Steve, I understand the utilitarian practicality behind tuning a mandolin like the first four strings of a guitar, but not only does that cut off some of the range of the standard tuning, it also alters the tone of the instrument. It loses some sparkle, it loses some lower end response, and basically it just kind of lays down and don't want to get up.
When you do that to a mandolin, you basically turn it into a crappy little guitar.
The fifth interval tuning is very much a part of the sound of the mandolin, and it has huge practical advantages, as well: it's so easy to find melodies and harmonies on it. Using a modified fourth interval tuning like the first four strings of a guitar really gives you the worst of both worlds.
Again, I understand the advantages that doing that gave an in-demand recording session pro like Tommy Tedesco. But let's face it, very few of us constantly get called for sessions like that, and towards the end of his career even Tedesco got fewer and fewer session calls, as the recording industry changed radically.
But in a home and local performing musician situation, there's really no reason not to learn the mandolin using the actual mandolin tuning. Of all the stringed instruments I play, I find that the mandolin is the easiest to find my way around on. The most difficult thing about mandolin is keeping the thing in perfect tune! The notes, scales and chord patterns on it certainly aren't very demanding.
Wade Hampton Miller
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