Quote Originally Posted by ralph johansson View Post
As it says in the old song: “must master it by practice, cause it ain’t wrote out in a book”. You simply got to find for yourself forms for at least the most common chord types, forms that connect smoothly and sound good over other instruments, and experiment with them in their various rhythmic roles, held, stabbed, strummed, etc.
Thanks for your comments. I am a classically trained musician, so music notation is how I roll, how I come up to speed quickly (I can hear music notation as I read it).

In any case, several answers have already been provided to satisfy my question sufficiently for the time being.

As a church musician I also do know hot to play by ear, I just needed a basis for what is more idiomatic style on the mandolin than on the violin, since the violin is not usually conceived in such a chordal fashion, although it can be.