Bluegrass Jam

I've been aware of a monthly bluegrass jam at Chaplin's in Spring City for a number of months now. I was wondering if I was good enough on the mandolin to follow along - and whether it was beginner-friendly (i.e., whether you get the stink eye if you can't rip off a blistering solo whenever you get the nod.)

I went in December just to watch - and in hindsight I should have taken my mando. It was a friendly group with all levels of players, and very beginner friendly. The host, Ted the Fiddler, knew me, as he also hosts the Sunday night open mics, and I've played there with Rosewood twice - and he told me point blank that I should have brought my mando. Oh well, who knew?

So I've been looking forward to going back and actually playing. Only there were snowstorms on the first Thursday of the month in Jan. and Feb., and a very important theatrical event in March. So last Thursday was my first opportunity.

I'm in the orange cap on the left

There was a nice mix of instruments: maybe 5 guitar players, a banjo, a dobro, two mandolins, electric bass, fiddle, harp. Everyone was competent, and some were really good players. We went around the circle picking songs, mostly bluegrass standards.

I'm familiar with most of these, and they're all fairly simple chord progressions in major keys, so I had no trouble following along. But I don't know the repertoire well enough to pick a song myself, so I passed when it was my turn.

I took a couple of leads when it was my turn, and disappointed myself - because I know I can do better. And I will be better next month - I'll be working in simple improvisation over basic chord progressions. I know the theory and know how to do it - so now it's just a matter of getting more comfortable and doing it.

Everyone was very friendly and the music was quite good. I hope I'll be able to make next month's jam.

Mandolin in the Keys

Last week I took the family to Islamorada in the Florida Keys for a little warm-weather getaway. We took similar vacations in '09 and '10 and enjoyed it very much both times.

When thinking of traveling now, I immediately think about bringing an instrument with me. I've brought my travel guitar with me on a number of trips, and even on a plane, and this time I was thinking I'd bring both a guitar and a mandolin. But I decided against the guitar at the last minute. Interpreted one way, its measurements would be just over the maximum allowable size for Southwest Airlines. They might have let it slide, but I wasn't willing to risk the chance of a $75 surcharge. The mandolin would be my carry-on bag - and that worked fine.

An observation about practice. When I was in the band and orchestra in school, I despised practice. I did it when absolutely necessary - or more often, when a parent mentioned pointedly that it had been a while since they'd heard the sound of a clarinet or a string bass. It was an obligation - *never* something I did for the enjoyment of it.

There were some very talented people in the high school orchestra, and I heard stories that they'd practice for four, five, or six hours at a time. That was always completely incomprehensible to me - why would you subject yourself to that if you had a choice?!?

I finally understand. I play scales and finger exercises on the mandolin every day - because I enjoy it. And Wednesday morning at the hotel in Islamorada, with my ladies sleeping late and getting ready for a day at the hotel pool and beach, I practiced for at least two hours in an isolated corner of the hotel beach, underneath palm trees, while looking out at the blue/green Caribbean. I played major and pentatonic scales in every key, probably for an hour. Chords, double-stops, tremolo practice. Then I played songs for probably another hour. I could have happily kept going for much longer, but my ladies were down and I wanted to join them.

The next day, we drove to Key West for the day - and there were eye rolls when I brought the mandolin along. But I thought why not bring it - if they wanted to shop or sun-bathe, I could find a quiet spot to play.

And that's exactly what happened - after an afternoon of walking, shopping, and hanging out, they wanted a little beach time. So I grabbed my mando and found a quiet spot to play. When it was time for a group pic, I tried to put it down, but they insisted I bring it into the pic.

Friday morning was more of the same at the hotel beach. And I loved it.

It was a shame we didn't have the travel guitar with us. Greta and I would both have liked having it with us. And it would have been very cool to play some songs with her. But playing on the beach under the palm trees was great.