Mandolin for Guitar Players

Thinking about learning how to play mandolin? Here are 7 reasons for digging in right now!

1. You wouldn’t be reading this if you weren’t interested in the first place. Musicians are naturally drawn to other instruments, especially other stringed instruments. Sometimes that ‘other’ instrument becomes your main instrument. Act on your instincts!

2. You already play guitar which makes learning how to play mandolin a snap. You understand the concept of tuning strings, fingering notes and chords, picking and strumming. Slam dunk.

3. You might already own a mandolin and if not, you can pick up a really decent used instrument for under $100. You can also purchase a brand new, high quality mandolin for under $300. You sure can’t do that with a guitar.

4. Whatever style of music you dig, there’s a spot on the bandstand for you and your mandolin; bluegrass, folk, country, rock, blues and jazz. Check out the mandolin in the music of Alan Parsons, Blind Melon, Rory Gallagher, Goo Goo Dolls, Hall & Oates, Jethro Tull, Bruce Hornsby, Kinks, Led Zeppelin, REM, Slash, Rod Stewart, The Band, Ry Cooder, David Grissom, Paul Glasse, Tony Williamson, and John Reischman.

5. You will never be lonely because you can take your sweet little mandolin anywhere. String it over you shoulder, pack it in your bag, shove it in a suitcase, stick it in the overhead, keep one under your desk, put one in the picnic basket or strap it to your dog. It goes anywhere where you go.

6. New instruments and new tunings spark creativity because you can’t fall back on familiar positions, fingerings and muscle memory. You’re forced to explore with your ears and and that’s a good thing. In a creative rut? Pick up your mandolin!

7. We’ve wanted to do this course for a long time but we needed the perfect educator to make it happen. There’s no one on the planet better qualified than Marcy Marxer to kickstart your mandolin chops. Once Marcy gets you up and running, you can take your educational pursuits wherever you wish, in whatever style you desire. But you have to get up and running first, and Marcy will get you there in a flash.

Marcy presents Mandolin for Guitar Players in five sections. The first section is a primer covering a little background about the mandolin, tuning tips and tone insight. Marcy gets you working that right hand with single strings, tremolo and expressions in the second section. In the third section, you’ll playalong with Marcy and practice to rhythm tracks as you learn major scales for the keys of G, D and C.

The fourth section is all about chords and progressions. You’ll be working with playalongs and rhythm tracks here also as Marcy drills down on the essentials: Open G, C and F Chords, Open G7, C7 and F7 Chords, Blues Jams in the Key of G, Am, F and E Triads, the St. James Infirmary progression, Block Chord Positions for Major, Dominant 7 and Minor, G, C and D Double Stops, and Double Stop Harmonized Scales.

You’ll put it all to work in the fifth section where you’ll start building your repertoire. Marcy demonstrates and then breaks down five mandolin gems: Down By The Riverside, Across the Blue Ridge Mountains, My Sweet Baby's Arms, Boil Them Cabbage Down, and Relax Your Head. Everything is tabbed and notated, plus you’ll get all of the practice rhythm tracks to work with on your own.

Need an eighth reason to learn mandolin? You’re mandolin learning adventure is just a click away...