Greetings Ralf, wonderful to hear you perform this piece. I remember back in 2007 when I performed it in a workshop in Germany. After listening you play it I took the Catania mandolin and almost remembered it fully. It is seemingly easy but overall a tricky piece that requires very strict coordination between the right and left hand.
Great to hear from you Oleg! This piece is indeed much more tricky than it seems. I'd love to hear you play it. I'm sure you would make it look quite easy 🙂
What a beautiful piece but also that mandolin. I have purchased a mandolin made by The Bouzuki Shop Polydorou and it's a very nice sounding mandolin for me (I am a beginner). Had some issues with intonation but I figured out where to put the bridge so it would not go out of tune. It's perfect now. Definitely saving now for a much better mandolin like the one you're playing. Great performance as always Ralf.
Hi Ralph. Absolutely stunning play. Beautiful. Am I right in thinking this is a particularly advanced piece probably not good for a relative novice to attempt? Appears to be a performance derived from serious study and practice. Jules
Hello, amazing performance! I have been trying to play the mandolin, as I am a gypsy jazz guitarist very much interested by the pieces you play. (classical, italian) But I struggle very much with the approach to pick directions on the mandolin. In gypsy jazz guitar, we use the rest stroke picking, and you're supposed to play a downstroke every time you change strings (higher or lower). I wonder if there are such a "rules" (whichever they are ) on the mandolin, and if you use rest stroke picking at all? I find rest stroke picking very hard on the mandolin, because of the double courses. Also, about your position, does your right hand touch the bridge? Maybe my gypsy picking technique doesn't translate at all to the mandolin... I thought you are the person to ask, because your technique and playing are so good;) Thanks a million if you take the time to read this and to answer. Regards
Thanks for your comment. Very interesting as I'm recently also using a plectrum on guitar, and I have the opposite problem that my mandolin plectrum technique doesn't always translate well on guitar. I watched some of your videos and it is really great guitar playing. If you could send me your email, that would be easier to answer your questions and go into this more in detail. :-)
Fabulous! Love this piece! I sure wish I get a better grip on the Ranieri pick. I have horn versions I purchased from some guy in England a couple of years ago. I find that I'm very good on the down stroke, but crap on the up stroke and not very good with tremolo anymore.
Thanks! I think the amazing sound has more to do with the mandolin than the plectrum. However, I'm using an old tortoiseshell Roman plectrum (with two tips). If you want a very similar sound from readily available plectrums, medium thickness celluloid Dunlop 485 or Fender 347 sound fantastic on mandolin, but also the smaller Fender 354 or 358, or even the standard Fender 351 are excellent!
@@ralfleenen Thanks! That makes sense. I have the Galli medium and large picks (0.70mm and 1.00mm). I also have a Musikalia model 606 which I purchased for €700, but unfortunately the neck is bent so the action is VERY high, along with the tailpiece being over to the side. I tried contacting the seller but she never responded, and I'm worried that I got scammed. But I know that she was having health problems so I want to give the benefit of the doubt. The instrument gives a decent sound, but I've noticed that the sound of other mandolins is so much fuller and more resonant than mine, which sounds clicky in a way.
The Galli celluloid plectrums are also excellent indeed, I just mentioned Dunlop and Fender as they are more readily available worldwide. I'm sorry to hear about your Musikalia mandolin. I have played a few but it was many years ago. I suppose they can have a decent sound, but a bent neck is not good. It creates intonation problems and with inaccurate intonation you don't get the right harmonics, which affects the tone quality. As soon as a mandolin is well setup and has precise intonation, you get a much richer sound. I hope you can return it and get a refund!
Mandolin made by Mattias Wielfaert, after an Embergher 1925 - 5bis model.
www.embergher-mandolin.be/
Omg, you have this music sheet?
@@CesarMand yes I have the sheet music. I can send you a copy of your let me know your email.
Perfetto!
Won-der-ful, dear Ralf!
Super!
Bravo!
Excellent !
Greetings Ralf, wonderful to hear you perform this piece. I remember back in 2007 when I performed it in a workshop in Germany. After listening you play it I took the Catania mandolin and almost remembered it fully. It is seemingly easy but overall a tricky piece that requires very strict coordination between the right and left hand.
