Mondolas rock!!

Subject: Mondolas rock!!
From: Paco Rabanne
Date: 06 May 05 - 03:47 AM

Hola dudes,
                            This morning I will be taking delivery of a mondola. After decades playing flamenco guitar I thought it about time to broaden my repertoire.(look on the bright side, I could have bought a banjo!)
                            Anyway, to cut a long story short, I would be grateful if any mandola players out there would chip in with any advice ie tunings? mandola societies? playing techniques etc etc.
                            Cheers in advance, I now have to toddle off to a site meeting in bloody Rotherham
                         Flamenco, still the true path!

Subject: RE: Mondolas rock!!
From: GUEST,HipflaskAndy
Date: 06 May 05 - 04:37 AM

Hoots mon. Mondolas!?
Good luck with it all Ted.
HFA

Subject: RE: Mondolas rock!!
From: Sttaw Legend
Date: 06 May 05 - 04:52 AM

How romantic Ted dont get wet

Subject: RE: Mondolas rock!!
From: Sttaw Legend
Date: 06 May 05 - 09:26 AM

Here you go Teddles
or try THIS or even THIS

Subject: RE: Mondolas rock!!
From: Paco Rabanne
Date: 06 May 05 - 10:39 AM

Dave,
    Well done!I have added that lot to my 'favourites' list and will peruse at my leisure.

    ps: We took a couple of photos of you at Sewerby Hall,but unfortunately as the sun was shining, the glare from your bald head means you can't tell who the photos are of.Wear a hat next year eh?

Subject: RE: Mondolas rock!!
From: mooman
Date: 06 May 05 - 11:02 AM

They certainly do!

Peace

moo (Head of Mandolas, Surreal Kingdom of Belgium)

Subject: RE: Mondolas rock!!
From: GUEST,Wesley S
Date: 06 May 05 - 11:22 AM

Have you visited www.mandolincafe.com ? It's a great resourse with a forum - and one section is expressly for CBOM players. Check it out.

Also - how long is your mandola ? Here in the US we consider a mandola as an instrument tuned in the neighborhood of CGDA from low to high with a scale length of around 17 inches. In Europe what is commonly called a mandola is what we would call an octave mandolin or even a zouk.

Subject: RE: Mondolas rock!!
From: Paco Rabanne
Date: 06 May 05 - 11:31 AM

Yo Wesley,
         I will certainly have a squint at the mandolin cafe.The instrument that I call a 'mandola' has a scale length of 530mm, and is tuned GDAE.I got it a couple of hours ago and can only play 'smoke on the water' on it at present!

Subject: RE: Mondolas rock!!
From: Paco Rabanne
Date: 06 May 05 - 11:33 AM

PS sorry about the 530mm, in English, it has a scale length of 21inches.

Subject: RE: Mondolas rock!!
From: mooman
Date: 06 May 05 - 11:37 AM

Strictly speaking to clear up the nomenclature....

Mandolin - equivalent of a violin: GDAE

Mandola (or alto mandola) - equivalent of viola (often wrongly called tenor mandola): CDGA (or various alternative tunings)

Octave mandolin - no violin family equivalent (often wrongly called an octave mandola): GDAE one octave below a mandolin (or various alternative tunings)

Mandocello - equivalent of a cello: CGDA one octave below a mandola (or alto mandola) (or various alternative tunings)

Mandobass (a rare beastie!) - the equivalent of a double bass

Then you have your "Irish bouzouki" (longer scale length than an octave mandolin and general tuned in octaves on the lower two string course (of four): tuning GDAE or various alternatives; citterns (generally similar scale length as an octave mandolin or "Irish" bouzouki) with five string courses (CGDAE or various alternative tunings). "Blarge" similar to the above two with a made-up "Irish" name.

Then there are the numerous variants on all of the above!

Peace

moo (Head of Mandolas, This is Not a Real Country)

(who has owned and worked on most of the above and currently owns the first three in the list!)

Subject: RE: Mondolas rock!!
From: mooman
Date: 06 May 05 - 11:41 AM

Dear Flamenco Ted,

According to correct nomenclature a 530mm scale length is an octave mandolin (often called an octave mandola in the UK). It may be strung in unison (my preference) or with the bottom two courses octaved.

Power to your elbow and fretting hand!

Peace

moo (Head of Mandolas, The Little Place between France and Holland)

Subject: RE: Mondolas rock!!
From: Paco Rabanne
Date: 06 May 05 - 11:51 AM

Yo Moo,
       It is strung in unison, .40's on the bottom. I think I will just call him 'Bob' that will save a lot of confusion when people ask me what I am playing.

