Free Mandolin Lessons: How to Play Mandolin

How do you play the mandolin for beginners?

Tune to G D A E, hold the pick loosely, and pick each pair of strings with a small down stroke from the wrist. Learn the open strings, then the G major scale and the G, C and D chords, and play a tune in tab every day.

1. Sit with the mandolin on your right thigh (left thigh if left-handed), neck tilted slightly up.
2. Hold the pick between the pad of your thumb and the side of your index finger, with just the tip showing.
3. Pick down and up from the wrist, not the elbow. Hit both strings of the pair.
4. Press with the fingertips just behind the fret; use enough pressure for a clear note, no more.
5. Practise 10 minutes a day: open strings, a scale, a chord change and a tune.

E|----------0-|-0----------|
A|-------0----|----0-------|
D|----0-------|-------0----|
G|-0----------|----------0-|

E|------------|------------|------------|------------|
A|------------|------------|------------|------------|
D|------------|-0--2--4--5-|-5--4--2--0-|------------|
G|-0--2--4--5-|------------|------------|-5--4--2--0-|

How do you tune a mandolin?

Tune the four pairs to G3, D4, A4 and E5, from the thickest to the thinnest. Tune one string of each pair to the note, then tune its partner until the two sound like one. Fret 7 of each pair matches the next open pair.

New strings stretch, so check the tuning often in the first week. A clip-on tuner and the tuning notes above both work well.

How do you read mandolin tab?

Mandolin tab has four lines, one for each pair of strings: E on top, then A, D and G at the bottom. Each number is a fret, with 0 for the open string. Play the numbers from left to right, and numbers stacked in one column together.

E|------------|-----------|------------|-----------|
A|-------0--0-|-2--2--0---|------------|-----------|
D|-0--0-------|-----------|-5--5--4--4-|-2--2--0---|
G|------------|-----------|------------|-----------|

E|------------|------------|------------|-----------|
A|----------0-|-0----------|------------|-----------|
D|-4--4--5----|----5--4--2-|-0--0--2--4-|-4---2-2---|
G|------------|------------|------------|-----------|

Most mandolin tab has no rhythm, so listen to the tune, or use tab printed under standard notation. Tunes from the fiddle repertoire work on the mandolin in exactly the same places, because the tuning is the same.

What is tremolo on the mandolin?

Tremolo is very fast down-up picking on one note or chord, so a plucked note sounds long and singing. Start slowly with even down-up strokes from the wrist, then speed up while keeping it relaxed.

E|----------------|----------------|----------------|----------------|
A|-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0|-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2|-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4|-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5|
D|----------------|----------------|----------------|----------------|
G|----------------|----------------|----------------|----------------|

Count four semiquavers to each beat at first, so the tremolo is measured, then let it flow freely. Keep the pick angle slight and the grip loose: tension is the enemy of a smooth tremolo.

What are the first chords to learn on the mandolin?

Learn G, C and D first, then Em and Am. G (0 0 2 3), C (0 2 3 0) and D (2 0 0 2) use only two fingers each and play hundreds of folk songs in the key of G.

• 0 0 2 3 (G D A E)
• 0 2 3 0 (G D A E)
• 2 0 0 2 (G D A E)
• 0 2 2 0 (G D A E)

Hear them all and see 16 shapes on the mandolin chord chart.

A first month of mandolin lessons

Self-assessed Tick each week’s goal when you can do it twice without stopping. For more traditional tunes, the easy violin songs use the same notes, and the metronome and backing tracks keep time.