Page 2 of 3 FirstFirst 123 LastLast
Results 26 to 50 of 52

Thread: beside the mandolin.

  1. #26
    coprolite mandroid's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2002
    Location
    Outer Spiral Arm, of Galaxy, NW Oregon.
    Posts
    17,103

    Default Re: beside the mandolin.

    have a tenor, and a mandolin banjo or 2, 1, 8, 1, 4, + a ukejo (modified with a spruce disc 'head')
    writing about music
    is like dancing,
    about architecture

  2. #27
    Registered User T.D.Nydn's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2015
    Location
    Upstate N.Y.
    Posts
    1,331

    Default Re: beside the mandolin.

    I would play the banjo except for the horse thing...they don't make them wild enough to drag me to go get one...

  3. #28
    Mando accumulator allenhopkins's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Location
    Rochester NY 14610
    Posts
    17,378

    Default Re: beside the mandolin.

    I try to play anything with strings that you don't play with a bow. So: mandolin family (piccolo mandolin through mando-bass), guitar (six and 12-string), 5-string and tenor banjos, resonator guitar (both steel and slide), ukulele, Appalachian dulcimer, Autoharp, bass fiddle, and all kinds of weirdo hybrids like "banjola," uke-banjo, mandolin-banjo, cello banjo, tiple, tenor guitar, baritone uke, octave guitar, and whatever else washes up on the beach. Took a very brief fling at hammered dulcimer, and own a zither that I think I once played Greensleeves on at a Ren Faire.

    Do I play them all well? Heck no. Do I own them all? Heck yes. What's the point?

    Does there have to be a point?
    Allen Hopkins
    Gibsn: '54 F5 3pt F2 A-N Custm K1 m'cello
    Natl Triolian Dobro mando
    Victoria b-back Merrill alumnm b-back
    H-O mandolinetto
    Stradolin Vega banjolin
    Sobell'dola Washburn b-back'dola
    Eastmn: 615'dola 805 m'cello
    Flatiron 3K OM

  4. #29

    Default Re: beside the mandolin.

    Just started learning mandolin but been playing guitar for years. Have been curious about banjo in the past.

    I have always thought for banjo you either have it or you don't. I don't.
    2007 Indiana Scout
    2018 Indiana Madison Quilt Elite
    2018 Takamine GJ72CE 12 String
    2018 Takamine GD93
    1963 Gibson SG
    2016 Kala Uke
    Dean A Style Mandolin (year unknown)
    Plus a few lower end I have had for years

  5. #30
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Jan 2003
    Location
    Southern New Hampshire USA
    Posts
    710

    Default Re: beside the mandolin.

    Banjo Mandolin.
    I actually won a first place "Banjo Other" category in a contest playing a choro piece.
    The neck was warped like a cereal bowl Its now detached so I'm not tempted to play it.

  6. #31
    F5G & MD305 Astro's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2012
    Location
    Charleston SC
    Posts
    2,494

    Default Re: beside the mandolin.

    I dabble with clawhammer. Really is fun.
    No matter where I go, there I am...Unless I'm running a little late.

  7. #32
    Gibson F5L Gibson A5L
    Join Date
    Apr 2008
    Posts
    2,526
    Blog Entries
    1

    Default Re: beside the mandolin.

    Well …. I would say I flirt with playing the banjo. With judicious use of a capo. It is a fun instrument to mess with a bit. R/
    I love hanging out with mandolin nerds . . . . . Thanks peeps ...

  8. #33
    Registered User Gunnar's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2019
    Location
    Balama, Mozambique, Africa, Earth
    Posts
    704

    Default Re: beside the mandolin.

    Quote Originally Posted by allenhopkins View Post
    I try to play anything with strings that you don't play with a bow. So: mandolin family (piccolo mandolin through mando-bass), guitar (six and 12-string), 5-string and tenor banjos, resonator guitar (both steel and slide), ukulele, Appalachian dulcimer, Autoharp, bass fiddle, and all kinds of weirdo hybrids like "banjola," uke-banjo, mandolin-banjo, cello banjo, tiple, tenor guitar, baritone uke, octave guitar, and whatever else washes up on the beach. Took a very brief fling at hammered dulcimer, and own a zither that I think I once played Greensleeves on at a Ren Faire.

