Quote:
Originally Posted by Silly Moustache
Guitars are bur one of a large family of musical instruments called "chordophones".
Actually keyboard instruments are chordophones and many guitarists will take a break and use pianos during their act.
Hope that helps.
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Much appreciated! I can't carry a piano (as big as I am), but I do like the idea of a cittern or similar.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Br1ck
Octave mandolin comes to mind, but not before a regular mandolin. Why? Play mandolin, show up at a jam and be unique because you can fill a frequency space different from the six guitars that showed up. Then there are all the fiddle tunes you can play. You'll get more chances to play. Not like stand up bass though.
Then all the chords can port over to octave mandolin if you like. One mandolin caveat, bring money.
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Cheers Brick. My Dad was a tremendous mandolin player (as well as fiddle and banjo) and I've inherited his instrument. It's a nameless wonder that he bought at a second hand shop in Hay-on-Wye in the 1960's and I think it's probably Japanese. I'm 'sort of' adept at it but I have massive hands and my paid gigs are all solo. I used to take my mandolin to sessions even though I was invited there for guitar and fiddle, but I was competing with people much more capable so it barely ever came out of the case. Nowadays I live on a tiny Island where there's no sessions to attend, and it's in the attic somewhere.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve DeRosa
Are you playing solo or with an ensemble, instrumental only or with vocals, and what genre[s] - big difference in terms of the sonic space you need to fill, and the type of instrument[s] you'd find most effective...
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Yes, I should have been clearer, sorry. All of my paid gigs are solo, and I do about 50/50 originals and covers that range from trad to modern country to folk (Richard Thompson and John Martyn type stuff) and chart songs. I play percussively a lot and switch between fingerstyle and flatpicking and I sing in a baritone although I use my head voice an awful lot too.
That's why I was asking for 'full range', rather than mandolin type register. I do sometimes break out a mandolin (although not in recent years) for something like copperhead road, but I always end up feeling like I can't 'go up' dynamically by bringing the bass in, in say verse two, and I always feel like I should have just used the guitar after I finish!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mandobart
Picking up mandolin really boosted my value as a musician to local bands. I went from being one of a few thousand mediocre guitar players to being one of a few dozen mediocre mandolin players.....and I was willing to play genres besides just bluegrass.
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Where I used to live, there were loads of mandolin players, although less than there were guitarists, and I could never get in sideways on a session because they knew I played fiddle and always asked me to do that instead.
Quote:
Originally Posted by The Watchman
Isn't this what a ukulele is for? Its like a 4 string guitar and standard tuning is like a guitar at the fifth fret. A tenor or larger doesnt sound like a toy.
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Hmm, not really. I already own and play madolin and banjo, and those don't give me any low end to 'hide' my vocals in in the mix. I always feel quite exposed and wish I'd used the guitar. My daughter had a nice handmade uke, and it's a fine sound, but not what I'm after really, hence the 'full range' part of my question. Tenor 'guitars' are likewise not really what I'm looking for, although Seth Lakeman makes them sound great solo. My voice is heaps lower than his... and I don't have his talent!
