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Thread: Mandolin and guitar duo

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    Default Mandolin and guitar duo

    Was wondering if any of you have put together a mandolin and guitar duo to just go out and do instrumental type gigs? I was thinking of trying to put something together with guitar friend and do mostly irish/old time type stuff. Any experiences shared would be appreciated. Thanks.

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    Default Re: Mandolin and guitar duo

    My partner and I play in just such a duo. We don't play Irish, but old time and old country. We sing a lot of Carter family and older country and a couple Greg Brown songs along with the mix. Unless you need or want to be background, singing helps a lot. We have nice harmonies and I play leads on the mandolin.
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    Default Re: Mandolin and guitar duo

    check out Etna Old Time, from the VT/NH area :
    http://etnaoldtime.com/

    vocal harmonies, guitar, and mandolin can be a very nice combination. make sure the guitar keeps a good bass going.

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    Default Re: Mandolin and guitar duo

    I do that with a friend, focusing on vocal harmonies. Neither of us are good musicians, but a few mando breaks coupled with basic guitar goes a long way. If you want to see it really done well, check out Mandolin Orange.

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    Default Re: Mandolin and guitar duo

    Sure, you could do that. But the problem with so many bands is that the songs all start to sound the same after the first 4 or 5 tunes. You really have to pay attention to what you are sounding like to the audience, or they will get bored and start talking over you, especially in a bar type of setting.

    Make a tape of your music and ask someone with experience to give you some advice on how to keep things interesting for the audience. Small stuff, like how you introduce a song can also make a huge difference.
    A quarter tone flat and a half a beat behind.

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    Registered User Mark Marino's Avatar
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    Default Re: Mandolin and guitar duo

    Quote Originally Posted by Austin Bob View Post
    Sure, you could do that. But the problem with so many bands is that the songs all start to sound the same after the first 4 or 5 tunes. You really have to pay attention to what you are sounding like to the audience, or they will get bored and start talking over you, especially in a bar type of setting.

    Make a tape of your music and ask someone with experience to give you some advice on how to keep things interesting for the audience. Small stuff, like how you introduce a song can also make a huge difference.
    I fully agree with Bob- especially if you are aiming at all or mostly instrumental. Find a good person to give you honest feedback and use it, or you risk becoming really boring to listen to. I play in a duo as well, but we do no more than 2 instrumentals per set for similar reasons.
    "If you hit a wrong note, then make it right by what you play afterwards." - Joe Pass

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    Joe B mandopops's Avatar
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    Default Re: Mandolin and guitar duo

    I started a Mandolin & Guitar instrumental duo about a year ago. My main gig has been in a Bluegrass band, but I like to play other genres of Music as well. The Guitarist plays a Nylon string Guitar both Finger-style & with a flat pick. We play some pieces in a "proper" Classical style & some like as Jazz duo where we trade off Solos & Chords.
    We play "Classical to Ragtime". We play many 1-2 page Classical pieces (Bach, Mozart, etc), Scott Joplin, Latin, Italian, Opera, Pop Tunes (Old Standards,Beatles). I even have given him chord charts on some Fiddle tunes & we do our "old country hoe-down" segment where do a medley of a couple fast fiddle tunes.
    We've only played a handful of gigs at a few senior centers, but we've been well received. Because of the variety, go from a Bach to a Tango to a Scott Joplin to an Opera, to a familiar Standard, to Eric Satie to a "Hoe-down" etc...it avoids a "sameness" setting in. The sets fly by.
    We won't get rich & famous, but we like playing & practicing all this Music.
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    Default Re: Mandolin and guitar duo

    Quote Originally Posted by Austin Bob View Post
    Sure, you could do that. But the problem with so many bands is that the songs all start to sound the same after the first 4 or 5 tunes. You really have to pay attention to what you are sounding like to the audience, or they will get bored and start talking over you, especially in a bar type of setting.
    Indeed. When I'm out somewhere and I see someone come in with a guitar case and getting ready to set up, that's usually when I leave. Most times it's some guy sawing away like mad with the guitar turned up louder than his voice.

    I have done guitar/mandolin gigs in the past, mostly at nursing homes and places like that. I always tried to put together a set of about a dozen songs - some Irish, old-time, old country, contemporary, original instrumentals, etc etc. In my experience, if even two songs back to back sound the same, you start the lose the audience.
    ...

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    Default Re: Mandolin and guitar duo

    Quote Originally Posted by dlp View Post
    check out Etna Old Time, from the VT/NH area :
    http://etnaoldtime.com/

    vocal harmonies, guitar, and mandolin can be a very nice combination. make sure the guitar keeps a good bass going.
    My...they are more than good.

    Complex guitar and mando, intertwining rhythms....and, imho, the secret sauce....vocals, at least occasionally, and good ones at that. Thoughtful well arranged songs. Beautiful website too.

