Selected Solo Mando Tunes

"O wail for the mighty in battle, / Loud lift ye the coronach strain,/ 
For Hector the Hero of deathless fame, / Will never come back again."

Lovely tune mourning the death by suicide of the Scottish war hero Hector MacDonald (a.k.a., "Fighting Mac.)"  Most versions I have  heard seem to me to be a bit over-the-top sentimental, but I find in the music a thing of much sterner stuff.  
My Petersen octave mandolin has a top made of fir which is a very unusual wood.  It gives this tune a dark, rich tone that suits it well.



Hector The Hero (Octave Mandolin)

At a post-concert session, I had the enormous pleasure of playing with the great piper Paddy Keenan.  When it was my turn to kick off a tune, I launched into "The Yellow Wattle" in dead man's tuning playing it pretty much as I do here (actually did it a bit better that night).  I started out on just 2 strings, then added the high D the second time through, then finished by hitting the low D a good bit.  Each time I added a string, he glanced my way with a raised eyebrow.  At the end of the tune he turned to me and said, "How many strings you got on that thing, anyway?!"  I was later told that was a high compliment among old school Irish Trad players, and I got it from one of the greats.  It is a treasured memory.

The Yellow Wattle (DDAD)

I was introduced to this beautiful piece by Cyril O'Donoghue through the playing of the wonderful mandolinist, Marla Fibish, who does it more justice than I ever could.

The Parting

Lively jig.  I play it a lot at a local session and it always gets a positive response.  I don't think it is possible to hear this tune without taping a foot.

The Humors Of Bandon

Love this tune ... so full of energy, and four parts no less.  Also (originally) known as "An Phis Fluich" which has been translated in many ways, all of which are a bit on the racy side, so I'm going with the tame renaming.  Whatever you call it, it totally rocks!

O'Farrell's Welcome to Limerick

Lilting tune.  Fun to play fast or at a nice, slow pace.  Original titles of this tune were variations of "Girls for Sale," so Francis O'Neill renamed it "Tobin's Favorite" in honor of Chicago fiddler, Adam Tobin, who apparently had a fondness for the tune.

Tobin's Favorite

Rose In The Heather Jig

The Last Pint (Lunasa cover)- Ticy Poppins

Spirited song that makes for a spirited tune.

Cunla

Reprise de la magnifique chanson de Cat Stevens

Sad Lisa

I've been doing short, instrumental, acoustic albums as holiday gifts for a while. This one is mine for 2017 -- enjoy!

Just After Winter (Mandola)

The Blackest Crow (My Dearest Sweetheart)

I have been playing a lot of Dowland these last months.
Rennaissance lute music is just so beautiful.

This piece is a Duet, I play the upper part here.

Played on Alhambra Steelstring A-4 in Lute Tuning (g>f#), Capo on 3rd fret

My Lord Willoughby's Welcome Home - John Dowland

From Rasplyn's debut release, 'Scenes Through the Magic Eye', out on Mythical Records Nov 30th, 2014.

Priestess of the Goddess

I am an amateur multi-instrumentalist with a passion for playing Irish Traditional Music on anything with strings (mandolin, guitar, banjo, fiddle, octave mandolin, mandola).  I also enjoy performing folk and old time music.  I created this page mainly as a way of sharing tunes with people interested in learning to play Irish Trad.  I play all tracks here in a way that I hope makes them accessible.  I play them musically, but simply, avoiding a lot of the repetition, ornamentation, or variation I might use if performing them publicly.  
I include here 50 common session tunes played on mando.  These tracks, broken down into three playlists, are intended to help anyone new to Irish Trad to pick up some popular tunes to enjoy playing at home, or better yet, at a session.  I also have lists for Irish banjo, Celtic guitar, O'Carolan tunes, and selected mando tracks of tunes people have especially liked.
 
For those interested in knowing what instruments I use:  
Guitar tracks are recorded with a Martin D-28 Custom (1984),  a Larrivee OM-02 (2019), a Larrivee D-50 (2003), a Kalamazoo (Gibson) tenor (1936), or an Eastman AC 320 B (2007).
Banjo tracks are recorded with an Epiphone Recording A (1928) or a Bacon and Day Silver Bell No. 1 (1927).
Mando tracks are recorded with a Gibson A-1 (1916), a Collings MT (2011), a Collings MT2 (2019), or an Eastman 605 (2009). 
Octave mandolin tunes are recorded with a Petersen Level 1 (2012).
Mandola tunes are recorded with a Eugene Howard mandola (1890s).
I use a Zoom H2n, and edit tracks using Audacity (cuts, fade outs, noise removal, amplification, compression, equalization).

Tobin's Favorite

Mostly Mandolin

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