Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Mandolin

Not long ago, I added a mandolin to my menagerie of musical instruments. There are a few things I find super fun about it.

It’s tuned the same way as a violin, which means even though I’m fairly new, I kinda already know my way around. In case you’re not familiar, a mandolin’s design is like someone took a violin and made it into a guitar – there are 8 strings, a flat bridge, and it’s strummed. So I can pick out familiar melodies and fake my way through finding chords. Sometimes it can be a challenge to isolate the string or note I want, but it’s an enjoyable one.

But you know what’s really fun about a double stringed instrument? Tuning it! Once I get one of the twin strings in tune, it’s almost easy for the other one to follow. That doesn’t stop me from using my tuner to be sure both notes are right on the money, but I’m serious. If one of the two is in tune, I can use my ear to bring the other one in line.

It’s like…I’m dating myself here, but do you remember the THX start-up noise? Here it is for reference.
 
It’s like that: dissonance at the beginning and resolution at the end. (And I always think it sounds a bit triumphant.)

Somewhere in the midst of tuning, I got to thinking about the importance of good friends. People who help you stay in tune, because they have their heart fixed on the same note.

Everyone should have at least one of those.

That’s not to say you both don’t rely on an official standard to make sure you’re actually in tune with the right thing, and not just each other,  But if you’re both pursuing the same thing, it becomes easier to stay on the path.  What was it Paul said? “Follow me as I follow Christ.”

The power and importance of good friends.

Thank you mandolin.

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