Big Mon Mandolin Tabs
Bill Monroe
Big Mon Mandolin Tablature: One Song, Many Styles
Recomended level: Intermediate
"Big Mon" is both the nickname of the Father of Bluegrass, and the title of an instrumental written by the man himself: Bill Monroe. Big Mon is a blast to play on any instrument. Here, you'll find a lot of inspiring arrangements for the mandolin.
Listen. Listen a lot to "ingest" the tune and learn how it's supposed to sound. Listen before practicing. Listen after a shower, after dinner, and in the car...Live with it for a while. You can listen in Tunefox anytime. If you use a streaming service, make a playlist with multiple versions of this tune. It's fun to hear different interpretations of the same tune, and hear what they have in common. This is also good for developing your musical ear.
Big Mon is a modal tune. The song centers around the key of A major, but it uses different flavors of A. The typical A major scale is A B C# D E F# G#. This is used along with a "mode" of A major that lowers the 7th scale note by a half-step. The notes you end up with are A B C# D E F# G. One little change makes a big difference in the sound and flavor. This alternate "mode" of A major is called A mixolydian. It's all about perspective. This mixolydian mode can be found in the key of D major if you just start and end your scale on an A note!
Speaking of scales, practice Mandolin Scales & Exercises to build up your dexterity, coordination and make good "hand to ear" connections. Since this tune is a modal tune, you should practice both A major and D major scales. In practicing both scales you will eventually see and hear the connection between scales and song. Making musical connections in your mind and on your instrument help you to be a better, and more knowledgable, mandolinist.
Learn how to play Big Mon on Mandolin with this selection of tablatures:
