John Tauxe's Mandolin Page

This is my web page for mandolin stuff. It's very much under construction.
http://mando.tauxe.net

Here is a useful one-page collection of several mandolin chords (rev 1.3, UPDATED 13 Aug 07). I built this using Corel DRAW. Adobe Acrobat is being a pain, so this does not look as fine as previous versions, but the chords are corrected, and some more are added.

I have also exported each of these chords into its own little vector graphic image in Windows Metafile (.wmf) format, and have assembled them into this zipped archive: mando_chords_wmf.zip (a 1.4 MB zip file, UPDATED 15 Dec 07).

And a great thanks to Peter Braccio for converting the .wmf files to Portable Network Graphics (.png) a much more advanced and cross-platform (and non-Microsoft) format: mando_chords_png.zip (a 500 kB zip file, UPDATED 15 Dec 07).

Now you can import the chords into a word processor for making music cheat sheets, with just the words and chords (as done below). I recommend OpenOffice Writer. Here's an example: Eyes_of_the_World.odt

Here are some mandolin chord arrangements that I have devised for some of my favorite songs. Check back later, as I add more. These are in PDF:

• Acadian Driftwood, by Robbie Robertson REVISED 18 Feb 07
• Eyes of the World, by Robert Hunter and Jerry Garcia REPAIRED 15 Jul 07
• Sugar Magnolia, by Bob Wier and Robert Hunter REVISED 26 Mar 07
  This arrangement of Sugar Magnolia is not only fun to play, with a fun rhythymic chop, but it's also a good exercise in chord theory. One can get comfortable with the relationships between the chords in a lower voicing, then the same chords in a higher voicing. Parallels emerge!
• Song for a Deckhand's Daughter, by James McMurtry ADDED 9 Jul 07
• Jack Straw, by Robert Hunter and Bob Wier UPDATED 9 Aug 07
  This is one of my favorite Dead songs, and the first one done here with the PNG format chord images.
• Unbroken Chain, by Robert Peterson and Phil Lesh UPDATED 10 Dec 07
  A real challenge to suitably match Lesh's eclectic chord progressions, but I think it worked out well. You're on your own as far as the time signatures, and must listen carefully for things like a bar of 3/4 or even 3/8 time thrown in with the 4/4.
• Tennessee Stud, by Jimmy Driftwood ADDED 12 Nov 07
  After a visit to Bill's Pickin' Parlor in Columbia, SC, I worked up this arrangement, complete with the politically-incorrect original lyrics.
• A Pirate Looks at Forty, by Jimmy Buffett 15 Dec 07
• Box of Rain, by Phil Lesh and Robert Hunter 19 DEC 07

For now, here's a link to the Weber Mandolin site, where they like to post pages for new owners of their instruments. In Spring 2006 I bought two: a Sage octave mandolin, and a customized Gallatin, which I love:
Me and my new Webers!