what sparked your interest?

[Chinn]

Really interesting reading. So many people coming to the same 'conclusion' from so many different directions and reasons.

My own story.... My family is extremely musical (Mother - piano, french horn, oboe, Father - Trumpet, Uncle - everything) and so it was pretty natural to get interested in music. By 6yrs old, I was toting a violin to school for formal orchestral training. At 9, I switched to the trumpet. Those two taught me to read music. It was around that age also that I saw/heard my first bluegrass music while watching the Andy Griffith show. The Dillards were really fun to listen to!!!

Along the way, I picked up blues harmonica, which is the only instrument I can comfortably sit in with a group of musicians with. Mid-way through highschool, I managed to chop off the index finger on my right hand. I did not make it all the way through the bone, but most of the way, and all the flesh was damaged severely. A botched surgery meant I almost lost the finger and sent me back for seconds. That surgery brought results. The doctor suggested I needed to do something to build the finger back up.

Thinking about the doctor's suggestion, I went out and bought a $50 electric guitar and amp and taught myself to play. A mid-level acoustic joined the electric a year later and I've played blues and slide guitar for approx 20 yrs.

All that time, I'd really enjoyed the rare times I heard good bluegrass music. I love the complexity and the textures created by layers of different instruments. The scheme of having breakdowns is also something familiar with from playing Memphis blues. So this year, my wife finally started playing the acoustic guitar I bought for her 2 yrs ago, and I realized it might be more interesting to play something different with her, so a little A Style mandolin joined the family a few weeks ago and I've not put it down since.

I went to my first bluegrass jam last Saturday with the local bluegrass club and really enjoyed it, so the A is here to stay.

[Michael Thompson]

I've always had an innate curiosity for new and interesting musical instruments. I think I probably first heard mandolins in popular music when I was a kid listening to Alison Kraus and Union Station and Nickel Creek. Then there was, of course, JPJ and Jimmy Page in Zeppelin rocking the mandolin.

Apart from the outside influences, every time I go to a music shop I love to go to the acoustic section when nobody else is there when it's nice and quiet and serene...smell the nice wood smell of all the hanging instruments...and then pick up something and start playing. I always loved the sound a mandolin made. I think something about the fullness of doubled strings just really hits me. I love twelve string guitars for the same reason.

[Mumii]

I was completely knocked over by my first experience of hearing bluegrass at an age when most people are making plans to retire soon.
My husband and I were camping in a state park in the Florida everglades one winter. There was a small bluegrass festival there that weekend and we took our lawn chairs over to see what it was all about since neither of us had ever heard of bluegrass before. Talk about being smacked in the side of the head! We sat there all weekend, mouths hanging open, glued to our chairs and blown away by the fact that no one was using "music", they were playing in many different keys by ear with ease, banjos and mandolins and some guitars (there were no fiddles) were improvising, and there was good harmony singing. Well, it was just an overwhelming experience and on the drive north we decided to get some instruments and join the fun.
My first bluegrass instrument was a Collings guitar and my husband took up the bass. It was fun and we discovered that there were people we knew at home right in our small town playing bluegrass regularly and they were happy to help us or rather put up with" us while we learned. However, I soon discovered that if you are a woman with a guitar in a jam you are expected to sing lead and I wanted to sing harmony and play breaks. So I got a Rigel A Natural mandolin and started the 4 finger chop in the outer circle of the jams. It's been harder for me than guitar but after 7 years I can now play lead, double stops and a whole bunch of fiddle tunes and no one expects me to sing lead each time it's my turn. For some reason stringed instruments are not too hard for me to play by ear and I am still smitten by bluegrass. As for the mando, I really really like the little beast now that i have overcome several "plateaus" and can be a contributing member of the jams with my Collins MT2. It's taken a lot of hard work but it is SO worth it! Bluegrass people are the best.

[Daci]

Well,over 15 years ago,I took up the hammer dulcimer. I learned by ear and noticed most hammer dulcimer cd's had a mandolin player..I liked the sound,but never thought to get one.
So I plugged away on the hammer dulcimer playing mainly Celtic/old time music in a dulcimer club I started and ran for five years.
Fast forward and i got involved in the SCA and would drag the dulcimer to events. It's heavy,it's bulky and I got tired of doing it. As a result,I starting to think of another instrument..The mandolin seemed the logical instrument. It's lightweight,it's small and it has a bright,perky sound.
Two years ago I asked a local musician about finding me a second hand one. He did and I bought it from him.

[Cue Zephyr]

My interest was sparked also by bluegrass, but also my ever-increasing love for country music and now also folk music.

Not long ago I somehow got interested in bluegrass as I kept on seeing it in topics over at the Acoustic Guitar Forum. I discovered names like Tony Rice, Bryan Sutton and Doc Watson. Got some music, listened to it and loved it. At first it was just the bluegrass flatpicking that totally blew me away, but then I started listening to everything else.

Then I started noticing the mandolin in country-pop music (as you can see one of my favorite artists is a country-pop figure). That combined with the bluegrass I fell into, sparked my interest in the mandolin.

Besides just loving it's sweet sound and also it's kind of split-image it has (it can sound sweet and mean at the same time) and the nature of the instrmen (it's tuning, mostly) it also seemed like an invaluable addition to my arsenal of acoustic instruments and my love for recording acoustic music (even though I can't really compose at this point).

It got out of hand quite quickly, started looking for mandolins daily, asked people from stores and on forums, played a few and finally pulled the trigger

And here we are, one week after I took the darn thing home! I've been playing for only a week, too. But I'm faithful that my experience on the acoustic guitar will help me improve even quicker on the mandolin. I love this instrment!

[granite]

I just read through this whole thread. Lots of great stories and thought I would add mine as my first post on the Cafe:

My wife bought my little boy a cheap uke last christmas for him to mess around with. I picked it up and taught my self some tunes (40 yrs old, no musical experience other then I love to listen). Shortly after, I went to the music shop with the intention of upgrading to a $40 uke and walked out with a beautiful Eastman mandolin. I am not an impulse buyer, but the sound of the instrument in person blew me away. I haven't put it down since. I have no time, but try and play every night. My wife calls it my other girlfriend, my kids roll their eyes when I practice while giving them a bath, but they can't help but dance to it.

As an aside, I have been lurking here for awhile and the Cafe has been an incredible resource for me. I am grateful to all those who post and respond.

[catmandu2]

My wife bought my little boy a cheap uke last christmas for him to mess around with. I picked it up and taught my self some tunes (40 yrs old, no musical experience other then I love to listen). Shortly after, I went to the music shop with the intention of upgrading to a $40 uke and walked out with a beautiful Eastman mandolin. I am not an impulse buyer, but the sound of the instrument in person blew me away. I haven't put it down since. I have no time, but try and play every night. My wife calls it my other girlfriend, my kids roll their eyes when I practice while giving them a bath, but they can't help but dance to it.

As an aside, I have been lurking here for awhile and the Cafe has been an incredible resource for me. I am grateful to all those who post and respond.

Wow, that's great. Another case of the mandolin opening up a whole new world of music, dance, and joy. I love it.

This kind of experience is awesome (a word that I rarely use). Music has been epiphanous for me on many occasions; acquiring my initial instruments, and specific moments when my deployment of them for others was met with resolute, in the moment "joy"--plainly registered on their faces with the most beautiful smiles: magical moments.

[rgray]

I figured the effort of learning a new skill at age 50 (now 52) would help keep some of my brain cells in tune. I've always enjoyed the mandolin sound without always knowing it was a mandolin versus a guitar or other stringed instrument. I had my mandolin before knowing what type music I wanted to play and though I tried to like bluegrass, it just wasn't for me. (No disrespect to bluegrass intended whatsoever.) When I stumbled onto Celtic music, it all clicked. Here was a music genre I had always enjoyed, (maybe my Irish ancestry on my dad's side) but had never really discerned between instruments much beyond the pipes and fiddle. Putting the mandolin together with Celtic music was a dream come true. I don't seek out other players nor play for anyone other than myself, my dog, and the occasional family member sitting nearby doing their best to avoid looking like they are listening. I find my playing time to be very relaxing, whether just picking it up for a few minutes in the house after dinner or sitting under a tree with a cooler of beer and playing for a couple hours. Since I started playing, I have also expanded my listening music library to include general mandolin-centic music plus Celtic varieties ranging from traditional Irish to Celtic Punk. Overall it is great fun mixed with a little pride that I stuck with it and am playing well enough to draw compliments from my wife and family.

[JeffD]

What sparked my interest? Truth?

The fact that, at the time, everyone and his kid brother was playing guitar.

One time that being a young dumb contrarian worked out right.


That is absolutely correct. I already played woodwinds in band and orchestra, but I wanted to play something like a guitar to gain something like a social life. (OK, to meet girls.)

But I could not see how I could distinguish myself from all the gazzilions of accoustic guitar players in denim jackets with a Simon & Garfunkle song book and/or seven James Taylor songs that turned up that spring. Many of whom were taller than me and had this uber cool way of setting their cigarette butts into the peg head. And I didn't even smoke.

[Bob Bronow]

After 30+ years of playing guitar (rock, blues and a little jazz) I found myself playing in an acoustic service at our temple. There were already two other guitarists and I figured that unless we were going to be doing "Green Grass and High Tides" or an Outlaws medley there really wasn't any reason for three guitars!

So I bought a Rogue without ever playing any mandolin figuring that if I didn't like it I would only be out 50 bucks. After a few days of playing and getting used to the tuning and neck I found that not only did I love the sound but it was also quite intuitive to pick out songs and put chords together.

Now I have a Kentucky KM340S and I now play it far more than I play my guitar!

[slimey]

I've played guitar for most of my life, started when I was 8 and I'm in my 50's now. It's been a wonderful part of my life and has caused many adventures and great friendships.
Over the years I've played in many bands and about a year ago I joined a new band, half of the members could be my children, they've been a huge injection of amusement and pushing new music boundries. One of their goals is not to sound like a typical bar band, we have guitars,basses, piano, 2 saxes, clarinet, irish whistle, dobro, flute, EWI can all be played by members of the band. But none of us played a tone monster like the banjo or mandolin. I volunteered to sacrifice and am adding the mandolin to our arsenal.
If you're bored here's a recent recording done for the cd we're working on....Warning! it's not bluegrass or country. Sorry.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jm485gU1z8

[Vernon Hughes]

Long about 1973 when I was 15,my dad let me camp out by myself at roy mcgraws bluegrass festival out side of richmond va. I saw Dewey Farmer playing mandolin with A.L. Wood and the smokey ridge boys and was hooked..Dewey was having so much fun and playing that thing so fast I really got the bug..Dad had / has an old A-50 he let me borrow and the rest is history..After 20 some years touring with some really good groups I got a chance to see Dewey again in the mid 1990's and thank him for the inspiration..

[Mandolin Ant]

I got my start in music as a kid in church. My mom was the pianist and organist and we had a piano (old antique upright) and an organ in our living room. I used to play the medoly to the songs my mom played in church before I could stand on my own. She'd prop me up in front of the piano for hours. Instant baby-sitter! I played Trombone in Jr. High. Picked up a guitar in college and then moved to bass. I learned how to play drums so I could do my own recordings. Mostly Southern Rock and jam band type stuff. One day I was talking to my girlfriend about bluegrass (we're both huge BG fans) and I mentioned how I had always been facinated by the Mandolin. She said, "well I have one. Do you wanna try it?" I said sure. She has an OLD Harmony A. I picked it up and immediately feel in LOVE! Less than a month later I bought my own, MM 100 F-Style. I have been completely obsessed with it since. I'm even getting worried that I'm going to become an accumulator! I've got my eye on a Kentucky KM-700 right now. And, I've been thinking about getting one of those CT-55 Blue Chip Picks for $35.00! I never thought I'd pay that kind of $ for a pick, but it's not just a pick...It's for my Mandolin!
Play on Brothers and Sisters...

[Wind and the void]

I started playing guitar when I was 15 years of age. My mum always had bought random old instruments and one happen to be a old A style romanian mandolin. Which was just hanging up on our wall for a few years. Until one day my uncle thought it will be a cool idea to put some fresh strings on it. So we gave it a good polish and I picked it up and started playing random notes and I just became in love. I love the mandolins size, its history and the fact that it isn't some guitar. Its's something different and to think that it came from the lute is just cool.