Fingering frets/ note playing for beginners

[mandodebbie]

I'm learning to play the mandolin on my own.(No formal lessons.) Maybe I'm not reading my intruction book correctly, but nowhere does it indicate which fingers are the most suitable for playing each of the notes re: fretting. I can play some chords, so there must be a coresponding system for note playing. (Or am I being musically naive?) I also have no one to jam with, yet. Many moons ago I used to play guitar. I have forgotten my lessons and need a refresher. Can anyone help little old mandodebbie?

[John Flynn]

The larger answer is that it really depends on your ability, your playing style, the position you are playing in and what you are doing. The very, very simple answer for a beginner might be: on a first position (open) major scale, like G or D or A, hit the second fret with the first finger, the fourth fret with the second finger and the fifth fret with the third finger. As you progress up the neck to higher positions that don't have open strings, as well as other scales and advanced techniques, like slides and hammer-ons, things get more complicated. You will need to come up with other fingerings and start to use your pinky. You really have to adjust fingering to what you are doing.

[Dfyngravity]

like earlier stated it all depends on what you are playing and where on the neck. but as far as for a beginner i would suggest you getting another booked that explanned or stated what fingers to use and when. i had a book i think it was called mandolin premiere or something along those lines. another great book/video would be chris thile's. not only do you get to see him flat out play the mandolin but there is also a little booklet that is filled with scales and arpeggios up and down the whole fingerboard that tells you what fingers to be using. the only time i really watch the video is just to seem him play ode to a butterfly or when mandolins dream. but the exercises that he shares are fabulous. I garentee that you will improve if you use the exersices.

[ChrisWallace]

Hello,
A good rule of thumb is, every finger is "assigned" two frets. So, your index finger covers frets 1 & 2, your middle finger covers frets 3 & 4 and your ring finger covers frets 5 & 6. Typically, for most beginners, the pinky isn't used because playing the 7th fret can be done by playing the next "open" string (ie. the 7th fret on the G string is D...which can be played on the "open" 3rd string).

Hope this helps!! http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

[Peter Hackman]

When I got started on mandolin I was a bit frustrated.

On the guitar, in open position, there was a clear
correspondence between fingers and frets; as you moved up
the neck it was clear that the same applied in certain keys,
e.g. playing in E flat major off the third fret.
However,as I progressed I abandoned positions altogether
or interchanched them, e.g., I found interesting things
to do in G major off the fifth fret, rather than the
seventh.

When I started playing the mandolin - and I did exactly that,
started playing! - I stayed firmly within the scale, and fingering was almost automatic.
Not the 1-1 correspondence between frets and fingers
as on guitar but simply next note-next finger. I worked this
out in various keys and positions, only then did I
add some chromatics. I could not even begin to explain what
I arrived at, because the process was one of trial and error
an discovery.


I still play more strictly in positions on mando than on
guitar but I have some pet tricks. For instance, playing
in F, I really play off the third fret (is that 2nd position,
I don't know the names of anything) but stretch
my index finger back to catch an occasional note on the second, or even the first, fret, as well as using
the open d, f and a courses. Extremely flexible.

Maybe I shouldn't have written the last to a beginner
but the basic message is this: start simply,
always in the scale and fingering will take care
of itself, then add complications. I think it is most
fun to discover the optimal fingering for yourself.
I also believe this is very individual, e.g., my technique
on either instrument comes from having rather small hands.

[Pete Martin]

For people just getting started, the basic rule I teach is play a major scale (do ra mi fa sol la ti do). Unless you are playing an open string, the next finger on the left hand takes the next step in the scale. This works everywhere on the fingerboard for major scale or modes derived from the major scale.

For other scales such as diminished, use whatever fingering you need to execute a phrase. Every good player I've seen plays these type of scales different.

[mandoanon]

Mandodebbie - All explanations I have ever seen on fingering are as ChrisWallace explained in previous post. #There is a good article by David Grisman #HERE (http://www.co-mando.com/techniques/studies.php). #There are some links on the right side of that page where you can print out the scale positions and their fingerings. #Hope that helps.

[mandodebbie]

Thankyou, mando-pals! I now can practice with less confusion. All I have to do now is strengthen my finger muscles. (It's a good thing I'm a natural born lefty in a righthanded world. Not to mention that I have teeny-tiny fingers to begin with.)