Playing just for the fun of it

[Dan O'Sullivan]

Another in what I hope is a short series of dumb questions. Anybody here just play at home for the pleasure of it?. No gigging, jamming, open mics...just sitting home noodling on tunes until they come out right? I found it hard to be a closet trumpet player so I sold it, and my piano is now gone too. I have a couple guitars and a starter mandolin and I think I've found my home with the mandolin. I've gotten into the habit of practicing while the rest of the household sleeps, picking with just the flesh of my thumb. I kinda like the sound that comes out. I do of course pick up the pick when I don't need to be silent.

Anyway, any "closet" mandolin players out there?

[JeffD]

I play at home a lot and I love it. I also jam, and occasionally perform.

Of all of them I love jamming the best, and playing and practicing alone second best.

One of my favorite things to do these days is turn on some music channel on Sirius/XM and just play along with what ever comes up. Just try to figure out what key and where the chord changes are and what goes with it. Its kind of fun and kind of embarrassing.

[Tobin]

Playing mandolin (or any instrument for that matter) by yourself is OK up to a point. But once you start to get better and your confidence level builds, you start to get an itch for playing with others. That's just the way music works: very few instruments are true solo instruments. They sound their best when they have accompaniment and can be part of a larger dynamic. And I think most of us would agree that the fun level is 10x greater when you get into a groove with other players.

We all practice alone, in large part. That's how we learn and get better, and it's how we keep our skills in shape. But once you get that taste for jamming or playing in a group, it's hard to stay satisfied playing alone.

[foldedpath]

I play at home just for fun all the time, almost every day. "Just for fun" in my world means tunes that won't work in a gig, or that I can't bring to a local Scottish/Irish trad session because nobody else knows them or wants to learn them. So they're just for me; tunes I've picked up over the years and I enjoy playing.

Actually not just for me, because I spend about half my time at home playing tunes with my fiddler S.O. We both share this list of "tunes we can bring to a session," and tunes that we know we'll only play together because they're not group-friendly. Things like the "Tolka Polka," or a Misino Horo in 7/8 time.

And then there are a few tunes that she doesn't like, or doesn't want to learn for whatever reason. I play those just for me. I think the last tune I learned in that category was "Mayor Harrison's Fedora." That might be a session standard in some parts, but not around here, so I just play it because I like it.

[Jim Franey]

I do it all the time 👍

[Mark Wilson]

Anybody here just play at home for the pleasure of it?. No gigging, jamming, open mics...just sitting home noodling on tunes until they come out right?

Sometimes I have an active mind spell where I can't sleep. I play my mandolin out in the attached garage at 2-3:00 in the morning. It's perfect for the moment

but... the worst time I've spent playing with other musicians was more interesting than playing alone

[Kalasinar]

Yup, I pretty much play just for the sheer enjoyment of learning and as you say, getting each new piece just so. On the odd occasion when possible I play with my best friend who is a pianist, but also plays mandolin, guitar and low whistle. I have a good friend who plays tin whistle excellently but alas, he lives in another country and I haven't seen him since Christmas. Aside from these good talented friends I don't know many musicians locally. I spent most of my teens drumming in bands and grew very tired of electric guitarists going off on their own during practices... eventually it became too frustrating and I lost the desire to play in band settings. I play to improve myself regardless if anyone else is there to witness or not. I love to make music and I'm quite a private person, so I'm quite content noodling about at home or with close friends. I still intend to get lessons from a teacher, but i doubt I'd ever perform.

[Randi Gormley]

I'm a bit like Folded Path -- play at home for fun on tunes nobody else knows or will ever play, along with my-husband-the-guitar-player. Other stuff is for outside the house, but some of our stuff is just for us to enjoy.

[Jack Roberts]

I play just for fun. I do have a regular 'gig' at the local rescue mission once or twice a month where the lovely Mrs. Roberts and I lead a community sing. But that's for fun, too...

I can't really play in a band anymore because my hearing is shot. I can play along with a singer if she stands next to my good ear, though, but any other kind of playing (jamming and the like) have been out of the question for the last couple of years.

[George R. Lane]

Another in what I hope is a short series of dumb questions. Anybody here just play at home for the pleasure of it?. No gigging, jamming, open mics...just sitting home noodling on tunes until they come out right? I found it hard to be a closet trumpet player so I sold it, and my piano is now gone too. I have a couple guitars and a starter mandolin and I think I've found my home with the mandolin. I've gotten into the habit of practicing while the rest of the household sleeps, picking with just the flesh of my thumb. I kinda like the sound that comes out. I do of course pick up the pick when I don't need to be silent.