Subject: RE: Mondolas rock!!
From: Dave Hanson
Date: 07 May 05 - 04:21 AM

Mandocello ? mooman.

eric

Subject: RE: Mondolas rock!!
From: Geoff the Duck
Date: 07 May 05 - 10:23 AM

FTed - A couple of years back I bought a useful Multi-instrument chord book which you might find useful. I have found a link to the thread where I posted it..BLICK HERE

Quack!
GtD.

Subject: RE: Mondolas rock!!
From: Les in Chorlton
Date: 08 May 05 - 03:12 AM

Best instrument I have ever owned or played. After a thousand years of messing about on a big tenor banjo and a mandolin, I bought a 'Vintage' Mandola from Hobgoblin, Manchester uk. Even when I play it it makes a lovely sound. CGDA and 22 frets, just fits under the fingers so well.

I play most days and have around 60 tunes learned over 3 years mostly from music. At the start I could not read at all. I found tunes I knew and worked them out on the fretboard until I could play from memory. Each tune takes a while but I am getting better. I also bought a book with a CD and found that realy useful for finding new tunes.

I still find playing at the folk club scarry but less so with other people. Those slow/easy sessions at Whitby gave me a great boost.

I am going to get Nelson Mandela's face engraved on the tailpiece so that I can call mine Nelson Mandola.

Subject: RE: Mondolas rock!!
From: Paco Rabanne
Date: 09 May 05 - 10:56 AM

Thanks for the advice chaps. I restrung Bob on saturday and he is much happier now, I can now play Rocky Mountain way as well now.   
                   Octave mandolins, thetrue path!

Subject: RE: Mondolas rock!!
From: Banjo-Flower
Date: 09 May 05 - 12:49 PM

Flamenco Mandola thats really an original act Ted I wish I'd thought of it

Gerry

Subject: RE: Mondolas rock!!
From: Rt Revd Sir jOhn from Hull
Date: 10 May 05 - 12:32 PM

wahts a mondo la?

Subject: RE: Mondolas rock!!
From: mandoleer
Date: 10 May 05 - 04:41 PM

You can jazz on them too. I've happy memories of playing one, along with someone playing a quiet electric guitar, accompanying a female jazz singer over in East Yorkshire. Wasn't even mine - belonged to the guitarist! Tuned GDAE, which suited me. Also used whistle on some numbers - again not a jazz instrument usually. Never heard any of the songs before, but who cares in jazz?

Subject: RE: Mondolas rock!!
From: Paco Rabanne
Date: 11 May 05 - 04:16 AM

You're never wrong in jazz! The Mandolin cafe has some rather exotic chord charts which I have printed off.The hard part is trying to drop a flattened thitheenth into a song, whilst still looking nonchalant, like you play chords like that all the time.

Subject: RE: Mondolas rock!!
From: mandoleer
Date: 11 May 05 - 05:01 PM

Chords? Chords? I play melody or melody type harmony. Only play chords when there's a button to press to get them. Chords to me are as incomprehensible as the rules of bridge and the point of synchronised swimming....

Subject: RE: Mondolas rock!!
From: mooman
Date: 11 May 05 - 06:04 PM

I love both melody and chordal playing and there is no finer vehicle for both than the King of Instruments...the octave mandolin!

Hit me with that 7b5th!

Peace!

moo (Head of Mandolas, Land of the Three Official Languages)

Subject: RE: Mondolas rock!!
From: Banjo-Flower
Date: 12 May 05 - 09:59 AM

Hey jOhn Ted meant Mandola's (this is'nt a spelling site you know!!!)

Gerry

Subject: RE: Mondolas rock!!
From: Paco Rabanne
Date: 12 May 05 - 10:27 AM

Oi, BF, you put the apostrophe in the wrong place in the word 'isn't' This is a puntuation site you know! If you are in the area on Sunday afternoon, it's The Black Boy session in The High street, Hull. I have just spoken to silken haired old Les, and he is taking his bouzouki along, so we will have a rocking time!

