Easy Tunes to Pick on OM

[Adare_Steve]

After several months of bashing out chords (and some cross picking) on my Fylde Bouzouki, I'm now ready to learn a few tunes. I'll be playing the tunes on my (much discussed) Freshwater Octave Mandola. the first tune I've started to learn is 'out on the ocean', which I have to say, I found pretty simple to learn, and so I assume it's in the 'easy pickin' category.

I'd like some suggestions for similarly easy to pick Irish tunes, please.

I'm using GDAD tuning, which I found worked well for my first tune. If you have thoughts on whether I should tune the D back up to E, I'd be pleased to hear them - and your reasons. As I said, I'm very new to picking out tunes.

Thanks for any suggestions,

Steve

[Dolamon]

Steve - I'd suggest getting a copy of John McGann's instruction book on Bouzouki and O/M. He explores a ton of possiblities and directions and will really help in exploring the remarkable potential of this instrument. He does a few things in alternate tunings - but if GDAd works for you - keep exploring. I'm having a hard time loading the specific URL for his O/M book but HERE (http://www.johnmcgann.com/) is his web site, just go to Instructional Books and scroll down to the O/M section ...

It seems he has a PDF of one of his tunes from the book now listed on his web site - again, I can't get it load on my reluctant ISP at this moment so ... enjoy. Finally - - got it. (http://www.johnmcgann.com/om.html)

[Bruce Evans]

Try some of the slower ones like:
Si Bheag, Si Mhor (or Sheebeg Sheemore, depending on where you find it)
Midnight on the Water
South Wind

[Adare_Steve]

Thanks for the tune ideas, Tocotoda.

Dion, not only do I have a copy of John McGann's book - but he signed it, too! I also have a signed picture of him in the 'rogues gallery' of my music shop! I was actually reading the book today, after my 17th time of playing 'Out on the Ocean' (it almost bears some resemblance to the actual tune now). John gives excellent advice on left hand work, which I'm reading at the moment.

I still can't decide if I should tune the first course back up to E, though!

Steve

[Bruce Evans]

I still can't decide if I should tune the first course back up to E, though!
Steve
You'll make that decision the first time that you play a tune with a high B, unless you have one heckuva long pinky-finger.

[POB]

You'll make that decision the first time that you play a tune with a high B, unless you have one heckuva long pinky-finger.
Not necessarily. You can easily play up the neck with a top D string by playing across the neck as well as simply up and down it. For example, instead of playing the run D E F# G A B all on the top D string like this

0-2-4-5-7-9
-----------
-----------
-----------

you could play it this way:

0--------7-9
--7-9-10----
------------
------------

(You might want to cut and paste that TAB into Notepad or the like to format it properly.)

The open D string here is handy as it allows you time to get your left hand up the neck, so that you're playing the 7th, 9th and 10th frets with your index, ring and pinky fingers. There's actully less stretching involved this way than reaching up to the seventh fret with your pinky.

[mandolman]

Hey, that's great !

I'm looking for easy strecht in different scales for octave mandolin.

How do you find this ?

[POB]

How do you find this ?
Sorry mandolman, not sure what you're asking...

[mandolman]

euh, exemple for the 2nd part of Planxty George Barbizon in A, you've got in GDAE

E 5-7-9-5-9-7-4-7-5
A -----------------
D -----------------
G ----------------

How do you recommand to play it ?

[POB]

You could try this in GDAD...

D 7-9-11-7-11-9---9-7
A --------------9----
D -------------------
G -------------------

(Again, you'll need to see this in a fixed-width font.)

[Dolamon]

One thing to work on with a Big Mandolin of any type is to explore playing the melody on the lower strings. Rather than get caught up with the E string exercises, let someone else do that and lay down a "bassier track" such as in the George Barbizon above, try ... on the G course, 2, 4, 6, 2, 6, 4, (D string) 6, 7.

The last note A would be doubled on the A course. This comes out as a counter melody / bari voiced harmony and opens the single string work to some nice double stops, using just the G and D courses. The A string would be used as a drone throughout as ... the tune is in A.

Depending on the speed your playing this, it will work for melody or a unison type of harmony and - stay in the strong voice area of the instrument.

[POB]

stay in the strong voice area of the instrument.
Good point, that.

It's good to recognise the strong points of any instrument and exploit those, so that you don't necessarily play everything note-for-note the same on CBOM instruments as you would on mandolin. That's not to say that you shouldn't play high notes on CBOM intstruments, though.

[mandolman]

So, if i understand well, you play

E-------------------------------------0-
A-0------------------------------0---0-5-4---2-2
D-0---------------6------7---4---4------------
G-2-4-6-2-6-4-----4-------------------

[Dolamon]

Odd - Where did you find your version Geo. Barbizon in A? The two versions I have are both in D. I was trying to post the notes and the tab for the second part as you play it ... I don't have it in that key.

[WoodyMcKenzie]

Gee, I play Planxty George Brabazon in G!

I play a couple of other tunes in G that I think are good tunes for starters. One is the Ash Grove, which is really a song, but the melody is familiar once you hear it, or is it ancient and already part of you?!? The other is Farewell to Whiskey, which I think is a simple and beautiful melody that shouldn't be played fast. You don't have to go past the 5th fret on either of these.

For a D tune, try the Merry Blacksmith. If you tune the first string to E, then you don't have to stretch. And you can also work at playing the entire melody down on the low octave. Just do a "skeleton melody" and try to add a drone or two.

I would like to hear of some more tunes that are good for starters. I am still exploring myself, having only played octave for months now. My pinky is stronger for it and it has actually helped my fiddle and mandolin playing.

Woody

[steve V. johnson]

The L.E. McCullough "121 Favorite Session Tunes" set might be useful... It's a book with the melodies in standard notation and guitar chord diagrams over the staff and several audio CDs. On the CDs they go thru the tunes twice each, first slower, then 'at speed'. It seems that it might be an easy way to learn melodies.

stv