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Subject: bluegrass mandola
Date: Wed, 9 Oct 2002 20:02:53 -0700

Hi, I was reading your Q&A and was wondering why you can't play bluegrass
mandola? lydia

Greetings Lydia,

It's not that you can't play bluegrass on a mandola per se...only that it's not considered a bluegrass instrument by traditionalists. And, this is a good thing...especially since keeping the bluegrass tradition pure is an uphill battle. There are a limited few instruments that are considered part of the tradition:
5-String Banjo
Mandolin (Archtop with f soundholes)
String Bass (Stand-Up Only)
Dobro (6-String Squareneck)
Fiddle
Acoustic Guitar (Dreadnought only...usually a Martin D-18 or D-28)

Any instruments you've heard in a bluegrass context outside of these would be considered non-traditional...
harmonica, keyboards, electric bass, etc.

The mandola sounds beautiful when rendering bluegrass standards...therefore, there isn't a law against using it for bluegrass songs...only, it's considered non-traditional...and you only need to be aware of this...you probably do not want to pull one out during a bluegrass festival...however, if you have a bluegrass band, and are in a recording setting, or even for something different during a performance, you'll fiind the mandola will be very inviting.

Hope this assists you in gaining a perspective on the instrument's capabilities...Mickey

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