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Beginner Mandola Tablature Site, What to Call it, Neck Tension?
Beginner Mandola Tablature Site, What to Call it, Neck Tension?
I spent some time searching for a site with some holiday music for mandola that is simple enough for me to use to test a new stringed instrument. It has more than twelve frets, five strings, and each string is presently tuned a fifth apart, with the top string being "A" in the octave of middle "C" (F-C-G-D-A).
I put five strings on it, so I can play a fifth lower than the standard tuning of a mandola, and it only has a single course of strings. (Does that make it a tenor guitar? Can one call anything with single strings tuned in fifths a tenor guitar?) I'd be happy to try any music that is simple enoug, but if there were a simple Christmas tab out there or two, I might at least know the tune well enough to make sense out of the tablature.
One other question: I put phosphor bronze mandolin strings on it tuned down to mandola tuning to reduce the stress on a neck with not truss rod. I haven't computed the tension, but with the exception of the A string, replaced with a #10 steel string, it is an "ultra-light" set of strings from GHS.
Thank you for any guidance with regard to a web site, in determining whether to call this a "tenor guitar", or in terms of the tension question. I presumed that "ultra-light with the strings tuned down a fifth would not over-stress an unreinforced neck.
Re: Beginner Mandola Tablature Site, What to Call it, Neck Tension?
Hullo, and happy seasonal greetings.
You don't give a scale length ( nut to bridge ) so it's hard to assess appropriate string tensions.
Tenor guitars were normally tuned CGDA, like a mandola traditionally, like a viola. See previous posts on here re nomenclature of mandolin-family instruments. I have stuck my oar in on this topic more than once.
The cittern, in modern times, is a 10-string instrument with the strings in 5 pairs, used in mainly folk music performances, and tuned in a variety of ways. Some people do like the all-fifths tuning, others prefer fourths and fifths any way round, so you have octave notes and simple chord shapes with lots of drones. I've even encountered one tuned ADGAD which confused me totally. As there is no standard tuning you'ld be lucky to get much tablature, but try your enquiry on the CBOM site ( Citterns, Bouzoukis, and Octave Mandolas ), as they could be the most directed group to help you.
And I think you've invented a new instrument - make up your own name ! What's the body shape ?
Re: Beginner Mandola Tablature Site, What to Call it, Neck Tension?
Here's a handy string tension calculator, written by my friend Dan.
You can put in your scale length, the notes you have each string tuned to, and the string gauges, and it will tell you the tension. I find that it's generally a good idea to have fairly even tension across all of your strings, for balance and tone. On the bouzouki, I like the tension to be between 20 and 25 pounds per string. So my 5 course bouzouki, tuned CGDAD looks like this (with octave stringing on the lower courses):
len 24.75"
D .013" PL == 22.1#
D .013" PL == 22.1#
A, .020" PB == 24.9#
A, .020" PB == 24.9#
D, .030" PB == 25.53#
D .013" PL == 22.1#
G,, .048" PB == 28.78#
G, .022" PB == 24.08#
C,, .060" PB == 22.22#
C, .034" PB == 25.94#
You can plug in your own notes and gauges to figure out your current tension (it will compute the tension numbers on the right, so you don't need to input those...)
And I wouldn't call your contraption a tenor guitar. Tenor guitars are a specific instrument, which is a guitar body with 4 strings. So you're probably best off calling it a "single strung 5 course mandola" or something
Re: Beginner Mandola Tablature Site, What to Call it, Neck Tension?
I tuned it re-entrantly to F-C-G-D-A, since I got into instrument building via ukuleles, and this one can use nylon strings with metal balls threaded onto the ends with the five string banjo tailpiece I'm using.
I found a very simple version of "Silent Night" and played it on both the high and the low four strings. It was interesting to have the "mandolin" sound on the high four and a guitar sound on the low four. As for shape, one could do this with any instrument that can handle at least five strings. In fact, I could install a set of nylon strings and tune it like a vihuela to A-D-G-B-E, or retune it with the mandolin strings to A-C-G-E-A, then find some software that will input a ukulele midi tab and re-arrange it for the swapped C and G string tuning. That produces one drone for either mandolin or ukulele chords, unless one does what one must sometimes do for mandolin chords, and only strum a sub-set of the strings. Same for the ukulele, although with re-entrant tuning, the "A" should blend in with ukulele chords fairly well.
Beginner Mandola Tablature Site, What to Call it, Neck Tension?
Beginner Mandola Tablature Site, What to Call it, Neck Tension?
