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Thread: Mandotar chords source?

  1. #1
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    Default Mandotar chords source?

    Hi all. As a fiddler coming back to guitar after a long break, I want to be able to play my fiddle tunes easily on guitar. I had a look at various regular guitar open tunings, but I found the easiest way to play fiddle tunes is with (Duh!) fiddle tuning. So, I have a little 21 1/2" scale guitar tuned in fifths, CGDAEB.

    That's a mandolin in the middle with a string each side, folks. I haven't got the C string to work well yet because of the short scale and low pitch, so I may yet give up and fit a high pitch drone string like a 5 string banjo, so I can also pretend to be a banjo player.

    However - can anyone suggest a chord chart source for 6 string fifths tuning please?

    Thanks, Max

  2. #2
    Registered User fox's Avatar
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    Default Re: Mandotar chords source?

    Lots of folk have experimented with 5ths & six strings... good luck.
    There are quite a few threads on the subject. https://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/s...-my-experiment

  3. #3
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    Default Re: Mandotar chords source?

    Thanks Fox, that's a good start.

  4. #4
    Registered User fox's Avatar
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    Default Re: Mandotar chords source?

    If you want to search the forum, you will find Google is your friend. Add mandolin café to your search & you will find more.

  5. #5

    Default Re: Mandotar chords source?

    Check out the Android app "Fretter" it costs $1.99 but you can enter any string configuration you want and it generates doable chords

  6. #6
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    Default Re: Mandotar chords source?

    I just downloaded Fretter, and it has Mandotar tuning listed - a very simple and very useful app.

  7. #7

    Default Re: Mandotar chords source?

    Hi, Maxr!

    I used this when building my chord book.

    http://www.studybass.com/tools/chord...-note-printer/

    The strategy I followed was to set up the tool for guitar in fifths (CGDAEB, separated by commas and all uppercase) and the fretboard set up do display 24 frets. On the diagram tab, I chose "show degrees" (important later when choosing well-stacked chords with a root or fifth at the bottom).

    Then I set a root and fed in various chord options (maj, min, dom, maj7, min7, and so on). I'd then look for chords which allowed using a barre chord across four, five and even six strings.

    As a simple example, D major is (in tab) 002301 from low to high. That means that E major is 224523, with a barre at the second fret and the middle, ring and pinkie fingers fretting the other notes.

    I also looked for chords which incorporated open strings, finding inversions/combinations which took advantage of any of the original CGDAEB pitches available. C and G in particular offer a lot of rich movable chords.

    One more thought: if your instrument is well set up, you can fret across more than one course with one finger. As an example, the G chord is 200233. That means you can ignore the lowest string when barring, and play your A as 22455.

    This barre chord also makes the A minor form easier (22355).

    You have an amazing new world to explore. Happy hunting!
    ----

    Playing a funky oval-hole scroll-body mandolin, several mandolins retuned to CGDA, three CGDA-tuned Flatiron mandolas, two Flatiron mandolas tuned as octave mandolins,and a six-course 25.5" scale CGDAEB-tuned Ovation Mandophone.

    Love mandola?
    Join the Mandola Social Group!

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