So Good...

[Demetrius]

Just in case this has not been posted yet.
Ekaterina Skliar, a great mandolinist showing how its done on a sweet little Gibson A-9...

Thanks,
Dem

E. Skliar -J. S. Bach - Partita No.2 - Giga


More!
Aleksei Aleksandrov (domra), Ekaterina Skliar (mandolin)



And more
Ekaterina Skliar (mandolin)
Anna Kislitsyna (harpsichord)

[Mandobar]

Notice how closely she holds the mandolin to her. This cuts some of the "bite" of the mandolin. Which goes to show you that tone is shaped by more than the mandolin itself.

[Demetrius]

Yeh she makes that mandolin sound like a million bucks. Mandobar, do you feel that even though a tongegard allows the instrument to ring in some way it prohibits tone variation? Naturally you can do that with pick angle and what not, but do you feel it take away the ability to tuck it in close and play with the tone in that way?
Thanks for chiming in,
Dem

Notice how closely she holds the mandolin to her. This cuts some of the "bite" of the mandolin. Which goes to show you that tone is shaped by more than the mandolin itself.

[Drew Streip]

Yeh she makes that mandolin sound like a million bucks. Mandobar, do you feel that even though a tongegard allows the instrument to ring in some way it prohibits tone variation? Naturally you can do that with pick angle and what not, but do you feel it take away the ability to tuck it in close and play with the tone in that way?
Thanks for chiming in,
Dem

I wonder if any other instrument has as much "background noise" as the mandolin? I'm gonna start another thread, but I basically mean the ratio of incidental noise to notes produced.

It's a beautiful piece and playing, but I can't help but be distracted by pick thump. Chris Thile noted once that we mandolinists are just whacking plastic against metal --- one of the least elegant things about this instrument!

[Mike Scott]

So, being the hack player I am, I want to be sure I am getting this correctly. If one has a bright or "barky" (for lack of a better word) mandolin, hugging it close to the body will subdue that to some extent? Interesting. Certainly not an issue with my two main mandolins but may be effective wth the plywood beater.......

[Mandobar]

Mike,

Many things can shape tone; strings, pick, pick angle, and certainly the way that you hold the mandolin. If a Toneguard can "free up" the sound of a mandolin, holding it tighter against you can tame or "muffle" it.

To answer your question, Demetrius, in some circumstances a Toneguard is a good thing, and in others it might make a bright mandolin sound even harsher. As with all science (remember the production of sound is part of a the science of physics) there can be a lot of variables. You have to experiment around with these variables to get the sound that you are looking for from your mandolin (or any instrument for that matter). That's why churning through instruments sometimes can be counter-productive. Change too many variables at once and you may blow by the very sound you are looking for.

You can look at how 20 different mandolin players hold their instrument and you will get 20 different approaches. The same goes for fiddlers. I have watched countless players, all with different bow grips, different angles of holding the bow, the fiddle itself, and the best advice I got was from Martin Hayes- find something that works for you, and that feels natural and produces the tone that you like. While this appears to be a very simple guideline, it takes a lot of work to find that "groove". The same goes for mandolin.

I just got a new octave mandolin, and am experimenting with picks and whether to add a strap button or to do the "Norman Blake thing" and tie it at the headstock. It's going to take a while before I get a comfort zone with the instrument, but it's a process.

[Demetrius]

Love all that was said here.. I appreciate it!!!

Mike,

Many things can shape tone; strings, pick, pick angle, and certainly the way that you hold the mandolin. If a Toneguard can "free up" the sound of a mandolin, holding it tighter against you can tame or "muffle" it.

To answer your question, Demetrius, in some circumstances a Toneguard is a good thing, and in others it might make a bright mandolin sound even harsher. As with all science (remember the production of sound is part of a the science of physics) there can be a lot of variables. You have to experiment around with these variables to get the sound that you are looking for from your mandolin (or any instrument for that matter). That's why churning through instruments sometimes can be counter-productive. Change too many variables at once and you may blow by the very sound you are looking for.

You can look at how 20 different mandolin players hold their instrument and you will get 20 different approaches. The same goes for fiddlers. I have watched countless players, all with different bow grips, different angles of holding the bow, the fiddle itself, and the best advice I got was from Martin Hayes- find something that works for you, and that feels natural and produces the tone that you like. While this is appears to be a very simple guideline, it takes a lot of work to find that "groove". The same goes for mandolin.

I just got a new octave mandolin, and am experimenting with picks and whether to add a strap button or to do the "Norman Blake thing" and tie it at the headstock. It's going to take a while before I get a comfort zone with the instrument, but it's a process.

[fatt-dad]

I'm so taken by the efficiency of technique in the classical performer. The pick movement is intentional, the left hand movements so intentional, the dynamic range in such control.

I suffer from too much enthusiasm. I don't have predictable control on my pick grip - sometimes too loose, sometimes too tight. I want the discipline to be so perfect. Just how long does that take?

No joke. . . and she's playing classical music on an arch-top, f-hole mandolin. Somebody needs to send her the memo!

Cool videos. Thanks! I am reminded of my need to return to the right hand. Yet again. . .

f-d

[sblock]

The way she holds her A-model mandolin on her lap -- note no strap! -- is pretty gender-specific. She keeps the back of the instrument away from belly (it helps to be slender) and the upper side is held firmly down by the underside of her bosom, as she leans slightly forward into it. You can see this posture in all the videos, with the mandolin clutched between her lap (where she crosses her left leg over her right, to provide a platform) and forward-leaning right breast.

A similar hold would be fairly difficult for most men to achieve, for all the obvious anatomical reasons.

[Demetrius]

Thank you for chiming in sblock! I see exactly what you mean, and I appreciate you pointing that out...