    Do I play them all well? Heck no. Do I own them all? Heck yes. What's the point?

    Does there have to be a point?
    I think I would very much enjoy spending a couple of years in your music room......
    Mandolin: Kentucky KM150
    Other instruments: way too many, and yet, not nearly enough.

    My blog: https://theoffgridmusician.music.blog/
    My YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChF...yWuaTrtB4YORAg
    My Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/africanbanjogunnar/
    Free backing tracks:
    https://backingtrackers.wordpress.com/

  9. The following members say thank you to Gunnar for this post:


  10. #34
    Registered User Gunnar's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2019
    Location
    Balama, Mozambique, Africa, Earth
    Posts
    704

    Default Re: beside the mandolin.

    Quote Originally Posted by rstaight View Post
    Just started learning mandolin but been playing guitar for years. Have been curious about banjo in the past.

    I have always thought for banjo you either have it or you don't. I don't.
    That is definitely not true. The banjo is just another instrument that anyone can learn if they try. It's actually IMO easier than guitar
    Mandolin: Kentucky KM150
    Other instruments: way too many, and yet, not nearly enough.

    My blog: https://theoffgridmusician.music.blog/
    My YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChF...yWuaTrtB4YORAg
    My Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/africanbanjogunnar/
    Free backing tracks:
    https://backingtrackers.wordpress.com/

  11. #35
    Registered User Martin Ohrt's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2016
    Location
    Germany: Ruhr Area
    Posts
    130

    Default Re: beside the mandolin.

    I'm afraid that I play more banjo than mandolin nowadays, despite having started with the mandolin and considering myself a mandolin player... But due to my quite active jazz band my plectrum banjo gets a lot attention. Also, I play clawhammer a lot.
    Unfortunately, I have no band I could use the mandolin in, and playing the mandolin alone is less fun than playing the banjo alone. Playing chord-melody is soo much easier on plectrum and 5-string, and when playing the mandolin I miss the harmonies the banjos give me.
    Mandolins: 1920s (?) Meinel & Herold Bowlback, 2006 Furch "Redwood MA-1" A5

    Octaves: 2004 Fender FMO-66 Flat-Top, 2015 A. Karperien 5 String Electric

    Banjos: 2007 Gold Tone IT-250F Irish Tenor, 1963 Vega Vox No. 1 Plectrum, 2016 Recording King RK-OT25 Clawhammer

  12. #36
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Location
    NC
    Posts
    4,787

    Default Re: beside the mandolin.

    I own a banjo and can play a few songs on it, but I don’t say that I PLAY the banjo. Mostly play 3 finger styles and have dabbled in clawhammer. I still pull it out now and then, but mandolin gets the bulk of my attention these days...
    Chuck

  13. #37
    ===========
    Join Date
    Feb 2017
    Location
    Connecticut
    Posts
    1,628

    Default Re: beside the mandolin.

    I tried the banjo back in the mid-1980's, but failed miserably at it; (much like attempts to learn lap-steel, accordion, violin, harmonica, pedal-steel and trombone). Obviously I have a strong love for playing music, but am seriously lacking in talent.

  14. #38
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
    Location
    Essex UK
    Posts
    1,066

    Default Re: beside the mandolin.

    I play tenor banjo, handy fighting the guitar wall in the community band.
    - Jeremy

    Wot no catchphrase?

  15. #39
    Registered User bruce.b's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2010
    Location
    Lebanon, Ct
    Posts
    506

    Default Re: beside the mandolin.

    My main instrument is GDAE tuned tenor guitar. I could play tenor banjo too with the same tuning, it’s an easy switch, but I’d only do it if I needed the volume. I love how my tenor guitars sound, both are Herb Taylor archtops. I’ve been playing fiddle for a couple of years now, but I’m a lot better on TG. I play a little mandolin but need to be careful as it causes left hand pain if I play it often. I also play a little low whistle and mess around with a shakuhachi.

  16. #40
    formerly Philphool Phil Goodson's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2006
    Location
    Statesville, NC
    Posts
    3,256

    Default Re: beside the mandolin.

