Playing Mandolin from Ukulele

[Mynderzio]

Hi - I've been playing my ukulele proficiently for awhile now. Lately I've become interested in also learning mandolin. I have very minimal guitar experience. Is it going to be terribly difficult to get the hang of the mandolin from ukulele? Also, any advice on which instruments might be an easy stepping stone from ukulele if not mandolin?

[Paul Busman]

Go for it. You'll naturally find that the mandolin takes a lot more finger pressure than the nylon stringed uke. Whatever you buy, make sure it comes with a good setup to keep the action low and the pressure manageable. I play and love both instruments.

[mandroid]

Chord names are the same for the Music, now you have to finger them differently .

but the names remain the same.

[nickster60]

I think the mandolin is harder but the effort is worthwhile. You also will need to use a pick.

[tashook]

I play both (neither very well) and find it easier to play melodies on the mandolin because of the tuning being in intervals of 5, rather than the uke's intervals of 4.

[Big Joe]

The ukulele is cool. The mandolin is cool. However, the main similarity is the size and they each have strings. From there they are two different animals. Different kind of strings, twice as many strings, different tuning, and different chordal formations. That being said, if you can play one stringed instrument you should be able to play others with only a bit of effort. The easiest way to explain mandolin tuning is that it is upside down from a guitar. Once you get over your fear of the tuning it will quickly fall into place.

[Geordie]

I play uke and recently picked up a mandolin. I found the learning curve to be easier to handle due to already playing a stringed instrument. I say go for it!

[allenhopkins]

1. First instrument's the hardest; from then on they get easier. Until you get to the concertina.

B. Ukulele is more akin to guitar, with relative-pitch tuning like the top four guitar strings: fourths and a third. Mandolin is fifths.

III. Ukulele is (basically) a chordal instrument (well, there's Jake Shimabukuro et. al., but that's just sick, right?); mandolin, while obviously capable of playing chords, is more of a melody instrument.

(d) The instruments are about the same size, which is good.

5. There are more mandolin strings, and you change them more often. You also need to buy picks, and a strap. And a Cumberland Acoustics bridge, an Allen tailpiece, a Tone Gard, and another mandolin that costs more and has a scroll on it. Ukuleles don't have scrolls (I think).

vi. There is no mandolin equivalent of Tiny Tim. Which is good.

∑. There are banjo versions of both mandolins and ukuleles; avoid them.

[Dobe]

[QUOTE=allenhopkins
∑. There are banjo versions of both mandolins and ukuleles; avoid them.[/QUOTE]

:)) Resophonics O.K. though, right ?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgYxzLzOSOk&list=FL-Y82F6AlL7pLteA232ItJg&index=29&feature=plpp_video

Just learned 3 things while trying to verify this ; Soprano & mando scale lengths are very close, fingerboard width would be pretty different however.

Probably better suited for the builders section, but the Uke search got me here:

From 1 Siminoff page: http://www.siminoff.net/pages/siminoff_book_comments.html

1. Monroe's F holes survived the vandalism incident, likely due to the guaze.

2. Angled grain is the correct orientation for brace stock (why does StewMac sell it vertical?).

3. Original F5s ribs (rim) were sanded to an arch on the outside and were not flat as most builders do today.

Live & learn ? :popcorn:

[catmandu2]

Also, any advice on which instruments might be an easy stepping stone from ukulele if not mandolin?

For me, the closer instruments are nylon-string banjos (especially regarding re-entrant tunings) and guitars -- played fingerstyle: you can employ right-hand strumming styles (viz., rasgueados, split strokes, frailing strokes, tremolos, etc.) on both that are similar to uke style approaches. I also find tenor banjo quite similar to uke--not only in left hand "feel" but in concept as well -- both are excellent for executing harmony (chording), jazz voicings, and song accompaniment.