As a guy who almost exclusively learns at home alone, this is the most valuable lesson I've ever come across. Perfect balance of theory --> practicality. This will be my study guide to hopefully finally locking down the fretboard *while having fun*
This lesson is exactly what I was struggling to figure out for myself, from a variety of other sources. Books and lessons I've seen before referred to these chords with confusing terms such as "third on top", and "fifth on top". Thank you for using real music terms for the chord inversions, and focusing on the root tone placement. Best lesson ever.
This may be my first comment on TH-cam ever, but this was the single most helpful piece of music education I have ever witnessed. It was so simple and clear. blew my gd mind. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Off to practice!😅
Apart from the obvious quality of the teaching here, you did a really awesome job with editing this video. Seems like it was quite the endeavor, but the on-screen visuals and overall structure of this video definitely elevate the learning value to a level beyond what can be gathered from a simple traditional TH-cam guitar/mandolin lesson format.
One little edit= 11:20 on video says Db 1st Inversion on the 10th Fret.....which should be D 1st Inversion on the 11th fret. I love your teaching style and videos. Without your great teaching skill I wouldn't have noticed this.
Also @ 15:32 the Em 2nd inversion should have the yellow "root dot" on the A string. Great vids! Same as above comment - only noticed because I'm learning so much.
I've been looking for a long time for an understandable explanation of the nature of chords and here I found it. I immediately became your Patreon member and discovered the perfect learning curriculum! Thanks, this is just what I needed!
The chord spellings shown at 3:41 is a super duper chart . It saves many hours/days figuring out the chord and a ton of frustration making sure I got them right applying the whole whole half whole whole whole half formula and I wasn't even aware of of the existence of Bb Db Eb and Ab chords
I see now that the Ab Bb Db and Eflat is on the left side of the Circle of fifths chart I have serious doubts that I could of accomplished all these major and minor chord spellings on my own . Thanks for publishing this chart
This is SO useful and really gets my mind working on triads, which in turn helps vastly with learning the fretboard. I've been working on this kind of thing for guitar for the last few months but the way you structured the video is incredibly informative and understandable . Thank you
Thanks David...Brilliant lesson. I was having problems playing the Mando in Rock and Blues gigs and the chop chords have solved my problem.... Nice one 👌
Thanks so much!!! What a great lesson and explanation, I’ve been trying to play the mandolin since Feb and can master the open chords on the bottom frets but was baffled by all the closed shape chords. This was such an eye opening explanation! Thanks again!
Did you know Jethro’s son John played guitar for John Prine? Jethro also played mando with Steve Goodman who wrote City Of New Orleans. I have played guitar for over 50 years. Today my new mando is out on the UPS truck for delivery! I can’t wait to start learning and will join up with your patreon immediately! I do remember some concepts like triads from Jr. College music theory class but back in 1968 I was too busy looking at little Miss Carole Springer! LOL
Positively fantastic information. Have always pondered what shapes the professionals used. Since I have never had a teacher available in my area I have used instructional videos and books over the years. And they lump in everything and the.kitchen sink. Noticed some shapes you cover I know and favor but some are brand new. I know this was a devil of a video for you to put out but for me it is extremely informative. Many thanks David.
I took lessons from Jethro Burns in the early 80's. The seeds he planted back then are still under cultivation...Later, much Later, I taught myself to transpose piano sheet music to the Mandolin. Learn to read standard notation. It ain't rocket surgery.....
I think I figured out how to make all 7ths… correct me if I’m wrong . Just move down the ROOT note 2 frets (whole step). It sounds good to me so far @davidbenedictmandolin
Great lesson. Came across your channel a few weeks ago and love your teaching style, interviews with other artists and Mandolin Mondays. Thank you. Colm
Since I haven't learned the fretboard yet and haven't learned the chord spelling yet I will learn both at the same time with the emphasis in fretboard learning To do that the Jethro shapes will have to take a back seat to learning the chord spellings and fretboard Then learn the Jethro shapes once I learn the fretboard and Chord spellings Your presentation is for those that preferr to. Learn black dots on a chord diagram In my preferred learning method, the shortcuts as you present here will be applicable to me after learning it the hard or long cuts method Same on the guitar CAGED system which is a shortcut to memorizing the fretboard and chord spellings
Gosh so much to learn on the mando. Where do I start with actual practice? Do I do these chords or arpeggios for warm up? Then move onto strumming rhythms (ideally Irish for the sessions I play in) then move onto picking and learning tunes? How do I practice picking without hitting other strings? Maybe I should get a teacher? I brought a mando because I wanted to learn something different but not too much lol, to the violin but also expand and play other styles of music like blue grass. Then I can play with my son and the old fellas in the group when they get going.
