Why Guitarists Should Play Mandolin - ASK ZAC EP 25 

I picked up a mandolin about 3 weeks ago and I love it. It is a great instrument to sing with. You can learn G C and D and just walk around the house with it an hum tunes. I’ve discovered it just a damn good little friend. She will sing with you

I've played guitar most of my life. 1 year ago i got my first mandolin. I have been intrigued by its sound for years. Never regretted this. Love playing mandolin.

Fantastic Zac! As a guitarist who is just getting into playing the mandolin, I've learned more from you in your 20-minute video than I've learned from anyone else in hours.

I laughed to myself when I saw your mandolin....just like mine. Of course.... Happy Birthday brother!

Great video! Thanks Zak! My first mandolin was one I hand built in 2001 in a class/workshop in Front Royal VA. I still have it and it plays great and sounds better each year. I’m a guitar player and fell in love with the mandolin listening to the Steve Earl / Del McCoury record called The Mountain. Love your Breedlove!

Grew up around Blue Grass but never really appreciated Mandolin until John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin powerfully interjected the instrument into songs like Going to California and Battle of Evermore. The mandolin made what would've been pretty good songs into amazing songs. Somewhat spell-binding would be a good description of his mandolin effect.

I have played lead/rhythm guitar for 50 years and took up mandolin about 15 years ago. I played in a gospel bluegrass band for 12 years or so. Your ideas and techniques are right up my alley. Thanks for sharing this!

Oh yeah mando! There a lot less mando players than guit players! Even tho I am a blazing guitarist!, I have chosen to play bass and mandolin, one of the biggest revelations for me was after learning how to play and buying an old round back mando and playing it the store owner asked me if I was interested in auditioning for his friend whose mandolin player had quit. I got the gig and the revelation was walking into the gig with my tiny little instrument and not lugging giant bass rig and making more $$! That was in 1972. It definitely improves my playing to change up on instruments from acoustic to electric etc.. Thanks for another informative video!

Thanks Zac! I dabbled with it about 30 years ago, in fact I think I have a couple in "the room". Being grounded here you inspired me to dig them our! --gary

Love the Waterloo guitar in the background.

Some great tips here, Zac. I haven't finished the video yet, so I apologize if I repeat or "step on" something you've covered, but I would say something to folks who are intimidated by a mandolin's tuning......it's the same as a violin, so (low to high) G, D, A, E......you can also, (if you're not playing mandolin often) tune it to a ukulele-type tuning......(low to high) D, G, B, E.....just like a guitar. With the high register and double course of strings it will always sound like a mandolin. I've heard stories of session guitar players who tuned this way for ease in switching back and forth. I once played in a (more or less) classic rock cover band, but our "schtick" was we used guitar, bass, drums and mandolin/acoustic guitar. Yeah, we were a little different, and audiences didn't always appreciate our "artistry". :-(

Great video, I've been wanting to pick up a mandolin & you gave lot's of great info.

Check out Mandolin Orange.

Happy Birthday Zac! I enjoyed this show, didn't know much about the mandolin, I'm learning a lot from watching both you and Tom B. Thanks for everything and have a great day. Take care..

I've been watching too many Chris Thile videos and I am thinking of getting a mandolin. This is a good video to help me.

Zac, a belated happy birthday. Dude I loved this video and I had to laugh when you said that guitarist Albert Lee was one of your influences to pick up the mandolin. I had the exact same experience. Watched a StarLicks video of him about 15 years ago and he threw in a few minutes on the mando. I was blown out of the water and promised myself to learn how to play. A few years after that I saw Albert Lee playing at a club in southern California and made it a point to meet up with him and have him autograph my Tele. He could not have been more gracious! I told him he was the reason I learned mandolin and thanked him for being such a great influence. You might want to check out some of the old Bill Monroe recordings. I know he's bluegrass, but he was about the fastest, baddest, bluesiest mando player I've ever heard. Keep the great videos coming!

I added the mandolin because I'm left-handed with right-hand instruments. Picking, to me, is like writing with the wrong hand. It's nearly impossible to play the mandolin without a pick so I've improved my picking immensely.

