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Choosing What Instrument to Learn #4: Mandolin
By Rick | August 31, 2007
I have to confess a bias: we are talking about my favourite instrument here!
I’m serious. I played guitar badly for decades and thought I was having fun. Then I took up bass guitar, which I played badly for some years, and thought I was having fun. More recently, I took up tenor banjo, which I played badly, but I thought I was having fun. Then, a couple of years ago, I discovered mandolin. I’m a pretty slow learner but, despite that, I’m actually playing reasonably well… and I’m definitely having fun!
As you may have gathered, after guitar and bass I kind of gave up on fashionable instruments. In the USA, despite it being the home of bluegrass music (a genre invented by a mandolin player), mandolin is still a minority instrument. In the UK, mando, as we who are au fait sometimes call it, is really pretty rare. In fact, outside the Republic of Ireland it’s mostly only Fairport Convention fans who even recognise them. Oh, and occasionally Scottish people. Not the English or Welsh though. As far as most English and Welsh people are concerned they are ukuleles or “little guitars”, so you’ll find a few pictures in this article just to make sure we all know what a mandolin is.
Enough waffle. These days, mandolins are probably mostly associated with bluegrass music in the USA. In The UK and Ireland they mostly crop up in folk music and in Irish and Scottish traditional music (as played by Planxty’s Andy Irvine and The Dubliners’ John Sheahan and Barney McKenna). Oddly, mandolin is actually a relative newcomer to the trad instrument arsenal.
Mandolin in jazz and blues is less common, but by no means unheard of. The late Jethro Burns and David Grisman have both contributed greatly to jazz mandolin, and Yank Rachel was one of the few original bluesmen who chose it as his instrument.
Very recently, mandolin has started to nudge its way more often into other styles, including rock. One notable champion of the instrument who embraces just about all styles of music, including rock, blues, bluegrass and reggae, is Sam Bush.
So those are the contexts into which mandolin might fit.
Mandolin is an eight-string, instrument which is played with a pick, a bit like guitar. The eight strings are tuned in unison pairs (two adjacent strings tuned to the same note), so it is effectively like playing something with just four strings. The tuning, going from bass to treble is GDAE, the same as a violin. Anyone who can play violin will find the transition to mandolin very simple.
The scale length is very short, again similar to violin and, as mando is tuned in 5ths, the scales of G Major and D Major fall right under the fingers of even small hands with minimal stretching. Many basic chords can be played with just two fingers. For the absolute beginner, the basics of mandolin are astonishingly easy to get the hang of.
Mandolin is an incredibly portable instrument. It is small and light, and when it comes to packing up time, the mandolin player is the envy of all other band members as they struggle out of the gig venue under the weight of their larger instruments!
There are, of course, disadvantages. Mandolin can be a little quiet, and is sometimes drowned out by louder instruments, especially banjos and squeezeboxes. Another slight bummer is price. A decent mandolin, even an entry level one, is hard to find for less than £350. There are playable ones that come cheaper, but the tone and volume of cheaper mandolins is almost invariably weak, no matter how good they may look.
There are a number of kinds of mandolin, and some are more suited to certain musical styles than others. Flat top or “Celtic” mandolins as built by Sobell, Jimmy Moon, Freshwater and Garrison and others are excellent for folk and Irish/Scottish traditional music, but their sound is not appropriate for bluegrass, and they generally struggle with blues and rock too.
Archtop mandolins in both scroll and teardrop styles are the weapon of choice for bluegrass, jazz and blues. Their sound is punchier and less delicate than that of the flat top variety. Archtops come with either f-shaped soundholes like a violin, or oval holes more like a guitar or flat top mando. The f-hole models are preferred for bluegrass because of the trademark percussive “chop” sound achievable with that configuration. These models are based on the Gibson A and F ranges.
For rockers there are several electric options, ranging from pickup-equipped version of the models described above to solid body instruments styled like baby versions of Fender Telecasters and Gibson Flying Vs and Firebirds.
One of the great things about mandolin is that its unfamiliarity makes it a focus of interest, and you’ll get plenty of people asking questions about it.
When it comes to buying, it is surprisingly hard to advise. The choice will be dictated by the style of music and the budget. Unless you are 100% certain that you will only ever want to perform folk and Celtic traditional tunes, I would steer you away from flat top mandos - lovely, and relatively inexpensive though they are. I started on one but found it limiting when my interest widened to other musical genres.
A purely subjective and personal opinion, but I would recommend an A style (the teardrop shape), f-hole archtop mandolin. In my opinion that is where the optimum mix of value and versatility is to be found. The F style (scrolly shape) adds nothing to the sound, but that extra carving does bump the price up.
I really do strongly advise saving for a decent quality entry-level mandolin. Once one resigns oneself to spending over £350 on a first instrument a couple of obvious choices emerge. Eastman produces handmade mandolins in a modern factory in China. This is a quality operation, and the instrument they make are extremely good value for money. Their 505 and 605 models are recommended as a first instrument. Similarly, J Bovier is a newcomer that is turning heads by delivering good quality and sound at a low price, although they haven’t yet built the rep that Eastman has. Whatever you decide to buy, at least make sure it is constructed from solid woods, and not laminate/plywood.
For the absolute cash-strapped beginner, Crafter do their M70E model. This is unorthodox in that it is shaped like a small acoustic guitar. It has a synthetic bowl back, like many Ovation-derived instruments and has a pickup built in. The acoustic sound is only so-so, but it is pretty good when plugged in. Also, it is a very tough instrument, and at about £150 is cheap enough for the most desperate prospective mandolinist. I have one of these, and it is actually quite playable.
Overall, though, I recommend that the beginner take a close look at the Eastman range. Your best bet for suppliers is, in our opinion, either GiannaViolins.com in the USA or TheAcousticMusicCo.co.uk in the UK. Both Stephen at Gianna and Trevor at TAMCO are experts with good reputations and competitive prices.
DIY Live Music has no connection with, or financial interest in, either of those two companies (except for the author being a two-time very satisfied customer of The Acoustic Music Company), but anyone in the mandolin community will rate them amongst the best, so we want to point you in the right direction for advice and service. None of our affiliate partners specialises in mandolin to the extent that those two companies do.
Mandolin is a fantastic instrument. It is cool, interesting, fun to play and portable, as we have said. It fills a sonic space left free by guitar and bass and so fits well into many band configurations. And it attracts attention!
Anyway, time for the joke. Only one I’m afraid: mando jokes are a bit thin on the ground. Obviously that’s because it’s such a great thing to play and everyone loves it (heh heh…).
Q: How do you get two mandolin players in tune?
A: Shoot one
Next time: banjo! (plenty of gags there!)
Topics: Getting Started, Instruments, Acoustic, Uncategorized |