Great lesson - very well structured! I thought I had all the basic shapes down, but I definitely have been underutilizing the 1st inversion shape (my brain always thinks of that as a m7 chord off the 2nd inversion). I like the practice progression you laid out and already have it set up in iReal pro.
Hey Terry! Thanks so much for signing up over Patreon! You'll find this lesson up there with PDFs if you search for the title name of this video over on the platform.
Hey David. I'm mostly interested in bluegrass/old time. How important is it really to learn all twelve keys? I don't often have occasion to play in many of these b chords. Thanks.
Yeah! I had the same sentiment for a while, but I realized later that not knowing every major and minor chord was really holding me back--even in bluegrass! Totally worth the effort.
What gauge and brand strings do you use? I starting playing mandolin in April of 2021 and I find that I have to change my strings once every week and a half to two weeks. I've tried the D'Addario XT and the Elixirs, I've used medium, medium-heavy, and heavy, and I haven't really found any that I like. I've also noticed that my strings rust really quickly, even when I oil them. Is there anything that can be done to help with this? I live in South Texas, so the humidity is between 70%-90% consistently, and I play outdoors every week.
Hey Fern! I change my strings I use the D'Addario CM XTs a lot. They're coated and they usually last me for a good 3 or 4 weeks I'd say. You can check out the specs here: www.daddario.com/products/guitar/mandolin/xt-phosphor-bronze-mandolin/xtm11540-xt-mandolin-phosphor-bronze-custom-medium-112.5-40/
I do indeed! You can get pdf copies of all the fretboard diagrams that you see here over on my Patreon page if you're interested: www.patreon.com/davidbenedictmandolin
Hey Chrissie! Thanks for joining the Patreon page! Have you seen the intro video and content list pinned to the top of the Patreon page when you log in? Might have some helpful direction on how to navigate the page more effectively. Also, if you look up the video title over on the Patreon search bar the correct post should pop up and you'll be able to download the pdfs at the links at the bottom of each post once you click on them.
A free tip. Thanks for the lesson but if you intend to teach or instruct, you need to learn to moderate your phrasing. Use pauses and rests, vary your delivery. This sounds like an unlistenable wall of words. I had to switch you off before I went crazy, yet I really wanted to learn.
As a guy who almost exclusively learns at home alone, this is the most valuable lesson I've ever come across. Perfect balance of theory --> practicality. This will be my study guide to hopefully finally locking down the fretboard *while having fun*
Wow, thanks! Glad it comes across alright!
@@DavidBenedictMandolin Thanks! are there different sized necks ? I been playing guitar for 60 years. Now I think I need a mandolin. 🤠🎵
You just unlock for everyone one of the coolest mandolin secrets ever.
Ah thanks so much, Andres! So glad this was helpful!
Thanks!
Best instructional video on mandolin chords ever...in the whole world...ever. :)
This lesson is exactly what I was struggling to figure out for myself, from a variety of other sources. Books and lessons I've seen before referred to these chords with confusing terms such as "third on top", and "fifth on top". Thank you for using real music terms for the chord inversions, and focusing on the root tone placement. Best lesson ever.
Excellent! So glad!
Thanks so much. By far one of the most insightful lessons I've watched. You explain things very well.
Glad it was helpful!
Thank you!
This may be my first comment on TH-cam ever, but this was the single most helpful piece of music education I have ever witnessed. It was so simple and clear. blew my gd mind. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Off to practice!😅
Apart from the obvious quality of the teaching here, you did a really awesome job with editing this video. Seems like it was quite the endeavor, but the on-screen visuals and overall structure of this video definitely elevate the learning value to a level beyond what can be gathered from a simple traditional TH-cam guitar/mandolin lesson format.
Beautifully done. Watching without my mandolin now. Can’t wait to try
One little edit= 11:20 on video says Db 1st Inversion on the 10th Fret.....which should be D 1st Inversion on the 11th fret. I love your teaching style and videos. Without your great teaching skill I wouldn't have noticed this.
Also @ 15:32 the Em 2nd inversion should have the yellow "root dot" on the A string. Great vids! Same as above comment - only noticed because I'm learning so much.
