New to the mandolin and I'm having trouble with my fingers pressing more than one set of strings (without intending to do so). Any suggestions/tips/tricks to help? Thanks
That can be a tough one, but if it's any comfort, a lot of the great mandolin players have fat fingers, and they learn to get around the problems that causes so they can get good, clean sound. Here are some of the suggestions I've heard that make sense to me (I use this stuff, too, 'cause I have pretty big hands/fingers and they're mighty clumsy as well ) 1. Maybe get a wide fingerboard mandolin. They do make different width necks - though even the large ones are still pretty small for a guy with big hands. Try to get the widest one you can. Downside: Might limit your choices too much, but it's an option. 2. Understand that your fingers can touch all kinds of strings as long as they don't deaden the one note or several notes you are currently playing. Example: With the two-finger C chord, looks like this (Low string to high string): 0-0-2-3 When you play that chord, put your index finger on second string, second fret and don't worry if it touches the fist string. That's because your second finger will hold first string down at third fret, so it's ok if your index touches the string behind your second finger, won't hurt anything. If you pay attention to that principle right there, then with practice, you can figure out how to play that chord cleanly even with big fingers. 3. Understand that everybody, no matter what size their fingers, will have trouble making chords and notes sound clean when they are starting. Playing cleanly takes time and practice, so don't give up if you think your fingers are too big. You can learn to do this by investing the time.
One thing I focus on is fretting with my finger tips. Not just the last section of my fingers, the tip end of the last section of my fingers. Another way of saying this is I want the end section of my finger to be pointing right down into the fretboard. If you fret more toward the fleshy part of your finger, you will have lots of problems fretting only one pair of strings at a time and that will make you think your fingers are 'fat'. Experiment with different ways to hold your left hand in relation to the neck to allow you to arch your fingers so that the tips are pointing down by the time they touch the strings. It is awkward at first, but quickly becomes second nature. Well almost -- sometimes getting that pinkie finger to arch down like that takes some effort. My experience with a wider fretboard (it's usually only 1/16" wider than standard) was that I liked it at first. But as my left hand technique improved, I now prefer the standard width as it gives me a bit more stretch getting my pinkie finger over to the G string when I need it.
Also --- welcome to the group if I haven't already said that. And if I have already said that, you are still welcome to the group. [At my age, you gotta cover all the bases at least once.]
Thanks for the responses (so far). One thing I was perhaps overly concerned about was I wanted to start with good habits so that I wouldn't have to try to relearn correctly later. Maybe I better just slow down and learn to curl those fingers completely!
I'm having the same issues. When I try the 0-2-3-0 chord my middle finger ends up on at least the higher of the two E strings. So I have been not practicing any chords lately and just been working on trying to get clean sounding note picking. I'm hoping my fingers will limber up and chords will come easier later.
