Need help figuring out the tuning for this song

[BlackJacket]

Hi all, so I recently got a mandola and I'm trying to learn how to play this tune by ear.

https://youtu.be/gbA4EOt2yxU

It's definitely played on a mandola, but the tuning isn't standard. I was just wondering if anyone with a mandola handy could help me figure this out by ear.

Thanks!

[lenf12]

This may not be at all helpful but it sounds like an autoharp to me. What is the tune?

Len B.
Clearwater, FL

[Chris Fannin]

Maybe capo on the first fret - Ab minor?

[BlackJacket]

This may not be at all helpful but it sounds like an autoharp to me. What is the tune?

Len B.
Clearwater, FL

It's 100% confirmed to be a mandola by the composer. They can't remember what tuning it was however, they tuned the mandola to something that sounded nice to them and made the piece up on the spot.

This is the song, there are two mandola's in this recording. One panned left and one panned right. I tried to get the stem that played the most strings so it helps.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8JIoVRJXx8

Maybe capo on the first fret - Ab minor?

I will look into this, thanks.

[jaycat]

What do you get when you drop a piano down a mine shaft?

[dhergert]

By the resonance, sustain and harmonics of the open strings I'd guess the OP link is using an open tuning of some sort.

[Dave Hanson]

That just could be the most boring 2 minutes and 50 seconds of my life.

Dave H

[lenf12]

What do you get when you drop a piano down a mine shaft?

Nyuk, nyuk and I believe that jaycat and Chris Fannin are on the right path with Ab minor (miner :-) tonality. Perhaps a pentatonic scale in Ab minor to get started? Thanks for posting the link. Context is everything.

Len B.
Clearwater, FL

[BlackJacket]

That just could be the most boring 2 minutes and 50 seconds of my life.

Dave H

The reason why it sounds "boring" is because it's one isolated stem from a larger song that has drums, flutes etc. but thanks for your insight...

As for the rest of the people who actually helped, a big thanks to you. Once I have time to go out and buy a capo (lost my old one) I'll report back with how I go.

[Bren]

This was my reply to the same query on Reddit:

Sounds like Ab min to me, in normal tuning.

Scale goes: A♭, B♭, C♭, D♭, E♭, F♭, and G♭

Playing it on mandolin, I get E♭ G♭ C♭ E♭ as the main 4-note theme, with guest appearances by A♭ and B♭.

(These notes have other names in different keys - i.e C♭ is also B natural)

If your mandola is CGDA scale like the picture below, then the 4-note theme would be played D-string 1st fret, D-string 4th fret, G-string 4th fret, D-string 1st fret.

It seems to harmonise with a Ab min chord (although there's something ghostly going on) which you can make a simple 3-note version of by holding down Eb on 3rd Fret of C-string, and Ab and Eb, first fret of two middle strings only.

Hard work if you're a beginner.

If it's actually an octave mandolin tuned GDAE ,which is sometimes described as a mandola, then move everything across to the left

https://i.imgur.com/HPIGnxy.png