NMC Learning at Home: Mandolin vs. Banjo

It's the ultimate stringed-instrument showdown. In the latest episode of NMC Learning at Home, Evan the Educator looks at the differences between the mandolin and the banjo. Find out which one is easier to play, which is more versatile, and which one is more fun!
Check out the links below for more related videos:
- Watch the episode on Spectrograms and the Voice at • NMC Learning at Home: ...
- See The Trumpet episode at bit.ly/2VV89ch
Special thanks to the Rozsa Foundation and Calgary Foundation for their support of the NMC Learning at Home series.
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0:00 Introduction
0:51 Design
1:58 Mandolin Timbre
3:37 Banjo Timbre
3:50 Spectrogram Comparison
4:20 Tuning
5:30 Best Picking Pal

[@HamsterSamurai42]

“Let’s say you like nothing more than the feel of steel strings vibrating under your fingers but you already have too many friends that play the guitar” Thank you for understanding my motivations 😂

[@DaveCaseyin3D]

Yep, nailed it!

[@scottydog6713]

"i used to think the world had too many guitar players, and you know what changed my mind? learning to play the guitar" love this so much

[@1RhythmicHeart]

You're hilarious and a great source of info for beginners! Keep up the good work.

[@cottonking4853]

"I hope you like the key of G" Talking about the banjo This is so true

[@DaveCaseyin3D]

Hilarious, AND helpful. I loved the look you gave the mandolin when you asked "Which one is going to hurt your fingers the most?" Please keep making these!

[@leirbag_the_classy7496]

learning that the mandolin uses the same fingering patters as a violin is very motivational to learn the mandolin as i have been playing violin for 8 years, also i fucking live for the energy you put into this bravo my friend

[@ps5hasnogames55]

ywnbaw

[@user-io6gi7gv8t]

Я бы сказал более того - мандолина откроет для скрипача мир аккордов! 🙂 Ведь на скрипке они недоступны.

[@BananaSegredinho]

"And i hope you like the key of G!"

[@A.C.Lawrence]

Love this guy's lessons.

[@Pileits]

Fun sense of humor had me listening all the way through.

[@mr.watson3237]

This guys great! This was so much more entertaining than I thought it would be.

[@sambuck8710]

I like this host.

[@PanosK777]

Man, you made my day! I was already sold on the banjo (been playing it for 10 months now), but I am currently flirting with the idea of taking up the Mando for some cross practice. It was your wit and humour that kept me throughout the video. And yeap, us banjo players really like the key of G, ha ha ha!

[@JJ_TheGreat]

Maybe you should seek out a mandolin-banjo/banjolin! 😀

[@bouffant-girl]

You are Awesome, My Friend!

[@WayneMcCormick]

Love you videos, keep them going please!

[@filfoman]

Love the video! Thanks for the pointers. Will be picking up a mandolin soon!

[@silliaek]

Excellent and efficient conveyance of information that I don't see anywhere else!

[@russianbanjoethics]

Thank you, very informative, and good energy, kept our attention.

[@DieterLo1]

Thanks for great explanations!

[@whoarethis]

renting is such a great idea! thank you so much!

[@ifolkinrock]

If you’re good at fingerpicking a guitar, give the banjo a try. I was really into blues and ragtime guitar. It was always a challenge to keep baselines and melodies going at the same time. When I got into bluegrass, I abandoned fingerpicking and honed my flatpicking skills. Then I faced the same problem described here: my band had two guitars and every jam I went to had like six or seven. So I borrowed an old Deering Good Time banjo, bought a copy of the Earl Scruggs book, and dusted off my fingerpicking skills. Now I own a vintage Gibson and I can’t put the thing down! Highly recommend!

[@martinmegazor]

What a great video! Thanks a lot for making it 🙂

[@sylwiaratajczyk8534]

Thank you! Great video😊

[@the_fish_king0151]

Underrated KZbinr here

[@JRBecraftMPH]

Enjoyed the scintillating humor, demeanor. :)

[@JJ_TheGreat]

6:28 The one string instrument you forgot in this video is the ukulele!

[@fri-review10]

You are ultra active

[@jeffjanusz]

This guy is giving me Bill Nye vibes and I love it

[@jolox.]

Very inspirational and entertaining! I have all three instruments and they are all great! Everyone should play all three! Also, get a fiddle and whistles if you can!

[@wilkbor]

Great video

[@emanuelelibri]

Really funny and interesting video!!!

[@dawnlabonte9069]

This guy is brilliant and funny too!

[@robertshorthill6836]

Let's say you go to any bluegrass/ old timey/fiddler jam. There will be 3 to 5 guitar strummers for every fiddler, banjo picker, or mandolin picker. You will hear Red Wing, Old Joe Clark, Cluck Old Hen. The next jam in another town you will likely hear these same tunes. If you are fortunate to be able to teach a seminar/ workshop of 6 or 8 "students" eager to learn a couple new tunes from those mentioned, don't be disappionted if you never hear Jimmy In The Swamp, Seneca Square Dance, or Flowers of Edenburgh. Nobody, outside of a small bunch, wants to play anything but these previously mentioned tunes. To me, it makes for a very boring jam session.

[@joerobbins3923]

V cool man

[@wesleywheeler7891]

...i want to learn both

[@ProcrastinatingPoet]

I find it hard switching between fiddle and guitar (finger picking) the mandolin however....maybe I need to borrow one....

