What Now?

**mel95** · May-14-2011, 10:45am

Okay, so I now have a cheap mandolin that I am borrowing. I can play a few two string chords that my brother taught me, but that's about it.

Does anyone have suggestions how to learn to play? My mom and I talked about finding someone to give me lessons over the summer, but I don't know anybody that can actually play.

**EarlG** · May-14-2011, 12:34pm

Look on the home page of this site for chords and tabs. Use your two string chords to play some songs, and learn the whole song. You're on your way.

**mel95** · May-14-2011, 12:49pm

Thanks you very much.

I am really interested in picking as well. Any info on that?

**EarlG** · May-14-2011, 1:02pm

Sure, the tabs and tabledit will get you into picking. And just try to pick out any tunes you know. Then listen to your favorite recording and try to pick out at least phrases if you can't get the whole tune. You can also get easy books like "Bluegrass Fakebook" or "Parking Lot Picker's Songbook" and learn a lot of common bluegrass tunes, easy to pick the melody.

**mel95** · May-14-2011, 1:18pm

Okay thank you. I've played the piano for about ten years and I am having trouble knowing where to put my fingers to get certain notes. I understand that on the G string, for example, you get an A by putting your finger on the first fret, then B, etc. I guess it's just my lack of experience, but it is kind of difficult for me to know where notes are in relation to other strings. I guess this just comes with practice? I may be expecting too much of myself, considering I've been playing for about three days... haha

Would actual lessons be a worthwhile investment?

**Theo B** · May-14-2011, 1:23pm

The notes are a little different than that... http://www.celticguitarmusic.com/mando_fretboard.gif

You'll get the hang of it. I suggest the Greg Horne mandolin series (from beginner to advanced). It helped me learn to read music on the mandolin and there's a bunch of good songs to learn in there.

Lessons are always great because the teacher can stop you from developing bad habits and you're getting hands on "jam" experience. But books, in my opinion, can be just as handy.

Good luck!

**Jim** · May-14-2011, 1:28pm

Okay thank you. I've played the piano for about ten years and I am having trouble knowing where to put my fingers to get certain notes. I understand that on the G string, for example, you get an A by putting your finger on the first fret, then B, etc. I guess it's just my lack of experience, but it is kind of difficult for me to know where notes are in relation to other strings. I guess this just comes with practice? I may be expecting too much of myself, considering I've been playing for about three days... haha

Would actual lessons be a worthwhile investment?

Actually that's an A flat on the first fret of the G string. Yes lessons are a good thing with the right instructor, Youtube has some good instructional videos as well. Bluegrass college has lessons and the lessons and tab are good here at the MC as well. Good luck & have fun!

**mandolino maximus** · May-14-2011, 2:06pm

Uness your 10 years of piano involved a lot of playing by ear, regularly pratice playing things by ear - even it if it's painful to your ego - to make progress at picking. The first few things they teach about that is that if you can only play one note, play it in rhythm, your'e only one note in the scale away from a note that will work, and every other note is an acceptablke passing note. If the melody is moving too fast for you to play all the notes, play fewer notes. Use your ear. Go to jams, you will be playing accompaniment a minimum 80% of the time. Learn the three basic chords in G, D and A to start with. Learn how to chop / stop them from ringing. Watch and listen for things you can do - not so much for the things you can't.

Remember all that stuff about scales and arpeggios to get a feel for your instrument? Try that and try it from different spots (positions) on the mando. The mandolin has patterns for melody and chord fingerings that you can reuse.

I learned a wind instrument and read music quite well when young and tried mando much much later in life. I never really had any experience in playing by ear and that is a detrmiment to picking. You're pretty much just making something up that sounds good using the song as a template. That and I haven't been able to figure out which end of the mando to blow into yet.

**mel95** · May-14-2011, 2:13pm

My mistake. See, I don't even know that much about it.

I have a pretty good ear, but I typically learn stuff from sheet music. I understand how I want things to sound, but on the mandolin I just don't know how to get the sound I want, if that makes sense.

I should do is probably learn the scales and arpeggios for the mandolin to get a better feel of what I can do, as mandolino said.

**"Umm, fish?"** · May-14-2011, 3:27pm

BTW, the fat end with the holes in it is where you blow.

**Willie** · May-14-2011, 3:59pm

Mel, if you post where you are located maybe someone can suggest a teacher...Good luck with what ever you decide....Willie

**Michael Richmond** · May-14-2011, 4:02pm

Originally Posted by mel95

Okay thank you. I've played the piano for about ten years and I am having trouble knowing where to put my fingers to get certain notes. I understand that on the G string, for example, you get an A by putting your finger on the first fret, then B, etc. I guess it's just my lack of experience, but it is kind of difficult for me to know where notes are in relation to other strings. I guess this just comes with practice? I may be expecting too much of myself, considering I've been playing for about three days... haha

Would actual lessons be a worthwhile investment?

I have a similar background. I played piano for about 10 years and then haven't touched an instrument for about 8 years before picking up the mandolin last year. I'm still very much a mandolin beginner but I'm making progress.

I'm taking the occasional lesson which I personally find useful.

I went through an exercise where I selected some relatively easy melody lines that I know well and slowly picked my way through the tunes. I left my electronic tuner attached to the headstock so that I could use that to identify where the notes are in first position on the fretboard. A couple of sessions like that and I quickly found my way around the fretboard from 0 to 6th fret on all strings.

The result is that I am now fairly confident playing my mandolin from standard notation. I don't play fast yet, but I can think of music the way I did on piano. That is, in terms of "B, then A, then C" rather than as fret positions "2, 0, then 3".