Anyway, any "closet" mandolin players out there?

I am proudly "Out of the Closet", mandolin wise.

[Eric Platt]

As I'm still in the learning tunes/figuring things out phase, most of my playing is still at home. But I have taken it to a few jams and have performed with it once. However, both the latter are switching between guitar and mando. Will do more shows in the near future switching between the two. That's probably my best case scenario.

But, most of my time at home is still practicing/learning tunes.

[Caleb]

Me.

[Stacey Morris]

Me too.

[Mike Scott]

Me.

+1. At least most of the time. I occasionally do Irish sessions ( with mandolin) or a jam ( mostly with dobro).

[Londy]

Never stop learning, never stop playing. I do enjoy jams better than playin alone. Once you do it and have fun, it's just addictive. Enjoy the ride.

[Caleb]

I would wager (though no way to prove it) that most people who own a mandolin, guitar, violin, piano, etc play alone. There are a lot of people who care nothing for jamming with others, playing in front of crowds and the like. For me, just playing a few tunes before bed (which is my main play time) is an end in itself. I don't even care to learn all the tunes that other players know so I can "fit in at a jam." I've been playing mandolin ten years and have only been to one!

[Mandobart]

I love to play music. Often I'll play alone on my back patio and watch the sun rise over the Columbia. That's when I play slack key on my mandocello. I never get tired of those tunes.

But, my best times with instruments are those I spend playing with friends. It would leave a huge hole in my life if I never played with others. I do savor my alone time and have no trouble entertaining myself. But the reality is humans are social beings, and I'm no exception.

[Jess L.]

... Anybody here just play at home for the pleasure of it?. No gigging, jamming, open mics...just sitting home noodling on tunes until they come out right? ...

The older I get, the more I enjoy playing at home. Also, old age can bring various types of health concerns, which can interfere with the enjoyment & practicality of public playing. Such as, inability to climb steps to a stage or to someone's house, inability to stay awake during the boring parts, etc.

But when I was younger, I was chompin' at the bit to play in public, and I did a fair amount of it.

Although that was on other instruments - fiddle, banjo, tenor guitar, various low whistles, concertina, 'cello, etc.

Very little *mandolin* public playing except for one time when I took a decrepit wobbly old Kay mandolin to a festival and could not keep the darn thing in tune for more than 5 minutes. Playing in sun, shade, wind, tough conditions for any instrument but that mandolin seemed especially troublesome, even worse than it usually was at home. Gave up after a day or two of frustration and switched to a different instrument for the rest of that festival.

... the worst time I've spent playing with other musicians was more interesting than playing alone

Lol well I can think of a few times playing with others where I was quite happy to escape and go back home to practice by myself some more.

Once was when a local organization was trying to get a band together.

Of the musicians who turned up, about half didn't realize you had to tune a stringed instrument more than once every few weeks. The other (better) musicians were hampered by incredibly inept leadership.

We'd all been provided lead-sheets (written music notation that shows the melody, and chord names) that had been transposed to different keys about 5 times, lots of chords blacked-out with a marking-pen and new chords sloppily handwritten above them or in the margins, then photocopies-of-photocopies to where the resolution was very bad and hard to read under the best of conditions, and especially *while* playing a new unfamiliar tune.

*And* - get this - the lead-sheet chord names had been designed for having a guitar capo on a certain weird fret, whereas no one in the room was actually using (or needed) a capo. The would-be players had to try to translate all that mess "on the fly" while playing. These were not classically-trained pro's or anything, so having that type of disorganized badly-written notation thrown in your lap and being told "play it", didn't work too well.

The self-appointed 'leader' (not playing) had some sort of control-freak messiah complex and she didn't want to hear any input from the musicians about potential ways to improve things. Even obvious stuff like playing in tune, or allowing someone to clean up the notation to make it easier to read. Hard to make any progress when people, especially leadership, are in denial that a problem exists.

Unsurprisingly, the would-be band never became a reality - the good players left in a hurry, whereas the bad players didn't realize they were bad, and the leader refused to even set aside a moment prior to each session as a designated "tune up your instruments" moment (to encourage players to get past the "I already tuned it last week, it's fine" mindset). Pretty much no hope for that sort of scenario.

