Anxiety when separated from my Mandolin? Nightmares?

Disclaimer:
Beware! This post is not for the faint of heart, multiple mass mandolin causalities ahead. Read at your own risk.:popcorn:


I'm a new player and I'm a bit worried. I started playing about a month or so ago. Last week my family and I went on vacation to the beach nearby. My wife frowned when she saw me preparing my mandolin for travel, so I decided to leave it at home.

The first night away I had a terrible dream. I was playing my mandolin in front of an audience and could not get any sound at all from the mandolin. I tried each string, moving my fingers to different frets, and applying a heavy force to the pick. I started sweating so much and could not for the life of me figure out why I could not produce any sound. I then awoke suddenly and sweating.


The next night was horrid! I was in front of my friends and the whole damn top of my mandolin was sunken in and unplayable. It was like someone or something had sucked the life out of it. It appeared all shriveled up! I woke up with night sweats for the second time.

Last night when I got home the first thing I did was grab my mandolin and play it. It sounded so happy for me to be back.

Anyone else suffer from separation anxiety nightmares? Is this commonly associated with high levels of MAS?

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Originally Posted by Bryan Gerrells

My wife frowned when she saw me preparing my mandolin for travel, so I decided to leave it at home.

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. . . is what troubles me. You two need to talk! I mean, it's not like you were packing a banjo ! ! !

Steve

if your wife was worried about taking an expensive mandolin then you need to buy a less costly one for travel. Hey, it would cost prob a lot less than a round of psychotherapy.

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Originally Posted by Bryan Gerrells

My wife frowned when she saw me preparing my mandolin for travel, so I decided to leave it at home.

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No, no, no, no, no, no, no.

You guys are great!

When your wife frowned you should have left her at home. I am not a chauvinist, I would give the same advice to a wife having these issues with her husband.:grin:

You're right Jim. I should have realized that frown was very close to her natural scowl and heeded your advice. :mandosmiley:

Hmm. . . . you have MSA: mandolin separation anxiety.

Jim, I have a feeling that the OP's wife wasn't concerned so much with the safety/wisdom of taking along a fine instrument, but more about the attentions that inevitable will be lavished on IT as opposed to HER.

But maybe not.

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Originally Posted by Jim Garber

if your wife was worried about taking an expensive mandolin then you need to buy a less costly one for travel. Hey, it would cost prob a lot less than a round of psychotherapy.

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Seriously for a moment, I have experienced a certain anxiety when I leave the house for work or travel. If something happens those mandolins are vulnerable.

There ARE trips where packing the mandolin just doesn't make sense for me. We went on a family trip to Hawaii over spring break this past March, and I just couldn't justify bringing the thing...

But I made the most of it. I used the time off to get it refretted, so I would have been away from it anyway. And it was awesome to get it back. I also used the time to read mandolin-focused books. Bill Monroe's biography, etc... Also made a journey to a nice Honolulu guitar store, and they had some great guitars and ukes... but no mandolins, apparently. The guys just kind of looked at me funny. (Hawaii doesn't have snakes, either, I'm told.)

But any ROAD trip? The mandolin comes along. No question, no debate.

That's not a mandolin it's a crutch.... get rid of it... to me....

A "travel" mandolin is a must. I just got a new mandolin and my wife asked if I was selling the old one, so I'll remember this. ;)

You may, in fact, want to also buy a banjo. Then when you pack only your mandolin for trips, your spouse will be really happy. I can tell you from experience that this works. :mandosmiley:

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Originally Posted by StevenS

. . . is what troubles me. You two need to talk! I mean, it's not like you were packing a banjo ! ! !

Steve

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Originally Posted by terzinator

There ARE trips where packing the mandolin just doesn't make sense for me. We went on a family trip to Hawaii over spring break this past March, and I just couldn't justify bringing the thing...

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Hey! I did the same thing this April... And ended up buying a Ukulele, ha,ha,ha... Put on a set of GDAE strings on the thing and it sounds like a classical mando-guitar thing.

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Originally Posted by perry babasin

hey! I did the same thing this april... And ended up buying a ukulele, ha,ha,ha... Put on a set of gdae strings on the thing and it sounds like a classical mando-guitar thing.

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haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahahaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

Quote:

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Originally Posted by terzinator

There ARE trips where packing the mandolin just doesn't make sense for me. We went on a family trip to Hawaii over spring break this past March, and I just couldn't justify bringing the thing...

but no mandolins, apparently. The guys just kind of looked at me funny. (Hawaii doesn't have snakes, either, I'm told.)

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Perry Babasin

Hey! I did the same thing this April... And ended up buying a Ukulele, ha,ha,ha... Put on a set of GDAE strings on the thing and it sounds like a classical mando-guitar thing.

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If you're on Maui and no Mando - Bounty Music will rent you one. Nice folks !

I got a new Silverangel a couple of months ago, and within the first few nights home with it I had a terrible nightmare. Somehow I allowed a mob boss to take my mandolin from me and the only way I got it back was by his son coming to me and informing me that he would be "taking care" of his dad and I could have the mandolin back. There was a great deal of details in the dream, but long story short, when I awoke......my case was checked immediately. I had never had an experience like that before. After 20+ years of picking, I must have that special instrument or I've finally went over the deep end.

My Blue mando is the one I bring everywhere. And, my hubby insisted I bring it (as well as one of my guitars) when I made the three-hour drive to visit my aunt and uncle at their cabin. He was not able to come with me, so it was nice to sit in my hotel room the first night and jam quietly on my mando and my guitar.:mandosmiley: I tried music I hadn't had time to before 'cause I've been getting ready for a performance.
And, I entertained my relatives with the mandolin and they enjoyed it (or, rotten tomatos aren't in season).
This weekend, sadly, my hubby and I had to go to a funeral, hundereds of miles away, and we coudn't justify bringing the mandolin - there was too much driving to do, no time to relax, no time to play my music. My fingers missed the frets!
By the way, the anxiety does go away after a while. I had nightmares, too, my first trip away from it, but they have subsided.

Take two aspirin and call me in the morning. It only gets worse over time.