10 Mandolin Tips for Guitarists

So much fun teaming up with bluetuber guitar phenom @LessonsWithMarcel for this one! If you're a guitar player picking up the mandolin for the first time, this video is for you! Check out these 10 tips to help you sound like a proper mandolinist!
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[@kylelinn1384]

LMAO bass player here...traditionally quoted as saying a mandolin is "a tiny upside down bass guitar"

[@slackeratslack]

I needed this 6 years ago. Played the guitar for decades and moved to mandolin to learn folk/Scottish tunes. My biggest issue, which you guys didn't touch upon sadly, was holding the pick. The 'classic/normal' advice for holding the pick for mandolin is to have your first finger tip bent under the thumb with the pick rocking in between. I still struggle with that. All the time I've played guitar my first finger tip wasn't bent at all. The pick was more on the finger print part of my finger whereas the mandolin pick is 'supposed' to sit more on the side of the finger. Maybe I'm not making sense here but any guitar players struggle with holding the pick for mandolin after playing guitar?

[@MTreatVO]

Yes, yes and yes. Im learning Mandolin right now and was just scrolling down to leave a comment thanking them for suggesting heavier picks. I have the exact same issue you do though, im having a hard time overcoming my muscle memory from the years of Guitar lol.

[@Lucy-yc4bc]

I did, and switched to Mando grip for both. The mandolin grip is pretty much the same as the proper guitar grip. You’ll get better tone out of your guitar with that grip anyways

[@slackeratslack]

@@Lucy-yc4bc OK, I'll try again. Thanks

[@MeneerHerculePoirot]

Primarily a vocalist I never have been a smoke show player, so when I started playing mandolin I simply transposed a number of songs I sang on bass and guitar over to mandolin. Kept my intros, outros and solos clean and tight. People think I'm a much better mando player than I really am. lol The best thing about the mandolin vs guitar is the portability and accessibility. The worst thing about the mandolin is that to get one that's the same quality level as one's pro level guitar you'll pay at least 2.5 times the cost. A great thing about making the guitar>mando jump is that builders are making necks and fingerboards slightly bigger to accommodate that reality. Because they are usually guitar luthiers who jumped to mandolins because there's more money to be made. So, they understand the need for a little latitude on the specs. When it comes time to play I find myself reaching for the mandolin first nowadays. You probably will, too. Happy mando everybody!

[@Kaimml]

The string tuning tip at 5:30 is exactly what I needed. Also going to add chop chords and closed scales to my list of things to learn next.

[@joshuahester865]

As a guitarist who has had a mandolin in my closet unloved for around 20 years, this video was incredibly helpful.

[@douglasveale7994]

Thanks for providing great comments to a long time guitar picker in playing the mandolin.😂

[@Youtubemademeaddahandle]

I am a guitar player who loves the tone of a mandolin. I have tried many but settled on the Jim Dunlop 'Big Stubby" 2.0. It has textured depressions on both sides (which aids in using a lighter grip) and a profile which allows for both easy release and powerful stroke. It doesn't look right but feels great.

[@ross5066]

I use Wegen picks on guitar. I love them

[@JasonUmbrellabird]

Me too.

[@thelittlerustictylerlittle673]

David and Marcel. Great stuff. Thanks for sharing. How about a David and Marcel duet in future vid??

[@johnqualls5990]

I always go back to triangle Golden Gate picks, but the Wyatt Rice pick from Apollo has a wonderful tone. Mandolin has changed my songwriting indefinitely. Thanks for the videos!

[@carolbrebbel]

Loved the tips! 🙌 and both of you guys have just the best vibe, that made me laugh 😊

[@BenAdam-om2hr]

Great video, David and Marcel. I would add that tremolo is also a key thing to learn on mandolin.

[@realandsurreal]

Thanks for the informative video guys!

[@hapwichryk]

Have you ever played a Stiver Mandolin from Western Pennsylvania? Jesse McReynolds played a blonde top F stylr for most of his career. It is nearly impossible to find one on the used market. It would be a fine addition to your collection.

[@speedflash9347]

I taught myself mandolin, being a flat pick guitarist and banjo player. So, I boom chucka boom a-chucka on the mandolin and it's ok. I cross pick it with banjo rolls. No need to conform!

[@MeneerHerculePoirot]

Yeah, I listened to alot of Jim and Jesse. Have worked hard to develop a reasonable facsimile of Jesse's cross-picking/banjo role style. The toughest part is keeping it clean of course. Jesse could rip a clean fiddle tune flatpick style, but it's his cross-picking that sets him apart.

[@tomsantiago6841]

Dudes this was helpful, thankyou.

[@steve0852]

I enjoy your content David. Thanks.

[@Dalton-e7d]

Amazing.

[@xycechipmusic]

Hey David, I'm loving your content on Patreon and here and was wondering if it would be possible to do some lessons on fun "sing-along" bluegrass classics. For example Nellie Kane and Old Place Home. I struggle to find complete tabs on these, I have some obscure songbook pdfs that feature some chords and all but I'd love a lesson breaking down intro's, solo's and chords! Thanks!!

