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Thread: OM accompaniments a la Andy Irvine

  1. #1

    Default OM accompaniments a la Andy Irvine

    I'm not sure if this is the best place to post this, but here goes. I bought my octave mandolin in large part for the purpose of accompanying myself while singing, but I don't exactly know where to go beyond just strumming chords. I'm curious if any one has tips or knows where to find info on constructing arrangements for solo OM accompaniment, like Andy Irvine has been doing in recent years. Thank you all so much.
    Gabe

  2. #2

    Default Re: OM accompaniments a la Andy Irvine

    A great start towards not playing the CBOM like a guitar:
    https://www.homespun.com/shop/produc...rish-bouzouki/
    Girouard Concert A5
    Girouard Custom A4
    Nordwall Cittern
    Barbi Mandola
    Crump OM-1s Octave
    www.singletonstreet.com

  3. #3
    Registered User
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    Default Re: OM accompaniments a la Andy Irvine

    arpeggios, arpeggios, arpeggios...
    Stormy Morning Orchestra

    My YouTube Channel

    "Mean Old Timer, He's got grey hair, Mean Old Timer he just don't care
    Got no compassion, thinks its a sin
    All he does is sit around an play the Mandolin"

  4. #4
    Dave Sheets
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    Default Re: OM accompaniments a la Andy Irvine

    Sara Jarosz does a lot of neat accompaniment on OM- listen a bit on youtube, particularly her singing solo with the OM- arpeggio's and repeated riff patterns
    -Dave
    Flatiron A
    Way too many other instruments

  5. #5
    but that's just me Bertram Henze's Avatar
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    Default Re: OM accompaniments a la Andy Irvine

    Doing what Andy Irvine does is a two-brain feat not everybody can do. My own approach is fingerpicking.
    the world is better off without bad ideas, good ideas are better off without the world

  6. #6

    Default Re: OM accompaniments a la Andy Irvine

    Arpeggios, got it. In y'all's opinion, what is the the best tuning for general accompaniment like this? GDAD seems like the reigning champ, but I've also seen advocates for GDAE. Thanks everyone,
    Gabe

  7. #7
    Registered User Simon DS's Avatar
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    Default Re: OM accompaniments a la Andy Irvine

    I’m a GDAE fan, mainly because I’m lazy, but also because I prefer that the Octave mandolin feels more like a mando -less background ringing.
    I’ve been at it like crazy four a couple of weeks now, just an intermediate, here are some things I’ve thought about:

    -Learn to play eighth notes all the way up to the 15th fret on one string using ONLY one finger. Then change fingers and strings.
    -get really good at the rhythm D-D, D-D, then DUD,DUD then double it up to play Dududu,Dududu, really helps for quarter/half notes, Greek and Klezmer music, well tremolo in general.
    -FFcP and definitely DOUBLE STOPS
    -the six different shapes of three note chords major n minor.
    -no bar chords
    -learn to pick up the song melody and riffs quickly (they are often reasonably simple) BUT practice jumping from the melody up a third. Do these third above (or even below) riffs to support the singer but also avoid playing the same melody which might tend to flatten the singer out.
    I find it difficult to listen to Andy Irvine and figure out what he’s doing, much easier for me to listen to Greek pop songs, funny visuals but great practice - harmonic minor n tremolo
    Last edited by Simon DS; May-27-2019 at 4:23pm.

  8. #8
    but that's just me Bertram Henze's Avatar
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    Default Re: OM accompaniments a la Andy Irvine

    GDAE here, and again, not Any Irvine's choice.
    the world is better off without bad ideas, good ideas are better off without the world

  9. #9
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    Default Re: OM accompaniments a la Andy Irvine

    If you are using a long scale bouzouki the GDAD tuning works best since you can use partial chords and gat a lot of drone from it which gives it a unique voice in a session. If you are using a short scale OM the GDAE tuning might work better since you can switch between backup and melody.
    I use my long scale bouzouki for singing accompanyment in the GDAD tuning and yes it is difficult to transition from guitar like backup to the style Andy Irvine uses.
    The Zan McCloud course mentioned earlier is a good source.
    Another source I used for a while is the Online Acadamy of Irish Music(OAIM). It is a paid perscription, and they have a couple of bouzouki courses, but they are geared more toward session accompanyment.

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