How do you answer "what is that thing?", when playing a mandolin!

[Jack Roberts]

I always remember the drunk guy at a Christmas party that asked me what it was. I said a mandolin. He said "that's not a mandolin! A mandolin is..." and then started waving his hands like he was playing tremolo. (I had been playing Bach cello suites that evening, and I don't use tremolo in those.)

Part of the problem is a lot of people "know" what a mandolin is: a tater-bug playing Godfather music in tremolo. So if they see something different (I was playing a 2 point Gibson A-5 "Jethro") they really don't know what it is. There is no point in adding to their confusion.

I insisted it was, indeed, a mandolin, directed the gentlemen back to the punch bowl and went on with my Allemande.

[Stevo75]

I'm not sure how well that would work in the heartland, where most folks think mano a mano means man to man.

That is funny!

[CES]

If not in my basement, I'm usually either playing at church or with friends and relatives. Usually if I get asked at church it's by a kid, and thus far I've answered politely. Usually they're actually interested, so I'll offer as much info as they want, let the strum it, etc. I've had a couple of adults compliment me on my "different looking ukulele" playing. Both were genuinely being nice and complimentary, so got, "It's actually a mandolin, but thank you!" in reply.

I suppose if I ever get asked in a smart arsed or derogatory way, I'll probably respond with the appropriate degree of condescending sarcasm, but that hasn't happened yet.

[stevedenver]

As brick observes, not all are interested or knowlegable about things musical.....hell not always on the forums...

If asked, i give a polite explanation.


There is a lot i dont know about. I would hope for the same empathy and courtesy.

[foldedpath]

If someone is interested enough to ask, I try to give a polite but brief answer because they're probably not interested in a lecture. Usually it's something like "It's a mandolin, tuned like a violin so you can play anything a violin can play on it." Which isn't literally true, given the technique differences and limitations, but it's close enough and people get the idea.

More importantly, when responding to a punter, do you pronounce it "MAN-do-lin," "man-do-LIN," or "MAN'lin"? I'll bet we all have some regional differences there. I use the first one, and the second for the kitchen gadget, and I don't quite have the accent to pull off the last one.

[Al Trujillo]

I think a lot of people would like to start a conversation but don't know how, so they ask these types of questions (is that a banjo?).

Back 40 years or so, when I was a fledgling photographer I was a bit intimidated by the amount and complexity of equipment I noted on a professional I met in the field. I was feeling a bit inadequate and wasn't sure how to politely open the conversation. He recognized my expression (he'd been a beginner once himself too) and took the time to open the world of photography to me. He and I became good friends and I learned a lot because he chose not to crush me for asking a silly question.

Its a great place to start with them, and who knows, maybe with a little love they may show up here on the forum some day.

[UsuallyPickin]

Politely ..... educate the gen pop one at a time. Ukulele , little guitar, WTF is that ....... it can become tiresome truly .... but I owe it to my instrument to stand for education and up to ignorance. R/

[Brian Harris]

Such questions allow us to be music ambassadors. We should answer honestly and directly in a friendly manner.

I play upright and get "cello" all the time. Doesn't bother me. Kids come up and want to touch the bass... they're fascinated. I offer to let them play it. I wipe the boogers off later.

What is one of the greatest laments many adults have...? That they don't play a musical instrument.

If I were to walk into a chemistry laboratory I'd have many questions that people on "laboratorycafe.com" might find ridiculous.

Performing artists, like it or not, function as ambassadors for their interest/art.

[catmandu2]

Exactly. Let's educate and inspire.

I play upright and get "cello" all the time. Doesn't bother me.

I affirm, simply provide additional nomenclature, then summarily whip out the (bass) bow and fiddle some tunes for them.

I play instruments that most don't know - clarsach, melodeon, concertina, hammered dulcimer.. i cant play out without spending a good bit of time elucidating/responding to inquiry. Never felt any aversion.

[OldSausage]

I'm just honest with people and tell them I forgot to zip my pants.

[John Lloyd]

"It's a mandolin."

"Amanda Lynn? Oh, I get it. You named your ukulele for your girlfriend! That's so sweet!"

[Jeff Mando]

I usually say it's a "non-Sanforized" guitar. The problem is that too many youngsters today do not know what Sanforized means. Do you guys remember Sanforized shirts that would not shrink when washed...........probably not.

Yep, Sanforized. Another one from the 60's was "One-Hour Martinizing!" (dry cleaning)

[JeffD]

Most people seem to to be able to recognise a mandolin and, if not, I always very politely tell them what it is....

