"Music is a conversation, not a contest."
Many of you may be familiar with David Benedict's Mandolin Mondays series of mandolin videos that have been featured on the Mandolin Cafe in 2016. Here is what Scott Tichenor, owner of the Mandolin Cafe has to say about these videos.
"David made his first post in the blogging area of the Mandolin Cafe's forum January 4, 2016, stating he would release a new video every week and call the series Mandolin Mondays with the hashtag #mandolinmondays for Twitter, Instagram, Facebook.
I was familiar with his work in the mandolin world and took note. Privately, I had doubts someone could commit and make a year's worth of weekly videos while employed as a touring, professional musician. It was a huge commitment, a personal challenge he made, and he certainly made it. And it wasn't fluff material. He was working through extremely complicated pieces of music played exceptionally well. What really appeals to me about David's music is that he approaches the mandolin in a wider role than a lot of musicians, which is part of what the Cafe was built on. He takes it wherever he wishes: video soundtracks from computer games, Christmas tunes, Bach, Beatles, music from commercials, and beyond. Some of it is mind blowing, and his ideas are always interesting. His lack of restraint on what he approaches is refreshing and something I find very appealing". Scott Tichenor
Mandolins Heal The World has formatted these videos to work in Soundslice, so you can slow them down and loop a section and learn these great solo mandolin arrangements a phrase at a time.
Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas