Closed Positions versus Higher Sounding Chords

[furashgf]

Probably wouldn't be a bad idea to have a "newbie" post section so I don't bother ya'll with this kind of question.

I'm trying to master closed position chord shapes - it's the ONLY requirement of my local bluegrass circle (you can play badly, play the wrong chords, etc., but you have to play closed chop chords).

So let's say I have a Dm. There's a closed, all 4 strings (8, but who'se counting) position down' near the 10th fret. It's the one that looks kind of like a reverse "F". When i play that, it sounds fine, but it's higher "sounding" than the rest of the chords I'm playing before and after up near the 1st position. There is a Dm shape up near the first position, the one that looks like a ">" shape on the first 3 strings, but that would leave the 4 string open. I don't want to mute the 4th string because I don't know if it's needed.

[duuuude]

You could always cheat & use 2-3-5-1 G-E, or don't even voice the E string when you chop. Is there a rule that ya gotta hit all the strings as well?

[Keith Wallen]

furashgf - When making the first position D that you described you can use your pinkie finger on G7 ring finger on A5 middle finger on D4 and index finger on E2. I rarely play the E string noted ubut I do put my finger there to mute it. This is on the chords page here on the mandolin cafe.

[John Flynn]

you can play badly, play the wrong chords, etc., but you have to play closed chop chords
Well the BG Police certainly are alive and well there. Who the H--- are these people that they have rules like that? Do the guitarists have to play closed chords? Do the banjo players? Can soloists use open strings? Can you wear jeans, or do you have to have a suit with a string tie to jam there? I love BG and I can play both open and closed chords equally well, but I will choose the sound I want to make and how I play my instrument in all settings. Plus, even though I am not a beginner, I especially hate rules that are hard on beginners. It's just unfriendly.

[furashgf]

Well, given that this is the only rule they have that I could comply with ("play well," for example, wouldn't work), I haven't made a fuss ;-)

So, the general point is with the C-shaped chords (the ones that look like this ">"), I can mute the e-strings and still be OK. This means I can play closed chop chords in the same general vacinity on the fretboard.

[pickinpox]

Here is a different approach to solving the chord problem. First understand that a Dm chord is composed of the notes D F A

Using a fretboard diagram or better yet if you know the note names, you can find any combination fo these notes which fit your hand and your ability to stretch.

You may in some cases substitute an F6 chord, F A C D or a Dm7, D F A C (same notes) or any suitable part of the chord.

This one may be the easiest.
-1------------------------------- E
--------------------------5------ A
------------------3-------------- D
----------2---------------------- G

1 1 2 3 or 4 Fingering

The note on the first(E) string is muted with the fleshy part of the first finger. If the first string does sound, it will be the F note which is part of the Dm chord. It is also a moveable formation.