Joe’s Northfield Octave Mandolin

This lesson is part of the course Octave Mandolin with Joe K. Walsh.

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About This Course

Learn to transfer what you know on the mandolin to its bigger cousin and how to exploit the octave mandolin’s potential for more complex, guitar-oriented accompaniment styles. For intermediate mandolin, fiddle, or guitar players with a basic knowledge of their instrument.

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Inverness

“Inverness” comes from fiddler/mandolinist John Mailander, who recorded it on his album Walking Distance. It’s a beautiful, contemplative melody that alternates measures of 6/4 and 4/4. Joe walks you through the second part of “Inverness” in this video.

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The Octave Mandolin Subscription Includes:

More than 40 lessons on adapting mandolin techniques, scales, arpeggios, and chords to the octave mandolin
41 complete octave mandolin tunes as played by great octave mandolin players like Sarah Jarosz, Chris Thile, Sierra Hull, Tim O’Brien, Darol Anger, and more
Octave mandolin versions of bluegrass, trad folk, and jazz tunes
Instruction on guitar-based accompaniment styles, including the use of the capo
Notation/Tablature for all lessons
Play-along tracks so you can practice what you’re learning
High-quality video with multiple camera angles so you can see closeups of both hands in action

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Joe’s Northfield Octave Mandolin

Joe talks about his Northfield archtop octave mandolin, which has a vintage-inspired, non-cutaway body that measures 13.7 inches across the lower bout. Its top is hand-carved, braced with a pair of tone bars, and outfitted with two traditional f-holes. The instrument has a 22-inch scale that is similar to many tenor guitars and slightly shorter than many bouzouki-style instruments, which have a similar range and are sometimes tuned the same as an octave mandolin. Joe’s instrument has mahogany back and sides, and Northfield also offers an instrument built with maple back and sides. The instrument has a 22-inch scale that is similar to many tenor guitars and slightly shorter than many bouzouki-style instruments, which have a similar range and are sometimes tuned the same as an octave mandolin.