My 2002 Left-Handed Mid-Missouri Mandolin

Ironically, when I first started wanting to play a musical instrument as a 32 year old left-handed adult, one of the reasons I chose tenor banjo over mandolin is precisely because I could not name a single tenor banjo player. There was nothing in the way. Whereas for mandolin there was Jeff Austin, Sam Bush, Ronnie McCoury, Norman Blake, and David Grisman standing in the way. All of whom better than I would ever be so what's the point of even trying, right? 

Tenor banjo was a clean slate. There was no one to feel inferior to. Secretly, I also knew that learning GDAE tuned "Irish" tenor banjo was kind of a stealth way of learning mandolin since both instruments are tuned the same way. Of course I would later learn about 4-string banjo players such as Elmer Snowden, John Carty, Angelina Carberry, Kieran Hanrahan, Kevin Griffin, Don Vappie, Cynthia Sayer, Manny Sayles, and Eddy Davis. Not quite the same though as I hadn't spent countless hours listening to or going to see these musicians play.

I did eventually get it in my head that I wanted a mandolin. In fact, I've gotten this in my head off and on several times over the last 19 years. I've stupidly ordered and subsequently sold more instruments than I'd like to think about. One mandolin that I should have held on to was a 2014 Redline Traveler pancake, frying pan, Army/Navy style flat-top mandolin that I bought new from Steve Smith. I regret getting rid of it. So after years of not having a legit mandolin, I couldn't pass up buying a used, "vintage", actual left-handed, side-dots and everything, Mid-Missouri mandolin that I happened to see for sale online. 

Mid-Missouri mandolins are now called Big Muddy, but it's the same thing. These have always been made by luthier Mike Dulak, although I think now his son or nephew is starting to take over the build process. It's a simple flat-top, folk-style mandolin design that works well for Irish or old-time music and has remained mostly unchanged for many years. I reached out to Mr. Dulak and he confirmed that mine is from 2002, based on its serial number. It's an M-O model which I believe means it was made with mahogany wood back then.

To be honest, at first I didn't love it. It felt narrow, cramped, and hard to play, but that was because I was coming from the longer scaled tenor banjo and my fingers and brain just were accustomed to the shorter scale and double course strings. The intonation was off and I had a hard time getting the two A-strings to sound like each other. It also has some significant pick wear from the previous owner as well as a couple dry cracks. I almost re-sold it but decided to keep it and have a local instrument repair tech set it up for intonation, action, and a new set of tuners. I found out about Rubner tuners and bought the most inexpensive tuners they offer for A-style mandolins. That was the upgrade it needed.

Famous last words, but I don't think I want (or can afford) any other mandolins at this point. Mandolin is still a secondary instrument for me, as I want to always primarily identify as a tenor banjo player. But it's nice to have as an option to play at home and bring along to sessions. It's awesome to have found a used, made in the USA, real wood Mid-Missouri mandolin that was actually originally made to be left-handed, rather than a righty to lefty conversion. And after playing it a while, I don't think I would have wanted the custom wider neck that Mike offers as an option. The standard mandolin width is just fine. 

Something I might want in the future is a mandola that I could tune DAEB instead of CGDA. Speaking of instruments that I've had and stupidly gotten rid of, I once had a Sawchyn Beavertail mandola that I barely played and then sold off. If only it had occurred to me that these could be tuned DAEB. I also once had a custom made Fletcher tenor guitar but sold it as well. Dumb. Fortunately my Kala tenor guitars sounds almost as good to my ears for one-tenth the cost. But that's another story.

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A Great Experience at the Tenor Guitar Gathering in Astoria, Oregon

Astoria is my favorite coastal town in Oregon, so now that I am a resident of the Beaver State I was excited to learn that there's an annual Tenor Guitar Gathering each spring in Astoria. Due to poor planning on my part, I was only able to attend for a few hours on Saturday, but I'm glad that I did.

Not the most flattering picture of Astoria, but the only one I took

 Astoria is a pleasant 100-minute drive from my house with the fastest route also being the most scenic and remote, through Clatsop State Forest. I arrived in time for Alison Helzer's workshop on the neuroscience of practice: what science teaches us about music, learning, and muscle memory. This was a very informative presentation where I learned how repetition, rest, isolation, smiling and visualization can help build myelin. However, the real highlight for me was the Irish "jam" that Alison co-hosted with Pat Mac Swyney immediately after this workshop.

