Want to say Hello from the other side of the Atlantic!

[SarahC]

Hey folks!

Just wanted to say "Hello!" from Germany! I'm a total newbie to the mandolin and can't wait to hold my own one in my hands. In Germany it can be hard to find the mandolin you want because not all brands available in the U.S. can be bought here, too. One problem can be that the mandolin is most often played in classical pieces in Germany or in Europe. Most of the people never heard of bluegrass not to mention a bluegrass mandolin, at all!

Nevertheless, tomorrow I'm going to pick up my brand new "The Loar lm-600bk"! Woohoo!!

I'm so glad to have found the mandolin café and hope to find as many tips and tricks as possible to learn the mando properly.

Thanks in advance for your help!

Greetings, SarahC

[Ivan Kelsall]

The German Bluegrass Music Association :- http://www.bluegrass-germany.de/

The German Bluegrass Camp :- http://www.bluegrasscampgermany.com/

The Munich Bluegrass festival :- http://www.munichbluegrassfestival.de/,
Ivan

[Hany Hayek]

Check Michael Reichenbach site, he is also a Cafe member, a great resource for mandolin players:
http://www.mandoisland.de/eng_index.html

[SarahC]

Thanks for your help and links.

It seems there is a small parallel universe of bluegrass out there in Germany . I have to check this out although I do know especially the mandoisland and GBMA websites already.

SarahC

[Randi Gormley]

Hey, Sarah, welcome to the café and the mandolin!

[crisscross]

Hey Sarah, greetings fom a fellow German mandolin picker!

[pit lenz]

Hi Sarah,
welcome aboard and greetings from Köln!
We have a monthly jam going here.
Feel free to post or PM for more information, if you want.

greetings
Pit

[UsuallyPickin]

Welcome ... enjoy that mandolin ... download a copy of the Mandolin Setup book from Rob Meldrum here on the Mandolin Café
mailto:rob.meldrum@gmail.com Enjoy the journey.. R/

[Mark Gunter]

Welcome Sarah!

[Polecat]

Hi Sarah,
Greetings from Schwabenlaendle. Enjoy your instrument and feel free to get in touch if you're in S. Germany and need any help (I'm not a bluegrasser, though).

[JeffD]

Welcome. Looking forward to hearing from you. I trust that when we don't hear from you it is because you are having an over the top awesome great time playing that mandolin.

[JEStanek]

Welcome to the Cafe! Congratulations on the new mandolin.

Jamie

[lflngpicker]

That Loar LM600 BK sounds like a beauty, Sarah! Hope you enjoy it a long time!

[DataNick]

Welcome and Best Regards Sarah...enjoy the journey!

[Pittsburgh Bill]

Visited friends in Rostock in October of 2015. We found quite a lot of bluegrass. This could be attributed to our friends from Rostock knowing the local music seen. Was surprised, however, to find that it was assumed that I play bluegrass since I play Mandolin. People were disappointed that I had so little bluegrass in my repertoire.
I was also surprised to find as much bluegrass as I did in Slovakia. A funny thing happened while playing on a train from Bratislava to Koscise. A rumor spread that I was Kenny Rogers. If I was only half as talented as Kenny Rogers!!!!!

I hope your Mandolin journey is filled with fun.

[Martin Ohrt]

Welcome Sarah, and greetings from another german member here
If you're from North Rhine-Westphalia, check out Oliver Waitze's New Acoustic Gallery (http://n-a-g.info/) for instruments and stuff, and the Cologne Bluegrass Bash for jamming...
And of course, feel free to contact me if you have further questions.
Meanwhile, enjoy your new mandolin!

[SarahC]

I'm overwhelmed. Thanks for such a warm welcome here!

I'm from the souther part of Germany- Rhineland-Palatinate.

@Pit: Werde gerne auf das Angebot zurückkommen. Ich denke, gerade wenn man sich in einem leicht exotischeren Musikbereich wohl fühlt (zumindest für deutsche Verhältnisse), darf man sich über jeden Gleichgesinnten freuen!

@Polecat: Grüße aus der Pfalz rüber zu Euch Schwobe Vielen Dank für das Angebot, werde ich sicherlich bei Gelegenheit drauf zurück kommen.

@Martin Ohrt: Vielen Dank für den Link. Noch bin ich dabei alles ein wenig zu sortieren. Ich scheine hier in einer Hochburg für klassische Mandoline zu wohnen, überall gibt es Ensembles etc. und offenbar spielen mehr Leute Mandoline als ich je hätte erahnen können. Leider haben die mit Bluegrass so gar nichts am Hut. Ich bin gespannt und werde mich sicherlich melden, sollte mal etwas sein.

@Pittsburgh Bill: If I ever dare to play in a train they can call me whatever they want as long as they enjoy the mandolin sound. Though I'm quite sure they won't call me Kenny Rogers .

@ all: Sorry for writing in German, but sometimes it's far more easier to express yourself in your native language.

Nevertheless thanks to all. I hope I'll have as much fun with my mandolin as I have listening to the music. As I did a lot of classical stuff in the last years I'm not that new to scores and things like that but chords, yeah THAT will be an issue I thing .

Now I keep waiting and start to count the seconds until the yellow parcel lorry arrives...well, Einstein was right. Damn!

Greetings, Sarah

[SarahC]

Welcome ... enjoy that mandolin ... download a copy of the Mandolin Setup book from Rob Meldrum here on the Mandolin Café
mailto:rob.meldrum@gmail.com Enjoy the journey.. R/

Perhaps I'm too blind to find that book, do I need to send Rob an email? Or can the book be downloaded somewhere? - Got it

[Rob Meldrum]

Hi Sarah,

Please email me at rob.meldrum@gmail.com and put Mandolin Setup in the subject line. I will email you a link to the ebook.

Rob

[Spencer]

Being new to the mandolin, you might want to get in touch Jesper Rübner Petersen, who lives in Southern Germany, I forgot the town. He is a very good player who has taught mandolin and guitar for a long time, and written a well received book about Bluegrass improvisation. He also frequently conducts workshops. There is contact information and more at his website: http://jrpmandolin.com

Good luck with your new mandolin.

Spencer

[HonketyHank]

I add my welcome. You have come to the right place.

[Hendrik Ahrend]

Welcome Sarah, if you're ever in Northern Germany (Oldenburg, Leer), you may want to PM me (Private Message), we could meet and pick some Bluegrass together. Also, there is a fine annual pickers meeting in Lindelbrunn (Pfälzerwald) in September, a must, won't get any better.
Grüße Hendrik Ahrend

[musicology]

Hi from Bavaria, too! You'll love the Café - it helps so much to get started :-)

[Br1ck]

I as an American, constantly am amazed at European's language skills. Makes it pretty easy for us to travel in your countries. Enjoy your new mandolin adventure.

[Skip Kelley]

Sarah, welcome to the cafe!