HELP! I HAVE NO CLUE WHAT TO DO!

[takeitbackjack]

Hi I just bought a mandolin. I play guitar, but I wanted a mando for a long time.. Trouble is, I have no clue what I am doing?? It didn't come in tune or anything. I know the tuning of it though, but can't tune it to my piano because that is not in tune either... http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/sad.gif I do know some chords on it, enough to play what I want to play. I don't just want to play on my own though, I want to play it with a band at gigs.. and I'm not sure as to whether you play the same chords on the mando as you would on a guitar.. like if you played a D chord on the mando, would a D chord on the guitar sound the same.. ? Any help please!! I need it!1

[toddjoles]

Welcome to the Cafe!
As for tuning, the mando is tuned GDAE.Tune your mandolin on line. (http://www.users.csbsju.edu/~eknuth/mandotab/gdae.html)

The cafe does have info on cords and some online lessons which can be acccessed from the main page. Then pick up a introductory book like The Mandolin Primer it's a great place to start.

When you purchased your mando was it setup properly. To find out checkout Frank Ford's site.Frets (http://www.frets.com) A good setup will make all the difference in the world as to weather or not you stay with it.

Good luck and keep in touch.
Todd

[neal]

Take a deep breath, count to ten...it'll be ok. You've come to the right place. To tune your mandolin you would use the 7th fret for realative tuning. Just like guitar, but on the 7th. Then go back to the main page here and look on the left of the page and you'll see "more resources". Explore around a little. If you have a pitch pipe the mando is tuned (low-high) GDAE. Yes, a D chord is a D chord. It'll sound higher, but it's all relative, eh? Enjoy.

Welcome to the best site for the mandolin, takeitbackjack.

[John Flynn]

The very best thing to do is find an instructor and get a few lessons to get you started. If you can't do that, don't panic. There are free lessons here, although they tend to be a little above the beginning level:

http://www.mandolincafe.com/lessons.html

and here:

http://www.co-mando.com/techniques/index.php

There are chord charts here:

http://home.inreach.com/jsherida/katie/mandolin.html

There are lots of other things on the web also, just get your search engine revved up.

I would start by learning the major scales and the "important" chords (technical music term! LOL). Then, depending on what kind of music you want to play, progress to the other scales and chords you will need for that. Also, start transposing some tunes you know on the guitar to the mando. That will teach you a lot.

I also recommend getting a good beginner book/CD. I like Andy Statman's "Teach Yourself Bluegrass Mandolin" for both beginning bluegrass and old time. But there are a lot of good starter books out there. If you are going to get some instruction, I would go with the instructor's recommendation on a book. If you are in to a particular kind of music, there may be a beginner mando book out for that kind of music.

I also recommend investing in a digital chromatic tuner. If you can't afford one, at least get a pitch pipe. The ones for violin work well for mandos.