wimmels - Posted - 10/05/2015:  21:46:29

Hiya friends. I'm an acoustic guitar player who has "messed around" on the mando, and want to get more into playing it correctly. Like many guitar players I come to the instrument with several bad habits, but I'm wondering if one of these "bad habits" is really all that problematic: I like to play in open tunings. Whenever I play the mandolin (usually playing along to something), I tune the mandolin as if I was tuning the bottom four strings of the guitar to open E major, and this allows me to find chords very easily. My question (and I apologize if this has been asked here before) is, if I'm not planning to learn mandolin tab, and generally play "by ear" and by learning off records anyway, what's the big deal? Why learn all those intimidating "upside down chords" (sorry, but this is truly how it looks to a guitar player! ), when I can just transpose? If anything, doesn't it make it EASIER to communicate with non-mandolin-playing band members if you can all speak in a shared vocabulary? Maybe this is a stupid question, but hopefully someone here can give me a definitive answer.

If it matters, I plan to play in a more rootsy / bluegrass / Americana style.

Thanks! And glad to be here on this forum.

Texasbanjo - Posted - 10/06/2015:  05:06:54

As long as you can play with others using your open tuning, go for it.  You don't have to learn the mandolin chords if you don't want to.  However,  your mandolin picking is probably going to sound like you're a guitar player (G).

I play banjo (main instrument), guitar and mandolin and don't seem to have a problem with the different tunings and/or chord shapes, but that's just me.  If it causes you problems, do it your way.  You may, however, cause other mandolin pickers to do a double take if they see you play (G). 

UsuallyPickin - Posted - 10/06/2015:  06:48:32

Well .... it's ultimately up to you. But a mandolin sounds like a mandolin because it is tuned in fifths. This also makes it easier to move around on than a guitar. The standard tuning makes chord forms and scales ultimately more moveable than a guitar with a B string........ Check it out .... R/

wimmels - Posted - 10/06/2015:  17:59:33

OK, you guys may have convinced me to give it a try. I'll try to report back. Thanks for the guidance!

Jim Yates - Posted - 10/07/2015:  21:02:53

The late Tommy Tedesco, probably the most (or at least one of the most) recorded guitarist(s) ever, tuned his mandolin like the top four strings of a guitar (DGBE).  He also tuned banjos, bouzoukis, ouds and many other stringed instruments this way.  Although man folks have never heard of ommy, almost everyone has heard him.