Another Christmas Gift

I continued to listen and fall in love with bluegrass music (specifically Gospel bluegrass). I started expressing some interest in another instrument of bluegrass… the mandolin. The mandolin is an instrument that is used in classical, traditional, folk, and bluegrass music. For those of you who don’t know, it’s basically acts as the “drums” in bluegrass music. By its short, rough chop the mandolin creates a counter beat with the upright bass and keeps the fast-pace rhythm of the music. The chop is when you mute the strings to create a sound of only your pick hitting the strings without playing any notes. However, the mandolin is mostly known for its fast melodious tunes used in solos and background music to the vocals.

Some of my favorite mandolin players are Sierra Hull and Celeb Lindsey. Both of them have been playing since they’ve been very little and, in my eyes, have mastered the instrument! Sierra Hull is a singer and songwriter, who learned the mandolin when she was little and has never stopped. She formed a bluegrass/country band who now tours, performs and enters in contests. She has several CD’s out and she is planning on continuing this adventure. See here to hear some of her music: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vlfL00J1eY

Celeb Lindsey is the main mandolin player of the Lindsey Family Band. They have been playing as a family for over ten years now and have been producing CD’s and performing all around the country since. As they put it, they play “Toe-tappin’, Heart-touching, Home-grown, Southern fried,   Jesus-lovin’ music”. Celeb has been playing since age six and his talent is clear when you hear him play! You can hear some of his incredible picking here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PoJJAqhqatM&feature=c4-overview&list=UUiwVcLh8wf1scEeOjlQ-3Ww

 

  Christmas came once again and the last gift I opened was a mandolin (a gift that I was not expecting to recieve at all!). I cannot express my excitement! Having one of the instruments of the music I love in my hands was more than I could take. It was a very surreal moment that I could actually be able to play the music I loved the most. I also learned this instrument by videos on YouTube (both by watching how-to videos and just watching others play and trying to replicate them) and from the “teach-yourself-how-to-play” music book I got alone with it. I am nowhere close to being as good as these two people I’ve mentioned, but I hope to pick it up again soon and start practicing again and hopefully get much better at it! This instrument definitely puts a smile on my face when I hear it!