Next question, playing style.

[Keith Newell]

Ok heres my next question. How many of you play and touch the bridge with your hand? How many actualy touch the tailpiece? How many do both? How many dont touch anything but the edge of the rim with their forarm?
Keith

[flairbzzt]

I'm a bass side of the bridge corner rester with part of my palm.

[jmkatcher]

Don't touch anything but the edge of the rim.

[8ch(pl)]

I post very lightly on the pickguard with my pinkie. Sometimes I will palm the top of the bridge to mute the instrument. I was doing this last night to accompany a fellow on Appalachian Dulcimer. Didn't want to drown him out.

[arbarnhart]

I palm the top a lot; I practice late at night with kids sleeping much of the time. When I play wide open, I tend to put a lot of pressure on the rim with my forearm (enough to make a mark on my forearm)

[BlueMountain]

I watched a DVD of Bill Monroe teaching a couple weeks ago, and his arm was resting on both the bridge and the tailpiece. I do that once in a while, but generally just the tailpiece. However, last week I attached an armrest, and that's gotten my arm off the bridge and to a large extent off the bridge. When I play guitar, fingerstyle, no picks, I often find my little finger resting on the top. What's your opinion, Keith? If one is playing chop chords, or if one wants a drier, more staccato sound, it might not matter much, but it seems to me a good way to dampen the sustain. You make some of the most resonant mandolins around. Does it bother you to see people with their wrists on the bridge?

[gnelson651]

I place the heel of my right palm just behind the bridge and rest my arn on the rim just above the tailpiece. I tried resting my arm on the tailpiece but found it muted the sound too much.

[John Flynn]

Don't touch anything but the edge of the rim.
Same here. I used to "post," and "rest" but I broke myself of it over the years. Sometimes I still catch myself, but less and less often now.

BTW, here is a link to a page on MandoZine where it talks about what the various pros do with thier right hands. Some of it was surprising to me:
http://www.mandozine.com/index.p....e_study (http://www.mandozine.com/index.php/techniques/techinfo/right_hand_technique_study/)

[Ken Sager]

With my armrest I rarely touch anything at all but the strings. I sometimes feel for the e-strings with my pinky, otherwise I keep my right hand free.

Love to all,
Ken

[Keith Newell]

I asked because there are so many styles of playing. My good friend has developed a habit that he curves his wrist in and presses the top of the bridge with the heal of his hand. He never used to do that but now it is a problem for him in two areas. First is he is having wrist pain and second he is deadening the volume of his instrument. Once a habit gets a hold of you its tough to break, but he's working on it.
I think a lot of players that play chop chords lay the arm across the tailpiece like Monroe did, maybe because they have more control or a stronger chop. I tend to play other styles and my ring finger/little finger will brush the pick guard area. I will plant it once in a while if the picking pattern requires a certain pattern repeat over and over. I just touch the edge of the instrument with my forarm. It's kind of funny to notice the more energy that I put into playing I get more out then you can see a wider stroke(arc).
Keith

[jasona]

Armrest, no other anchor point for me too. Occasionally I will use my hands lightly on the strings to be sure I am in the right place.

[mandodebbie]

I rest my forearm on the edge. Unfortunately, i sometimes cut off the circulation to my hand. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/sad.gif

[Dan Adams]

Crosspicking or Tremelo, the pinky finger will rest on the pickguard, or the top of the mandolin. Intricate picking, the heel of the hand rests on the bridge, the forearm on the tailpiece. Playing bluegrass using multiple double stops, and trying to 'drive' the sound, just the forearm on the edge of the mandolin. Now if I could really achieve any of this, I could make a comment that would merit some attention. But, alas...

Your hand rest.. Uhm.. now that could be the answer! Dan

[flairbzzt]

I play mostly tremelo and find that resting on the bridge gives me a more controlled and even stroke although I know I am losing some volume, but it seems negligible to me. It is a lighter touch, not a heavy handed rest. 38 years of it isn't going to change now.

[mrbook]

My palm is right over or just behind the bridge, where it can damp the strings if necessary. That is around the house -I play a bit harder and more freely when performing, however, and play in the same spot but not touching anything.