The Mandolin Tool

3.0.2

Software information

License:

Freeware (Free)


Updated:

30 Mar 2012


Publisher:

Tomkysoft

Website:

http://tomkysoft.com

Software Screenshots

Size: 0 Bytes


Downloads: 5020


Platform: Windows 7/Vista/XP

Review by Frederick Barton (Cybersecurity Editor)

on 30 Mar 2012

Guitar skills are more than welcomed at parties, camp fires or other social events, but they are hard to gain. It takes much practice and dedication to learn how to play, preferably without being terrible at it. If you prefer to learn something by yourself, The Mandolin Tool is the right tool for you. It will help you learn how a specific note sounds like, how to play it and more.

The application can be downloaded fast and it doesn't cost anything. You will need to install .NET Framework 4 before anything else, which may take some time, but beyond that, the setup process is smooth. After a few straightforward steps, The Mandolin Tool will be ready.

Besides the guitar, you can learn other string instruments, such as the mandolin, banjo or ukulele. When launching the application, you can select one of these instruments from a drop menu, before loading the main interface. There are four tools which will help you understand the sounds produced by a chord instrument and they can be opened by clicking a series of buttons on the main window. The available tools will be the same, no matter what instrument you choose, but they will obviously sound different.

The Chord Chart tool will display an illustration of a guitar's griff. A series of buttons can be found on each chord and clicking them will play the exact sound an instrument would make when pinching the chord. Right clicking anywhere on a chord will place a button in that position. You can also load one of many presets, in different keys, each with its own layout of buttons on the griff.

The remaining tools are simpler, but very useful. You can access a metronome, which can be set to different bits per minute by clicking and dragging a slider. An audio player can be found as well. Although it is simple and you can load one file at a time, it is possible to set a different playback speed, from very slow to very fast. If you want to learn a new song by playing it, you can slow it down to hear every note.

Tuning an instrument requires very fine adjustments and it can be very easy to get it wrong. The Mandolin Tool also features a tuner. It will display a series of knobs, one for each string. Clicking one of the knobs will play the associated string's sound. You can play one of these sounds over and over again, until your guitar sounds the same.

Pros

The Mandolin Tool is freeware and the tools it features are very useful. They are very well illustrated on a compact interface and interacting with them is easy.

Cons

The music player could have used a sound looping feature, but it is nothing serious. You don't need to pay for guitar lessons. Playing the guitar or other chord instruments is very easy to understand due to The Mandolin Tool's features.

The Mandolin Tool
3.0.2

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The Mandolin Tool Awards


The Mandolin Tool Editor’s Review Rating

The Mandolin Tool has been reviewed by Frederick Barton on 30 Mar 2012. Based on the user interface, features and complexity, Findmysoft has rated The Mandolin Tool 5 out of 5 stars, naming it Essential

5

out of 5