Chord Charts

[Soupy1957]

A long time ago, I stumbled on an online chord chart that could be printed out. It had a TON of chords on it, including the basic ones. (lots of FFcP as well).

Anyone know where that is? I can't find it anymore.........I've tried.

Either that, or "is there a chord book" that you would recommend. I'm sure there's a thread on that somewhere, but a simple link to an exhaustive mandolin chord book, would be fine.

Thanks,

[billkilpatrick]

soups - try this:

http://www.slideshare.net/eoialcala/mando-practice-sheets-presentation

... chords grouped in relevant keys. somewhere - can't remember where - you can down load his (charlie jones) very useful "3 note chords - abbreviated chords for mandolin."

[Soupy1957]

Had to sign up for an account, but the chart and accompanying info is great.......thanks, Bill!!
I downloaded a copy.

I've really been trying hard this time to wrap my head around the mandolin. One of the things that I thought would be a help, was to really understand the relationship of chord structures on the mando in comparison to the guitar, since the G - E strings are in inversion from the guitar, less the other two strings. I thought that I might be able to do some mental relationship comprehension that would help in my learning.

Unfortunately for me, I can't say I ever really "learned" the guitar neck, (I can play up a storm but never could do much note-for-note play, which was not just about learning where the individual notes were by memory, but was also about slow movement. I am not fast on the neck), and that has been the challenge for me on the mando. I've been MORE focused on the note-for-note stuff on the mando, and need to balance that with re-learning the chords. (Nobody plays ONLY the "break".........or at least, nobody SHOULD "only play the "break"). I'm of the belief that I should be a balanced player.

[AlanN]

For chords on the mandolin and how they are used, pick up Niles' little chord book. I've had it for 20+ years and I still to this day go back to it.

[Phil Sussman]

Nice chord charts! Just what I need now.
RE: "Niles' little chord book." I'm not familiar with that, what exactly is the title and author?
Thanks,
Phil

[Soupy1957]

Looking around in Amazon.com for the "Niles' Little Chord Book" I stumbled on this nugget, with a forward by our own Scott T.!!!

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0786647973/ref=ord_cart_shr?_encoding=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&v=glance

[Philippe Bony]

Niles' little chord book : HERE (http://elderly.com/books/items/46-8.htm)

[mandocrucian]

http://www.elderly.com/images/books/252/46-13.jpg
Niles Hokkanen's Guide To Mandolin Chords (http://www.elderly.com/books/items/46-13.htm)

(and the pocket sized edition)
http://www.elderly.com/images/books/252/46-8.jpg
Pocket Guide To Mandolin Chords (http://www.elderly.com/books/items/46-8.htm)
"Nothing can beat the chord book from MD/Niles. It's the most sophisticated in terms of quality content and instruction. It's the best I've seen, plus it fits in your case. What more could you ask for?" - Scott Tichenor, Mandolin Cafe

both also available direct from NH, as well as through Elderly

[HaveMercy]

I've grown pretty fond of my copy of "Mandolin Chord Dictionary (http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_b?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=%22mandolin+chord+dictionary%22)" by Morton Manus (An Alfred Handy Guide)

It's small enough to throw in your mandolin case and it's easy to find movable chord shapes as well as principal chords for a given key (I, IV, V) and relative minor chords (vi, ii, iii).

And best of all...it's cheap!

[AlanN]

The key to Niles' chord book is APPLICATION. The post script reads: How to use them. He lists real life examples of chord progressions with moving shapes and how they fit in a tune. This was an eye-opener for me way back on swing tunes like Back In Nagasaki and rock tunes like Pinball Wizard. That's another benefit of the book, it is cross-genre.

I have the itsy-bitsy one, it looks like he upgraded the physical size of the book in the meantime.

Invaluable book.

[Mike Bunting]

John Baxter's book with the intro by Scott T. may be the one you are looking for.

http://www.amazon.com/reader/0786647973?%5Fencoding=UTF8&ref%5F=sib%5Fdp%5Fptu#reader-link

[Phil Sussman]

Thanks all for pointing to the Niles Hokkanen book. Looks interesting, and probably very different from the Mel Bay Encyclopedia of chords, which I have.

[Soupy1957]

Mike: That's the one I ordered, today.

[Mike Bunting]

That's a good one.

[Rob Gerety]

I came across a web site recently that has a great series of videos that walk you through the major minor and 7th chords and all the inversions up and down the neck - I certainly don't know all that stuff yet - but like you I'm bound and determined to learn it all. Personally, I've never found chord charts to be particularly useful - for guitar or mandolin. I need to understand the shapes and why they result in the chord flavors they do or I can't remember them.

http://www.franksviolins.com/mandolin.asp

[Mike Bunting]

Rather than learn shapes, why not learn some harmony and figure out your own shapes, it gives you a far wider pallette from which to work.
http://elderly.com/books/items/172-1.htm