Despite its small size, the violin comes across as quite a challenging musical instrument.
The instrument demands great precision, and the dense metal strings are definitely harder on your fingers at first.
Nevertheless, the mandolin is an extremely rewarding instrument.
And as illustrated below, you will come to find that there are some incredible reasons you should learn to play the mandolin.
Five Reasons That Make Mandolin a Good Instrument
1. Makes It Easy to Learn Other Instruments
According to Music Tech Hub website, learning how to play the mandolin is a relatively easy undertaking, and playing it could simplify your learning of other instruments such as the guitar and violin.
Compared to these stringed instruments, the mandolin has far fewer strings, making it easy to learn tablature.
Starting on the mandolin will require you to figure out how the chords and notes work, meaning you would need to understand at least the basics of music theory.
Though challenging at first, this basic knowledge regarding musical patterns, scales, and modes is transferable to other musical instruments. Meaning you would have an easier time should you choose to pick another instrument later on.
The tuning on a mandolin is pretty nice, and this intuitive instrument allows for learning scales making it easy to move things into other scales.
As long as you have mastered the mandolin, playing other stringed instruments like the guitar or violin will be a breeze.
After all, if you can handle the higher-tension strings on a mandolin, caused by its short neck, you will have a much easier time adjusting to the strings on a guitar.
2. Plays Both Melody and Rhythm
Melody refers to the succession of musical notes, which essentially means a series of pitches typically organized into phrases.
On the other hand, rhythm is closely related to meter and refers to the organization of music in time.
Now, unless you are familiar with music theory, these two distinctions might not mean much to you. However, those who do know how impressive it is for a musical instrument to have both rhythm and melody.
For such an instrument, there is no limit to what you can learn or even what you can play, and that’s exactly the case with the mandolin.
Think of it as a small, lightweight, portable instrument that packs a punch. What could be better than that?
Learning a dozen basic chords means that the player can effortlessly join in on any jam session to play rhythms.
Besides, there are far more people who play guitar than there are who play the mandolin. So, there is less competition, thereby increasing the likelihood of you being invited to contribute to a band.
Even if you choose not to play in a band, though, the unique sound produced by a mandolin would be great for solo work.
Mastering how to play a melody on the mandolin would take a bit more time and dedication, but it’s very rewarding once you learn how to do so.
3. Portability
A mandolin is incredibly portable since it is lightweight and compact. This instrument is smaller than a guitar, lighter than a banjo, and easier than a fiddle!
You can easily move with the instrument from place to place without worrying about straining yourself or even how to transport it.
Carry it on a motorcycle, or bring it on a plane with you. You really won’t have to think twice about having to move around with your mandolin.
Part of the thrill behind this is that you can whip out the instrument and practice anywhere. Better yet, the mandolin is just unusual enough to arouse people’s interest and curiosity, so you might have countless opportunities to show off your playing prowess.
You may choose to take it to work with you and entertain your colleagues over lunchtime or simply get to experiment with tone as you laze at the park. This little friend travels very well and can follow you virtually anywhere.
The added advantage is that the ability to take the instrument anywhere with you means that you can practice more often, allowing you to be up to speed in a much shorter time.
4. Versatility
One major advantage of the mandolin is that it fits well with virtually any style of music that you can imagine. Whether you are playing Rock, Classical Jazz, Bluegrass, Folk, or even Celtic, the mandolin can be easily utilized.
This instrument is so versatile that it even appears in classical music, with Beethoven and Vivaldi being the most prominent mandolin concerto composers.
This versatility allows for various forms of self-expression, not to mention that it provides various avenues through which the player can get creative inspiration.
Whether you are learning tunes and scales or experimenting with tone, the mandolin has plenty to offer a player. Provided you are imaginative enough and patient enough to keep at it until you arrive at perfection.
In fact, part of the reason why the mandolin is such a rewarding instrument is because it takes plenty of practice to be able to consistently pull out a good tone from the instrument. This is in contrast to the guitar, which pretty much guarantees you a decent tone.
Mandolin players seem to agree that it is much easier to be a mediocre guitar player, whereas being good at the mandolin requires pure perfection.
5. Allows For Creative Expression
Time and again, it’s been said that a beginner can pick up the mandolin and love it.
That’s not to mean that you won’t experience any difficulties along the way. Rather, the enjoyability of playing the mandolin comes from the fact that it is a great avenue for creative expression.
You can play by ear with relative ease, and there are numerous songs and tunes that readily unfold on the fingerboard as long as you have grasped the basics.
Not to forget the many genres that can be played on a mandolin, therefore allowing you to learn something different every time you play.
Creative expression is all about liberation and the ability to develop unique sounds as you continue to master and get better at playing the mandolin.
So go on ahead and allow yourself to play the mandolin liberally. Play like no one is listening and break some strings in the process.
The more you keep giving it your all, the more you will find this little instrument satisfyingly fun and rewarding.
Conclusion
If you can get past the initial period of having sore fingers, you will get to see that learning the mandolin is actually pretty easy.
Mastering this instrument will take a great deal of patience and dedication, but that just makes the lifetime learning curve that much more adventurous and thrilling.