Best eye opener in a lota years so much foundation for moving forward wow!
This has opened up a new world of possibilities on the mandolin for me. Thank you sir.
I've been looking for a long time for an understandable explanation of the nature of chords and here I found it. I immediately became your Patreon member and discovered the perfect learning curriculum! Thanks, this is just what I needed!
The chord spellings shown at 3:41 is a super duper chart . It saves many hours/days figuring out the chord and a ton of frustration making sure I got them right applying the whole whole half whole whole whole half formula and I wasn't even aware of of the existence of Bb Db Eb and Ab chords
I see now that the Ab Bb Db and Eflat is on the left side of the Circle of fifths chart
I have serious doubts that I could of accomplished all these major and minor chord spellings on my own . Thanks for publishing this chart
Happy to help Robert!
This is SO useful and really gets my mind working on triads, which in turn helps vastly with learning the fretboard. I've been working on this kind of thing for guitar for the last few months but the way you structured the video is incredibly informative and understandable . Thank you
Great to hear!
David thank you so much! Hope this old dog can relearn some good habits!
Thanks David...Brilliant lesson. I was having problems playing the Mando in Rock and Blues gigs and the chop chords have solved my problem.... Nice one 👌
Bravo on your editing skills as well!
Thank you! Cheers!
Thanks so much!!! What a great lesson and explanation, I’ve been trying to play the mandolin since Feb and can master the open chords on the bottom frets but was baffled by all the closed shape chords. This was such an eye opening explanation! Thanks again!
Thank you. Liked and subbed
This is gold, can’t wait to explore this.
Stay golden ❤️
David! Thanks so much! Great lesson and love Jethro Burns!! ❤️ Cheers
Love Jethro too!!! Thanks Jim! Hope things are well!
Did you know Jethro’s son John played guitar for John Prine? Jethro also played mando with Steve Goodman who wrote City Of New Orleans. I have played guitar for over 50 years. Today my new mando is out on the UPS truck for delivery! I can’t wait to start learning and will join up with your patreon immediately! I do remember some concepts like triads from Jr. College music theory class but back in 1968 I was too busy looking at little Miss Carole Springer! LOL
Same as the chord shapes used in tenor banjo since the 1920's when playing melody chord style.
Positively fantastic information. Have always pondered what shapes the professionals used. Since I have never had a teacher available in my area I have used instructional videos and books over the years. And they lump in everything and the.kitchen sink. Noticed some shapes you cover I know and favor but some are brand new. I know this was a devil of a video for you to put out but for me it is extremely informative. Many thanks David.
You're very welcome!
Wow 👌 You'll keep me busy for a Year!
Oh wow.. I really needed to watch this lesson sooner (and need to put more time into learning my fretboard). Thanks very much!
And just like that I learned chords. Thank you
What a great video. Thanks, as always, for your hard work.
My pleasure!
Such a HELPFUL lesson. Thank you so much!
You are so welcome! Thanks for watching!
Thank you. This is exactly what I needed to know today. .
Hi David, i am from Brazil and i really enjoy your classes and channel
I happen to stumble on Homer and Jethro at an Auto Show in Atlanta when I was a freshman in college.
You are a really wonderful teacher! I'm an absolute beginner and this lesson gave me the confidence to learn and persist thank you so much!
I took lessons from Jethro Burns in the early 80's. The seeds he planted back then are still under cultivation...Later, much Later, I taught myself to transpose piano sheet music to the Mandolin. Learn to read standard notation. It ain't rocket surgery.....
This great stuff, maybe 7th chords next?
That's the next step! Hope we can make that video happen before too long!
I left a spot on my charts showing the notes of each chord. I too wish to add the 7.
I think I figured out how to make all 7ths… correct me if I’m wrong . Just move down the ROOT note 2 frets (whole step). It sounds good to me so far @davidbenedictmandolin
Great lesson. Came across your channel a few weeks ago and love your teaching style, interviews with other artists and Mandolin Mondays. Thank you. Colm
Thanks a lot for the lesson!
My pleasure!
Since I haven't learned the fretboard yet and haven't learned the chord spelling yet I will learn both at the same time with the emphasis in fretboard learning
To do that the Jethro shapes will have to take a back seat to learning the chord spellings and fretboard
Then learn the Jethro shapes once I learn the fretboard and Chord spellings
Your presentation is for those that preferr to. Learn black dots on a chord diagram
In my preferred learning method, the shortcuts as you present here will be applicable to me after learning it the hard or long cuts method
Same on the guitar CAGED system which is a shortcut to memorizing the fretboard and chord spellings
When the student is ready the teacher appears.
