This video brought me back to my childhood. At family gatherings, my grandfather and my uncles would often play bluegrass music, and while I enjoyed all of it, the mandolin was my favorite of the instruments they played. It's been over 20 years since I was last able to hear them play. As you played "I'll Fly Away," I had a smile on my face, as well as a tear in my eye, as memories of them flooded my mind.
A flatback, somewhat pear-shaped (with a round hole) mandolin is also to be found in brazilian music, where it is usually used as a melodic instrument in Choro (an instrumental genre that developed in the turn of the century). In fact an interesting recent development of the mandolin in Brazil is the rise of a 10-string version (with an extra C-string) popularized by Hamilton de Holanda with his broadening of the "scope" of use of the mandolin to include some more rhythmic elements, making use of more chords.
@@FilipHolm If you're ever interested in listening to some brazilian mandolin pieces, you should check out the work of Jacob do Bandolim, usually considered the greatest brazilian mandolin player and one of the most important figures in Choro in general.
I play the Irish bouzouki in a few different tunings. It's a long-neck lute that looks like a cross between a Greek bouzouki and a flat-back mandolin. It's very versatile. I can play Latin rhythms on it or play in a more "Eastern" manner. I made a recording years ago in which I emulate a Kurdish tanbour technique, called 'shor' as I recall, which is somewhat akin to the 'rasgueado' of Flamenco guitar.
The flatback is also common in Portugal, and for what i have saw it was inicialy called the Portuguese Mandolin, and it became a big part of Portuguese culture, expecialy in College. The mandolin is obviously overshadow'd by the iconic Portuguese Guitar in tradicional music, but in College, Mandolin is a very Common instrument in Tunas. In those you can see the mandolim play more melancolic songs with slow pace and very impactfull notes, but also um more "happy" songs both using chords or single strigs.
Great videos man I am in love with both your music and religion channel. I would love it if you made a video on the saz/bağlama/tampouras or bouzouki and such related instruments as I see that you have one and their history probably dates back to ancient greece and mesopotamia Lots of love from Greece
First impressions are that the mandolin would be great for a beginner because it is such a compact instrument taking very little space and easier to carry around. 👍🔥
@ToxicVaccines_HivHoax Ukule is one of the easiest stringed instruments for beginners. If you're only wanting to play melody a diatonic instrument like the Irish tin whistle or the Appalachian dulcimer are great because every note will be in the correct key
Instruments often evolved depending on where they would be played. Outdoor venues required louder instruments. But "chambers" inside of homes demanded more temperate instruments. The aristocrat practice of installing orchestras at large summer villas now required instruments to blend more. Musicians who wandered and played at the pubs or coffeehouses needed highly portable smaller instruments (you also wanted it to be flat-backed to lay it on the table when someone bought you a drink!), but larger instruments signified wealth and status of being able to afford and house such a thing. It's all quite fascinating.
A lovely example of mandolin music is the introductory instrumental section of the song "Nine Houses" by the 70s duo Seals and Crofts. I suspect a lot of impressionable young folks back then were inspired to take up the mandolin because of the playing of Dash Crofts, and the interplay between he and guitarist James Seals, which had a lot of Mediterranean and Middle Eastern flavors. I know I was, and I still play the mandolin and the octave mandolin as the old geezer I am today.
ok so i need an F stile to have them all on it! Btw probably the only video with all the answers to the questions i had awesome history and awesome music !flawless!
Talking about mandora, folk instruments and classical music, I'd like to remind the existence of two (!) Concertos for Mandora, Jew's Harp and String Orchestra, written by Johann Georg Albrechtsberger, one of Beethoven's teachers. Here is the one in F major, but also the E major one is on YT: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-hqgS2VrK5rQ.html
Hi there. Thank you so much for this video. Love how you play the instruments. I just purchased two vintage Neapolitan Mandolins. I am a beginner and love the bowl back mandolin very much. I am into Italian folk music. May I ask you what strings you'd recommend for a bowl back Mandolin? I'd really appreciate it. Thank you very much.
