I had a go at playing my mando with other folk musicians - something I have building up my courage to do for years. It was lovely if a bit fast for me (which is fine). The one thing I really noticed was I couldn’t actually hear myself over the violins. However at one point the other mandolinist strummed and it sounded wonderful. So that got me thinking that doing that (instead of plucking the tune) would be a good thing for me to learn to add to our local get together. The thing is I’m no good at chords and strumming. 

So I have begun virtual lessons focusing on chords and strumming however this isn’t specific to folk accompaniment but is defo proving useful. I have been googling and you-tubing folk accompaniment and found some great videos (Daoiri Farrell and Folk Friend) but these are for guitar. I’ve also been looking at bluegrass mandolin.

My question is are there any resources or someone who specifically covers folk accompaniment on the mandolin? 

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Cheers

Alice

Hi, I am interested in joining the session that meets monthly on Broughton street. One of the attendees has kindly shared a list of tunes that normally come up. I’ve got most of them but there’s one I can’t source. It’s called Levan Polka/ finish polka. They play it in a set with Egan’s Polka and Britches full of stitches (both of which I have thanks to Nigel’s classes & library).

Anyone know/ have the Levan/finish polka at all?

Many thanks

Alice

I wonder if anyone has the notation for this tune?  Sunshine and Clouds by John Kelly.  i tried to transcribe it yesterday but I am sure my attempt is full of mistakes!  Can anyone share any tips on transcribing?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hEUmH1LWjg

Hi all,

Just posted this tune elsewhere but thought some of you here might enjoy it too.
  Topsy.pdf (Size: 216.78 KB / Downloads: 24)



 It was composed by Ian Holmes, an excellent accordion player from Dumfries, for a very playful kitten.

It can be simplified if you wish and the chords aren’t strictly necessary if you play the tune on the fiddle. There are a few recordings on You Tube but this one is quite straight forward..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4p-JR16g7tw

Hi,

I’m learning a set comprising Scarse O Tatties into The Athole Highlanders but I’m really struggling to get my speed up while keeping the rythme. I’m trying a metronome on my phone. Anyone have any advice on practice exercises I could do to help me get my speed up? 

I’d love to get it to this speed https://youtu.be/Kw1l6mdZ9-E

Many thanks

Alice

Niels Jorgensen's Polka (Sweden)




I used to play this in a folk group back in the 1990s, and I've always liked it. Click on the image to access PDF downloads.

I'm in the early stages of organising a mixed instrument workshop in Cairnbaan, beside the Crinan Canal in Argyllshire. At the moment I'm looking at mid-August. As you might know, I like to have themes for my workshops, so I'm thinking about what theme I could use. Perhaps "Canals" or tunes from the area. I'm still thinking... (Any suggestions welcome!). The format would be from about 10.30am to 4pm, with breaks for tea and lunch. I'm hoping to hire part of the Cairnbaan Hotel for the workshop, and there may be rooms available if anyone wished to stay. More details as I firm them up.

Raasay House



I can't remember where I got this tune. Does anyone recognise it? It's part of my Hebridean Hopscotch project, exploring tunes from the Islands.

Robinson County


I got this tune from The Phillips Collection of Traditional American Fiddle Tunes. I think I just changed one note to bring it into the D pentatonic scale completely. A nice easy tune, it still has the joy which I find special in Old Time tunes. Click on the image to access PDFs and an MP3 sound file.

Hi 

I was wondering if anyone regularly plays 250 to Vigo and whether they bar the strings for the B/F, F/C and G/D parts or whether they use separate fingers? I’m struggling to get clear notes when barring as it’s fairly new to me. Any advice would be much appreciated. PDF of music attached. Thank you.

Attached Files

  250 to Vigo Treble.pdf (Size: 137.35 KB / Downloads: 14)