Directly to my right at the Irish session was flatpicker, instructor and Nashville cat Tim May, who has toured with Patty Loveless and John Cowan, and is the author of several books including The Flatpicker’s Guide to Irish Music. Directly to my left was multi-instrumentalist Pat Mac Swyney from Los Angeles. Pat was making great Irishy sounds come out of his 1928 National Tricone resonator tenor guitar! Eugene, Oregon's own Alison Helzer sat across from me on tenor banjo. The only other participants were two fiddlers and one mandolin player. The pros almost outnumbered the amateurs!

With such high-caliber and multi-genre musicians/instructors/performers in attendance, I was worried that it might devolve into a flashy bluegrass style jam over Irish fiddle tunes, but it didn't. We stuck to the Irish session playbook and did common tunes that I know fairly well including Silver Spear, Out on the Ocean, Off to California, Kesh Jig, and Road to Lisdoonvarna. I had brought a tenor banjo just in case but played my Kala tenor guitar the entire time.

The pace was fast at times, but nothing I couldn't keep up with. My hard work over the last ten or so months really paid off. There's something about sitting in with exceptionally talented yet sympathetic musicians that can really lift you up and allow you to play beyond your normal abilities. I had a similar experience years ago at an Irish music camp in Elkins, WV when guitarist Dennis Cahill played backup accompaniment on a tune I was leading in a slow session. So I know the feeling.

The Irish jam went about 20 to 25 minutes beyond its allotted hour. Little did I know that during the latter half of the session mandolinist David "Dawg" Grisman was down below giving a workshop on transitioning to the tenor guitar. So that's where everyone was. I had to be in Beaverton by 5pm so as soon as the jam was over I made a quick exit and hit the road for another 100 to 105 minute drive. Unfortunately, I had no Dawg sightings while in Astoria!

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Vertex: Irish tunes and GDAE tuning

For the last 8 months or so, I've been all-in on Irish music. Instead of branching out beyond that repertoire, I've focused exclusively on the Irish tunes played at local sessions in and around Portland, Oregon. Intersecting with that, I've limited this pursuit of Irish tunes to instruments with GDAE tuning: tenor banjo, tenor guitar, and (occasionally) mandolin. Some people will go all-in on Irish, but distribute that study among several differently played instruments within the tradition such as tin whistle, concertina, bouzouki, and fiddle for example. For now, I'm just sticking with one thing. 

This is a new approach for me. Never before have I done this. When I was living in Virginia, I was never 100% devoted to Irish music exclusively. For a few years I was dividing my time between Irish sessions and old-time fiddle tune jams, before later abandoning those pursuits altogether to go down wormholes into Jamaican mento or the Crucian Scratch music of the U.S. Virgin Islands. Plus a three year stint where I only played little melodies that I came up with myself. There have even been times when I tried and failed to learn how to play New Orleans style tenor banjo, or took lessons in music theory. None of that now.

As far as instruments go, yes I started on tenor banjo but over the years I have experimented with mallet instruments, starting with glockenspiel, then moving to xylophone, and eventually marimba. I also went through a stint where I taught myself how to play melodies in all fourths tuning on guitar. I think that helped advance my ear training. When I was writing my own melodies, I would sometimes use a cheap Casio keyboard as well. At the time it was beneficial to check out the layout of these other instruments to have that experience of seeing the notes in a totally different way. However, at the moment that's not part of my plan.

The benefit of this laser focus is that now I can more directly address deficiencies...things I am not very good at such as playing up to session speed, ornamentation (making it sound "Irish"), and continuing to advance my ear and understanding of the style so that I become less reliant on having to refer to a written version of the tune.

Lastly, one thing about banjo, especially the four string banjo, is that even if you are just plucking Irish tunes on it you can still feel a connection to the banjo's roots in the Caribbean. There's like an underlying theme or feel bubbling below the surface that links it to these rhythms and syncopation. And for tenor guitar, there are times when you really can almost fancy yourself as a flatpicker. A bluegrass guitar fantasy where, even if you are just playing an Irish reel in an Irish session, you can temporarily tap-into a "what would Tony Rice or Billy Strings do?" kind of vibe. So that makes it fun.

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Portland, OR 4/20/25 was my 70th Phish concert

When Laura and I were getting ready to move to the Portland area in 2024, there was a rumor that Phish might play Providence Park, home of the Timbers and Thorns soccer teams, that summer. It didn't pan out, so when rumors resurfaced of Phish playing The Moda Center this spring I didn't get my hopes up too much until it was officially announced. For once I didn't have to worry about booking accommodations because we can walk to the MAX light rail from our house and take it all the way to the Rose Quarter stop where the Moda Center be. 

