Non-Mandolin Player Starting Out on a CBOM Instrument?

[Brent Hutto]

Have you ever heard of someone who doesn't play a lick of mandolin starting picking up, let's say, a Mandola and starting from scratch with that?

I'm a guitar player at the moment but a good many years ago I took viola lessons off and on for a while and still own a viola. I'd like to learn a few songs on a mandolin-family instrument but the tiny fretboard, high-pitched tone and rather punchy sound of the mandolin does not completely appeal to me.

On recordings I actually love the sound of an octave mandolin when someone like Tim O'Brien uses it (yes, I know he calls it a "bouzouki" but it doesn't sound like one to me) but can't really think of any recordings I would identify as mandola. Still, it seems like a cool complement to my viola and guitar and I think I'd like the register it sings in.

[zoukboy]

Lots of people, myself included, make the switch from guitar to bouzouki or octave mando without learning mandolin first. In fact, I think if either of those instruments are your goal it might be better not to have had mandolin experience first. I'd say go for it. Find a mandola, octave mandolin, or bouzouki that feels "right," inspires you, and forge ahead!

[JEStanek]

Mandola and OM and Zouk all sound great. You can start on any of them you like. IF you want to learn using tab, you will find resources a bit more limited than for mandolin (which is already pretty limited if you want to do stuff other than bluegrass). If you can read notation (alto and bass cleff - many OM parts are written in treble cleff but you play an octave lower) you should be fine.

My wife prefers the voice of the OM to the mandolin so I can understand where you're coming from.

Mike Compton plays some mandola (look on YouTube) but that hasn't been his primary instrument.

Jamie

[Brent Hutto]

Find a mandola, octave mandolin, or bouzouki that feels "right," inspires you, and forge ahead!

Thanks, Roger. Especially the "inspires" part. One advantage to playing for myself rather than performing or doing jam sessions is being able follow my own muse, so to speak. If I make a sound that makes me happy then it's all good.

Well I also have to please the cat but she's pretty easy. As long as she gets her favorite Sor B-minor etude two or three times a day she is content.

Jamie,

I prefer to read standard notation whenever possible, although in DADGAD or something I must rely on tab. And I used to be decent at sight-reading in alto clef although I don't get to practice that much now that I play guitar instead of viola every day.

I'll have to dig up some Mike Compton mandola stuff. He is my favorite mando guy, bar none. Has been ever since the first time I saw NBB way back in 1986. He says more with the notes he leaves out than some guys can say with the ones they play, if you know what I mean.

[Marcus CA]

What type of music do you play?

I ask because you clearly would have a head start on playing mandola with your viola background. That assumes, though, that you would be playing the same type of music on mandola. However, if you are playing American fiddle tunes, Celtic music, or bluegrass, then the tuning of the OM would be easier to work with, and your guitar background would help you learn it because, unlike mandola and mandolin, you basically cover one fret instead of two per finger.

[Brent Hutto]

What type of music do you play?

That's a good question. My best, short answer is probably "Slow".

I've been at the guitar for 3-4 years now and flatpicked fiddle tunes are sort of outside my comfort zone. Which is fine, that's not the kind of thing I most enjoy hearing anyway unless it's on a fiddle!

Things I could sit down and play right now:

A couple of classical things like the famous Sor B-minor etude and some other short beginner-level things.

Fingerstyle versions of "Yesterday" and "Shenandoah" (in Drop-D). A few others I could fake my way through, maybe.

With a pick I can do a version of "Shebeg and Shemore" (however it's spelt). I'm working on a couple of Russ Barenberg tunes, my favorite being "When at Last" but I also do "Jump Back Barley" that's a little faster.

If I do take up a mandolin family instrument the first tune (melody) I'd try to play is "Aux Marches du Palais" which is a really slow, beautiful one. So basically I go for beauty rather than speed, if that makes sense.

P.S. And I must say, after a couple days thought I'm not really sure the Mandola/OM/Bouzouki idea is going to take root. There's something to be said for sticking to the original idea (learn a few Mandolin tunes) that I've had in mind for quite a while and not going off on a tangent!