You’ll also learn the chord voicings John plays on “Birdland Breakdown.”. It takes a while to get used to pressing down on the strings, and it may hurt at first, but keep at it, eventually you will get used to it. John learned the Puerto Rican tune “La Arboleda” from a recording of cuatro player Pedro Padilla. The notes for each string in standard tuning, from bottom to top, should be E, E, A, A, D, D, and G, G. Turn on your electronic tuner and strum the bottom string. I do not have a tuner for my mandolin, cannot buy one, and the microphone on my school laptop is disabled by the school. “The Girl Who Broke My Heart” is a traditional Irish tune in the key of G that John recorded with Sharon Gilchrist and Scott Nygaard on. It never sounds right when I play. The bridge is the part of your mandolin where the strings connect to the instrument's body. If you want to play a G major chord, which is one of the most popular mandolin chords, start by holding down the second fret on both of the A strings, or the second pair of strings. Students in the electric guitar course have unlimited access to these video lessons, as well as guitar tabs and study materials (like the "Paul Gilbert Book of Guitar"). John shows you how he moves between first and second position on one phrase and adds some double stops to the melody. John’s version comes from Stéphane Grappelli, who played it in the key of D, so that’s the key you’ll learn it in. With the right amount of practice, you'll be strumming beautiful tunes on your mandolin in no time! To play the mandolin, press down on different strings with your fingers as you strum the instrument, which will let you play different notes. John walks you through the melody phrase by phrase and also shows you the chords and a minor variation. It’s a slow melodic tune, with some unusual syncopation and a complex chord progression. ", "The article inspired me. John shows you the E7 arpeggio you’ll use to finger much of the melody and then starts walking you through the melody phrase by phrase. “Cazadero” is a four-part fiddle tune in the key of E major that was composed by fiddler Paul Shelasky and recorded by John on his North of the Border album. My teacher told (and showed) me that all you have to do is learn how to hold the pick. The old-time fiddle tune “Half Past Four” comes from the great Kentucky fiddler Ed Haley, who was recorded by his son in a series of home recordings in the 1940s. He also shows you how to find the melody of the A part an octave up the neck. Holding the pick too tightly will create a more metallic sound. It’s a samba with a nice relaxed tempo and a typical AABA form, and John plays it in the key of D, though it’s often played in the key of C as well. It’s in E major and features a vamp between Emaj7 and B7sus4 chords. To learn how to play songs and other chords on the mandolin, keep reading! “Old French” is in the key of D, with a B part that only uses A and G chords, and the A part features triplets, both picked and played with hammer-ons. fiddle tune in the key of A and it’s one of John’s favorites. The melody is not challenging, but it’s often played at a fast tempo, though it sounds good at a medium tempo as well. X The main melody instrument in jibaro music is the ten-string cuatro, which has five courses (double strings) and is tuned a little lower in pitch than a mandolin. John recorded the Canadian fiddle tune “Old French” on a record with Butch Baldassari and Robin Bullock called Travelers. Bill Monroe’s fiddle tune “Cheyenne” starts in the key of G minor and modulates to the relative major Bb for the second part. But with the arrival of COVID-19, the stakes are higher than ever. John’s tune “Nesser” is a happy tune in the key of A major that he originally conceived as a tune that would sound good on the banjo. For example, you can hold each note for one beat and play C-C-C-C, G-G-G-G, C-C-C-C, D-D-D-D, C-C-C-C, G-G-G-G. You can hear Tony’s recording on his album Acoustics, which features Sam Bush on mandolin. John wrote “Daylighting the Creek” recently and it’s featured on the John Reischman and the Jaybirds recording On That Other Green Shore. It’s a nice stately tune in the key of G minor. "These written notes I can understand better. Need help with the site? Check out these songs featured in the Melodic Mandolin Tunes course. When strings are not held down they are in the âopenâ position. “The Girl Who Broke My Heart” is a traditional Irish tune in the key of G that John recorded with Sharon Gilchrist and Scott Nygaard on The Harmonic Tone Revealers. It’s in the key of A, and the melody notes are mostly played on the second and third strings. I'm not sure about the music reading for mandolin, but I play violin too. You’ll also learn the two closed-position scale positions he uses. “The Road to Malvern” is a contemporary old-time (“new-time”?) John walks you through the melody of “Samba de Orfeu” and shows you the samba rhythm and chord progression. You’ll learn the chord voicings he uses as well as a calypso-style rhythm pattern. John learned the old Argentinian waltz “Palomita Blanca” from a recording by French fingerstyle guitarist Pierre Bensusan and then arranged it for the mandolin, recording it on his debut solo album North of the Border. John recorded two versions of his tune “Side by Each” on his album Walk Along John, one as a duet with old-time fiddler Bruce Molsky and one with a full bluegrass band. Monroe’s mandolin solo is a good example of his syncopated downstroke style applied to an instrumental instead of a song. Then he walks you through his arrangement of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” explaining how he tries to make each chord ring out with sustain, and allowing the melody notes, the top notes of the chord, to be heard clearly. References He also shows you how he rests his palm lightly on the bridge, how he sometimes locks his wrist and uses more of his forearm and sometimes he plays with a loose wrist. John composed his minor-key waltz “The North Shore” in honor of Bill Monroe, inspired by his minor-key waltzes like “Lonesome Moonlight Waltz.” It’s in the key of G minor and features tremolo and double stops using a harmonized Bb major scale, with melody notes harmonized a sixth below in most cases. In addition to walking you through the melody phrase by phrase, John shows you a couple of variations of the melody and how to play the melody in the lower octave. Your tuner should have a needle that shows you what note you're playing or a light that will come on when the strings are in tune. John recorded his fiddle tune “Eighth of February,” named for the day he wrote it, on his album Up in the Woods. He also talks about keeping a steady up-and-down motion with your picking hand so you stay in time even when youâre not sounding a note. John wrote his lovely waltz “A Prairie Jewel” for his wife, who grew up on the prairies of Alberta, Canada. To make the mandolin sound better, try pressing at the end of the fret instead of in the middle, and try strumming closer to the neck instead of at the bridge. {"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/a\/a3\/Play-Mandolin-Step-1-Version-3.jpg\/v4-460px-Play-Mandolin-Step-1-Version-3.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/a\/a3\/Play-Mandolin-Step-1-Version-3.jpg\/aid5086070-v4-728px-Play-Mandolin-Step-1-Version-3.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":728,"bigHeight":546,"licensing":"