Mandolin Tunes CD

I believe that this is the first posting on this site that doesn't include a link to a new tune. Instead, this is a PR blog (marketing not being one of my strong points) to let readers of So Many Tunes know that I have put together a collection of tracks from this blog and created a CD that I've titled Mandolin Tunes.

The CD contains 23 of my favorite tunes from the nearly 100 that I've recorded so far for the blog. None of the tunes appear on any of the three Contratopia CDs and they were all recorded here at my house using a no-frills approach. I didn't re-record anything but I did go back to the original wave files and remix a few things. So, if you invest in a copy (either physical or digital) of Mandolin Tunes you won't be buying the product of a high end studio recording environment.

When I started this blog I didn't intend to ever offer these particular recordings for sale. The idea has always been to feature the tunes in a simple way. The standard approach has been for me to record a basic guitar track and then play the melody, without much embellishment, two or three times through so that the listener might be able to learn the tune if he or she finds it interesting. Some of the tracks have harmony parts and once or twice I play a short improv bit.

Why a CD now? Well, last summer the idea of collecting some of my favorite tracks just popped into my head. I enjoyed the process of picking out the ones to keep and putting them together in different orders. I also wanted to experiment with doing a low budget CD production with an eye towards a couple of other projects that I have in mind. I also know there are a lot of folks who have no idea that this blog exists who I thought might enjoy this music.

The companies that manufacture CDs these days, especially Oasis and Disc Makers, have a variety of less expensive options and I chose to have Mandolin Tunes produced in a small quantity as "Pro CD-Rs" rather than more expensive replicated CDs. Pro CD-Rs are duplicated at 4x rather than the 24x (or faster) rate that you and I might use when burning a CD-R at home. This theoretically creates a product with virtually no errors. (So far, no one has contacted me with any playback issues.) I also chose to have the CDs packaged in full-color jackets to lessen the carbon footprint and to take up less space in my house.

Eventually I'll get around to writing some more formal notes about each of the tunes but for now I just wanted to let readers know that the CD is available.

Available where?

CD Baby
Amazon
iTunes
emusic

CD Baby is the best place to order a physical copy (unless you want to contact me directly) and it looks like emusic has the best mp3 price of the bunch. I also like the way that the emusic page also links to some YouTube video performances of some of my other music.

Of course you could just look up each of the 23 tunes here on the blog and compile your own CD. I guess it depends on how much time you want to spend. Feel free to comment here or, even better, leave some reviews at the various online vendor sites.

I'll get around to posting some more tunes one of these days. I've got a bunch waiting their turn.