A mandolin is tuned more like a violin than a guitar. That being said, it’s possible to tune a mandolin in intervals that feel more like standard guitar tuning, and some musicians do this. If you are familiar with stringed instruments, you’ll have an easier time picking up the mandolin than a fresh newbie for sure–if anything, because the fingers of your left hand are already used to fretting, and your right hand already knows how to pick or strum in rhythm.\r