I have been trying some new songs lately. On the guitar I am learning "Voljela me nije Nijedna." I can play the song well enough on the guitar, but the words are in Serbo-Croatian, and the delivery is unusual. I am getting closer to being able to sing it,(2 of 3 verses learned) but I think I will need a cheat sheet for the words.
On the mandolin, I am learning my first polka - "Britches full of Stitches."
I think it's an Irish Polka, and I have heard the song in the Irish Pubs and at the Renaissance Festival for years.
There's a handy YouTube channel called MandoLessons which has been helping me find new songs.
I play often, but I can't always tell if I am improving:(
I learned this song in one day, so maybe that means I am getting better?
It's still slow and sometimes my brain freezes, but if I keep it up I think I will be able to play this song with a group.
Time will tell...
"Voljela me nijedna nije”, probably from Branimir Stulic? 👍
great, but when it comes to the mandolin, try the "Cudna jada od Mostara grada". ❤️
Wish you luck! 🍀
I can sing Cudna jada od Mostara grada. That was the first song I learned when I came back from Bosnia. I haven't been able to play it on any instrument and make it sound cool though.
I will keep trying. The mandolin is very similar to a tamburica, so I'm hoping I can play all kinds of Balkan folk songs.
Of course, why not? 👍👏
Sounds great, I really love the mandolin :) I found a good way of tracking progress is to record yourself often and listen back, there are recordings I made months ago that I listen to again and I can really hear where I was messing up LOL!
I've been trying to record sessions as much as I can. My goal is to get the song to the point where I can hear it and get lost in the song.
I have a ways to go...
The mandolin is a wonderful instrument. My father bought a mandola (I don't think he ever played it much) on which I learned myself to play the Sicilian theme from the Godfather film. It sounds good when you play, just keep at it :)
I just looked up the Sicilian song. It is pretty cool!
Do you sing it too?
To be honest I didn't even know it had a text, but I can see on Youtube that it got lyrics and all. I just played it by ear after what I remembered from the first film. This orchestral theme.
I do sing, but never practised it like I practice playing instruments.