Ich bin ein Mandoliner!

Well, I've had bronchitis all week, but the first chance I had to get away from work was Friday. My editor at work tried to make me feel guilty for taking not Friday, but Friday AFTERNOON (a whopping whole half-day) off, but so it goes. Or so I goes-- to the doc, and just as I suspect, I gots da bronchitis. And though I woulda sworn I wasn't running any fever, I was at 100.6 too. So he gives me three scrips and sends me on my way.

Well, on Saturday morning we have a run-through for church-band practice, although I've already been given the band director's dispensation to skip Saturday rehearsals at will, and just show up early on Sunday for a run-through just before the service. The basis of the dispensation is that the original concept of the band was to divide all available players up into 4 "teams" and have each team play once a month, but since I'm the only lead player on any team, and can play bass if needed, among other things, I'm kinda a de facto utility player who's (gladly) made himself available to play with any "team." So, instead of playing once a month, I can play every Sunday if I so choose, and can blow off Saturday practices if I so choose, too.

Win-win, baby.

So, since I was demonstrably, doctor-note, sick on Saturday, I didn't feel guilty blowing off practice, and e-mailing my band director and explaining that I planned to be there early Sunday, despite still being sick.

So this morning I was packing up at Casa Krashpad, before going over to the office to pick up the amp head I needed, and a little voice said "Take the mandolin." Now, to be honest, I really don't know how to play mandolin. My dad lent me his, many years ago, and I never really played it (the sevreal-note lead break on "Maggie May" notwithstanding). And then when he inexplicably asked me to return it (he can't play it either), earlier this year, I picked up a cheapo Washburn acoustic-electric mando for like $85 or something. I've never played either one in public.

So, I throws the mando in the van, go off to the office to pick up my amp head, and then proceed to church.

I get all my stuff set up and the acoustic-electric rhythm guitarist shows up first. I acoustically tune the mando to him. Of the four songs the praise band is to do, only one is a clear choice for a non-player, a song in E with only once hitch-- during the chorus there's a short stretch in F#min7.

Now, those of you who don't play mandolin, basically if you can do a "mirror image" in your mind of the bottom four strings of a guitar (i.e., same as a bass), and then FLIP them or put them in REVERSE order, you gots a mando. (So instead of EADG, the mando strings are GDAE.) With a little bit o' thinkin', you can reverse guitar chords to figure out mando ones. As it so happens, an F#min7 on mando is simply a barre across the second fret-- none more easier, baybee.

So anyhow, obviously I didn't do nothin' fancy, just chord along to a 4-chord song. Albeit in front of 200 or 300 people, in church.

So, now: Ich bin ein Mandoliner!

Here's my mandolin (minus the pickguard):

http://www.clarindasmusic.com/images/om10e-faith-lit.jpg

Cool! I have played my out a couple of times as well. Essentially exactly what you did, and a couple of times I have had short melody lines in an instrumental. Nothing fancy, but I get the best complements (though my skill are rudimentary at best).

I'm still trying to work out alternate tuning(s) for my acoustic/electric mandolin. I'm not really happy with the "stock" configuration of four courses of unison strings.