 Why Jazzmando.com?
 I started playing the mandolin in 1998. Though I had a pretty thorough background in music, including a trombone major, teaching undergraduate music theory, and several years of freelance studio and commercial music production, the fretboard of the mandolin presented an intriguing challenge.
Somewhat intimate with the guitar, I was lured like a siren to the symmetrical harmonic design--perfect fifths, chord shapes and modes that transposed seamlessly across strings and up and down the fingerboard. It was truly a theory junky's dream.
It was only a matter of acquainting myself with its nuances, the smaller neck, the necessity of tremolo for any kind of sustain, and the reliance of leaving bass note functions for other instruments, much like a jazz pianist must abandon left hand bass thumping and learn to play right hand functions with both hands.
What I want to do with the website is chronicle and share the idea germs that allowed me to advance in my abilities, and achieve somewhat remedial mastery of jazz.
I should probably make clear that I assume you have at least some rudimentary knowledge of music theory. I'll apologize for throwing out terms that might not mean anything to you like "Tonic or Dominant" or even scale note numbering systems (roman numerals I, II, III, IV, etc),but I behoove you take the time to discover what they mean in other resources. Perhaps through "osmosis" you might get the gist of the concepts, anyway.
 This website is a hobby and a passion. Though I work for a living and support a lovely wife and daughter, I continue to put a few hours a week to "grow" it. I invite you to "bookmark" the site and come back every couple weeks to see what's new.
I'm always open to suggestions, too, so feel free to forward your feedback to me at mandohack@aol.com.
My Interests:
- Playing jazz, Choro, classical music on my mandolins.
- Long distance running.
- My Christian faith. (Jesus isn't my 'crutch.'... He's my stretcher.)
- Watching my daughter grow up.
- A really REALLY good cup of fresh roasted, fresh ground coffee.
- My wife's stimulating conversation.
- ii V7 I
My Instruments:
Profundity:
- The beauty of jazz is the blur between intent and mistake. You're either on the right note, or one fret from resolving to the right one.
- Good tone is all about what goes on between the notes--that magical intersection of the release of one note and the attack of the second.
- Ultimately, the great artist starts the creative journey with its destination first and works backward, operating with calculated spontaneity along the way.
- "Great spirits are always met with violent resistance from mediocrities." (Albert Einstein)
- Life is too short to play a cheap mandolin.
More information:
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