I got a pair of tickets in the Phish lottery that weren't ideal, and being the greedy person that I am, I tried again the moment they went on sale through Ticketmaster and found two pretty darn good seats in a small mini-section on its own rail above the crowd looking diagonally at the stage. Then it was just a matter of waiting for the day to come.

I woke up on the day of the show with butterflies in my stomach. This was going to be a big deal: the first time Phish has played Portland, OR since 1999. And it was on a 4/20 - which is kind of like a hippie holiday - in a state where cannabis is legal, and on Easter which is some other kind of holiday. Songs such as Buried Alive, Makisupa Policeman, and Jesus Just Left Chicago were among our pre-show speculation.

I hung around the house that morning, played Irish tenor banjo, took the dog for a walk, and then when I couldn't take it any more I convinced Laura to leave an hour earlier than planned. Once we got on the train I checked my stats for the first time in a while and noticed that this was going to be my 70th show. I knew it was around that number but I wasn't sure that it was 70 until I checked.

We got off one stop shy of the Moda Center to have pizza at our favorite place in Old Town. Once we sat at the bar and I got a beer in me I could finally relax a bit. After a while we got back on the train with our next destination being Upright Brewing. I believe Upright Brewing is the closest brewery to the Moda Center. Each time we've been there to pre-game Winterhawks hockey games they were always playing Phish music on the speakers. This time it was more like a chill dub reggae mix but that's actually better than being directly on the nose. Upright wasn't crowded at all when we got there, but it was still not even 5:00pm yet.

Upright is named after the instrument played by upright bassist Charles Mingus, with pictues of Mingus and other jazz musicians such as Sun Ra and Rahsaan Roland Kirk for the eye to see. I like Upright's beers...they have styles like Irish red ales, bitters, and pale ales with a couple varieties always on cask. It quickly got crowded after we got there and soon the line was out the door.

In true Portland fashion, the weather this day was pretty classic. As chilly as you would expect and slightly overcast or partially sunny. Suddenly, it decided to rain while we were in the brewery. Portland gotta be Portland. It didn't last long though and soon we were walking toward the venue through a maze of nitrous balloon vendors. Not to be distracted, we went fairly straightly through one of the the Moda Center entrances.

Having scoped it out during a Trail Blazers game, I knew that cheap beer could be found in Section 303 at the Low Bar for $5.50 a can. Absolutely no line, so it was a good place to double fist it. Then we went back down to the 100's to be impressed by our seats. Nobody was going to be standing in front of our short selves today!

Time passed quickly. I was currently in a good mood, I had previously been in a good mood, and I remained in a good mood. Lights go down and here comes Phish. They opened with 46 Days and that was an instant highlight because it sounded to me like they were quickly taking it to new places and trying out new effects and sounds. 

Unlike Black-Eyed Katy, Moma Dance has historically been a meh song for me but I wasn't going to let it occupy that space on this evening. Cities was well received by the Portland crowd. Plasma seemed to be not as well received. Bouncin' is a song I can appreciate and on this occasion I did. Sigma Oasis went deep, vying with 46 Days for best jam of the set. Antelope came next and was intelligently designed to crush. I'm sorry but Say It To Me S.A.N.T.O.S. felt like a tacked on afterthought. Not that I didn't enjoy it though. Set break.

A Wave of Hope is not really an A-list song, at least not for me, but within the jam Phish did that thing where you lose track of what song it is. Twist was good and I enjoyed trying to wooh in both the right and wrong places. Scents and Subtle Sounds was a surprise and was probably my favorite song of the entire night. I kept my clothing on. Everything's Right gave me a moment to be critical for the first time of the evening, which I then quickly corrected myself. All was made good when it segued into Boogie on Reggae Woman. My previous show in Philadelphia in 2023 also had a well placed Boogie on Reggae Woman. 

Having seen some great 2001's in the 90's, I'm a bit of a 2001 skeptic, but I succumbed to its tension/release as always. Trey gave his all for A Life Beyond the Dream. Then it was time for the elephant in the room - Harry Hood. Portland got its Hood! 

A lot of things had combined into my mind by this point so the encore is a little hazy. It was Wilson and Slave to the Traffic Light. That could have been an encore in 1994 but here it is 2025. I have no complaints whatsoever. Do I have attendance bias??? Maybe. Although Phish is so good and so consistent these days there are no bad shows.