Dem

The way she holds her A-model mandolin on her lap -- note no strap! -- is pretty gender-specific. She keeps the back of the instrument away from belly (it helps to be slender) and the upper side is held firmly down by the underside of her bosom, as she leans slightly forward into it. You can see this posture in all the videos, with the mandolin clutched between her lap (where she crosses her left leg over her right, to provide a platform) and forward-leaning right breast.

A similar hold would be fairly difficult for most men to achieve, for all the obvious anatomical reasons.

[ccravens]

A similar hold would be fairly difficult for most men to achieve, for all the obvious anatomical reasons.

I'd agree, although with age I'm heading in the direction of being able to!!

[fscotte]

I'm guessing there's a bit of effects applied to the mandolin in the first video. The mando sounds entirely different in the second video.

[foldedpath]

I'm guessing there's a bit of effects applied to the mandolin in the first video. The mando sounds entirely different in the second video.

To my ear, that first video has some over-use of compression. It has that signature "pop" on the attack that you hear with compression, and the dynamic range is reduced. The second video sounds much more like what I'd expect that instrument to sound like in a room.

I could be wrong... just going by what I hear, and YouTube ain't the greatest for judging FX processing because we're listening through another layer of streaming compression. Great playing, regardless.

[Mandobar]

The second video appears to be an auditorium of some sort. The first appears to be from a room in a residence. Different strings, different acoustics.

[foldedpath]

The second video appears to be an auditorium of some sort. The first appears to be from a room in a residence. Different strings, different acoustics.

Not just acoustics, I'm hearing compression on the first one. Like I said, I could be wrong, but compression used as a mix or mastering effect sounds different from ambient room acoustics.

[fscotte]

Nearly everything has a bit of compression. It's more of a necessity rather than an enhancement. Public speakers without the use of compression sound horrible with loud P's and S's..

[Frankdolin]

The way she holds her A-model mandolin on her lap -- note no strap! -- is pretty gender-specific. She keeps the back of the instrument away from belly (it helps to be slender) and the upper side is held firmly down by the underside of her bosom, as she leans slightly forward into it. You can see this posture in all the videos, with the mandolin clutched between her lap (where she crosses her left leg over her right, to provide a platform) and forward-leaning right breast.

A similar hold would be fairly difficult for most men to achieve, for all the obvious anatomical reasons.

I think she's a great mandolin player who needs no help from being a female. I also think yours is a typical chauvinistic, trying to be clever, response to a very talented woman. Not cool...

[Astro]

I'm with fatt-dad. Just in awe. I frankly don't understand how people are able to play like that.

Can you even imagine the number of hours it took to learn that piece? The patience? The repetition? The drive?

If I didnt know anything about playing music or mando, I might comment, "oh lookie there, she plays good." And I might say the same about someone like me doing the 3 chord strum songs I blunder through. I might not fully grasp the difference.

But knowing even the little I do and a few beginner fiddle tunes, ... this just blows my mind. How in the world? She is incredible.

As for the bosom thing, just get over it already. Most every body's gottem. Observations on technique, posture and anatomy are just that. Not that the obvious had to be pointed out but that happens all the time here. No need to go all puritanical and accusational over that post.

[FLATROCK HILL]

I think she's a great mandolin player who needs no help from being a female. I also think yours is a typical chauvinistic, trying to be clever, response to a very talented woman. Not cool...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6cx...ature=youtu.be

[ptritz]

The domra player is also playing with his instrument held in his lap, with no strap. Can't say that I really see much difference.

One thing I thought was quite interesting was another difference between their respective techniques. The domra player's right wrist seems to stay completely rigid and from what I can tell he's playing pretty much entirely from the elbow. The mandolin player, by contrast, plays mostly from the wrist, without much motion at the elbow.

[foldedpath]

Nearly everything has a bit of compression. It's more of a necessity rather than an enhancement. Public speakers without the use of compression sound horrible with loud P's and S's..

Sure, I'm a huge fan of compression in recording projects when it's used with care. I have a bunch of fairly expensive compression plugins. But it's possible to overdo it, and I think it's overdone in that first video. Just my opinion.

[Billy Packard]

Wow!

Ekaterina Skiliar is just so wonderful---calm, burning, precise, soo passionate yet resolute. The videos number one and number three are transformative, even transidental. Her command of the tone, clearity and dynamics of her mandolin are breathtaking. While I stand in awe of her performance of the first piece by Bach, I"m interested in getting the Beethoven Adagio!

The skills shown on number one rivals Chris Thile...almost. She is much younger and so incredibly talented--I am certain we will see a lot more Ektaterina coming up.

I think I'm falling in love!

Billy

[mtm]

The way she holds her A-model mandolin on her lap -- note no strap! -- is pretty gender-specific. She keeps the back of the instrument away from belly (it helps to be slender) and the upper side is held firmly down by the underside of her bosom, as she leans slightly forward into it. You can see this posture in all the videos, with the mandolin clutched between her lap (where she crosses her left leg over her right, to provide a platform) and forward-leaning right breast.

A similar hold would be fairly difficult for most men to achieve, for all the obvious anatomical reasons.

I'm pretty sure that's the way Mike Marshall suggests holding the mandolin while seated, from the lessons at Artist Works I took. He didn't suggest that males and females should hold it differently because of any particular anatomical part. A rather crude post, me thinks....

[carleshicks]

My dad has a 2007 f9 that sound just that amazing, he doesn't the mandolin does. It just goes to show you don't big money to get great tone.

[JeffD]

I played with Ekatarina and Aleksei at FMCM IX earlier this year. They are both amazing musicians, and fun people. They both play and excel at mandolin and domra.

They make it look all so effortless. But I'll tell you, some of the practice and warm up exercises they led us in were killers. I still haven't untangled my fingers.