Today I want to approach the mandolin and demonstrate techniques utilized by the mandolin player to not only enhance the music but also bring out the style and character of a piece. For this I have chosen a rustic folk song from Bulgaria. So please come with me and explore the music from this fascinating region of Eastern Europe.

Analysis

The mandolin is a wonderful instrument to create a fast moving melodic line. In this regard the mandolin can be compared to that of a violin or fiddle, as both instrument are small with the fretting/strings close together and quickly accessible using a plectrum or a bow. As the opening of our Bulgarian folk song demonstrated below, the melody can quickly move up the octave in Bar 1 and create a lively melodic line often seen in folk music:

While the music flows, it does for me lack character and a drive that would distinguish its regional nature and folk origins. In essence it aint got much oompf! But can we do as a musician to inject this much needed style and urgency. One way is to use articulations such as staccatos and hammer-on and pull-offs as demonstrated below:

The contrast between the smooth legato quality of the pull-off/hammer-ons and the abrupt stops of the staccato notes in bars 1 and 2 not only enhance the folk dance style of the music, but also drives the music to the first cadence in Bar 4. A similar scenario can be seen later on in the song, where the passing Ab note in bar 13 adds a very distinct eastern color to bring the first part to an end:

By picking the A note with tremolo followed by an accent on the E note in bar 14, the musician is able to bring the passage to a much more dramatic conclusion in keeping with the style of the music:

Of special note is tremolo, which is fundamental to the characteristic sound of the mandolin. Tremolo is rapidly alternating the plectrum across the  string to create a continuous sound that makes up for the quick decay of long notes on the mandolin. This can be seen in bar 16 above and also in the example below, which is very effective when moving between notes on the same string

The mandolin is both expressive and very effective at creating the rich melodic lines and texture found in folk music, but needs specific techniques to truly define the musical style of the culture and region being represented. Hopefully this study from the Bulgarian region will show how effective articulation and tremolo are in achieving these aims on the mandolin. The piece here is titled Bulgarian Folk Tune and is taken from the first volume of Simon Mayo’s Great Tunes for the Mandolin and how to play them. The full version of both the plain and ornamented version of the song are presented below.