Learning Rock Music on Mandolin
Subject: Mandolin/rock songs
Date: Fri, 10 Dec 2004 14:54:39 +0000
Hello,
Came upon your web-site, "folk of the wood". It's an excellent site. Do you have a list of rock songs that use a mandolin? Thanks for your reply.
Lou Petrone
Greetings Lou,
This is an interesting request...yes, there are some classic rock songs, which have included mandolin, that deserve mentioning...
Here are a few:
"Battle of Evermore" Led Zeppelin
"Going to California" Led Zeppelin
"Maggie Mae" Rod Stewart
"Summer Breeze" Seals & Crofts
REM had some great mandolin rock pieces...
I always thought I heard some distant mandolin in some Moody Blues pieces...
Although Nitty Gritty Dirt Band did play a lot of bluegrass oriented pieces, they were also a rock band...and they did use mandolin extensively.
The Band used mandolin to good effect...Levon Helm played both drums and mandolin...what a great artist! If you haven't to date, be sure to pick up "The Last Waltz" on DVD...too cool.
I'm surprised that the mandolin wasn't used more often within a rock context...for a small instrument, it carries forth a lot of power!
I've recently finished my introduction to my latest CD effort: "12-String Guitar Drawings from the Acoustic Forest"...in this intro, I did pay tribute to the mandolin as used within a rock context:
http://www.folkofthewood.com/page5456.htm
Check it out if you get a chance...I remember the first time I attempted to learn "Battle of Evermore"...I used a 12-string capoed up to the 12th fret...not knowing that they were using a mandolin at the time. Surprisingly, it sounds very close to a mandolin...wow!
Mickey
Date: Wed, 14 Jul 2004 19:20:48 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: Mandolins for classic rock
Hello,
I am thinking about adding a mandolin to my arsenal of guitars to duplicate/copy the efforts of Rod Stewart (Maggie Mae), Zepplin (Battle of Evermore), etc.
There is very little chance that I will perform with the mandolin in a live setting but use it primarily/exclusively in my home recording studio.
Unless you disagree, I am thinking of either the Rigel A Natural or the Weber Hyalite A style for this purpose.
What would be the price and availability of these instruments and any other you might recommend I consider.
Thanks
Stephen
Denver, CO
Greetings Stephen,
I'm with you...I love the use of mandolin in a rock context...and, even grew up with Zeppelin and the Moody Blues. I've played Maggie Mae on mandolin, along with Battle of Evermore, for many years. They say that Rod Stewart never saw or met the studio musician who played the mandolin part yet, the mandolin part was the essence of the song...My first experience in learning Battle of Evermore is capoing a Decca 12-string (my very first guitar) to the 12th fret...which gave it that "mandolinistic" sound...I didn't even know that Page was using a mandolin at the time...
Both the Rigel A Natural and the Hyalite will serve you well for home recording and for rock settings...the Rigel would have less brightness and more mellowness...the Hyalite would be brighter in tone. Mickey
Be sure to call James @ 888-209-8434 if you'd like to learn more about these...and about the delivery date...
Subject: mandolin setup
Date: Wed, 4 Feb 2004 21:29:11 -0500
Hello,
Greetings Nate,
Glad to assist:
First off, i must say i stumbled upon your site - what a gift! It is packed with information - i can't wait to discover more! I'll tell my friends!
Thanks so much! Appreciate your promotional efforts...
I haven't had much time to search your site yet, so i hope this isn't redundant. I've got a Kentucky KM630 that i purchased a few years back. I had played guitar for about 5 years prior to that (acoustic, electric, 12-string) and life would have it that i had to take a break completely just months after i got my mando. Well, i'm back at it, with great enthusiasm focusing all my energies on the mandolin.
Two questions:
1. I've read that the setup done by most shops on a mandolin places the string height just high enough so that they won't buzz, but recommended that they actually be 3/32-4.5/32 above the 12th fret. I was told this would provide increased volume as well as a warmer tone. Can you confirm whether this is true or whether i should leave my setup as it is?
Yes, this is essentially what we do through the set-up process...with all import mandolins, (we have a 9-point set-up checklist included with every shipment) we assume that the recipient of the mandolin is a beginner and is looking for ease of playability...after getting past the learning hurdles, a player eventually comes up with their very own taste in set-up...this does require becoming seasoned to understand what you're looking for personally in a mandolin's set-up.
Raising the action will bring out more volume...and, many bluegrassers look for this volume and punch. Notwithstanding, there have been some legendary mandolinists who believed that a low action can still be as effective in volume as a higher action...like Jethro Burns. I've witnessed the volume increase in a higher action...I have not witnessed the warmer tone...
If you're a student of the mandolin, my suggestion would be to keep your action comfortable...if you feel that you've progressed to a professional level of mandolin playing, and you're playing in a larger ensemble, such as a bluegrass band, and you need the added volume, then by all means raise your action accordingly.
2. I have nothing against bluegrass -- don't get me wrong! I love listening to it, but at this point i'm more interested in working through some more "popular" artists. For instance, Nickel Creek, R.E.M., Counting Crows, The Thorns, Jars of Clay, Led Zeppelin and the like. I'm having an extremely hard time finding music (TAB) for this type of music. Any ideas? I'm working my way through them right now, but there are some i'd like to just "jump into and begin playing" you know?
It seems that there's a large void in adapting popular rock music to mandolin notation...I'm not sure why. When I played professionally, I not only played bluegrass but also played what the audience connected with such as Cat Stevens, Zeppelin, Moody Blues...and, of course, country hits of the time. I adapted a lot of this popular material to both banjo and mandolin...and, as you're obviously aware, many of these bands incorporated mandolin and banjo within their repertoire: Dave Mason, Steve Miller, Zeppelin...all had a few tunes with banjo interspersed...I've always loved this stuff...and am surprised that a book wasn't written that documented this material for each designated instrument...I may have to do this myself...
Keep on Pickin', Mickey
Thanks for any comments you might have.
Great Site!
nate
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