BTW, moving up one fret is moving up one semi-tone (or one key on a piano). So, on the...

G string: fret 0 = G, fret 1 = G♯, fret 2 = A, fret 3 = A♯, fret 4 = B, fret 5 = C, fret 6 = C♯

D string: fret 0 = D, fret 1 = D♯, fret 2 = E, fret 3 = F, fret 4 = F♯, fret 5 = G, fret 6 = G♯

A string: fret 0 = A, fret 1 = A♯, fret 2 = B, fret 3 = C, fret 4 = C♯, fret 5 = D, fret 6 = D♯

E string: fret 0 = E, fret 1 = F, fret 2 = F♯, fret 3 = G, fret 4 = G♯, fret 5 = A, fret 6 = A♯

**Marc Berman** · May-14-2011, 4:12pm

Beginning Mandolin by Greg Horne. You can pick it up an Amazon for around $12.00. Great book to start with.

**mel95** · May-14-2011, 10:40pm

Wow, thank you everybody! I'll be sure to look into those books.

I live about an hour and a half north of Atlanta.

**JonZ** · May-15-2011, 12:36am

It's time to start obsessing about your next mandolin.

**Ivan Kelsall** · May-15-2011, 1:01am

With your Piano background & your obvious ability to read music,then if i were you,i 'd do the same with Mandolin.Find a really good Mandolin tutor book,learn the scales in all the major & minor keys as you (presumably) did with Piano.That way you'll learn where all the notes are on the fingerboard.After that,buy some sheet music for whichever style of Mandolin playing you want to learn.
You could also do worse that contact ne of our fellow 'Cafe members,Mr John McGann :- www.johnmcgann.com/ .John McGann teaches at The Berklee College of Music. He's a 100% musician,a great Mandolin player & could offer you some really sound advice. With your ability to read music,you're already ahead of many of us to begin with (theory wise),it's a matter of transfering that ability to another instrument - easier said than done,but you can do it,
Good luck - Ivan

**aliza** · May-15-2011, 11:05am

[QUOTE]BTW, moving up one fret is moving up one semi-tone (or one key on a piano).[QUOTE]

This is a HUGE help to understanding what notes are what.
If there is a black key between the notes on piano (like from C to D), then you have to skip a fret (Unless you're trying to play a C#). If there is no black key on piano (like between E and F), then the note you want is the next fret over. So as long as you know the names of the strings pretty well, you should be able to figure out the notes pretty quickly.
so, GDAe are the strings of mandolin, so each pair of strings will have 3 whole notes (not including sharps and flats) until the next string. You'll catch on pretty quickly. BTW, mandolin is the same exact tuning as violin.

**dcoventry** · May-15-2011, 11:23am

" so each pair of strings will have 3 whole notes (not including sharps and flats) until the next string"

This is perhaps unclear. Intervals are counted from begginning note to ending note, So going from The G string to the D string is a Fifth: G-A-B-C-D. Yes, there are three notes in between, but this is not common nomenclature or interval definition.

When learning anything new, it is important to be careful of new vocabulary words so that we are all speaking the same language when discussing music theory and the like.

**Alex Orr** · May-15-2011, 11:48am

Originally Posted by Marc Berman

Beginning Mandolin by Greg Horne. You can pick it up an Amazon for around $12.00. Great book to start with.

I second that recommendation.

**Chip Booth** · May-15-2011, 12:06pm

If you have Skype set up perhaps someone would be willing to spend half an hour with you to explain some of the basics. I teach stringed instruments and I see a lot of piano players confused by them at first. You are welcome to send me a personal message with your info and I would try to make some time for you to get you started.

Try to think of each string a separate keyboard, except that the flats/sharps have been intermingled with the natural notesso that you are all in a line. Each fret is the next hafl step rather the next natural note. Each string is like this but offset slightly from one another. So you have one keyboard that starts at G, then another above it that starts at the D a fifth higher. Notes are dulpicted on each string over much of the range of the fretboard.

**mel95** · May-15-2011, 4:42pm

Thanks everybody!

After playing around for a little bit, I've been able to pick out a few familiar tunes. I'm starting to get more familiar with the fretboard as well.

I've talked to my mom about getting me lessons, and we are going to start looking for someone.

Next step, buy a decent mandolin!

**"Umm, fish?"** · May-15-2011, 5:25pm

You could also do worse that contact ne of our fellow 'Cafe members,Mr John McGann :- www.johnmcgann.com/ .John McGann teaches at The Berklee College of Music. He's a 100% musician,a great Mandolin player & could offer you some really sound advice. With your ability to read music,you're already ahead of many of us to begin with (theory wise),it's a matter of transfering that ability to another instrument - easier said than done,but you can do it,
Good luck - Ivan

My teacher studied under Prof. McGann at Berklee. I can attest to the fact that he can certainly help someone become a fine musician and a good teacher.

**aliza** · May-15-2011, 8:10pm

"This is perhaps unclear."
You're right. Sorry for the confusion. I was trying to figure out how to phrase that...Now I know

**Marty Henrickson** · May-16-2011, 9:35am

Originally Posted by "Umm, fish?"

BTW, the fat end with the holes in it is where you blow.

...and I always thought the sound came out of those holes!

As to the original poster, I think it's important to learn some good technique, i.e. how to hold the instrument and the pick, alternate picking, etc. That is where a good teacher, or even a player that is more advanced, can help you out. As someone mentioned earlier, you don't want to learn bad habits as they are generally difficult to "unlearn" if you repeat them for a long time.