Jonesieblog

I’ve been asked via a DM on Twitter for advice about purchasing a first mandolin for a beginner.  A proper response will need more than 140 characters, so here I am!

Firstly, I should congratulate you on having the good sense to consider learning to play the mandolin!  It is a fabulously versatile instrument, and is relatively easy to learn.

There’s a popular saying among mandolin players: “life’s too short to play a cheap mandolin.”  As a beginner, you won’t want to spend too much, of course, but it’s definitely worth spending enough to get a real instrument rather than a toy.  My first mandolin was a Tanglewood which cost about £160.  It made a pleasing sound and had decent intonation.  Before  that, I did initially buy an Ozark mandolin for about £70, but it was pretty much unplayable and sounded like a toy – I returned it to the shop.

I can’t overstate how important it is to buy a mandolin that will produce a decent tone – it is really motivating!  What constitutes a decent tone is, of course, subjective, so I would recommend that you go into music shops and pluck a few.  If you feel self conscious about doing that, ask someone in the shop to play them for you.

After 18 months learning the mandolin, I invested in an Eastman 515 mandolin.  At the time I felt very uncertain about spending so much on an instrument, but it was SO worth it.  The pleasure I get from it is hard to put into words. You develop a real relationship with a quality instrument as you play it over time.

If you just want a cheap instrument, go for a ukelele instead

Stumble it!

I was in Sounds Instrumental this afternoon, which is always a pleasure.  I was ostensibly there to buy a tuner for my mandolin, but took the opportunity to try out a Bouzouki (need longer fingers!) and browse through the music books.

This collection of Scottish tunes caught my eye:

There is really no need for me to buy this book.  One website alone – www.thesession.org – has more tunes than I could ever learn, and probably has many of the tunes in this book, but that doesn’t stop me wanting it!  It feels great, and the pages of musical score look fabulous.  I didn’t buy it, but as I type this I’m beginning to regret it.

(I have hotlinked to the image on the Highland Music Trust site, which is in general a bad thing to do, but I’m guessing they’ll forgive me since I’m giving their beautiful book a free plug). 

Stumble it!

I wasn’t really meaning to write a new tune, and you might argue that it stretches the imagination to describe this as “new”, but here’s a wee ditty that came to me today. I can just picture the Morris dancers clashing sticks to this

maypole midi

Stumble it!

As promised long ago, here are the midi file and score for a wee hornpipe I wrote before christmas.  To be honest, I’m not sure if it sounds better as a hornpipe or played straight like a reel.  Either way, hope you enjoy it

My first hornpipe

midi file

Stumble it!

I posted a somewhat curmudgeonly comment on Derek’s Hotmilkydrink back in October, to the effect that time spent playing Guitar Hero would be better spent learning to play the guitar.  As usual, someone else has said it better:

Stumble it!