[@robertbairt928]

Which have the narrow est neck for kids hand size's as 5st🎸necks are rather Fat&wide feet board?

[@stephenbouchelle7706]

I solved that problem. I got one of each, and throw in a dobro for good measure.

[@mllegordon1]

Do you like the dulcimer you were playing at the beginning of video?

[@evantheeducator4075]

I do like it! but it's also broken... It's actually over a hundred years old and was left in a barn for a long time so it is quite warped...It works well enough if you only play one side.

[@NomadJournalistNews]

I never knew the twilight zone was just a poorly tuned mandolin!

[@StopFear]

Is this supposed to be an impersonation if Ed Nye?

[@ukeancraite4405]

Tenor Banjo, best of both worlds :D

[@stephensheridan93]

Interesting What is it tuned to GDAE?

[@bajamus69]

Banjolin is even better

[@ukeancraite4405]

@@stephensheridan93 Irish Tenor Banjo is usually tuned GDAE, other Tenor Banjos CGDA (like a Mandola)

[@user-io6gi7gv8t]

Научился играть на банджо, чтобы играть ритм песен в разных жанрах. В ключе G не играю ни одной 🙂, зато много в минорном ключе. Если не зацикливаться на кононическом исполнении, можно настроить 5 струну в E, или в D, F#, A, и играть во многих ключах, минорных и мажорных! Также можно заглушить резинкой 5 струну, и играть медиатором, или ритм рэгги с перкуссией (барабан ведь всегда под рукой! 😀) Кстати, в народной музыке используется НЕСКОЛЬКО настроек для банджо, под различные песни! Так что все намеки, что баджо ограничивает возможности для исполнителя - это скорее шутки одной касты 😎🎸 над другой 🤠🪕

[@clawhammer704]

Guitar is best really but so many people play it.

[@JJ_TheGreat]

Guitar is overrated... I want to play something which is more niche! 😉

[@EpicSmileyMan64]

I wanna get a banjo but only have the money for a mandolin, guess it will hold me over.

[@robertshorthill6836]

EpicSmileyMan64. A good quality mando like a Northfield or Eastman is all the instrument you will need for a lot of years. You could be the next Wyatt Ellis or some other fantastic picker. Forget that banjo-- there are too many bad banjo jokes. And never leave you car unlocked if you have a banjo inside. When you return, there will be 20 more crammed inside.

[@EpicSmileyMan64]

@@robertshorthill6836 I'll take that into consideration, the mandolin i'm looking at is a Nashville, which I think is a beginner brand like Epiphone. I can't complain though it's priced accordingly.

[@JJ_TheGreat]

​@robertshorthill6836 Or just get a banjolin (mandolin-banjo) and you'll have the best of both worlds! 😉

[@EpicSmileyMan64]

@@JJ_TheGreat Good idea! Own 2 banjo's and the mandolin I mentioned in then comment now, been practicing the twanger for a year now, still pretty bad at it though.

[@Gregoriosplace]

Ukulele?

[@boriscat1999]

Ukes are compact and portable like mandolin. easier on your fingers than even a guitar, tuned to similar intervals to a guitar's high strings. But ukes are quiet compared to a guitar and aren't the easiest pickin' partner in a group, but certainly can be done. Clarinet and recorder are considered relatively quiet, and I've seen duets of either of them with ukulele, but the clarinet definitely overwhelms the uke at times. The dulcimer from the beginning of the video is a very quiet instrument, maybe that would work for a uke+dulcimer band. That would be an unusual combination I've never seen. Harp and kalimba also very quiet, even quieter than a uke. If you play a uke then just sing or find a singer. A uke is pretty much the perfect partner for a vocalist.

[@koalaplayspiano4449]

Shit why did i even watch that? Now i wanna learn the Mandolin 😅

[@JJ_TheGreat]

I want to learn the mandolin anyway, before even going into this video! 😉

[@koalaplayspiano4449]

@@JJ_TheGreat i have a mandolin now 😅😂

[@charleschamberlain53]

The mandolin-banjo wins

[@JJ_TheGreat]

Yes, I completely agree with you! 👍

[@wellesradio]

0:38 He didn’t really answer these two questions. I guess the first one is a matter of opinion, but seriously, which hurts your fingers more? I’ll bet it’s the mandolin.

[@xiaolaoshu520]

skinny bill gates 😂

[@MrPHart]

Sick...very sick, but in a redeemable way...I hope! B U T if proven wrong by a computer program leading in public health on the southeast side, I remove my comment, - no not all of it - just the "I hope" part as there will be no more hope if all hope is deleted. Sick I said, someone must be very _____, wait that's been said before. Never repeat a dumb statement!

[@markcobb6561]

Stay away from instrument videos if you know absolutely nothing about instruments.

[@ElGrecoOB]

Pleeease readjust video-audio-synchronization. Our brain can easily deal with too much delay, but if a transient sound is audible before your lips touch, it feels very unsettling. Also the stereo image is a bit distracting, your voice and most instruments are mostly panned left and sometimes it feels like there is a ping-pong-echo, which is really irritating (e.g. at 4:45)

[@evantheeducator4075]

My apologies! The stereo problem is a result of being a one person crew and learning as I go. I have fixed the audio in later videos, but I can't figure out a way to flatten the audio in the old ones... The "video-audio-synchronization" works fine for me, so that might be another issue... Cheers.