[@Youtubemademeaddahandle]

Don't forget that every chord is made from notes in the scale. To support chord fingering I try to base them on the associated scale so that the same fingers play that note in the scale and the chord.

[@sundaystrummer]

I have an Eastman MD615 (that I love)and would like the name of a “great” luthier to send it to or drop off to for an awesome setup. Alt question which mandolin maker here in 2024 makes the best sounding and importantly best setup for easy playability out of the box as a new instrument?

[@Texian78]

I use 1 mm for guitar and mandolin, but I have a natural tendency to angle the pic against the string more, which creates a warmer and thicker tone. Works for me anyway.

[@saitensatz1519]

Great! Thank you 😊

[@Youtubemademeaddahandle]

While studying medical sonography I was taught that the properties of acoustic generation are defined by the correlation of stiffness and density. Both properties must be taken into account in order to evaluate media.

[@RickTrippe]

Thanks for all those rules..but..I'm a guitar, mandolin, bass player as I write and record my own music ( got good and tired of playing cover tunes in a cover band for drunk people ) and I believe in breaking the rules completely in order to find something different...I find what works and sometimes it becomes my own rules

[@chrisofficer]

The first tip about not playing open chords because "that's not your job" and only playing chop chords, makes me sad. There's a whole world of music out there beyond the bluegrass chop and nothing wrong with letting the strings ring out with open chords.

[@mikael6043]

I agree, I get what he’s trying to say but I don’t use chop chords at all for Irish music

[@MeneerHerculePoirot]

​@@mikael6043 Yeah, when I cycle toured Ireland a few years ago they kinda frown on the bluegrass chop in Celtic music sessions.

[@Sjrm126]

This is amazing info! I have a charango that is tuned CGDAE. What are your thoughts on 10 string mandolins? What violin/cello repertoire you [or other commenters] do you recommend I learn? What about blue grass?

[@casualorangemints9876]

yall need Giovanni Gioviale in your mandolin lives

[@bronwynsinclair1646]

None of those picks are available in Australia unless you mortgaga your house first. I use V Picks but still have to import them

[@G.TinyShark]

You might have better luck sourcing a Jim Dunlop triangle Primetone pick, which are pretty similar to the ones these guys mention. Not cheap but hopefully someone else absorbed that extortionate shipping/duty. (Meanwhile, I use a Jazz III for guitar and mandolin - there are no rules 😬)

[@isaacness2647]

So, chords must be played more in a funk style rather than folk style?

[@banjovy-b2m]

In a hurry ? Play mandolin while you are driving

[@Youtubemademeaddahandle]

As a guitar player, I have several and still avoid using a capo My forefinger is my capo. I also avoid full barre chords. I want the option to use different low note sets "on the fly" without the limitations of the capo involved. I'll use chord fingerings (and the scale patterns nearest a chord) to play diads, triads, or accentuate identifying notes of chords in progression. I need to develop the same sense of chord fingering in several positions along the neck of the mandolin.

[@millicentfriendly]

Really enjoyed this! Losing my religion is my next song to learn. (bought a mandolin about a week ago)

[@thefreese1]

I've been playing mandolin for about 42 years .. one thing I have been doing lately is crossing that forbidden line by using a capo ..... I know it doesn't "look cool" ... I do it on certain songs for a reason .. I will start by saying that I ONLY use it on the first fret.. because putting it up higher just makes it sounds like a high pitched, bitey yuck.. But the reason it works on some songs is because it the only way to get that open string sound I'm looking for on certain songs .. It can really be a game changer when not playing Bluegrass and doing a Celtic song . You just cannot get that tone using closed fingering.. so if I'm playing it in a flat I will play it in the lower sharp ... Funny how you can be chastised for using a capo , because Bill Monroe didn't use one .. Yet he had some some songs he totally retuned his mandolin for to get the sound he wanted... that's OK ... Certain crosspicking songs come to mind and you miss out on a lot of drone sounds that you can only get with that capo .

[@wyyyve]

alright but can you do mandolin tips for violinists?

[@CarlSanford76]

I played in a band with a guy that used really soft picks and everything sounded like he was playing with a piece of ham. We called him Dick Finger Dale.

[@turquoiseturkey6710]

I'm lucky because I play violin and guitar so learning mandolin shouldn't be to hard

[@edgarmcbee2474]

Dunlop flow 1mm for $2 you won't cry if you lose one

[@iEjay]

My goodness that Loar mandolin sounds absolutely awful

[@Mandolin_Matt]

It really does. I’ve seen/heard some very respectable players refer to them as good starter options, but I had one before and hated it. They all sound terrible to me!

[@aaronclark2644]

The Loar mandolin sounds awful.

[@joshsinclair1796]

To be fair 99% of mandolins sound awful compared to David’s Appitus

[@aaronclark2644]

No those Loar mandolins sound so dead. Kentucky or Eastman would’ve been a way better choice for that price range.

[@BenAdam-om2hr]

@@joshsinclair1796 99%?! Ouch-! That's a bit harsh, Josh!

[@joshsinclair1796]

@@BenAdam-om2hr I meant it more as praise for David’s tone