty cushy job, and it could have kept working, but so it goes. :( At the same time I was having trouble with my Morley volume wah pedal, and nearly every gig included a few instances of me just kicking one or the other to get it to cooperate. One time I just unplugged them both and went directly into the PA. It wasn't the best sound but it was a signal. ;) I pressed a $10 yard sale Korg multi-effects unit with foot pedal into service, finding a compressor & wah setting on it that was OK, and once I got the Morley working again the Korg became my reverb unit. Discovering I could power both off my power board was the final piece of this puzzle, and now I have a simplified, effective, reliable rig that no longer gives me the grief I used to get. It's just too bad we recorded a demo while I was going through this turmoil, and used the cheesy-sounding compressor wah to get through the session. When I listen to this now, that's what I hear.

So it's been a pretty productive year, now that I look back on it (thanks for the opportunity, Randi!). It seemed pretty draggy at times, and when I got let go from the Italian restaurant gig things looked pretty grim for a while there. Fortunately I got that call from my friend to fill in on a Monday night, and that quickly evolved into a band. The big project for 2012 is a recording session for The Real Malloys, and since we already have an offer to play at a festival in Iowa in July, to book another one in the general area the following or previous week, to make it a real road trip. Nice for a change to be entering a new year with a lot going on and a lot to look forward to. :mandosmiley:

[jaycat]

If you travel to the Twin Cities, you're always welcome in our weekly bluegrass jam! We've been known to play Mrs. Robinson and Jet Airliner and Beatles tunes with bluegrass instruments.

Sometimes we get tired of too much bluegrass. Heck, Old & In The Way played Wild Horses, didn't they?

Thanks for the invite, Chris! I'm overdue to visit my new twin grand-nephews in Winnipeg, so you'd be right on the way. (hope you don't mind if I wait til it warms up a bit, though).

[journeybear]

Thanks for reminding us about that thread. That was a good one - the jam session from hell. Wonder how that persnickety banjo player is doing, whether anyone else is going to that anymore? Maybe you should give him a ticket to Winnipeg in February. One way, of course ... ;)

[jaycat]

That jam disbands for the winter, as it took place outdoors. I'll make a 2012 resolution to revisit it in the spring & file a report here.

[MiG-19]

I got to attend a jam with Bluegrass Hawaii. There are none where I live, so it was quite an accomplishment for me to actually sit in on one, although I didn't play. Next time...

I played jams with my ukulele club (Okilele). There is no substitute for playing with others.

[JeffD]

There is no substitute for playing with others.

Now there is my mantra.

[aphillips]

Fun thread!

Well I...

- finished my Masters in Vocal Performance including a huge recital with string quartet and guitar and I sang played mandolin in the opera the Tender Land

- performed a bunch of Hymns concerts back up by some amazing performers

- finished recording and released my Christmas album - Songs of Old - with some amazing playing by Blaine Sprouse and David West

- performed and sang at a whole bunch of weddings and other parties

- wrote about 20+ songs and am currently producing demos to shop around

- started my own band as well as let another one go

- had a good year with my beautiful wife :-)

[Kip Carter]

What I did in 2011...

12/23/2011 Traded in my guitar that I didn't use for a new mandolin
12/23/2011 Learned two simple songs on it.
12/28/2011 Had a pro lower the nut action and flatten the bridge placement... Pro agrees bridge needs a shave but will hold of till we put new strings on it.
12/23/2011 - Present Can't keep my hands off it... fingers getting in shape.. having a blast!!
Kip....

[JeffD]

2011 was a rough year. I lost several good friends. Musical friends. I am kind of glad the year is over.

But I did some wonderful things. I acquired some all time dream mandolins, played in one band and started another, did my first Clifftop, played lots and lots of kitchen music and jammed my south side off.

And the musical influence of those I have lost is evident in my playing, and my playing hopefully impacts others, so in some way we are always all together.