    I learned a few banjo tunes 35 years ago, Scruggs style. Wisely gave it up after I noticed that the banjo weighs about a ton.
    I still have one in the closet.
    Phil

    “Sharps/Flats” “Accidentals”

  17. #41
    Registered User Dave Hicks's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2002
    Location
    Hoosierlandia
    Posts
    705

    Default Re: beside the mandolin.

    Now that I'm (very close to being) retired I decided to try and learn clawhammer, which has interested me for a long, long time. I started with a Deering, and recently got a Rickard.

    D.H.

  18. The following members say thank you to Dave Hicks for this post:


  19. #42
    Registered User Steve Lavelle's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2010
    Location
    Silicon Valley
    Posts
    331

    Default Re: beside the mandolin.

    My first instrument was a Harmony 5 string with a plastic body (1972?). Learned from the Pete Seeger book. I could never get used to the metal finger picks, so I still play quieter than most. Never got very advanced, but I still enjoy the open tuning explorations it prompts me to explore when I pick it up (Epiphone Mastertone RB-250 these days). The instrument I least play with others (Mandolin, Bass, and Guitar all play well with others), because very few of my crowd have interest in BG.
    Steve Lavelle
    '93 Flatiron Performer F
    Customized Eastwood Mandocaster (8str)

  20. #43
    Registered User Ranald's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2017
    Location
    Ottawa, Canada
    Posts
    1,733

    Default Re: beside the mandolin.

    I play banjolin, an easy step from mandolin, and is good for really old blues and ragtime.
    Robert Johnson's mother, describing blues musicians:
    "I never did have no trouble with him until he got big enough to be round with bigger boys and off from home. Then he used to follow all these harp blowers, mandoleen (sic) and guitar players."
    Lomax, Alan, The Land where The Blues Began, NY: Pantheon, 1993, p.14.

  21. #44
    Front Porch & Sweet Tea NursingDaBlues's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2015
    Location
    My heart is in The South.
    Posts
    522

    Default Re: beside the mandolin.

    Click image for larger version. 

Name:	Instruments - Primary.jpg 
Views:	59 
Size:	171.5 KB 
ID:	179133


    Not necessarily my favorites, but these seem to follow me around more than my others.

  22. #45
    Registered User Mandobart's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Location
    Washington State
    Posts
    3,652

    Default Re: beside the mandolin.

    Quote Originally Posted by darrylicshon View Post
    I play the mandolin-banjo. I also have a 6 string banjo tuned like a guitar
    Same here, though the "low" E and A on my guitjo are replaced with octave higher strings to get the reentrant banjo goodness. I just pick the banjolin, no finger rolls.

  23. #46
    Registered User Doug Brock's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2010
    Location
    KC MO
    Posts
    625

    Default Re: beside the mandolin.

    Quote Originally Posted by Dave Hicks View Post
    Now that I'm (very close to being) retired I decided to try and learn clawhammer, which has interested me for a long, long time. I started with a Deering, and recently got a Rickard.

    D.H.
    Similar to my story! I’m hoping to retire in four years if not sooner and I just added an open back banjo to my collection with hopes of being able to enjoy clawhammer style for a reasonable number of years. I’ve long wanted to try clawhammer. Six days of practice - not as difficult as I had expected.
    Doug Brock
    2018 Kimble 2 point (#259), Eastman MD315, Eastman MDA315, some guitars, banjos, and fiddles

  24. #47
    Oval holes are cool David Lewis's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2007
    Location
    Sydney, Australia
    Posts
    1,466

    Default Re: beside the mandolin.

    Quote Originally Posted by JL277z View Post
    Well, since you asked...

    [LIST][*]5-string banjos: oldtime (clawhammer mostly, a little frailing, no bluegrass).
    May I ask the difference between 'frailing' and 'clawhammer'? I've always understood them to be the same thing? But I'm always willing to be corrected.

    Thanks in advance.
    JBovier ELS; Epiphone MM-50 VN; Epiphone MM-40L; Gretsch New Yorker G9310; Washburn M1SDLB;

    Fender Nashville Deluxe Telecaster; Squier Modified Vintage Cabronita Telecaster; Gretsch 5420T; Fender Tim Armstrong Hellcat: Washburn Banjo B9; Ibanez RB 5string; Ibanez RB 4 string bass

    Pedalboard for ELS: Morley Cry baby Miniwah - Tuner - EHX Soul Food Overdrive - EHX Memory Toy analog Delay
    Fender Blues Jr Tweed; Fender Greta;

  25. #48
    Registered User Gunnar's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2019
    Location
    Balama, Mozambique, Africa, Earth
    Posts
    704

    Default Re: beside the mandolin.