Meanwhile :) greetings from Spain - recorded this few months back -> ua-cam.com/video/PWavMZd5iUU/v-deo.html , hopefully you like it !
Great to hear from you Oleg! This piece is indeed much more tricky than it seems. I'd love to hear you play it. I'm sure you would make it look quite easy 🙂
Really nice to see you play in a new video. Great playing as always...👍👏🙂
Magnifique j’adore !!!
Merci beaucoup🙂
What a beautiful piece but also that mandolin. I have purchased a mandolin made by The Bouzuki Shop Polydorou and it's a very nice sounding mandolin for me (I am a beginner). Had some issues with intonation but I figured out where to put the bridge so it would not go out of tune. It's perfect now. Definitely saving now for a much better mandolin like the one you're playing. Great performance as always Ralf.
🙏
Your mandolin actually looks and sounds quite nice. I'm rather fond of bright sounding mandolins :-)
@@ralfleenen Thank you Ralf. I like the bright sounding ones too!
Hi Ralph. Absolutely stunning play. Beautiful.
Am I right in thinking this is a particularly advanced piece probably not good for a relative novice to attempt? Appears to be a performance derived from serious study and practice. Jules
Hello, amazing performance! I have been trying to play the mandolin, as I am a gypsy jazz guitarist very much interested by the pieces you play. (classical, italian) But I struggle very much with the approach to pick directions on the mandolin. In gypsy jazz guitar, we use the rest stroke picking, and you're supposed to play a downstroke every time you change strings (higher or lower). I wonder if there are such a "rules" (whichever they are ) on the mandolin, and if you use rest stroke picking at all? I find rest stroke picking very hard on the mandolin, because of the double courses. Also, about your position, does your right hand touch the bridge? Maybe my gypsy picking technique doesn't translate at all to the mandolin...
I thought you are the person to ask, because your technique and playing are so good;) Thanks a million if you take the time to read this and to answer. Regards
Thanks for your comment. Very interesting as I'm recently also using a plectrum on guitar, and I have the opposite problem that my mandolin plectrum technique doesn't always translate well on guitar.
I watched some of your videos and it is really great guitar playing. If you could send me your email, that would be easier to answer your questions and go into this more in detail. :-)
@@ralfleenen ok thanks a lot! I am sending you a mail,cheers!
Fabulous! Love this piece! I sure wish I get a better grip on the Ranieri pick. I have horn versions I purchased from some guy in England a couple of years ago. I find that I'm very good on the down stroke, but crap on the up stroke and not very good with tremolo anymore.
All instruments played by Ralf! How do you find time to practice all the instruments you play?
What pick are you using? It sounds amazing!
Thanks! I think the amazing sound has more to do with the mandolin than the plectrum. However, I'm using an old tortoiseshell Roman plectrum (with two tips). If you want a very similar sound from readily available plectrums, medium thickness celluloid Dunlop 485 or Fender 347 sound fantastic on mandolin, but also the smaller Fender 354 or 358, or even the standard Fender 351 are excellent!
@@ralfleenen Thanks! That makes sense. I have the Galli medium and large picks (0.70mm and 1.00mm). I also have a Musikalia model 606 which I purchased for €700, but unfortunately the neck is bent so the action is VERY high, along with the tailpiece being over to the side. I tried contacting the seller but she never responded, and I'm worried that I got scammed. But I know that she was having health problems so I want to give the benefit of the doubt. The instrument gives a decent sound, but I've noticed that the sound of other mandolins is so much fuller and more resonant than mine, which sounds clicky in a way.
The Galli celluloid plectrums are also excellent indeed, I just mentioned Dunlop and Fender as they are more readily available worldwide.
I'm sorry to hear about your Musikalia mandolin. I have played a few but it was many years ago. I suppose they can have a decent sound, but a bent neck is not good. It creates intonation problems and with inaccurate intonation you don't get the right harmonics, which affects the tone quality. As soon as a mandolin is well setup and has precise intonation, you get a much richer sound. I hope you can return it and get a refund!