74rider - Posted - 09/07/2017:  12:34:22

Hello, I used to play banjo in a bluegrass band years ago and now want to get back into it. I play banjo and guitar and currently play with a small group which already has a banjo player and guitar player. So to help round out the sound, I was thinking of learning mandolin. I know the tuning is GDAE and with the songs we play, the keys are G, A, C, D and a  few in E. So for an average picker, how hard is it to learn? 

Also, I'd like to get a fairly good one, band quality, what should I look for?

Edited by - 74rider on 09/07/2017 12:50:48

Texasbanjo - Posted - 09/08/2017:  05:02:15

If you already play banjo and guitar, the mandolin should be fairly easy to learn.   I think the hardest part for me to figure out was how to hit both strings where it sounded like one string instead of two separate notes.   I don't know if others had that problem or not.   Other than that, if you have long fingers, you should be able to make the 3 and 4 finger chords for rhythm/backup.  My fingers are short and I do good to get the 3 finger chords, 4 is beyond me.  

As far as what type mandolin to get.... that's a personal thing.  I'd get the best one I could afford.  It would be wonderful to have a name brand, but there are others that would probably work fine and not cost you a fortune.  I have a mid range Michael Kelly mandolin and it's easy to play, stays in tune pretty good until it needs new strings, and everyone that's picked on it says it sounds good.

74rider - Posted - 09/08/2017:  11:07:16

Great, thanks for the input. That's encouraging. Back in my band days, I helped start a band and 2 of us played guitar, but we lacked a banjo player, so I learned banjo, there was a learning curve for sure, but I eventually "caught up". Now I'm in a similar situation. Our banjo player (who also plays guitar) picks scruggs style and he's pretty good, so I'm happy to go back to guitar. But now we recently have added another "sanger" and she also plays guitar. So now I'm looking at learning the mandolin, although I know bands that have 2 guitar players. And it can be made interesting if one uses a capo, and plays in an alternate "key", sort of gives it different voicing. But for me, there's nothing like that high pitched "chunk" you get from a mando. If you have any tips on learning, I'd be much obliged.

UsuallyPickin - Posted - 09/08/2017:  12:09:09

Well ... It can be done. Being tuned in fifths makes picking up a tune a bit easier than on a guitar. Having no B string helps even more. Make sure the instrument you select to learn on has a good setup and light gauge strings to start. Those double courses and short necks are tough on finger tips at the beginning. Don Julin wrote Mandolin for Dummies which is a good book to start a mandolin journey with. Also there are countless fiddle tune books out there and they are the haytudes for grass mandolin. I'm sure that as a musician of strings there are things in Mandolin for Dummies relating to music and theory you can skip but there is a wealth of mandolin specific information too. Get a 1.2 mm pick or thicker a good strap and you will be on your way..... enjoy ..... R/

torpedotom - Posted - 11/26/2017:  07:28:14

Try a Kentucky KM150. It's an A model and the best bang for the buck around.