mandola

[5string]

ok, i get a mandola because i like more sustain than the mandolin...........but since i can only read tab (for now), will my tab "work" on the songs i know?? and how about the chords?? won't the two-finger G be another chord on the mandola?

only one-handed tonite after today's bike wreck...can't pick, so ask inane ??'s.........thanks!

...dave http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/coffee.gif

[John Bertotti]

Not inane, I'm sure you'll get some replies. You may want to link it to the cbom section also for more exposure. I unfortunately don't have any answers for you. John

[bolannta]

Mandolin chord shapes will produce a chord pitched a fifth lower when play on a mandola tuned CGDA.
The two-finger mandolin G chord is a C chord on the mandola.

[swampstomper]

So, you can play all your favourite tunes exactly as on the mando, but they will sound a 5th lower. For example, play St Anne's Reel in what looks like D, it will actually be in G (that open 3rd string which was D on the mando is now the G string on the mandola). #If you want to play in the original key you have to transpose up. #In the same example, to play in true D you finger it like it was A (the open 2nd string on the mandola is really a D, so play like you would in A on the mandolin). It helps if you've had experience playing tunes in different keys.

It's not so confusing once you actually get it under your fingers.

[5string]

Thanks for the explanations and those chord pdf's....very nice!

Anyone have a recommendation of mandola vs octave?.....I would like more sustain than a mandolin, but have no store here to "test drive" these. I would think one loses speed while stretching over the octave?

...dave http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/rock.gif

[mtnrose]

"Anyone have a recommendation of mandola vs octave?.....I would like more sustain than a mandolin, but have no store here to "test drive" these. I would think one loses speed while stretching over the octave?"

No not necessarily. I use a different fingering and just shift up and down the neck a lot. My hands arent that big, I cant stretch that far so I dont try. The shiftin is fun and its easier on the joints. The distance between frets on my OM (22" scale) is pretty much the same as the distance between the notes on my cello so I use the same fingerings and shifts on both instruments. The neat thing about the OM is its an octave lower but I still have an E string and dont have to transpose to a differnt key or clef like I would for mandola or cello. On cello I have to play further up the neck to make up for not having an E string. I definitely like the increased sustain,& lower, deeper more powerful sound of the larger instuments. Ive noticed my mandolin seems shrill and wimpy lately.

[mandroid]

'dola can use the 4 finger chop G, (a C then) chord shape , its a stretch but do-able.
to do that on a longer octave neck means another chord form is needed.
short scale heavy strung irish banjo would be another double off the octave skills.

[tiltman]

When I was a kid my brother bought a bowling ball at a garage sale in our neighborhood for a quarter. We don't know why - no one in our family ever bowled, but he was kind of a wierd kid. I found the bowling ball useful to dribble like a soccer ball to warm up for playing soccer - then the soccer ball seemed really light.
Now I sometimes use my mandola to warm up my fingers - then they really fly on the mandolin!
Kirk

[5string]

hhmmmmm, kirk..........that's kind of what i was wondering. will i play faster on the mandola because the frets are longer, or faster on the mando even though my fingers are long and bony and bump into each other.

i've noticed folks say the Breedloves have more room to move around..........maybe i'll just get a B*@#JO!

dave http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif

[mandroid]

a bass banjo http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

[tiltman]

I think after playing the mandola your mandolin playing will seem faster because the instrument will seem (comparitively) less cumbersome. At least that's been my experience.

I wouldn't advise switching to banjo... but then I've never advised switching to banjo! http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/mandosmiley.gif

Kirk

[Taube Marks]

You could try a differnt tuning on the octave mandolin...that is GDAD, use more barred chords. James Fagan of Nancy Kerr and James Fagan teaches the octave mandolin in this fashion, which allows you to play tunes and to play chords without as much stretching.

Taube