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Please note this is an archived topic, so it is locked and unable to be replied to. You may, however, start a new topic and refer to this topic with a link: http://www.mandohangout.com/archive/25200
Starter - Posted - 12/08/2011: 16:01:17
Hi everyone,
My wife has taken up the mandolin and loves it. We are that very early stage where all our songs are in G (I play the guitar), but having a great time and it's all wonderful.
The only problem is being confined to that single key. When we sing and it's just me on the guitar I move the capo and change keys etc. to fit her (and my) vocal range.
Now, as I understand it (I play the mandolin too, off and on) one can play mandolin in other keys, esp. A, and I even have a mandolin capo. But really for our voices we want to go lower.
Hence my question, in part because I don't have a good Christmas present yet: would a Mandola be a useful complement to a mandolin for these purposes?
Many thanks, Will
Woodman - Posted - 12/08/2011: 17:23:12
I picked up a Trinity College mandola a few months ago and prefer it's lower voice to accompany singing. The same mandolin chord figures work on the mandola but are a 5th lower so that a G on mandolin is a C on mandola, a D becomes G on mandola, etc. I play with a church band where all the songs are vocals. and it fits in very well.
All the chords aren't strictly transposable (the mandola is tuned CGDA instead of GDAE), but generally so. Found a great chord book for mandola in Tobe Richards' "Tenor Mandola Chord Bible" (ISBN - 13: 978-0-9553944-2-3). I like it because it offers 3 different voicings for every chord, even the more obscure ones.
Buttonwood Bob - Posted - 12/09/2011: 12:22:15
Playing the mandolin in C and D is easier than buying a mandola. A mandola is fun, however, and I own a Flat Iron. Add F and A cords to your repertoire and you'll have more versatility on both instruments. CFG and DGA.
Enjoy.
Starter - Posted - 12/11/2011: 16:12:38
Thanks. So I guess the answer is, this is NOT something people do as a response to the vocal register problem: you (possibly we) just learn to play in different keys? Maybe not such a great Christmas present after all, then?
I don't suppose people get mandolas to play with mandolins? I can imagine that would be pretty jangly.
will
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