Happy Birthday Zac! Thanks for all the videos and you're kind and gentle style in these troubling times. You're a champ.

I LOVE mandolin!!! But that tuning brings me great frustration after guitar tuning for so many years!

Hey Zac ! if it's your birthday i wish you 1000 of these days ! :) can't wait to see the video !

I had a mandolin (sold it now) and my approach was exactly like yours: it's like the low strings of an upside down or left-handed guitar. That made it fairly easy to work out chord shapes. I'll probably get another one, but it's not something I'd use in a band, really.

I’ve owned a Gibson A type mandolin for about 41 years now. It had its 100th birthday in 2014. Sadly it sits in the case.

Remember, you don’t have to play bluegrass to love the mandolin although I do, but it’s great for playing old time fiddle tunes as well. The mandolin taught me more about music theory then I’ve learned on guitar over the last 55 years.

This is great advice! Several years ago I was in a bad accident and it took about 2 years to recover. I wasn't able to pick up a guitar at first but could sit in a comfortable chair and play the mando that I had bought and neglected. After hours of breakthrough instruction on RU-vid I had learned enough to entertain myself jamming with CDs like I do to practice guitar. It's a wonderful instrument with a wonderful voice and very satisfying to play. BTW I bought an Eastman after my starter and they are also first rate for the money! Thank you!

Mandolin taught me about relative minors, which was a theory concept that did not stick in my head befor learning mandolin. Also, I play a lot of jam sessions where there are already 7 or more guitars mostly doing the same thing, so mandolin really stands out. I also learned Dobro for the same reason because we have a fair number of mandolin players here in norther Minnesota as well. Dobro taught me about major and minor scales in a way that made sense to me. I am a 3 and 4 chord country/rock kind of guy. Mandolin and Dobro brings a lot to the table on any style from Hank Williams to Waylon Jennings, to the Rolling Stones, CCR Dire Straits or Bruce Springsteen and current artists I know nothing about..

Love all your videos! Thank you!!

I’m gonna need another stimulus check if I keep watching your videos!!...great as always and Happy Birthday!

Hey Zak, I played rhythm guitar and fill ins in a couple semi- informal bluegrass bands in the late '70s. Now, with mandolin, I play fiddle tunes, Irish and original tunes, mostly composed by others more talented than myself. Not interested in playing standard bluegrass stuff, tho it still is probably my favorite genre of music, but you know, having picked up mandolin, it has keened up my ear to listen to and appreciate most other forms of what passes for music these days. There is another retired gent I have encountered on RU-vid that I have enticed to try mando. He'll be a beginner, so I told him to get a "decent quality" mandolin to even consider starting. A $100 chunk of plywood would not do. Told him about the Eastman M 305 as a good bet, or a Northfield A model of some sort in an acceptable price range. I've taught a couple tunes at a fiddle festival workshop a few years ago and the folks where grateful I had something other than Cluck Old Hen or Old Joe Clark to offer. There is just so much great music playable on mandolin, it staggers the imagination. Cheers, my friend and thanks for letting me indulge myself a bit here. Bob (a RU-vidr in Montana)

Just learning some chords on my Tanglewood mandolin....Zac's post was very informative. 👍🎵

The song 'Avalon' by The Dreadnoughts has an excellent mandolin solo!

Great video, Zac. I picked up the mando about four years ago and have rarely put it down, since. My guitars are getting jealous!

Thanks! A nice, interesting and honest video ☀😎☀

Yes, I agree, Guitar player's ought to at least give a Mandolin a try. I bought a Cheap one years and years ago, and I never liked it much because it too was just too difficult to play. As you said, after 30 minutes or less, my fingers really hurt! Years go by, and I was starting to again look at picking up a Mandolin. My wife noticed, and so for a Christmas gift, she surprised me with a pretty nice Mandolin. And after working on it for a while, I fell in Love with the thing. It is really a Blast to play, and very very Expressive. It is a Happy sounding Instrument, and people tend to like Happy Music, at least the ones I hang out with do. So, if you've been on the fence about getting a Mandolin, I'd suggest get one, but make sure it is comfortable to play. You are already a Guitar player, so you should have enough experience to know when an instrument is resisting in a Bad way. And it doesn't really matter if you buy an "F" Style or the "A" Style Mandolin. I have an "F" Style, but my next one will be an "A" Style, mostly because I like the sound of the "A" Style slightly better. But, that's my ear, yours may decide differently. Mandolin's are like Guitars, It's better to have more than one, at least that is what I tell myself. Thanks for the video.

