Been quite here lately. Still waiting on that banjo. But I did pick up a new tune on fiddle and mando this week. Ashokan Farewell. Nice tune. I said I was going to learn something sad and mournful. And oh can that fiddle make those long bowed notes sound so very sad...and not just because I've only been playing for a few months.

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Ashokan Farewell was meant for a fiddle.  It sounds passable on a mandolin, but just not the same.  I play it sometimes; there are times when it just fits the mood...

Is you banjo being shipped to you?

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Sorry I've been hanging out at BHO...haven't checked back here in a while.

Banjo is being shipped...or will be shipped sometime soon. Not quite sure when. It's all paid for though. So now it's the waiting game. Everything else came in...finger picks, nice cradle strap (went with Lakota Leathers again for that), books. Now I just need the banjo. I anticipate another couple weeks before it arrives. Patience is a virtue I hear.

Picked up another tune to work on for fiddle and mando. Rocky Top. I do like the tune, and I know it well enough. Getting more into the bluegrass music, which is what I wanted.

And on a bit of a tangent...There's one mando player from a local band I always enjoy watching. He attacks those strings like there's no tomorrow. It's pretty intense. And I wonder how it is he hasn't broken any strings when I've seen his band. Last Saturday the banjo and guitar both broke strings during a tune, so they did a nice BG acapella tune while changing out strings. It was pretty cool to see, but I wonder how quick a string change would be for a mando in that situation?

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3577 (just for good measure since I've been lost in banjo world for a while)

Well we need  you over here too, girl.

My group  does Rocky Top  in B.  How about you?

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I've got it in G, at least that's what I read out of it. One F sharp on the E string...for fiddle. It would be cool to play it in a jam sometime, see what other people do. But the jams I go to really skip out on the bluegrass tunes. I get OT and more pop-folk stuff (from the 60s on, more popular stuff).

Eventually I'll learn how to change what key a tune is played in., just need to practice more.

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No sweat.  I still don't transpose well.  I'm a slave to my muscle memory (that is, a specific key)...

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I try and memorize tunes as fast as possible, because it's easier to memorize than take time out from playing to find sheet music and all that. Still having issues memorizing chords for tunes though. Picking or bowing the tune, cool. But what chords go along with it? Ugh...let me take a look at that music for a second or two. Why can't everything be played in G,C,D? That would be oh so nice for me.

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And I was looking up TAB for Rocky Top, and key is all over the place...A, B, G, D...do what you like I guess. I'm learning it for fiddle right now, so chords aren't really my thing for this tune yet. Eventually the chords will be needed...eventually.

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GCD has its place, but you may find it gets tiresome after a while.  Some jams I have been to, it seems that every tune is in G.   

Rocky Top is interesting because it's also more complex; in B, you get five chords:  B, E, G#m, F#, and A.

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I've just been lazy and haven't learned chords as I should. Well, lazy when it comes to mando playing. Life has been pretty busy otherwise. I have about a month to write my thesis, have to be able to defend it by the end of January. Plus I'm taking my last required course and then comprehensive exams at the same time. And I'm playing hockey. The next 4-5 months are going to be hell. And I'm looking into Ph.D. programs, and hope I hear something back soon on that. Can't complain about nothing to do now.

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The life of a grad student is nothing but busy...  Well, sometimes the mandolin can just be great stress relief too.  Just hang in there and keep picking.

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Thanks. If I can just get through this semester to the end of January, things will be great. And I got word my banjo is shipping out soon, so that'll help keep me sane as well.

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MHO or not, let us know when the banjo arrives.

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Banjo is set to arrive in 10 days (so says USPS). Snow is flying in Fairbanks. I'm going to Texas in a couple weeks to check out a university for a Ph.D. in marine biology, Things have been busy. My poor mandolin has been stuck in it's case for a while. And that's not good. Poor baby needs to be held every now and again.

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With my own thesis long in the rearview mirror, I can assure you...  There will always be time for the mandolin later.  (Banjo too.)

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Banjo arrived today! I'll post a picture when I get home. But right now I'm off to go fly fishing...for college credit. Well, that doesn't sound right. I'm not fishing for credits, I'm getting credits for fishing. Haha.

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Here's my little bluegrass family. We're a delightful bunch.

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Nice looking family, too.  Thanks for posting.

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Howdy folks. Haven't been around for a while. So how's everyone doing?

Had something horrible happen that turned out great. I was playing at a festival a couple of weeks ago. It was raining all weekend. The stage was nice. Really big and covered, so the show went on as scheduled. We played last on Saturday night and when the set was over, I walked back through the green room and down the steps to the very muddy ground where I proceeded to slip in the mud and fell back onto the steps. CRACK! I Landed on my Mandolin and smashed it good. Ouch. But to make a long story short, I went ahead and made a serious upgrade. I was playing a Morgan Monroe. Not a bad instrument, but it was an entry level type instrument. What I wound up getting was a Weber Special Edition F. Got it thru Dennis at the Mandolin Store. All I can say is WOW. I truly have a "REAL" instrument now. There simply is no comparison. It plays like a dream and the sound is incredible. I had the guys at the Mandolin install an internal pick up and I also got a pre-amp. Played it at a festival this weekend for the first time on stage, and it was simply incredible. The folks at Weber are amazing. It is really a nice piece. The guys at The Mandolin Store were wonderful. The pick up install was a real pro job and the set up was perfect. Wow Wow Wow! I'm thrilled.

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Hey Ant.  Terrible loss of a mandolin, but the story does have a good ending.  Good to have you back around man.

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Weber sure does build nice mandolins that's for sure....sorry to hear about the busted MM mandolin

Thanks guys. That's OK. I am super happy with the new piece. I think I'm going to make an art piece from the busted MM. Maybe something in a shadow box. It was my first after all.

Off to play another festival in the woods. Have a great weekend everyone!

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Today, Oct. 18th, is the ten year anniversary of my traumatic brain injury. I survived, become a new person and have healed quite nicely. But learning to play a mandolin is the best thing I've done after that fateful day. Learning and remembering songs helps with my short-term memory issue better then I thought it would.

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Ant,  I like your idea for your MM.  Post a pic when you're done with it.

Ricson, thanks for posting.  Glad you're healing nicely, especially with some mandolin therapy.

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