Subject: RE: Mondolas rock!!
From: GUEST,Mandonomore
Date: 12 May 05 - 06:10 PM

Dear Mandola Ted
Dan the Tiny was ferretting round for strings for his electric and found a set of mandola strings that I had bought from Music Room in Cleckheaton, fortunately the loop ends confused him The gauges are 12/48 Give us a bell if youre interested I'm in Hull tomorrow and could drop them off

Subject: RE: Mondolas rock!!
From: Banjo-Flower
Date: 12 May 05 - 06:20 PM

Oi Ted stop defending jOhn when im (no apostrophe as I may get it in the wrong place)defending you

Gerry (with tongue firmly in cheek)

Subject: RE: Mondolas rock!!
From: Paco Rabanne
Date: 13 May 05 - 04:36 AM

Thanks Andy, but 48's are a bit too butch for me! I wouldn't want to go beyond 40's.
Apostophes all in the correct place there BF

Subject: RE: Mondolas rock!!
From: mooman
Date: 13 May 05 - 05:17 AM

Hurrumppphhh!

13s to 52s for me! (plural not genitive, therefore no apostrophes!)

A "Powerdola".

But then it was specially made for heavy strings!

Peace

moo

Subject: RE: Mondolas rock!!
From: Paco Rabanne
Date: 16 May 05 - 05:59 AM

Met up with Les from Hull yesterday at Black Boy session, he was armed with his trusty bouzouki, and before long we were playing a stirring arrangement of Mozarts piano sonata number 21. Les plays on girly 40's as well.

Subject: RE: Mondolas rock!!
From: John MacKenzie
Date: 16 May 05 - 12:55 PM

Agree with Mooman octave mandolins are the mutt's nuts, met a nice guy recently who played one quite well! Somewhere near Niort9 as I remember.
Giok ¦¬]

Subject: RE: Mondolas rock!!
From: Grab
Date: 16 May 05 - 02:08 PM

I'm a octave-mandolinster as of last year. Mine's a dirt-cheap Blue Moon, but I've just put down a deposit on a Paul Hathway one. Lovely, lovely instruments and very reasonably priced. £600 for a solid-wood, hand-crafted, tailored-to-your-requirements instrument is a pretty damn good deal! Plus of course they sound gorgeous.

For stuff to play, check out anything by Show of Hands - Steve Knightley uses mandocello, octave mandolin or bouzouki for backing.

Playing tips. If you're playing fiddle tunes, try to keep the first finger on frets 1 and 2, second finger on frets 3 and 4, third finger on frets 5 and 6, and fourth finger for frets 7 and 8. (If you're playing fiddle tunes, you should never need to go above there.) That avoids you getting tangled up with odd fingerings when you try to get out of stretching for a note and find that's screwed you for the following note. Having consistent fingering means there's one less thing to worry about when you're playing at sight or picking up a tune by ear. You obviously have to disregard this when you're playing chords though.

Octave mandolins have a long scale length, so the more advantage you can give yourself for that, the better. If you adopt a classical-style left-hand position (elbow in, hand rotated so the lines on the palm of your hand are parallel to the neck) then you get that bit more reach.

If you fancy something more challenging, I've got a single-mandolin arrangement of Django Reinhardt's "Tears" I can pass your way, if I can remember the website I put it on.

Graham.

PS. My current "octave" is technically a "tenor" tuned to be an octave. This has required 15-56 D'Addarios, which are the thickest mandolin strings available...

Subject: RE: Mondolas rock!!
From: GUEST,Flamenco ted
Date: 17 May 05 - 03:34 AM

I like the sound of that there Django Reinhardt if you can find it Mr Grab.I too took the precaution of not spending too much on this instrument, but I know I will buy a better one before too long.

Subject: RE: Mondolas rock!!
From: GUEST,flamenco ted
Date: 17 May 05 - 06:36 AM

ps: On the subject of awkward fingerings, a lot of mandolin chords are obviously impossible on the King of instruments, but there is a fab PDF file of octave mandolin chords to be had for nowt on this site:-
www.folkofthewood.com - 'chords for the octave mandolin in the open position' by Mickey Cochran.

Subject: RE: Mondolas rock!!
From: GUEST,punkfolkrocker
Date: 17 May 05 - 09:31 AM

i'll say thanks in anticipation of the chord pdf..

cos i've taken the cheap route of restringing electric 12 string guitars as sort of hybrid 8 string mandola tuned thingies;
.. with the 4 extra strings as drones..

capo is very necessary with 'em

Subject: RE: Mondolas rock!!
From: Les in Chorlton
Date: 17 May 05 - 12:25 PM

I love playing tunes but I find chords a bit difficult on my tenor mandola, tuned (bottom CGDA top)

I guess this is inevitable since the tuning is for tunes not chords?