Nice one Zac, I've come to a similar epiphany regarding the mandolin!

Many thanks Zac, really appreciated, very useful indeed. Hugh

Happy Birthday Zac, hope you have a great day. I've had several mandolins over the years and your right about having a frequency nobody plays in.They round out the sound of a combo group. Drums ,Bass ,acoustic guitar either a banjo or fiddle .Thanks for you videos.What got me started was when I went to a Rod Stewart concert ,when they played Maggie May .That was it I wanted one.Hahaha. 🎸

Happy Birthday Zac!

Wonderful video. Eastman and Kentucky are really good solid brands. Check out Marla Fibish to get an idea of the sound of a 20's Gibson oval hole A style. Flat fingerboards but if they're set up well they are super easy to play. I can't imagine needing more mandolin than my 1921 Gibson A2.

Happy Birthday! My first public performance was on mandolin in church. We played an instrumental version of What a Friend we have in Jesus. My second public performance was on guitar at a highschool fund raiser. We played Hank Jr's Old Habits. I'm sure my parents were thrilled!

OK I guess. Jes keep'em damn strummers away from the fiddles and banjers.Somebody might git hurt.

ah don't forget Jimmy Page for using it in rock n roll! :)

Great advice - thanks Zac! I've had a cheap Fender mandolin for awhile, but Guthrie Trapp's videos have recently motivated me to get it back out and try to become a little more proficient. I feel like working on speed and technique on the tiny mandolin fretboard definitely helps my guitar playing (while probably not as much the other way around), so even if one never uses the skill publicly, it can be a great practice tool.

Top notch!

Watched from Canada, that's exactly introduction I was looking for. Subscribed to your chanel.

As soon as I hear that tremelo picking I think of the civil war.

yeah Zac! You made me want to take out my mandolin and try. The "Cooder" part sounds like John Hiatt's "Crossing muddy waters" album. That's a very fine one! thanks

Happy Birthday, Brother! Thanks, so much, for all you share with us.

I highly recommend for anybody who may be interested in playing guitar to also check out the mandolin. They are such a cool alternative, or an additional instrument to the guitar. What musical concepts you learn on them do carry out to understanding guitar. They have a cool sound. They are quieter if you want to just play around for enjoyment. Also they are small which means it doesn’t take up too much space. They’re also not a “fancy ukulele”, although ukuleles are cool too if you take it seriously and learn more than just chords.

Looking forward to it! But it’ll go to air at 1.00 am here, I’ll sleep for a bit and watch later!

I like your wholesome, generous style Zac, nice work!

I love Mandolin, I’ve payed guitar my entire life but as I get older I realize how many people play it and it kind of loses its appeal when you realize you are one of several million players worldwide. Mandolin is way more unique though!

Is Nashville hub for musicians /music stores /concerts in the USA in general or just a land of country Western music (not to forget telecasters)

I got turned on to the mandolin by watching Marty Stuart on tv a long time ago when he was just a kid playing bluegrass (I was a guitar player and wasn't into bluegrass). I was able to see him live with the Fabulous Superlatives several times with Kenny Vaughan. What a great show. Thanks for your videos and stay safe and well.

That was great, Zac. I too am starting to play the mandolin. Yeah, you go to a music jam and it seems like everyone pulls out a guitar to play. Therefore you have to wait your turn. Pull out a mandolin and you are the man. So much so, that they don’t want you leave. Anyway Zac, I hope to do a few more videos on that special little instrument.

I bought a mando with same mindset of style, country Rock, blues and rock. Awesome contribution to any jam

Hey Zac. Happy Birthday man! Great vid as usual. Great to see you. Been down with for a while and have to to catch up. Thanks again for sharing your knowledge and showing that even us olds can still learn.

I've got a knock off tele that I really love. I want to get a 5 string mandolin neck and route the upper bout of the tele out and make it a double neck(Ala Grady Martin.)I'd love to try out bottle neck on an electric mandolin!

