R L Using the Cipher — Demonstrations for Mandolin, Tenor Banjo, and Violin (5ths tuned)         Working with the Cipher System is a matter of transferring the Cipher number-formula to the mandolin fretboard using the fifths tuned  Seven Degree Calculation Line and resulting counting-grids. Ultimately, this is done with  reference to the  larger set of landmarks provided by the mandolin fretboard’s built-in (but invisible) Pattern of Unisons and Octaves. These initial small-area demonstration examples are meant to get our feet wet and will be shown again later in relation to that larger context. Demonstration examples — preliminaries To demonstrate how the Seven Degree Calculation Line and the Cipher System as a whole are used we’ll begin with small examples and gradually build until the big picture is seen and understood. That is, the big picture of how the Cipher System works, and consequently the big picture of how the mandolin fretboard works. The area of the fretboard that used in the first demonstration is  nonspecific and movable. The patterns could be aligned/rooted anywhere on the neck, i.e. on  any fret-line, any tonic/root (providing there’s enough room above and below the calculation line for what you want to see or do).     The musical materials (formula) included in this first demonstration are as shown in Figure 1. Note the Cipher formula at far right     Figure 1       Demonstration examples: Common musical materials: interval, scale, chord, progression This plate shows the first examples of Cipher formula plotted on the mandolin fretboard         Different string-sets — Major scale and triad These examples are organized by string-sets of two or three strings each. The string-sets travel across the mandolin fretboard, exercising all strings and all points of the greater Seven Degree Calculation Line. All patterns on any string-set are always movable up and down the neck. Fingering patterns on mandolin string-sets are identical to each other due to the mandolin’s uniform (straight-line) tuning pattern across all four strings. [Mandolinists have it easy in this reguard compared to guitarists. You won’t have to concern youself with all of the adaptations and fingering changes that guitarists must make whenever they hit the guitar’s Fifth String Pattern Shift — fingering changes caused by the guitar’s non-uniform tuning pattern.] Remember, all of these patterns and shapes are natural to the mandolin fretboard. The Cipher System isn’t creating them, just illuminating them.         All intervals — two octaves of intervals on the mandolin The third and final plate of examples is an example of plotting all intervals, large and small, from a single root tone, in this case from String-One. Two octaves of harmonic interval fingerings are shown. The two tones of any harmonic interval are meant to be played simultaneously, like a small chord, so their fingerings may be different from their counterpart melodic intervals. i.e. interval tones played in succession — one after the other or scale-wise. Figure 3 shows the single counting grid used to plot all of the intervals.       Figure 2 (back to All intervals on the mandolin, full Plate)       Blank fretboard grids — to print out Here’s an 8 page 400k PDF of assorted sizes of blank mandolin fretboard grids. Use them to practice plotting Seven Degree Calculation Lines and counting grids from any point on the mandolin’s fretboard.       What’s next? These demonstration examples were limited to small areas of the fretboard. As we enlarger the area to include all four strings at once, the complete Seven Degree Calculation Line, full fretboard patterns, and all available octaves of tones, many points of interest, each wanting attention, will arise simultaneously. Establishing priority among them and finding the best sequence to present them is not an easy task. There are hundreds of possibilities. One thing, however, will emerge in reappear in every future illustration or example, a common thread, regardless of the topic or sequence of presentation, that must be addressed before we go any further. That is; portions of the mandolin fretboard's large but invisible pattern of octave tones and unisons. We can't go much further in explaining how the mandolin fretboard works without bumping into the Mandolin’s Pattern of the Unisons and Octaves. So that’s our next stop. Index of The Cipher for Mandolin (Tenor Banjo and Violin): 3 Minute Introduction for Mandolin Commonsense String Numbers for Mandolin Number formula translation tables: intervals, scales, and chords Seven Degree Calculation Line for Mandolin Cipher Demonstrations for Mandolin Pattern of Unisons and Octaves for Mandolin Triads on the Mandolin fretboard (two pages) Scales, Major and minor, in parallel, on the Mandolin fretboard Chord Progressions for Mandolin (Triads of Major) Notes of Mandolin fretboard spelled Blank 4 string fretboard grid paper in PDF   Up to Top of page