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Thread: A "legal" finger cheat for chords?

  1. #1
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    Default A "legal" finger cheat for chords?

    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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    Default Re: A "legal" finger cheat for chords?

    It is a matter of whether you have enough strength and control in your pinkie. Otherwise a great idea, entirely in line with shifting fingers economically. Others would probably rather use 234X on D and 233X on G, thereby staying in the first position ready to continue playing melody.
    Sven

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    Default Re: A "legal" finger cheat for chords?

    I am not sure about the use of "proper" here, although it could be proper in certain contexts.

    I almost always play the 245X D chord with fingers 1 2 3 (i.e., no pinkie). This is, after all, where your fingers would land if you were playing a D scale. And to play the 455X G, I would use fingers 2 3 - doing the scooch and bar you describe but, again, not using the pinkie. I find it difficult to bar with the pinkie and also difficult to use two fingers to hit adjacent courses on the same fret.
    Bobby Bill

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    Default Re: A "legal" finger cheat for chords?

    I think as a beginner you would want to stick with the two frets per finger method. Are you getting the sound you want from barring with the pinkie? Perhaps use it as another tool in the toolbox if you want. If you stick to the two fingers per fret in the first position, that pinkie, as Don Stiernberg says, can be used for more interesting things.
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    harvester of clams Bill McCall's Avatar
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    Default Re: A "legal" finger cheat for chords?

    You're on to something. Left hand efficiency is a great attribute. think of what could come next
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    Default Re: A "legal" finger cheat for chords?

    Try 745x for D to go with 455x G. You dont need to shift hand. Also Allows dropping the D shape 2 steps to make C.

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    Default Re: A "legal" finger cheat for chords?

    Thanks for all the tips, everyone.

    Bobby and Sven, interesting that you use different fingers on the 245X D chord. Point taken about those being the appropriate fingers for playing those notes then picking. To me, playing the chord with my pinkie feels more natural, maybe because I have small hands. Stobbe's advice in the book is: "Because we are using fingers 1, 3 and 4 to make this chord, our available finger is 2--useful for certain suffixed chords (e.g., minors, etc.). If you persist with the shown fingerings, the benefits will become obvious when we begin to make minor and seventh chords." Now I'm curious how others finger that chord.

    Gary, I can get a clean sound by barring the pinkie, but I agree, it takes less effort to barre those middle courses with the middle finger. I can make the full shift from the D to the G fine without using the scooch cheat. I was just wondering if it might be a bad habit to cheat occasionally when I get lazy.

    Mark, thanks for reminding me about the 745x shape. A friend told me that's his favorite go-to chord shape. I will find and practice those shapes all along the fretboard once I get the three forms (455x G; 557x C; 245xD) Stobbe drills in his book. One challenge I was facing before I got this book was my "analysis paralysis"--too many chord choices; I didn't know where to start. These three forms (they're also the ones Mike Marshall teaches in his DVD) seemed like a good place to start.

    Paul

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    Default Re: A "legal" finger cheat for chords?

    The main thing is there is no "illegal" way to chord. There are chords all over that fretboard, use what works for you. Myself I would word out of 745x D position. Don't make yours wrong just different. Sorry previous post wasn't there when I started typing
    Last edited by Mandoplumb; Jan-15-2018 at 3:57pm. Reason: New info

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    Default Re: A "legal" finger cheat for chords?

    Quote Originally Posted by wormpicker View Post
    One challenge I was facing before I got this book was my "analysis paralysis"--too many chord choices; I didn't know where to start.
    Find them all. You'll notice quick enough that it's just a few patterns repeating up and down neck to make all those chord choices. The choice of which ones to use together is yours and that is the cool part. Enjoy!

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  13. #10
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    Default Re: A "legal" finger cheat for chords?

    Illegal? Hmmm... Looking about you for the police all the time will get you arrested for suspicious behavior.
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    Default Re: A "legal" finger cheat for chords?

    Quote Originally Posted by Gary Leonard View Post
    I think as a beginner you would want to stick with the two frets per finger method. Are you getting the sound you want from barring with the pinkie? Perhaps use it as another tool in the toolbox if you want. If you stick to the two fingers per fret in the first position, that pinkie, as Don Stiernberg says, can be used for more interesting things.
    The two frets per finger method is for melody playing, not chords. OP is asking about chords.

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