What genres of music do you play on mando (besides bluegrass)?

[Randi Gormley]

ITM, classical (heavy on baroque), a touch of klezmer, choro and gypsy melodies. Whatever crossover tunes there are in bluegrass, I play the ITM version -- that's about as much bluegrass as I've touched -- I don't play any genre that relies heavily on chords since I don't play them.

[MissingString]

Traditional primarily with a small amount of folk, bluegrass and Celtic feathered into the mix. Interesting inquiry... and impressive diversity of musical tastes/interests. What a great community on The Cafe!

[LadysSolo]

Classical, folk, rock, old-time, bluegrass, gospel - never tried jazz or blues though.

[Bertram Henze]

ITM, but I started there and stayed there, no surprise involved.

[Jill McAuley]

Irish traditional music, I play other genres on other instruments, but on the mandolin it's just ITM.

[LostVenture]

Irish traditional here.

[Jim Garber]

Old time (various regional styles), Italian, classical, choro, ITM. Over the years I have played: cajun, Quebecois, French musette, swing, bebop.

[allenhopkins]

Old-time. Celtic (Irish/Scottish). Klezmer. Generic "folk," backing up traditional and original songs. A bit of pop "standards" when needed. NY State/Northeastern fiddle/dance music.

Whatever else comes along. Oh yeah, and bluegrass.

[John Soper]

Love Bluegrass, but if you use the word "genre", it's obvious you aren't bluegrass! I play mongrel folk and photo-swing music for the most part;: songs I like!

[Roda]

Singer-Songwriter/Americana.

Mostly influenced by Jason Isbell and Ryan Adams. I think the Mando works perfect in a duo with an acoustic. Its like magic.

[gabe]

I play old time, old country, a little blues, couple of celtic tunes, eco folk rock, a few bluegrass songs, and something that is a mixture of most of that.

Thanks pops1, pretty well covers my mando interests!

[Bill Cameron]

My oddly specific and almost certainly unattainable mission is to adapt Cape Breton fiddle style to mandolin. It’s been said, right or wrong, that the most unique thing about Cape Breton fiddle is the piano style, whoch is highly flashy and melodic. So I often follow the piano lines on an accompaniment scenario, since it has quite a similar timbre to an archtop, f-hole mando.

[lflngpicker]

Country, Gospel, Rock, and Blues.

[Bill Kammerzell]

Traditional stuff, covering Bluegrass, Blues, Country/Western, and Gospel, though I'll dabble in R&B and some Southern Rock and well as 60's and 70's rock. Cool music.

[Phil Goodson]

Classic country, bluegrass, gospel, Americana, traditional, & blues, at local jams.
At home I like some swing, more complex Americana, old rock; unfortunately these are jam-busters in my area.

[John Flynn]

I have played bluegrass, Irish Trad, old time and rock. Now I only play music at Church. That ranges from classical to contemporary. I've gravitated toward church music as much because of the music as the spiritual aspects. There's a lot of great stuff there.

[Jeff Hildreth]

Most anything but Reggae, Grateful (sp) Dead, Rap and Bluegrass.

[Jim Garber]

My oddly specific and almost certainly unattainable mission is to adapt Cape Breton fiddle style to mandolin. It’s been said, right or wrong, that the most unique thing about Cape Breton fiddle is the piano style, whoch is highly flashy and melodic. So I often follow the piano lines on an accompaniment scenario, since it has quite a similar timbre to an archtop, f-hole mando.

Unattainable? If we can play Scottish music on mandolin why not Cape Breton?

[rfd]

i play what i consider to be "music". others might call it noise. no one thinks of it as "bluegrass". that's ok, too.

[mandroid]

My old friends play old folk's music, weekly at the local Moose lodge, for each other
and the bartender/short order cook.

with out fear of the ASCAP/BMI spies/scouts seeking those playing in-copyright covers,

to sue the venue, that did not pay for the licence/permit, in advance..

[Bertram Henze]

My old friends play old folk's music, weekly at the local Moose lodge, for each other
and the bartender/short order cook.

with out fear of the ASCAP/BMI spies/scouts seeking those playing in-copyright covers,

to sue the venue, that did not pay for the licence/permit, in advance..

Ah, the stealth genre. Unheard-of music

[mandroid]

Public Domain is past copyright..

one place requires the open mic only use their own writings , no covers, after a BMI sweep

the violators, in town included the girls dancing to recordings while they demonstrated their figures and skills
..as "independent contractors"...

Fraternal organization clubs are not public..

lots of the places that pay , musicians keep those jobs for themselves, no newcomers invited.

... I've only been here 20 years... not picked on the team ...


IT's a Business, after all..




..

[foldedpath]

Unattainable? If we can play Scottish music on mandolin why not Cape Breton?

My $.02... Bill might have been talking more about accompaniment since he mentioned piano styles? If we're talking melody, then I think trying to get close to what Cape Breton fiddlers do on mandolin is one of the more severe tests of "can I make it work on this instrument?"

I'm not saying it's impossible, but compared to Scottish music (which I also play), Cape Breton style is like Scottish fiddle music on steroids. Fast tempos, exuberant flashy runs in strathspeys, and a fair bit of "grit" in the fiddling. Translating that to mandolin is certainly a challenge!

I have some favorite Cape Breton tunes in my repertoire and I'm learning more, but one big help is that I get to play this stuff in sessions with fiddlers and pipers. In that environment, the mandolin's limitations (and the player's, in my case) aren't exposed like they would be in solo playing.

So my hat is off to anyone who can manage an "authentic" Cape Breton sound on mandolin. Maybe it's just me, but I think it's a bit easier to adapt Irish and Scottish trad to mandolin.

[Pete Martin]

Texas style fiddle tunes, some old time plus a lot of Bebop era jazz on acoustic. On electric add in old country and Western Swing.

[Rick Jones]

How about ANYTHING but bluegrass?