Octave Mandolin on Learning to Play

Date: Sun, 28 Dec 2003 19:18:59 GMT
Subject: beginning octave mandolin materials

hello. i am an absolute beginner and have purchased an octave mandolin. i am looking for instructional materials and song books. i have found one video specific to the octave mandolin, but wonder whether i really need octave-specific materials or whether i can use the general teach yourself mandolin books and music. any advice? many thanks. lisa.

Greetings Lisa,

We have quite a few resources on the Octave Mandolin as follows:

Our instructional materials:
http://www.folkofthewood.com/page1287.htm

Octave Mandolin Chord Chart:
http://www.folkofthewood.com/page677.htm
Link to "Items of Interest"

Yes, octave specific materials are critical...especially as an absolute beginner. The octave mandolin is an entirely different instrument than a standard mandolin...the chord positions, the fingering positions, arranging, and the tonality are all completely different. This is not to say that standard mandolin instructional materials wouldn't be helpful, only that it can be somewhat misleading on different levels. For instance, we have the "Mandolin Crosspicking Techniques" book that for the most part, adds an entirely different dimension to Octave Mandolin playing...by introducing arpeggios that allow the Octave to carry itself as a solo instrument. Even so, some of the fingerings have to be altered to fit the octave mandolin's scale length.

We have a free download on our website for first position chord positions on the octave (see above link)...you'll see very quickly that these chord positions are entirely different than mandolins first-position chord positions. Granted, a few of them remain the same...my main concern with beginning octavers is that they approach the instrument on its own merits without attempting to associate with standard mandolin approach.

Hope something here helps...Mickey