Jumping into classical!

So I decided to write a little bit about the classical mandolin. I know that in the U.S. the classical mandolin has been growing, though still quite small compared to bluegrass.

I got hooked on playing classical music on the mandolin around when I started taking lessons with Evan Marshall in 2006. I studied with him for about two years before I moved out of state for school. 

If you know about Evan you know that he is thee classical mandolin man in the states, specializing in Italian duo-style. What is duo-style you ask? 

Here is a video to demonstrate:

As you may have noticed by watching, or by trying it out yourself, executing a clean, fast, and dynamic duo-style is really tough. I believe I practiced around two hours a day everyday to 'be in shape' to just play very simple arrangements.

Then while learning Italian style I ran into the German style of Caterina Lichtenberg. 

Example:

You notice that with the Italian mandolin there is lots of tremolo. This is the technique created to extend to life of a note, because a single plucked note on the mandolin has very little volume and the decay of that note is quite rapid. Also, the pick/plectrum used for this style is typically thin, imitating the ostrich feather/quill used back in the day.

For the German styled mandolin you depend on 'rest strokes' (a very sharp angle of attach going through both strings in the set and resting on the string below) for volume and note sustain. Plus, the picks used in the German style are typically very thick, like the ones popular in bluegrass playing today, imitating the tortes shell picks (which you can't buy today).

There you have some rough basics of classical mandolin and if any of you are interested I have written down a few classical mandolin resources and links that you might enjoy.

• There is a really nice book and cd out there by Butch Baldassari for intermediate and even beginning mandolin players. You can find "Cantable" here or on Amazon and iTunes (mp3s). I really love this book because it has just really beautiful music written out for mandolin and guitar. Plus, the cd is one that can stand alone making it not just useful but a stand-alone as well.

• Caterina Lichtenberg Mandolinist

• The Emerald City Mandolin Quartet My favorite mandolin quartet!

• Evan Marshall Mandolinist. And here you can find his great instructional and solo sheet music.

• The Classical Mandolin Society

• Avi Avital Mandolinist

• Carlo Aonzo Mandolinist

Speaking of Carlo Aonzo I would like to rap this up by sharing with you one of my favorite mandolin albums out there. Sorry, no youtube videos of this anymore but HERE you can listen to it. Enjoy!

Peace out!