Mary Schmich

I couldn't have foreseen all the good things that have followed my mother's death. The renewed energy, the surprising sweetness of grief. The tenderness I feel for strangers on walkers. The deeper love I have for my siblings and friends. The desire to play the mandolin. The gift of a visitation.

American Journalist

Shamir

I wrote all my songs on my main instruments, and the songs I would record in my bedroom were just acoustic guitar, mandolin, and sometimes bass. I really like the texture the mandolin added to my music, but my fingers were too big to play it... I could only do little riffs and whatever.

American Musician

Fernando Botero

I was drawing a mandolin, and I made the sound hole very small, which made the mandolin look gigantic. I saw that making the details small made the form monumental. So in my figures, the eyes, the mouth are all small, and the exterior form is huge.

Colombian Artist

Rita Dove

The sound of the mandolin is a very curious sound because it's cheerful and melancholy at the same time, and I think it comes from that shadow string, the double strings.

American Poet

John Fogerty

That song has the full extent of my mandolin abilities; I'm not a good mandolin player at all.

Noel Redding

At the age of nine, playing the violin at school, and then onto the mandolin.

English Musician

Emma Watson

I really want to write a novel. I also want to learn to play the mandolin.

British Actress

Page McConnell

My dad also plays a little banjo and guitar, my mom plays the mandolin.

Bill Monroe

I'm a farmer with a mandolin and a high tenor voice.

Parker Posey

I learned how to play mandolin for 'A Mighty Wind!

American Actress

Associated with folk, bluegrass, and classical music.

Music Genre

Plucked or strummed with a plectrum, producing a unique twang.

Playing Technique

Less common in orchestras, but adds distinct color when used.

Orchestra Use

Known for sharpness, so use with caution and consider a hand guard.

Kitchen Safety

Ideal for consistent, thin slices of fruits and vegetables.

Even Slices

Greatly speeds up food preparation compared to a knife.

Culinary Speed

 And then there's this other island where there's just one songwriter who sits and plays mandolin for the ocean. And then there are others where there's no one and there never has been, and so you go just for the pleasure of touching your foot to sand that no foot has ever touched before.

Mandolin