One other instance of "I'd rather be at home" involved a non-A440-tuned piano. That in itself isn't an issue for *me* - I have no problem tuning my instrument(s) to whatever fixed-pitch instrument is available, did that for decades. But the other people there didn't understand that concept and they were trying to use their cheap $6 apparently-non-adjustable digital tuners to tune their instruments to A440, yet the piano was about a half-step flat and not even close to A440. I didn't go back to that one either.

A friend of ours had a "Tune It Or Die" bumper sticker on his car for years, and while I personally wouldn't think quite *that* harshly, I do agree that extremely out-of-tune instruments make music non-enjoyable.

One of the few other things that will make me eventually walk away from a jam, whether public or private, is when the person with the loudest instrument has the worst sense of timing (can't keep a beat) and throws everyone else off. Hate that. Some instruments are just *so* loud that they can't be ignored (some pianos, vigorously-played accordions, etc). The person with the no-sense-of-rhythm never seems to realize it, and they are always immune to anyone's politely well-worded suggestions about "maybe the group, all of us, could practice with a metronome for a little while" (carefully *not* singling out any one individual), but nope the rhythm-challenged person always shoots down that idea, like "we don't need metronomes, we're not beginners", sigh. Worse when the rhythm-challenged person owns the house the jam occurs in, it's their territory so they get to set the rules. Makes for some quite small, and high-turnover, jams. Mercifully it's been quite a few years since I've had to deal with that particular issue.

[Paul Busman]

That's all I do, on mandolin, tenor banjo, penny whistle, etc. I'll go to an occasional Irish session-- especially if it's in a brewpub that gives musicians free beer ;-)
A lot of the time I'm just noodling around. Once in a while I stumble across something like a little riff which I really like and incorporate into tunes.
BTW-in case someone hasn't already mentioned it (didn't read the whole thread) instead of plucking with your thumb for a quiet tone, try using your pick and just damp the strings at the bridge with the heel of your hands.

[Mark Wilson]

TBH - large open jams have no pull on me. If they are your only experience with playing with others I can understand your reluctance.

What I enjoy is the smaller group of like minded friends. Where everyone works together to make the best time by all possible. Don't give up on playing with others until you've tried this. If you know where large groups are gathering I'm betting there is one or two pickers who would be happy to break off and play if you take the time to seek them out. I used the email mailing list of a couple large local jams (with permission) to ask around. There are probably pickers in your hometown right now who feel the same but don't know anyone else.

To the OP. Late night soft explorations of what I've learned so far seems to be my desert atm. Soft and slow stuff you might never do in a group. Searching for nuggets of ear candy on this little box with strings

[fatt-dad]

I know all about, "Woodshedding!" It's just what I do!

f-d

[Astro]

Great thread. I like it all in proportions. I think its fundamental that a musician enjoys playing alone at home for pleasure. No other scenario works unless that first one is true. I was a 100% closet player for the first 30 years where I was an occasional guitar/singer/songwriter. I mean almost no one could witness me play because I'd clamp up in embarrassment. When the kids grew up I took lessons, started a very slow transition to playing with others in a local jam group, joined a middle aged band of other amateurs that practiced weekly for a year and had only 2 gigs. Then picked up mando where my music understanding greatly increased and after a couple of years joined another band with youngins that caught on locally and threw me into public performance. I struggled with public for 2 years with them and still do. But now I've forced myself to play out duo and solo just to see if I could do it. Its hard but somewhat rewarding.

Of it all, my absolute favorite is my jam group. Playing with the band and alone tie for a close second. Solo is a lot of work and requires thickest skin and for me a bit of a personality change... You probably have to be born a performer to truly enjoy it.

[Frankdolin]

I too am a closet player. There I said it. But really, I love to play and I love to hear myself, more than anyone. Sounds a little conceded but it's just the way I feel. Once in a blue moon I get the urge to get "out" and play. When I do it's an itch that must be scratched. I have no real explanation for this other than I really just don't get that much enjoyment from entertaining.

[JEStanek]

Me. I play at home for myself. It's a way to relax. I suppose if I was better or more confident, I would try and make time to attend jams. Your goals are your's. You don't HAVE to become the next Chris Thile or Monroe. The purpose it to provide pleasure and expression for yourself. How and wear that happens with your hobby is up to you.

Jamie

[chasray]

I play mostly at home for the simple pleasure of it. Almost every day. Always pushing to be better. About 3 times a month I'll play at a nursing home. It's a "captive" audience that appreciates you showing up, even if your playing that day is less than you hoped.