Can mando-banjos work in celtic music

[pickinBob]

I am interested to know if these work ok in celtic music or are they to weird a combonation?

[Steve L]

Don't expect to make a lot of new friends at the pub if you start bringing one of these nasty little things around.

[pickinBob]

I'm about to fall off my chair laughing! Good answer!

[John Flynn]

The mando banjo raises one of those Zen-like questions: "If an instrument has absolutely no sustain, does it actually produce notes, or is it really just a bad drum?" The tenor banjo is a much better choice for the same application, IMHO.

[otterly2k]

While I agree that a tenor banjo is a better choice for Celtic music, if a high-pitched percussive sound is just what you're looking for, don't rule out a mando-banjo...they can be a lot of fun!

This site tends to have a lot of mando-purists who, while I respect their devotion, sometimes wince at the very mention of banjos... which IMHO is not really fair. All instruments have their value and uses (and I KNOW someone is about to suggest using the mandobanjo as a doorstop or tennis raquet-- a little restraint, please)

... it depends on what kind of sound you want and what skills you have. If you know how to play a mandolin, and want a banjo sound, a mando-banjo makes for an easy transition. Not everyone's cup of tea, of course. But has some advantages (such as volume... cuts through a larger ensemble better than your average mandolin, f'rinstance).

My 2c
KE

[Steve L]

No list of my favorite musicians would be complete without Barney McKenna, Gerry O'Connor, Keirnan Hanrahan, and Mick Moloney.

If you want to approximate the sound of a mando banjo, put on a recording by any of the above, chew a large wad of aluminum foil, and hit yourself in the head with a length of hollow pipe in time with the melody. #

[John Flynn]

Steve: ROTFLOL!

[Bob DeVellis]

A while back, when I was a bit more enthusiastic about mandolin banjos in Irish music than I am now,I pulled together some information on them. Here's a rather lengthy excerpt:

The banjo also has a fairly long, if not unwavering, presence in Irish music. Minstrel shows with banjo players toured Europe, including Ireland as early as the 1840's. By 1921, American music hall performer Mike Flanagan (of the Flanagan Brothers) had used tenor banjo on a recording of Irish music. Barney McKenna of the Dubliners, who also played mandolin as is common among tenor banjoists, established the tenor banjo as a mainstay of Irish music in the 1960's. Although far less popular than tenor banjo, the mandolin banjo is not unknown to Irish traditional sessions on occasion. In an article on the role of banjo in Irish music appearing, appropriately, in Irish Music magazine, Bill Whelan noted that,

Banjolins or banjo-mandolins were common in trad combos but the mandolin itself was often (wrongly) regarded as a beginner’s instrument that lacked volume.

This suggests that the mandolin banjo may have suffered by association with the mandolin, although volume should not have been a drawback. It is certainly possible that, as with the mandolin, only inferior instruments were available and that these produced a poor sound. Others have also mentioned the instrument’s use in Irish music. In his notoriously conservative 1986 monograph, Irish Traditional Music, Ciaran Carson notes,

In recent years a whole family of stringed instruments have been utilised in traditional music: these include the mandoline, the mandocello, the bouzouki, the cittern, the tenor-banjo, and the banjo mandoline. Generally these are tuned like a fiddle, or tuned to an open D or G chord and played with a plectrum. They may be used for accompaniment or for melody.

We also have recorded evidence of its use: Irish banjoist and senior Ireland and England tenor banjo champion Tony “Sully” Sullivan has a used mandolin banjo not only in sessions but also on recordings. Tapes recorded both to accompany instruction books and for non-instructional listening (Last Night’s Fun) feature mandolin banjo tracks by Sully. He has also composed at least one traditional-style tune for the instrument: “Mandolin Banjo Breakdown.”
Given its past and current inclusion in traditional sessions and its similarities and differences compared to other session instruments, the type of sound produced by a quality mandolin banjo should not be perceived as out of place in this music. The preceding quotes make several points in its favor. First, compared to the mandolin banjo, the conventional mandolin is at a distinct disadvantage at Irish sessions where its low volume renders it nearly inaudible. Furthermore, musicians familiar with either mandolin or tenor banjo — or even fiddle — should be able to adapt fingerings from their original instrument to the mandolin banjo with relative ease. (Carson supports this point and reveals his prejudices by noting that players of the instruments mentioned in the preceding quote are often suspected of being “failed fiddlers.”)
One factor undoubtedly contributing to the mandolin banjo’s less-than-enthusiastic acceptance is the prevalence of poor quality instruments that just don’t produce a pleasing sound. This harkens back to Philip McGuinness’ earlier quote about poor-quality mandolins. The mandolin banjo, however, may be even more dependent than the mandolin on good design and construction as requirements for good tone. Apparently because it is based on a flexible head rather than a more rigid soundboard, the mandolin banjo can produce strong and unbalanced overtones. In fact, some of these seem even to attenuate the fundamental note that gave rise to them. The result, on lesser quality instruments, is a muddiness of sound that does not occur when better instruments, especially with tone rings, are played. Good quality vintage mandolin banjos built with tone rings and other desirable acoustical features do sound like a pleasing hybrid between a mandolin and a banjo. Lesser instruments, even from good makers, can sound nondescript, with their melody line obscured by overbearing overtones.
Another barrier to the mandolin banjo’s widespread adoption may be that the musical contexts for which it is ideally suited are more limited than for the tenor banjo. Specifically, in a large, very loud session, the instrument’s volume allows it to be heard but its tonal balance is partially masked by the presence of other treble instruments. The result, under some listening conditions, is that the sustained portion of the mandolin banjo’s tone seems to vanish into the “acoustical stew” generated by other instruments and only the initial attack of the strings stands out. This obscures the “ring” of the instrument, one of the more attractive features of its sound, and makes it sound rather “thumpy.” (Again, better instruments are less susceptible to these acoustical shortcomings. The presence of too many other treble-range instruments, however, such as the “string sections” of several fiddles often encountered in sessions, can result in even a good mandolin banjo sounding like a poor one.) The tenor banjo is pitched an octave lower where there is generally less competition from similarly-pitched instruments, giving it greater versatility. Plus, the other instruments in the tenor’s range usually lack its volume and sharp attack, thus allowing it to be distinctly heard.

[John Flynn]

Q: What do you get when you cross a mandolin with a banjo?

A: An instrument that even a bass player can tell is out of tune.

[pickinBob]

John I just about fell out of my chair laughing at that