Great topic, Zac. 07 I finally buy a Telecaster, Squier 20th Anniversary Fat Tele. ok, worked up and in love with some titles, Rickey Skaggs Roy B Live Stock, Greg Kihn Again,,, then settled on Rickey Skaggs "Highway 40 Blues".Ray Flacke. Not only digging the Solo but RS's mandolin bit before. had a hankerin' for a mandolin;. btw, never copped Flacke's solo. some things better left unsaid,

The mandolin always brings up images of red checkered table cloths and wine bottles holding candles. I can almost smell the garlicy marinara sauce...'specially when you do that tremolo picking thing. That laminated axe sounds pretty sweet to me. I'll start checking the Corpus C-List classifieds. Maybe a diversion would be nice. thanks for posting , and best o' luck from the mud flats.

Awesome!!!

Thank you for the mandalore.

I don't wanna play Bluegrass, I want to play Dangdut and Rock on the mandolin, ever since I heard a band called "Soneta" from Indonesia that managed to merge the genres and incorporate mandolin into their repertoire, and it sounds amazing! It is something of an 80's/90's band that my dad liked, but their lead, Rhoma Irama, really rocks; and their songs are full of positive messages.

great episode.

I bought a mandolin a while back to add some color to my songwriter demos. It's not quite as natural to play as a guitar, but I've been able to fake my way through some parts, so mission accomplished. I'm open to more mandolin videos in the future - thanks for sharing this Zac!

Thanks a lot and happy birthday! Appreciated your comments on bluegrass...am in the same boat. Cheers

Inspiring to listen to this.. im a Gypsy jazz mandolin player . Improvisation is my big thing but i never really liked too play the comp. Feel that i disturb the guitar, seeing this video inspired me to use the single chop or find other ways not to disturb the guitar boot cooperated with him .

Happy Birthday Zac! God bless you! You play the mandoline pretty good. Well done :-)

I’m just now getting into mandolin and I’m a little bit obsessed. My buddy gave me an old hundred dollar Rogue A style and that was enough for me to gauge whether or not I had any real interest and aptitude for it. I bought a “Honey Creek” 310 something by The Loar and I love it. It’s really much easier to play and sounds great for four hundred bucks! Which is nothing in the f style mandolin world. I’m digging it.

One might come away from this video thinking the mandolin is key-centric, like a harmonica...specifically the key of G. I fully realize that the easiest way to sound like one knows how to play the mandolin is to exploit the open low G string and the simple two finger chord position. In light of your concept of guitar players converting to mandolin, I always introduce the mandolin to guitarists by concentrating on E or A, quite likely the most common keys for most guitarists. A is nearly as easy to get into as G, since one frets the two low courses at the second fret and lets the two high strings ring open. Once one negotiates their way around A and/or E, the key of G is a "gift"...a reward for all the work put into the other keys. Just another approach...

Love your work Zac, I play guitar in a four piece,where the singer/songwriter always plays ( often the full part he uses when he’s out solo), so I’m always looking for “room” in the arrangement- I’ll definitely use some of this home time we have to get out my mandolin, give it some love, and hopefully take it to rehearsal as soon as we’re allowed! Thank you 👍🎸🇬🇧

There is quite a few Classical music pieces written originally for the Mandolin. Vivaldi wrote quite a bit for the mandolin.

I love it when you play the Mandolin!!

I must have got one of those older mandolins because my hands fatigue very quickly. Other people have mentioned that you don't want to force it, but I figure, if I'm careful, I can use it to build strength and precision in the left hand.

I love the Mandolin, but find it very small to fret. Have you had an experience with the Spanish lute or Puerto Rican Cuatro. Like a Mandolin, but just a bit bigger. They do have 10 or 12 strings

I just picked up a used Breedlove Am OF. Lot of fun!

I rarely get compliments on my guitar playing but I got a mandolin this year and people clamor to hear me play mediocre mandolin. LOL Zac, thanks for this. I will take these tips to my mandolin and put them to good use.

