I expect everybody already knows about this cool thing about a mandolin, but I just discovered it. If you are playing a melody from say sheet music (or probably by memory or ear), you can shift your fretting hand up (or down) a set of strings, keep the same fingering, and the melody will still be right, just lower (or higher), and of course the notes will all be different. For example, a G might become a C, or similar. This works as long as you don't run out of strings (e.g. you need a note lower than the G string). Dumb, I know, or maybe I am just slow! I thought is was pretty cool.
The miracle of being tuned in fifths
This is how you have to think when you're learning mandola. There's no E string but there is a C string at the bottom. Oh yeah, your left hand fingers have to stretch more, too
If they were tuned in liters, you would get even higher.
I knew (had read) about being tuned in fifths, but not being a musician, it didn't make a lot of sense to me. Still doesn't, but I do know now I can shift around and keep the same fingering. I have learned to read standard notation as a part of my learning process, so I can just play the same fingering positions from a piece of music that I would to play the written notes if I can just keep my mind and fingers from moving back to the correct string, and make the music higher or lower depending on my preference.
SO, my teacher Gerald showed me that at one of my recent lessons and I was floored! 5 years of lessons and I had no clue. Moveable chord shapes work the same way.
Hank, I love what you did there! Gotta try that with the whisky song
LOL Hank! It's not so much that it's tuned in 5ths, but that all strings are the same interval above the one below. I knew a guy, incredible musician, who tuned his guitar to all 4ths, and ripped it. Seemed crazy to me, but he made it work. It was an electric, so not a lot of strumming open chords.