Haha! Happy to share--glad the timing was right
Great lesson
Glad you liked it Teresa!
Such a great lesson! Thank you 🙏🏼
🔥 Just finished! Top 🏆 lesson
Excellent Lesson
Really useful. Thank you
Gosh so much to learn on the mando. Where do I start with actual practice? Do I do these chords or arpeggios for warm up? Then move onto strumming rhythms (ideally Irish for the sessions I play in) then move onto picking and learning tunes? How do I practice picking without hitting other strings? Maybe I should get a teacher? I brought a mando because I wanted to learn something different but not too much lol, to the violin but also expand and play other styles of music like blue grass. Then I can play with my son and the old fellas in the group when they get going.
Great lesson - very well structured! I thought I had all the basic shapes down, but I definitely have been underutilizing the 1st inversion shape (my brain always thinks of that as a m7 chord off the 2nd inversion). I like the practice progression you laid out and already have it set up in iReal pro.
Glad it was helpful! Happy strumming!
Very cool
Thank you. Love this lesson,
mandolin cheat codes right here fr
heyy thanks!
Sure thing!
Mando just got a whole lot easier. And better
That’s what I’m taking about 🤘
Also the bit about muting the E string. Ta
I am Patron!!!! Where do I find the PDF for these chord shapes?
Hey Terry! Thanks so much for signing up over Patreon! You'll find this lesson up there with PDFs if you search for the title name of this video over on the platform.
Hey David. I'm mostly interested in bluegrass/old time. How important is it really to learn all twelve keys? I don't often have occasion to play in many of these b chords. Thanks.
Yeah! I had the same sentiment for a while, but I realized later that not knowing every major and minor chord was really holding me back--even in bluegrass! Totally worth the effort.
@@DavidBenedictMandolin Sounds good. All 12 keys it is. Seriously great stuff here man. Appreciate the content.
Nowhere can I find chart to the Jethro chords on patreon
What gauge and brand strings do you use? I starting playing mandolin in April of 2021 and I find that I have to change my strings once every week and a half to two weeks. I've tried the D'Addario XT and the Elixirs, I've used medium, medium-heavy, and heavy, and I haven't really found any that I like. I've also noticed that my strings rust really quickly, even when I oil them. Is there anything that can be done to help with this? I live in South Texas, so the humidity is between 70%-90% consistently, and I play outdoors every week.
Hey Fern! I change my strings I use the D'Addario CM XTs a lot. They're coated and they usually last me for a good 3 or 4 weeks I'd say. You can check out the specs here: www.daddario.com/products/guitar/mandolin/xt-phosphor-bronze-mandolin/xtm11540-xt-mandolin-phosphor-bronze-custom-medium-112.5-40/
Love the info. Thumbs up…but the incessant bubble pop noise is a bit unnerving after a while.
do you have printed copy”s of all the finger positions available that your showing here??
I do indeed! You can get pdf copies of all the fretboard diagrams that you see here over on my Patreon page if you're interested: www.patreon.com/davidbenedictmandolin
Are there chords exist if we do cross tuning DADA
ok I joined and paid but cant find any pdf to download and no response. ?????
Hey Chrissie! Thanks for joining the Patreon page! Have you seen the intro video and content list pinned to the top of the Patreon page when you log in? Might have some helpful direction on how to navigate the page more effectively. Also, if you look up the video title over on the Patreon search bar the correct post should pop up and you'll be able to download the pdfs at the links at the bottom of each post once you click on them.
Thanks! I found the pdf!
Jimmy Page plays a good mandolin.
Actually not really. He was only improvising on Battle of Evermore and he wasn't the mandolinist on Going to California.
@@DisposableEgo; True.
If i drink coffee wil i be better mandolin player ? ( i prefer green tea)
Man, my fingers are sore
A free tip. Thanks for the lesson but if you intend to teach or instruct, you need to learn to moderate your phrasing. Use pauses and rests, vary your delivery. This sounds like an unlistenable wall of words. I had to switch you off before I went crazy, yet I really wanted to learn.
Thanks!
Thank you!
Sure thing, Barry!
Thanks!
Thanks!
Thanks!