Paul van Gulick
- Type: People Who Play
I arrived at the mandolin after experiencing an epiphany. I've been playing guitar by ear for so many years that I just can't seem to force myself to sit down and practice scales in order to actually learn music. One day I was plinking out some blues on a ukulele and it occurred to me how much easier 4 strings are than 6 - then it hit me: a mandolin has 4 strings, and I know nothing else about it! So, I thought, it ought to be easy to sit down and play scales over and over before my ear tried to assert itself.
I found this lovely mandolin advertised on the Mandolin Cafe and have made a home for it in New Mexico. We play bluegrass together now, in addition to scales, and also some texas swing and some blues. It was won at the 2004 Grand Targhee - though not by me. I'm the 3rd owner. I expect that the 4th owner has a very long wait as I don't plan to part with it while I still live and breath.