I got one for Christmas and I've been playing the crap out of it in my down time. Anybody else try to imitate the great John Paul Jones?
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Anyone else play mandolin?
- Thread starter MasonMinor
- Start date
Funnily enough the first instrument I tried after 20+ years away from playing anything was a mandolin. I always loved the sound of it.
I stuck with it a couple of months then bought an octave mandolin which seemed a bit easier for my none-too-nimble fingers to manage.
Shortly after that however, fate brought a bass back into my hands and that was that...i was back playing MY instrument.
I stuck with it a couple of months then bought an octave mandolin which seemed a bit easier for my none-too-nimble fingers to manage.
Shortly after that however, fate brought a bass back into my hands and that was that...i was back playing MY instrument.
I have several and have tried playing them at various times, but I haven't recently, so it's all evaporated. Though for me, the realization was that the chord shapes are just like those on the bottom 4 strings of the guitar, except inverted (because tuned in 5ths rather than 4ths). Anyway, helps me remember the chord shapes.
I play one just to put myself out of my comfort zone. Because it's backwards from everything I have ever been taught. It makes things very interesting. And more fun.
20 years away from music? Glad you're back. Always wanted to try an octave mandolin. They sound cool to my ears.
that might be helpful if I could play guitar but I seriously doubt it. Transitioning from 5ths to 4ths was very uncomfortable for me for quite awhile.
I have a mandolin and an Irish bazouki tuned like an octave mandolin. I enjoy playing them, especially the bazouki, but I have to be careful. When I first got the bazouki, I played it a lot and it sounded great. Without realizing it, I was bending the first joint of my left index finger in a strange way when play certain chords, and I developed painful tendonitis. I had some physical therapy and it eventually healed, but it hurt for a long time. I still play both of them now and then and enjoy it, but I try to be more careful.
Bazouki? Like the gum?
Just kidding, but dang, that really sucks about your finger, man. Good that it's better though! Is the bazouki normally tuned like an octave mandolin?
That's funny - for about 20 years of doing very little with music, the one instrument I did have and pulled out from time to time was a mandolin. When I was about 18 I worked as a camp counselor, one of the other counselors had one and showed me how it was tuned and some basic chord patterns. I figured out the rest on my own, never got really good but could strum campfire songs and had a couple melodies I could play (Rattlin Roarin Willie and a couple others). When I took up bass at about 38 I largely set it aside, but I still have it.
The thing is that my mandolin has a wider neck than most - it's a cheap Asian model from the 80s - and a bad fret (up around the 10th or 12th fret where I rarely play anyway). I've thought about getting a nicer new one but "real" mandolin necks are slimmer than I'm used to and don't feel comfortable.
That's always my issue, necks too narrow and strings too tight for my chubby little sausage fingers.
So just down an octave from a mandolin? That's cool. That must sound beautiful.
Yes, it's tuned like a mandolin, but an octave lower. It sounds beautiful! It has more sustain than a regular mandolin, which sometimes sounds too "plinky" to me. It's a bit harder for me to play melodies on than the smaller instrument, due to the long scale length and tuning in fifths, but I love it for chords and singing. It's long neck makes it look elegant, too.
I've got a cittern that looks about like that, slightly wider neck - same thing except another course of strings for 10 total - all in 5ths still though. Sounds lovely. Wish I could actually play it.
I'd love to try a cittern. I love the sound of the bouzouki, but the 26.75 inch scale length makes melodies and some chords difficult to play. I've seen some octave mandolins that have a shorter scale length, which I would like to try. I used to string the lowest two courses (G and D) in octaves, like the lower strings on a 12-string guitar. It sounded really cool chording low on the neck, but the intonation got wonky higher up.
