Re: Fumbling begginner on a vintage Washburn mandolin
Also check that string height at the nut is okay. High nut slots are common and can greatly increase the needed pressure at the first several frets. Open-string clearance at the 1st fret should be just about the same as (or barely any higher than) 2nd fret clearance when fretting at the 1st.
Presuming that the setup is good, I suspect that you're doing C, G, & D as 2-finger chords? That's the usual beginner mode.
Em, played as 0220, can be tougher because there's little room to hit the D & A with 2 fingers, and using one finger to cover the D & A pairs together (all 4 of 'em!) can be tough at first. Maybe try Em as 0223, using one finger to bar the 2nd & 3rd pairs?
- Ed
"Then one day we weren't as young as before
Our mistakes weren't quite so easy to undo
But by all those roads, my friend, we've travelled down
I'm a better man for just the knowin' of you."
- Ian Tyson
Bookmarks