Hi!

[Celtic Lass]

Hi all! I'm Sara and I'm from the beautiful state o' Maine! I was jammin' with a friend of mine (as well as playing a few rounds of pool) at our church, I playing the fiddle, and he playing the mandolin. He had a Rogue RM-100A A-Style Mandolin, and I was quite impressed with the sound of it considering it is a $50 instrument! I've always wanted to try a fretted instrument, and guitar and banjos aren't really my thing. The mando has such a sweet sound, and it's just my size (I have small hands and I'm only about 5'2".) So I'm thinking about trying out the mando and get the same model as my friend (getting good strings and making appropriate adjustments). Now, I don't know how serious I'll get with it. Fiddle is my main instrument and passion. What are some good books and sites for learning to play the mando? Thanks!
This looks like an awesome site to chat about Mandolins! http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

[Big Joe]

Hey Sara...some of my best friends are fiddle players http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif . It won't take you long to catch on. You already know what to do with the left hand. It will just take a bit to get used to the right hand with the pick instead of the bow. There is a ton of beginner material, but you may find just playing with it will give you more than all the books or cds on the planet. I'm sure you wil enjoy the mandolin as much as the rest of us in short order. Mandolins and playing them are addictive! It is good to meet you.

[Stephanie Reiser]

Hi Sarah! Welcome to the Mandolin Cafe from anothah Mainah!
THis site is the best place online to be for learning all about mandolins, mandolin music, mandolin repair, mandolin purchase, et al. There is also a section here with some very simple tablature containing some fiddle tunes. You didn't mention what genre of music you are into, but in Maine we even have the Maine Bluegrass Association. So, you are not alone in this state.
If you should have any questions regarding anything to do with mandolins, just come online here and you will receive floods of advice.

[Tim2723]

Hi Sara, it's Tim from Chiff and fipple. Welcome aboard! You'll have a blast at this site. It's a fantastic place!

[Celtic Lass]

Well, as you might guess from my username, I'm into Celtic style music. I also do enjoy New England stlye music (I'm in Maine after all! http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif), Cape Breton/French Canadian, and some Old Time.
That was another attraction about the mandolin becasue it has the same tuning as my fiddle. That makes learning quite a bit easier.
Hi Tim! Good to see another Chiffer here! http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

[Mark Walker]

Welcome Sarah! You'll find enjoy fine cameraderie on the Cafe' among all members.

Good luck with your mandolin pursuits! http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

[Dagger Gordon]

One of America's best Celtic mandolin and guitar players - David Surette - lives in Maine.
I would track him down.

[Celtic Lass]

That's really cool to have someone like that in my state! http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

[JEStanek]

Sara,
The Café has some tablature pages (http://www.mandolincafe.com/tabarc.html) with a variety of tunes. Another excellent source for tunes (free) is Mandozine and the TablEdit tunes. You'll need to download the freeware version of Tabledit then you can download tons of tunes, print out the notation/tab and listen to them via the midi on your PC. You can even slow them down to learn by ear or play along. Here's where you can get started. (http://www.mandozine.com/music/tabledit_search.php) From here get the TEFview file viewer.

Jamie