    As for performing / entertaining , imho, especially instrumentals, well known songs can be a plus, Arkansas traveller, wabash cannonball, Turkey in straw, irish washerwoman, theme from the god
    Father (really), some bach, some zep, etc., but, they do need to have varying tonal flavors....can you play any banjo or guitar or harmonica or cajon, tambo, slide guitar, etc.?

    All helps to make instrumentals sound a bit more varied. But, there is nothing like vocals, for most of us instrumentalists. Even virtuoso runs, etc get lost after a couple such demonstrations. rose bouquets tossed at my feet quickly turn to older offered produce when i burn it up too much.....jes sayin....lol.

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    Default Re: Mandolin and guitar duo

    I played in a mandolin/guitar duo for several years (currently on hiatus). Repertoire was Irish trad and related tunes, all instrumental.

    We varied a little from the pure drop approach, because my guitar partner gets bored playing backup, and he has a Blues/Jazz improvisation background. So on several tunes like Cooley's Reel, I would play the tune straight for two repetitions, then vamp chords on mandolin while he took off on a guitar improv over the progression. Then back to the trad melody for the ending. It was fun, and for the venues we played -- mostly background music for weddings -- it went over well.

    For the wedding gigs, we would often be hired for the ceremony as well as the reception and cocktail hour, playing the processional and recessional. I have played the Pachelbel Canon in D enough to get sick of it, but we could usually play something like Banish Misfortune for the recessional. It can be difficult to get booked playing just Irish instrumental tunes in something like a bar, unless it's near St. Patrick's Day. And even there, vocals will be expected. But it's a good style for weddings, where people want background music without distracting vocals.

    One last comment on mandolin/guitar duos, at least in the Irish trad genre. The natural format here is mandolin playing melody with guitar backing. You can switch it around here and there, but that's what works the best. Few guitar players can play the melodies, so you're the star of the show, front and center. It's a lot of work, and sometimes a lot of stress, compared to other formats like a Bluegrass band where you're stepping in and out of the spotlight, with other instruments and a singer to share the load. I'm not saying you shouldn't do it, just get ready for the amount of work it takes to put together a 2 hour show where your mandolin is the featured instrument.

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    Default Re: Mandolin and guitar duo

    Quote Originally Posted by Caleb View Post
    Indeed. When I'm out somewhere and I see someone come in with a guitar case and getting ready to set up, that's usually when I leave. Most times it's some guy sawing away like mad with the guitar turned up louder than his voice.
    Funny you mention that. Last night we went out to eat, and there was a solo act playing in the courtyard where the waiting area was. He had a good voice, and was playing songs that I did not recognize, they could have been originals. The problem was that the three songs I heard were all played with the guitar capoed on the 5th fret, and all were in Am or Em. Yes, one was in 3/4 time and the other two were in 4/4 time, but they still sounded so similar that I lost interest. And I usually try to pay attention to acts like that because I know how hard it is to do, and how much work they put in to get to the point where he was at.

    If I were to give him feedback, I'd suggest he try having another guitar tuned differently (perhaps drop D), and spend more time interacting with the audience. "This next song is a murder ballad I wrote. While I didn't actually kill my ex-fiance and my best friend, I must admit the thought did briefly cross my mind late one night, hence the song." Stuff like that, or just speaking directly to someone who is obviously listening and saying thanks, can go a long ways.
    A quarter tone flat and a half a beat behind.

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    Default Re: Mandolin and guitar duo

    I have a duo project where we swap between dual mandolins & mando and upright bass. As noted earlier, the key is to watch your arrangements well. You need to keep the audience interested and 1 4 5 chops all day long is boring with only two musicians

    For the 2 mandolin setup, I'd suggest learning to play walking bass lines on mandolin. Look at Thile / Marshall Album Into the Cauldron. Some great stuff there and great ideas to play off of. Also, harmonization of fiddle tunes can be a lot of fun and keep things interesting. A good idea is taking basic fiddle tune, start with straight melody and chords, then some tasteful solos with walking bass mando, then duel mando with harmonization, ending with straight melody. The different parts play well together and are interesting.

    Listen to some solo and duo jazz stuff as well. Wes Montgomery had a very standardized solo pattern - in some order he'd play straight melody, octave block melody (two note octave of the melody and embellishments), and block chords with melody notes (3 - 5 note chords with the melody involved somewhere)

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    Default Re: Mandolin and guitar duo

    Quote Originally Posted by mbruno View Post
    I have a duo project where we swap between dual mandolins & mando and upright bass. As noted earlier, the key is to watch your arrangements well. You need to keep the audience interested and 1 4 5 chops all day long is boring with only two musicians
    We play 3 hours and I may do light chopping on one or two songs, not all the way thru. Mostly I play fills behind the singer and double stops. It is very effective and keeps things sounding different as different songs,era's,and artists vary. We throw in some hot fiddle tunes and a waltz or two. Sometimes add banjo, we can both play banjo, keeps it interesting. Good harmonies are a must. We play one tavern, after 40 years of playing them we choose to play other venues, but helping out in this one.
    THE WORLD IS A BETTER PLACE JUST FOR YOUR SMILE!

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