I spent some time searching for a site with some holiday music for mandola that is simple enough for me to use to test a new stringed instrument. It has more than twelve frets, five strings, and each string is presently tuned a fifth apart, with the top string being "A" in the octave of middle "C" (F-C-G-D-A).
I put five strings on it, so I can play a fifth lower than the standard tuning of a mandola, and it only has a single course of strings. (Does that make it a tenor guitar? Can one call anything with single strings tuned in fifths a tenor guitar?) I'd be happy to try any music that is simple enoug, but if there were a simple Christmas tab out there or two, I might at least know the tune well enough to make sense out of the tablature.
One other question: I put phosphor bronze mandolin strings on it tuned down to mandola tuning to reduce the stress on a neck with not truss rod. I haven't computed the tension, but with the exception of the A string, replaced with a #10 steel string, it is an "ultra-light" set of strings from GHS.
Thank you for any guidance with regard to a web site, in determining whether to call this a "tenor guitar", or in terms of the tension question. I presumed that "ultra-light with the strings tuned down a fifth would not over-stress an unreinforced neck.
# Posted on December 26th 2008 by Arthur Nordstrom
Re: Beginner Mandola Tablature Site, What to Call it, Neck Tension?
Hullo, and happy seasonal greetings.
You don't give a scale length ( nut to bridge ) so it's hard to assess appropriate string tensions.
Tenor guitars were normally tuned CGDA, like a mandola traditionally, like a viola. See previous posts on here re nomenclature of mandolin-family instruments. I have stuck my oar in on this topic more than once.
The cittern, in modern times, is a 10-string instrument with the strings in 5 pairs, used in mainly folk music performances, and tuned in a variety of ways. Some people do like the all-fifths tuning, others prefer fourths and fifths any way round, so you have octave notes and simple chord shapes with lots of drones. I've even encountered one tuned ADGAD which confused me totally. As there is no standard tuning you'ld be lucky to get much tablature, but try your enquiry on the CBOM site ( Citterns, Bouzoukis, and Octave Mandolas ), as they could be the most directed group to help you.
And I think you've invented a new instrument - make up your own name ! What's the body shape ?
# Posted on December 26th 2008 by Guernsey Pete
Re: Beginner Mandola Tablature Site, What to Call it, Neck Tension?
Here's a handy string tension calculator, written by my friend Dan.
You can put in your scale length, the notes you have each string tuned to, and the string gauges, and it will tell you the tension. I find that it's generally a good idea to have fairly even tension across all of your strings, for balance and tone. On the bouzouki, I like the tension to be between 20 and 25 pounds per string. So my 5 course bouzouki, tuned CGDAD looks like this (with octave stringing on the lower courses):
len 24.75"
D .013" PL == 22.1#
D .013" PL == 22.1#
A, .020" PB == 24.9#
A, .020" PB == 24.9#
D, .030" PB == 25.53#
D .013" PL == 22.1#
G,, .048" PB == 28.78#
G, .022" PB == 24.08#
C,, .060" PB == 22.22#
C, .034" PB == 25.94#
You can plug in your own notes and gauges to figure out your current tension (it will compute the tension numbers on the right, so you don't need to input those...)
And I wouldn't call your contraption a tenor guitar. Tenor guitars are a specific instrument, which is a guitar body with 4 strings. So you're probably best off calling it a "single strung 5 course mandola" or something
# Posted on December 26th 2008 by Reverend
Re: Beginner Mandola Tablature Site, What to Call it, Neck Tension?
oh, I should probably give you the link too
http://www.pacificsites.net/~dog/StringTensionApplet.html
# Posted on December 26th 2008 by Reverend
Re: Beginner Mandola Tablature Site, What to Call it, Neck Tension?
I tuned it re-entrantly to F-C-G-D-A, since I got into instrument building via ukuleles, and this one can use nylon strings with metal balls threaded onto the ends with the five string banjo tailpiece I'm using.
I found a very simple version of "Silent Night" and played it on both the high and the low four strings. It was interesting to have the "mandolin" sound on the high four and a guitar sound on the low four. As for shape, one could do this with any instrument that can handle at least five strings. In fact, I could install a set of nylon strings and tune it like a vihuela to A-D-G-B-E, or retune it with the mandolin strings to A-C-G-E-A, then find some software that will input a ukulele midi tab and re-arrange it for the swapped C and G string tuning. That produces one drone for either mandolin or ukulele chords, unless one does what one must sometimes do for mandolin chords, and only strum a sub-set of the strings. Same for the ukulele, although with re-entrant tuning, the "A" should blend in with ukulele chords fairly well.
Thanks!
# Posted on December 26th 2008 by Arthur Nordstrom