Howdy everybody,
This is my first Mandolin Cafe post! I'm a rank beginner--just started learning mandolin last October. I'm also a "10-year beginner" at fiddle, which has really helped me find the notes on mandolin--although, at first, those pesky frets kept getting in the way!
I've just started trying to get three-string chords under my fingers. I've been through a lot of great resources (recommended here) for learning chord theory and learning how to find the various moveable chords on the fretboard. But for really learning and practicing how to make and shift the main (I IV and V) major chords, I settled on Gordon Stobbe's terrific book/CD, Mandolin Chordology (http://fiddlebooks.com/books.html). After working through the first set of exercises I started applying them to tunes in my collection to work out the shifts in various keys and progressions.
So, I was just chording to a simple tune--Angelina Baker--moving between the 245X D chord and the 455X G chord. I fingered these chords as advised in the book: index finger on the G string and middle finger to barre the D and A strings for the G chord, and index, ring, pinkie on the G, D, A strings respectively for the D chord (I also tend to grab that D chord with my middle finger right behind the ring finger on the D string--I figure it doesn't hurt to bring that finger along for the ride, does it?).
Ok, at long last, my question... I discovered that when I shift from D to G, instead of lifting my hand and making all those finger shifts, I could just hold the D and scooch my ring and pinkie fingers over by one string (ring on the G string; pinkie barring the D and A strings) and leave the other fingers where they were. This seems so much faster and easier, I almost feel guilty about it. Am I onto something, or is this a bad habit that I shouldn't get into, and instead keep using the "proper" fingers for the 455X G chord? Thanks for all insight and advice.
Paul
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