John Tauxe's Mandolin/Mandola Page

This is my web page for mandolin and mandola stuff. I hope you enjoy it!
https://mando.tauxe.net

Mandolin (and octave mandolin) and mandola (and mandocello) chords charts and images:

Here are two useful one-page Adobe Portable Document Format (.pdf) collections of several pages of mandolin chords (rev 2.0, COMPLETELY REVISED 29 June 2025),

and the NEW one for mandola chords! (v1.0 as of 7 July 2025).

I have also exported each of these collections of 900+ chords into their own little vector graphic images in Portable Network Graphics (.png), and have assembled them into these zipped archives: mandolin_chords_v2.0_png.zip (a 14.4 MB zip file) and mandola_chords_v1.0_png.zip (a 14.3 MB zip file).

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 LibreOffice Writer. Here's an example: Eyes_of_the_World.odt

Here is a new special effort, where I scanned a folk and popular song book called Winds of the People, converted it to PDF, and ran it through optical character recognition (OCR) to make it searchable. There are so many great songs in here!

Song sheets using the chord images for mandolin:

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

• Acadian Driftwood, by Robbie Robertson. REVISED 23 Feb 13
• Eyes of the World, by Robert Hunter and Jerry Garcia. REVISED 31 Mar 24
• Sugar Magnolia, by Bob Wier and Robert Hunter. REVISED 23 Feb 13
  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. REVISED 12 Mar 24
• Jack Straw, by Robert Hunter and Bob Wier. REVISED 31 Mar 24
  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. REVISED 31 Mar 24
  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, in D and in G, by Jimmie Driftwood. REVISED 31 Mar 24
• A Pirate Looks at Forty, by Jimmy Buffett. 15 Dec 07
• Box of Rain, by Phil Lesh and Robert Hunter. 19 Dec 07
• Crazy Fingers, one of my all-time favorites, by Robert Hunter and Jerry Garcia. REVISED 4 Jan 24
• Maybe, by Gordon Kennedy and Phil Madeira, as in "Maybe you can play in E-flat minor." Chords refreshed to minor 6 Jul 2025
• What a Wonderful World, by Bob Thiele (as “George Douglas”) and George David Weiss, if the original F and in D. REVISED 31 Mar 24
• Hallelujah, by Leonard Cohen. REVISED 23 Feb 13
• Over the Rainbow, lyrics by E.Y. Harburg, music by Harold Allen. This one was really hard to arrange, and is definitely a challenge to play. REVISED 23 Feb 13
• Southern Cross, by Stephen Stills, Richard Curtis, and Michael Curtis. 23 Feb 13
• So Far from the Clyde, by Mark Knopfler. REVISED 6 Sep 2015 when I realized that this piece is in B-flat minor, not A minor as all the guitar chord web sites would have you believe. They are just being lazy. This is no more difficult a key.
• You'll Never Leave Harlan Alive, by Darrell Scott. REVISED 7 Apr 13
• Take Five, by Paul Desmond. REVISED 7 Sep 15
• Melissa for mandola, by Gregg Allman. REVISED 15 Jul 2025
• Melissa for mandolin, by Gregg Allman. REVISED 15 Jul 2025
• Melissa for octave mandolin, by Gregg Allman. REVISED 15 Jul 2025
• Imagine, by John Lennon. ADDED 5 Oct 15
• Highwayman, by Jimmy Webb. ADDED 6 Jul 23
• Pancho & Lefty, by Townes Van Zandt. REVISED 31 Mar 24
• The Lost Mine of the Chisos, by Bill Staines. The original is in B-flat minor. REVISED 31 Mar 24
• The Lost Mine of the Chisos in A minor, by Bill Staines. A minor may be an easier key for beginners. REVISED 31 Mar 24
• Wagon Wheel, by Bob Dylan and Ketch Secor of the Old Crow Medicine Show. ADDED 31 Dec 23
• Camerado, by Mark Knopfler. REVISED 30 Mar 24
• Isis, by Bob Dylan and Jacques Levy. ADDED 8 Mar 24
• Katie's Been Gone, by Richard Manuel and Robbie Robertson. REVISED 31 Mar 24
• Tangled Up In Blue, by Bob Dylan. ADDED 8 Mar 24
• Up to Me, by Bob Dylan. ADDED 8 Mar 24
• Walker Behind the Wheel, by Bill Staines. ADDED 8 Mar 24
• Who Built the Moon, by Shinyribs. ADDED 20 Jun 24
• Ripple for mandolin, by Garcia and Hunter. ADDED 13 Jul 24
• Garôta de Ipanema (Girl from Ipanema) in D Flat for mandolin, music by Antonio Carlos "Tom" Jobim, lyrics by Vinícius de Moraes. It turns out that in Brazil, this song's original country, it is played in D Flat. It also turns out that D Flat is a much easier key to play in on the mandolin. If you need to play it in F, use a mandola and the chord arrangements below in the mandola section.UPDATED to D FLAT 13 Jul 2025

Song sheets using the chord images for mandola:

These are MANDOLA chord arrangements that I have been developing, now that I have decided to devote more attention to this instrument that suits my baritone voice better. I'll be adding to this list, so check back from time to time. These also are in PDF:

• Ripple for mandola, by Garcia and Hunter. ADDED 13 Jul 24
• Garôta de Ipanema (Girl from Ipanema) in F for mandola, with melody in alto (mandola) clef, music by Antonio Carlos "Tom" Jobim, lyrics by Vinícius de Moraes. Although the original key of D Flat is easier to play on the mandolin, it turns out that F is an easier key for the mandola. So, if you're in a jazz combo that wants to play it in F, pick up the mandola. ADDED 13 Jul 2025
• Garôta de Ipanema (Girl from Ipanema) in F for mandola, with melody in treble clef. If you, like me, are new to the mandola are not fluent in the alto clef, I have made this version with the melody in treble clef, but with chords for the mandola. ADDED 13 Jul 2025