Mandolin1944 Videos

When I got home from work today this tune came to mind. I had learned it a few years ago but then, for some reason, forgot about it. So I got it out tonight and dusted it off. It is a fun tune to play and it is a bit tricky too. I was surprised to find out where this tune came from. I've heard it done by a few American bluegrass bands and I always just assumed that it was a march composed by the John Phillip Sousa, our famous march king. But not so. Instead the tune was written by Josef ...

Tags: under the double eagle march John Phillip Sousa Josef Franz Wagner mandolin Gibson F-5

I came back in from running this morning and was having my coffee when I came across a neat banjo version of Sally Ann. So I decided right then and there to learn this song and to try my hand at it. I 'm not sure I have the singing part down right -- the words don't seem to fit into the B-part of the song very well. Maybe someone can advise me on that because I seldom sing along with the mandolin. But now don't you waste your breathe to tell me -- "...well you can't sing" -- because I ...

Tags: Sally Ann mandolin fiddle tune Gibson old tyme music time

This is a great Celtic reel played here in the key of D-major (I have heard it played in G too). It is a more popular tune then I realized and I decided to learn it when I heard the great post by fellow Mandolin Cafe member (also on YouTube as spgokc78 -- go to his channel). Although I am not yet quite up to his standards (story of my life) I really enjoy playing it. And its a great great tune! It is played here on my *newest* mandolin a 1920 Gibson F-2 ... silver spear reel mandolin Celtic ...

Tags: silver spear reel mandolin Celtic music Gibson

This is just for fun! It is me trying to keep up with one of the greatest old time fiddlers ever -- Mr. Clark Kessinger of St. Albans WV! If you are fans of Clark (I am I have his original LP records from the 1970's) don't be offended! Like I said this is just for fun -- no way can I play as fast as Kessinger even on this easy tune --Sally Ann Johnson (most folks these days call the tune just Sally Johnson). The arrangement was not the best as I could barely hear the fiddler and I actually ...

Tags: Sally Ann Johnson fiddle tune Clark Kessinger old time music mandolin Gibson

IMHO this is one of Bill Monroe's greatest tunes and it is one he played a lot in the later years of his life. It is in the key of E and it always seems to me to be mysterious and inspiring at the same time -- I often lapse into playing it for no good reason!!! BTW, this is my second upload of this tune -- I posted a version last summer and I thought I'd see if I could improve on that one. This time I tried using a computer to supply the back up chords: E, B7, G, F# and D. At least it helps ...

Tags: Southern Flavor mandolin Bill Monroe fiddle tune bluegrass Gibson F-5

Here is a shot at the Temperance Reel -- I've played it in one form or another for quite a while -- but my version of the tune seems to have slipped off into some unused part of my conscienceness. But the Mandolin Cafe named it song of the week so that sent me looking through the dust and cobwebs for it. This is what I found -- its not quite right and my version seems to have changed over time. I might just have to go back to basics and relearn this tune! Of course this song is also known as ...

Tags: Temperance Reel mandolin fiddle tune Gibson Old Tyme The Teetotler

Isle of Capri -- This is a lovely song that just kind of came back to me this morning. I remember singing it in high school chorus but this was back in another century. This version might not be exactly right but it is how I remember it. FYI. The island of Capri lies off the Italian Sorrentine Peninsula, on the south side of the Gulf of Naples. It has been a resort since the time of the Roman Empire. The song is about the island as was written by Wilhelm Grosz, an Austrian, in 1934. The ...

Tags: Isle of Carpri mandolin Italian music Island Capri Italy Gibson F-2

OK this is my attempt at Luke Thomasson's famous waltz composition *Midnight on the water*. It is a lovely tune and I've always want to learn it. The Mandolin Cafe song of the week club gave me the inspiration to do it finally. This effort has more mistakes than usual even for me (SORRY!!) But I promised myself I would upload the first effort regardless how it turned out just to try to force a flawless effort -- well obviously it didn't work. On the good side its probably better than most of ...

Tags: midnight on the water mandolin Gibson F-2 Thomasson fiddle tune

Here is a catchy little tune I found while browsing one afternoon for fiddle tunes on the internet. It's a Canadian schottische (which is kind of a two step polka -- at least that is how I remember it). I liked the tune so I decided to work it out -- I'm sure this is pretty close to the version I heard. The tund is quite different from the other Rochester Schottische that I posted earlier on my channel. The previous tune just labled *Rochester Schottische* seems to be tune derived from the ...

Tags: Rochester Schottische old time music fiddle dance tune mandolin Canadian

Jerusalem Ridge is one of Bill Monroes signature tunes. Some believe that the Bills long time fiddler in the Bluegrass Boys band, the great Kenny Baker, at least had a hand in co-writing the tune. But we may never know for certain. Bill Monroe is gone now and Kenny still says Bill wrote it. That is good enough for me. Jerusalem Ridge is the crestline of a valley formation near the Monroe ancestral home overlooking Rosine, Kentucky. The tune is played here in the usual key, A-minor, at 220 ...

Tags: Jerusalem Ridge mandolin Bill Monroe bluegrass fiddle tune