New member...just saying "hello".

[Pickin' Potter]

Hi all,

I finally broke down and bought my first Mandolin, so I thought I should introduce myself to the bunch that has pointed me in the right direction and say thank you. I've been a rather unambitious guitar strummer for longer than I care to admit, but I saw the light at DelFest this past Spring and decided to get serious. Then, right in the middle of being serious, I somehow got bit by the mandolin bug and started googling around for information. With your help, I found my way to Gianna's and bought a used Eastman 515. I just can't thank you all enough. My fingers are killing me, but I can't quit playing. It all seems to make so much more sense on the mandolin. Picking out melodies used to take hours on the gtr and I'd forget them quickly...not so on the mando! I can find melodies within minutes and then play around with slides and pull-offs to my hearts content. Now...about that 4 finger G and a nice tremolo...that feels like it could take decades.

Anyway...thank you all!
PP

[JEStanek]

Welcome to the Café, Pickin Potter. We're glad you're here.

Jamie

[Duane Graves]

Hi, Pickin' Potter....all the best to you and may your progress be swift and your fingertips get calloused real soon. And a great big welcome to the Eastman gang.....

--Duane.

[journeybear]

Hey howdy and welcome!

You can search through the threads here for advice on tremolo. I don't want to start a whole big discussion here about that (please, folks!), but I think it's safe to say that a majority will advise you to start slow, get comfortable and regular with it, then gradually speed up. You might surprise yourself how much quicker it is than you thought.

As to the G chord (assuming you mean 7523 - that is, 7th fret on the G string, 5th fret on the D string, etc) - I would suggest getting comfortable with that fingering pattern higher up the neck then slide it down. Your fingers will creak and groan for a while but eventually adjust. If not, there are always solutions involving hammers and pliers. ;) And meanwhile, remember there are other chord patterns that will work.

Keep at it - it gets better - and easier! :mandosmiley:

[Charley wild]

Welcome aboard! Tremolo is a bit like vibrato on an electric guitar in that I recall reading that Stevie Ray thought his vibrato could always use a bit of work!;) The chop chord is a bear at first but it'll come. As advised play it up the neck at first. You'll get it.

[man dough nollij]

I used a book one time that recommended that one of the first things you should do is get the four-string G chord down. That's just stupid, and probably has made a lot of people feel that either their hands are too small to play the mandolin, or it's just too hard. What helped me was to do the three finger G of o523 until I could find it fast and fret it cleanly. It's WAY easier. It's always the pinky that's the hardest, especially at first when my pinky was weak.

Welcome to the Cafe, and happy pickin'! :mandosmiley:

Lee

[Space Pup]

Welcome Pickin' Potter, I also just joined the forum here and I've already met a lot of freindly and helpful foks. I'm also a long time guiar player, short time mandolin player. Unfortuetly I can't help you with the 4 finger G, I haven't gotten that one down myself. :grin:

[Tim2723]

Welcome to the fun!

[Capt. E]

I have been playing for two years now and still don't have that four finger G down. My pinky is a bit short and also bends inward a bit. Hard to reach for me. I usually play the 3 string version of the G chord or even use a chord higher up the neck. I agree that you can play quite alot of music with single notes and double stops. There are a good number of three fingered mando players that do quite well.

[Matt DeBlass]

Welcome aboard!

So far I've found the best way to handle the 4-finger G is to play Celtic music so you can just play a 2-finger chord and let it ring:grin:

Seriously though, I've got big hands, and it's still tough to get my pinky placed right after four months, but I'm still having fun trying.

[Pickin' Potter]

Hey, thanks everybody for the gracious welcome, the kind encouragement and the wise advice. I think I'm going to like it here!

[Coffeecup]

Sounds like you're having a lot of fun there Steve, go for it! I'm willing to make a bet with you - after a bit of time on the mando you'll pick up your guitar and wonder at the big open spaces on its fret board . . and you'll also find that your guitar playing has improved.