    Quote Originally Posted by David Lewis View Post
    May I ask the difference between 'frailing' and 'clawhammer'? I've always understood them to be the same thing? But I'm always willing to be corrected.

    Thanks in advance.
    In general, the terms are interchangeable unless a banjo player is in the room, in which case they might punish your ignorance by playing. Afaik, on never uses a drop thumb, and the other does. Or something like that
    Mandolin: Kentucky KM150
    Other instruments: way too many, and yet, not nearly enough.

    My blog: https://theoffgridmusician.music.blog/
    My YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChF...yWuaTrtB4YORAg
    My Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/africanbanjogunnar/
    Free backing tracks:
    https://backingtrackers.wordpress.com/

  26. The following members say thank you to Gunnar for this post:


  27. #49

    Default Re: beside the mandolin.

    Quote Originally Posted by David Lewis View Post
    May I ask the difference between 'frailing' and 'clawhammer'? I've always understood them to be the same thing? But I'm always willing to be corrected. ...
    The following is just my perspective from what I've seen in earlier years. Might or might not be relevant today...

    In the circles I grew up in, the term "frailing" was generally considered to apply to players who used a lot of strong rhythmic brush strokes. Whereas "clawhammer" players preferred more single-note stuff, sometimes more intricate, often (but not necessarily) with more drop-thumb especially in less-common places. There were other terms as well for banjo styles, but I don't recall the other terms which probably aren't in use much anymore.

    In any case, there's a lot of overlap - a person's playing style doesn't have to be 'only' brush strokes or 'only' single-note stuff, often a mix of both, judiciously applied where it's most suitable for a particular tune and group of instruments.

    If you're playing with a top-notch dance fiddler who's got the rhythm covered pretty much all by themselves, that frees up the banjo to do more single-note stuff to complement the fiddle.

    Also, for groups who have guitar (we seldom did, it wasn't regarded as particularly necessary because a good fiddler and good banjo player can carry the music just fine without a guitar and sometimes a guitar even gets in the way if it's played too crudely or ineptly), anyway if there's a guitar it's likely also acting to establish a basic rhythm... so to also have the banjo doing the same thing with a bunch of non-stop brush strokes all the way through the tune, could sound somewhat redundant. In a duo or group setting, it's all about what makes the best total sound, nevermind what a single instrument sounds like without the other(s), it's the combined sound that matters. Complementing the other instrument(s).

    If the banjo is playing solo without any other instruments (I don't know how much of that is done anymore), the banjo player sort of has to do it *all* - at least a few "frailing"-style brush strokes here and there to establish the basic rhythm, and nice to also have a little more intricate drop-thumb and single-note stuff in places to keep it interesting and provide some variety and a little syncopation here and there.

    Anyway, I don't know if that's how the rest of the world defines such things, and my info might be outdated and/or too regional-specific, but that's what I've seen. YMMV.

  28. The following members say thank you to Jess L. for this post:


  29. #50
    Registered User Martin Ohrt's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2016
    Location
    Germany: Ruhr Area
    Posts
    130

    Default Re: beside the mandolin.

    I came across two versions: Either, clawhammer and frailing are exchangeable - or, as mentioned above, one (I believe clawhammer) uses drop-thumb and less brush strokes than the other. In the end, there's something like "melodic clawhammer" (fiddle tunes played note-for-note) , but no melodic frailing (?). Also, frailing is associated with a rougher, more "violent" style, I understand.
    Mandolins: 1920s (?) Meinel & Herold Bowlback, 2006 Furch "Redwood MA-1" A5

    Octaves: 2004 Fender FMO-66 Flat-Top, 2015 A. Karperien 5 String Electric

    Banjos: 2007 Gold Tone IT-250F Irish Tenor, 1963 Vega Vox No. 1 Plectrum, 2016 Recording King RK-OT25 Clawhammer

  30. The following members say thank you to Martin Ohrt for this post:


Bookmarks

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •