csm3 - Posted - 01/14/2011:  19:05:38

Im a fiddle player, who also knows a little guitar, and I recently bought a cheap mandolin and leanred all my fiddle tunes on it and some irish mandolin. Im thinling about switching over to mandolin because I find it a lot easier and and it is a member of the lute family(medieval nerd). While the strings are a lot tougher Im sorta already used to this because of guitar. My main question is though does the mandolin generaly serve the same purpose in bluegrass, old time and celtic as a fiddle with the ability to also switch over to rythm and harmony?

Andah1Andah2 - Posted - 01/15/2011:  06:57:55

I've been learning fiddle for a little over a year and it is a challenge. More so than when I gave banjo a try. Both are hard to learn but better sounds came out of the banjo sooner. I joked once that after 1 year at the banjo, folks who aren't musicians would listen and say "Cool, you play the banjo". When folks heard me after 1 year at the fiddle, they say "Oh, I see your learning how to play fiddle".

I too have the temptation of the mando with the "promise" that it will be easier and same tuning, no bow, etc etc. 2 things I've determined. One is that I tried out a mando for the first time and although we have a headstart with the scales and there's no bow, there is still quite a lot of skill that goes into it. That picking hand has a lot of different techniques that is its own little world beyond the basic strum. The strings are tough to stop (or fret). Those folks here who bang out a sweet tune have put a lot of time and sweat into it. I'm sure you know this too, but I think there's this notion that tempts all us fiddlers of this "land of milk and honey" with the mando technique that might very well be a falsehood to really play it well.

The other point is what sound/instrument do you want for your "go to" instrument. For me, I like the mando sound but I still love the fiddle sound. I like the mando sound enough to one day tinker with it for fun and maybe get some skill, but I will stay with the fiddle for the same reason I chose it over the banjo. I like it more, regardless of how difficult it is. In fact that difficulty is both a draw and a frustration for me. They might have similar jobs in a bluegrass band but still one is most definitely the fiddle sound and the other the mando. I guess I'll just have to wait longer on my instrument before I don't sound lousy much to others :)

majikgator - Posted - 01/15/2011:  17:29:39

well best bet is to LISTEN to bluegrass bands with mandolin players, yes mandolin is used a LOT for rhythm but they also get a chance to take breaks that is to solo usually a spin off of the melody. It really depends on how good the mandolin player is. Mandolin like any instrument is relatively easy to play simple things but is a life times work to master and excel.

coelhoe - Posted - 01/15/2011:  17:52:48

Mandolin has the responsibility in a bg ensemble to keep the rhythm and to play the off beat: one-AND, two-And, etc. This is really important and it is why band players must have an instrument that can be heard over all the rest when playing chords. This also means learning all of those four finger moveable chord positions.

I agree with Gator above that you really need to listen to more bg bands so you can hear how this works. Of course, Mr. Monroe invented the idea.