Getting out of the Moda Center didn't go as planned. Okay, we managed to find and bring with us our now empty water bottles. I think I was visualizing a different side of the building than where we came out on. For a few minutes we just walked with the flow of foot traffic, living in the moment. Then when it was time to find the train stop it wasn't where it was supposed to be, nor were we. I'm pretty sure the train had stopped running by that point in the evening anyway. No problem, part-time stand-up comic Dan the Uber man to the rescue. I have his number if you need it.

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Kala tenor guitar for Irish music

I couldn't find much information about playing Irish tunes on a Kala Solid Spruce Top Pau Ferro tenor guitar, so I thought I would post something. This guitar does not come in left-handed but I am fortunate to know a local stringed instrument setup and repair person who set it up lefty for me by filling and re-cutting the saddle. It sounds great! This guitar features X-bracing, so at least in this case the belief that the bracing on a right-handed guitar won't sound as good when played as a left-handed guitar is unfounded.

I've been wanting a tenor guitar for playing Irish music, to use as an alternative to tenor banjo. I chose this Kala tenor guitar primarily because of its scale length (21.5 inches as opposed to 23 inches) and because of its price. I paid $250 for it with free shipping, and after the conversion to lefty the total cost was $370. It comes with a nice gig bag and the scale length is similar to a short-scale tenor banjo. I have it tuned GDAE. 

I haven't taken it to a session yet, so I don't know how it'll hold up in that environment. My guess is that it will not be as loud as a tenor banjo, but should be good for playing along in a group setting when you just want to blend in instead of stand out.  

Tenor guitar compared to tenor banjo:

-Less volume so good for practicing at home during quiet hours.

-More sustain, more responsive.

-Needs a strap, whereas tenor banjo can just sit in your lap.

-Lighter weight.

-Similar neck feel.

-Same tuning, CGDA or GDAE or DGBE.

-Similar scale length.

Irish Music by Process of Elimination

Here are some prerequisites or characteristics of the type of music I am capable of playing and/or am interested in playing:

• You can play all-melody, all-the-time and not have to worry about anything else.
• Where my chosen primary instrument - the tenor banjo - is generally accepted.
• Instrumental; no singing required.
• Where there is a local, inclusive community of fellow hobbyist/amateur musicians who play and know a certain repertoire.
• All acoustic: no electric or amplification needed.
• Is non-performance oriented but the sessions/jams can take place in pubs, breweries and coffee shops where folks sit around a table and play tunes whether customers are listening or not.
• Where a lot of the music is available online for free in sheet music notation if you need it.
• Accessible to beginners but no limit to how far you can take it.

As far as I know, the only music that checks all of these boxes for me is Irish traditional music.

On that note, it's time to get back to halfway familiarizing myself with more tunes!

Hanging on at a Fast Irish Session

Hanging on at a Fast Irish Session

My fast is moderate. My moderate is slow. If left to my own devices, I wouldn't exceed 80 bpm for a reel or 90 bpm for a jig. So an Irish session that runs 20% over my comfort zone can be a shock to the system. If I were to try to play every single note as I might have them memorized, in the sequence that I know them, I’d fall behind very quickly. So I have to make adjustments on the spot.

In an effort to stay in sync and not lag behind, I might only grab about 75% of the notes I would normally play when trying to keep up at a fast-for-me Irish session. You’ve just got to know which notes to leave in and which notes to take out, and the more familiar you are with the sound of the tune, the easier that may be. I don't actually practice or rehearse this. It's just something I improvise in the moment based on what I am feeling capable of.

If I were to actually practice this at home, a good first step would be to remove everything but the quarter notes. In other words, remove the notes that are pick-direction “up strokes”. Then once you have it stripped down to those bare essentials, you can add back in whatever up-stroke notes you feel are necessary to make the tune sound more like itself. Pretty much every tune can be simplified in this manner.

Another way to do it is to take the full sheet music version of the tune and then whittle away at it by identifying places in each measure or two where you can make adjustments. Places where you are like “nope my fingers aren’t going to do that” when playing fast. The sequence of triplets in Harvest Home comes to mind, as does the little end-tag thing at the end of each part of Rakes of Mallow. There are less "notey" ways to play those sections. 

The more that a tune is under your fingers, the more equipped you are to make variations to that tune when you need to or want to. In a beginner-level slow session this might mean going hog wild with attempting triplets or other ornaments, but in a high-speed setting where you are pushed beyond your normal limits, it might mean getting rid of everything but the basic melodic line so that you can still play in the sandbox.

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