The first song you learned

[Snake Plissken]

When the Cock Crows It Is Day.

I'm a big fan of jigs.

[shortymack]

First song peroid? Tom Dooley on guitar when I was 8.

First one on mando.....flop eared mule this summer @47.

[John Adrihan]

Soldiers Joy

[Jim Ferguson]

Old Joe Clark

[sjf]

soldier's joy

[Wilbur James]

Frog on a Lilly pad!

[Pasha Alden]

I have begun imagining doing the first notes of Stairway to Heaven on Mandolin - I think it could sound beyond sublime.

[poniverus]

Bill Cheatham then tried blackberry blossom but kinda demotivated me on learning songs for now haha

[John Soper]

Back in the '70's I played in a folk-country Rock band- picked up mandolin because we had too many guitars. First mandolin song was "Borrowing Time" on the Byrd's reunion album, then a few Band & Stone's songs... took a while to get into true Bluegrass and Old Time tunes.

[Shelagh Moore]

The Gavotte en rondeau from Partita No. 3 in E major for violin by Bach. My Dad used to play this on mandolin and I loved it so he taught it to me when I was about 14. Still a favourite!

[wommbatt]

irish washer woman and rocky road to dublin 8D

[Willie Poole]

An old Roy Acuff song called "Low And Lonely", still play it today at one place since it gets requested every time I play there...

Memorie, memories.....

Willie

[bratsche]

Bourree I and II from Bach's 3rd cello suite in C - on mandola.

On mandolin, "Deh, vieni alla finestra" from Mozart's Don Giovanni.

bratsche

[calgary.fiddler]

I believe devils dream was the first song I played when I picked up the mandolin for the first time, Althogh id played fiddle for many years before so I could play a large number of fiddle tunes quite easily.

[JeffD]

'Angeline The Baker' & then 'Dusty Roads' from the Baldassari/Schnaufer ''Appalachian Mandolin & Dulcimer'' CD

Two great renditions, IMO. And that CD is wonderful. It gets played a lot here.

[JeffD]

I don't remember. Among the first things were:

by ear from memory: When the Saints Go Marching In

by ear from memory: Joy to the World

by ear from recorded music: Never On Sunday

by ear from recorded music: the Wolf's theme from Peter and the Wolf

from written music: opening phrase from an orchestral score of Beethoven's symphony No. 7, second movement.

[gauze]

June Apple, a friend learning banjo knew it so I looked it up online.

[nrand]

Currently learning Losing My Religion.
I have been working through a couple of my original guitar based songs as well, the names of which probably are meaningless outside Willunga, South Australia.
Maybe if I get my chops up a bit better I will post some Youtube vids.

[Dan Hoover]

"woody's rag and boil them cabbage down"..from jack tottle's book...on the same day,same lesson..thought i was hot....

[cjspiteri]

Probably Battle of Evermore. On guitar it was Jesus Just Left Chicago.

Jesus Just left is a great tune, on Guitar my first song all the way through was Blackbird.

On mandolin Long Long Ago by T.H Bailey from the Suzuki violin method, and then Stealin'

[Beanzy]

For a minute there I thought it was just "what song did you first learn", I'm so glad you added "on the mandolin" or I would have had to admit it was "Lilly The Pink" by The Scaffold.

In this case it was Angeline The Baker with Old Joe Clark as a same-day second song.

[richardbradford]

Woody's Rag and Cripple Creek from Tottle's book...I remember it like it was yesterday...felt so good to get something out of the mandolin that sounded like music...funny thing is, yesterday was over 30 years ago.

[Marty Jacobson]

The Home Ruler and Shady Grove.. on a super-cheesy Johnson with fret ends so sharp they sliced up my left index finger.

[Randi Gormley]

Can't remember the exact song, but the two that I recall from the old Mel Bay book I was using was Beautiful Brown Eyes and Black is the Color of My True Love's Hair. I remember them especially because they were among the first songs I learned on the recorder.

[dustyamps]

Farewell to Whiskey by Niel Gow