Hope I don't get jeered out of here, but for those guitarists who may be a little intimidated by mandolin and its "different " tuning.....a few studio session players have tuned mandolins like the high four strings of a guitar. Just like playing a double course ukulele. Yeah, it's cheating.....but we do "tricks" all the time. Thanks, Zac.

Just discovered that I can play the mandolin it seems to really compliment my Waylon sounding voice , I think it's the way the chords are stacked

mandolins.......we dont need no stinkin mandolins.........no....wait......in ment badges........sorry........never mind......

I love the sound of the mandolin. But like ukes my fingers always seem to big or it felt too small . But appreciate mandolin players

Are the frets the same as Guitar i.e the 3rd being G on the bottom 5th A on the bottom?

Mandolin has its place but am I the only one that finds it a little annoying? I can listen to Thile solo all day but as part of a group I don't care for it.Way easier than violin though.

My favorite mandolin players; Tom Cohen, Avi Avital. 2 great mandolin players that a lot of mandolin players in north America have never heard of.

cool tks,,.

You're so right about the compliments! I normally play guitar in church but when I play with another guitarist I'll often play mando and so many love hearing it!

Zac, happy belated birthday. Thank you and appreciate all the knowledge, History & experience, you give and share!

4:34 Would you be competing in the range of the fiddle/violin?

What’s your opinion on the older peavey tweed classic 30 tube amp? Thanks!

You need a banjo, too, but that’s a topic for another video

You're like the Bob Ross of fretboard work! That's a good thing...

Haha, got myself a mandoline one month ago for no reason whatsoever 😅

Very nice sound and demo of the Breedlove K5 mandolin. Thank you and Happy Thanksgiving.

Great stuff, thanks so much.

Great! (immediately think of ABBA's start of "One of us"!!) Love it!

I enjoyed this video. I'd bought and sold a Fender mando a few years ago. I didn't appreciate the narrow 1 1/8" nut and neck width. But all the wider-nut mandos that I could find were too pricey for a testing-the-waters beginner. I recently bought one (via Craig's List) with 1 3/8" nut for $25. So I am starting out on it all over again. 🙂

The fun thing about mandolin is it's portability and versatility. I've done adaptations of Hendrix, Beatles, Stones, Chuck Berry, Roy Orbison, etc. Angie, Wind Cries Mary, Little Wing, Hey Joe, Pretty Woman, Norwegian Wood, Blackbird, Memphis. Figured out Losing My Religion, Godfather Theme, Pirates Of The Caribbean. Years ago I did a 2 month cycling tour of Ireland and Wales. Took a mandolin with me and it was perfect. It also helps my guitar playing alot. EDIT: Btw, I play a Richwood RMA-110-VS Pro Series mando.

Liked and followed for the groovy intro,rock on brother

Back in the late '80s till they shut down the shop and moved to Nashville in about '94, I had the distinct privilege of working in the Flatiron factory, where I was able to build for myself a nice low end A-5. It would retail for over 1200 bucks, at the time, but I got it for $250 with a good hard case. That's my main acoustic mando to this day. I have since put Grover tuners on it and replaced half the frets. Later on I built a couple E- mandos. If I had a decent amp, I would play them in a jam situation, with 10 or 12 guitars on stage, half a dozen banjos, and an overwhelming number of fiddlers. ( And probably be frownd upon! ) So I can pick an E- mandolin in my living room without an amp when the Frau is sleeping without waking her. All great fun, my friends. Bob

I got bored with guitar so i picked up a fidle...it was slow going, but i dropped in by chance at the bean blossom bluegrass festival and they had a raffle...10 $ for a ticket to win a new mandy....i bought a ticket, and yep you guessed it!! Got me a 10$ Kentucky mandolin, and I had no idea it fingered the same as a violin! My fiddle playing improved,and i agree with you on the not just fer bluegrass anymore!! I love it!! I havent touched my guitar in a year!! Great tip on the cooder thing! Thnx!

Been playing guitar for 50+ years , picked up a mandolin learnt the chord shapes , in about 10min I was playing Bluegrass.There's some classical music I would like to learn as well e.g Vivaldi's Concerto RV93 in Dmaj although for lute it can be playe with a manolin.Once I find the sheet music I'll start playing.