Not as true over here. My experience is that the only time I can take it for granted that my mandolin will be recognized as one, is if I am playing a bowlback, or if it is a mandolin or bluegrass event. Otherwise, forget it. It seems the general public just doesn't know.

[catmandu2]

Not as true over here. My experience is that the only time I can take it for granted that my mandolin will be recognized as one, is if I am playing a bowlback, or if it is a mandolin or bluegrass event. Otherwise, forget it. It seems the general public just doesn't know.

A few years ago, one of the local school band teachers asked me, "Is...that's a mandolin, right?" Never mind the CBOMs...

Probably many/most people can't name all the instruments in an orchestra. And unless a person is versed in the local folk/music scene, there's no reason to expect they would be inviolablely familiar with its instrumentation.

[Tobin]

More importantly, when responding to a punter, do you pronounce it "MAN-do-lin," "man-do-LIN," or "MAN'lin"? I'll bet we all have some regional differences there. I use the first one, and the second for the kitchen gadget, and I don't quite have the accent to pull off the last one.

I use the pronunciation of "man-do-LIN" when explaining what it is. And I do it for a very specific reason: when I tell them it's a mandolin, I then have to point to my wife's mandola and explain the difference between them. It makes it easier to compare mandolin and mandola to violin and viola if you're putting the accents on the same parts of the names.

[bratsche]

You guys have it easy - imagine having to explain a mandola!

Even to this musician, an F-style caught me off guard the first time I saw one in a video as part of a group. Wasn't till I came to the Cafe that I put it together. I still don't think I've seen one in real life.

bratsche

[Bertram Henze]

You guys have it easy - imagine having to explain a mandola!

The diffculties of explanation change with instrument size, but their amount is approx. constant. Even my OM has been called a ukulele, a banjo, a guitar, a lute, a bouzouki...
I just say what it is but avoid any discussion or lecturing; I join the next tune set instead.

[allenhopkins]

1. Yeah, I remember Sanforized, and Martinizing, not to mention Speedy Alka-Seltzer and the Cheerios Kid. I'm so old, that when I was born, the Dead Sea was just sick.

2. Mandolin is one of the most variegated (second definition, "marked by variety") instruments, coming in many shapes. People mistake it for a ukulele due to its smaller size. Others remember Grandpa's bowl-back and don't see a familiar silhouette when you pull out your F-4 or your National Resophonic. Still others see a body, a neck, strings, and say, "Must be some kinda guitar." Don't blame them.

3. How you answer depends on whether you want to be polite and informative, or snappy (and, maybe, snarky). No particular mileage in "What are you, stupid or something? Can't you recognize this apex of the musical instrument world, this masterpiece of the luthier's art? Everyone should know a mandolin!"

4. I sometimes have two or three sizes of mandolin-family with me -- mandola, OM, mandocello, "sopranolin." Or my five-course, fan-fret mandolin/dola that looks weird even to other mandolinists. I look upon a question such as that as a "teachable moment," and probably, in the words of the old joke, "tell more about penguins than they want to know." Just a boring guy, I guess...

[catmandu2]

I just say "Mandolin". Then look at them, with that, "well, the ball's in your court" sort of look.

Ha. That's why a simple answer rarely is sufficient.

So often, we get folks settling disagreement about it, or walking off smiling, nodding, or excitedly congratulating themselves with correct estimations, etc. It's fun to see it registering among folks... I meet a lot of experienced folks and often learn from them - many *are* versed in ethnic and cultural forms, and some do know what I'm playing. I always enjoy that.

[JeffD]

Last night at the jam I told this one person it was a trombone.

[varmonter]

Performing artists, like it or not, function as ambassadors for their interest/art.

Which is why I always answer politely..
But it is funny how many times I've been asked.

[MontanaMatt]

I usually answer nicely...but the incident that prompted this thread bugged me a little, as the asking party was being obnoxious... so I said bag pipes, smiled, waited a few seconds, then mandolin. I wasn't mentally ready for the question, but I am now, and I like the members who took the classy road and resisted the snark.
I felt bad for being a jerk about it, and hope to be a better musical ambassador in the future.

[Austin Bob]

Actually I think it's supposed to be called il mandolino, according to the Italians, who kinda sorta invented the closest ancestor to what most of us play today.

[Ted Eschliman]

[Br1ck]

I was in a violin shop buying a viola chin rest clamp for my armrest. I took my mandolin in and put the wood part on top of the mandolin so they would understand what I was doing. A young violin player asked me what it was. I told her and explained that if she practiced her violin so she could play well, she could get a mandolin and playing it would be easy for her because the fingering was the same. Her eyes lit up with possibilities. Not so sure about her mother though.