Bruce Bernhart Mandolin Websites

Original articles, lessons and the "best of the web" on topics of interest to mandolin enthusiasts by mandolin player/teacher Bruce Bernhart

Mandolin Family Tree, Chords, and Tabs

New! Tabs for Popular Fiddle Tunes:

"Shuckin' the Corn"

In Minnesota, Bruce Bernhart has been a mandolin enthusiast since the mid-1980's

The Bernhart Mandolin Webpages explore the history of the mandolin, buying and building mandolins, basic chord structures, the different styles of playing and the various makes and models of mandolins available on the market

A brief history of the mandolin (Excellent Article from About.com):

The mandolin is a descendant from the lute, which has six pairs of strings (12 in total). Similarly to the lute, the body of the mandolin is oval or teardrop-shaped.

The mandolin in its current incarnation evolved from the lute in Italy during the 19th Century, but earlier versions of the instrument were played during the 14th Century around Europe. (The history of the lute stretches much further back.) Dating to around 15,000 BC to 8,000 BC, single-stringed instruments have been seen in cave paintings and murals. They were struck, plucked, and eventually bowed. From these, the families of stringed instruments developed. Bruce Bernhart. The first evidence of modern steel-strung mandolins is from literature regarding popular Italian players who traveled through Europe teaching and giving concerts. These early mandolins are termed Neapolitanmandolins, because of their origin from Naples. They are distinguished by an almond-shaped body with a bowled back which is constructed from curved strips of wood along its length (also referred to a "potatobugs"). Also related to the mandolin are the mandola, bazouki, mando-bass, mandocello, and octave mandolin.

The mandolin came to the States via European immigrants. Soon, it became fashionable to play mandolin in a large group of other mandolins and mandolin orchestras emerged. It wasn't until the 1930s that the mandolin became a popular addition to smaller bands in country and blugass music. More specifically, Bill Monroe's popularity first with the Monroe Brothers and then with his Blue Grass Boys, helped to popularize the instrument. In addition to Bill Monroe, other popular mandolin players through the years have included Sam Bush, David Grissman, Ricky Skaggs, Bobby Osborne, Tiny Moore, Ronnie McCoury, Chris Thile and many others. The mandolin has been used occasionally in rock music, first appearing in the psychedelic era of the late 1960s. Some rock musicians today use mandolins, typically single-stringed electric models rather than double-stringed acoustic mandolins.

The Mandolin Family

A short overview of members of the mandolin family:

The Mandola is tuned to a fifth below the mandolin. It has the same relationship as that of the viola to the violin. Some also call this instrument the "alto mandola." It is normally tuned like a viola: C-G-D-A.
The octave mandolin is tuned an octave below the mandolin.
The mandocello has the same relationship as that of the cello to the violin, and is tuned C-G-D-A. Today, it is not infrequently restrung for octave mandolin tuning or the bouzouki's GDAD. .
The Greek laouto is very similar to a mandocello and is ordinarily tuned D-G-D-A. Half of each pair of the lower two courses is tuned an octave higher on a lighter gauge string.
The mando-bass has 4 single string and is tuned like a double bass.
The Irish Bouzouki is also considered a member of the mandolin family. It uses fifth-based tunings, most often GDAE (an octave below the mandolin), although sometimes GDAD, ADAD or ADAE are used.
The modern cittern is also an extension of the mandolin family, being typically a ten string instrument.

Some tips on writing melody by Whitaker Blackall:

Using notes that are also in the current chord usually sounds great. For example, an ‘A minor’ chord includes three notes: A, C, and E. If the melody includes any of those notes while the A minor chord is sounding, it will probably work well.
Keep the melody within the beat of the song. Rhythm can be pretty complex, and I’m not going to talk about it much here. If you stick to the gridlines of the MIDI window, GarageBand keep the beat steady.
Use repetition. Sometimes a stupid little ditty can sound great if you just play it twice. Repeating melodic phrases also helps the listener remember it.
Use variation. While repetition is important, variation is as well. The best is to combine the two by repeating melodic phrases but varying them slightly every time.
The great thing about MIDI is that if you don’t like the melody you write or play, it’s EXTREMELY easy to change.

Student Homework-- Understand the basics of triads and intervals (which we'll discuss in the next lesson). Here's a quick summary:

A triad is a group of three notes having a specific construction and relationship to one another. They are constructed on 3 consecutive lines or three consecutive spaces. Each member of the triad is separated by an interval of a third. The triad is composed of a Root, Third, and Fifth. All triads have three positions that they can be arranged in. The root, 1st inversion, and 2nd inversion.

An interval is the distance between two notes. Intervals are always counted from the lower note to the higher one, with the lower note being counted as one. Intervals come in different qualities and size. If the notes are sounded successively, it is a melodic interval. If sounded simultaneously, then it is a harmonic interval.

The smallest interval used in Western music is the half step. A visual representation of a half step would be the distance between a consecutive white and black note on the piano. There are two exceptions to this rule, as two natural half steps occur between the notes E and F, and B and C.