I am so dumb

[MrYikes]

I just now realized that to play two finger chords in C (cfg), you simply move up and down. And I even found Am. So now I can play basically everything from the 60s. THIS IS SO SIMPLE! What else am I missing?
Here is what I put on my digital tuner when I went to the weekly jam.

[Bertram Henze]

Congrats to finding one of the benefits of consequent fifths tuning. I'm not going to spoil the fun of finding more

[MikeEdgerton]

What else am I missing?

You can add a third finger (seriously) and then work up to using all four (only when required of course).

[MrYikes]

You're being mean Bertram, NO SOUP FOR YOU!

[Ky Slim]

Congrats on the break through! 2 finger chords are a lot of fun.

Hey, Help me out: What is the second picture? Song lyrics? Does it say "4x4 down boy"?

[Beanzy]

https://pt.scribd.com/mobile/documen...ed-Instruments

That has most of the best tricks and relationships covered

[Bob Visentin]

Should be F Bb C not F A C

[MrYikes]

Those are my short abbreviations for things I learned from Pickloser thread and Giegers thread. So 4x4 is 4 strings down and 4 frets toward the bridge. Then 3x3 is 3 up and 3 toward bridge. Tent down and tent up is finger a note skip a fret and go up one string and then finger a note skip a fret and go down a string. Then when 3 is on E string 5 will be on G string. 5 is bigger so one step away, 3 is tiny sitting on your shoulder and has an arm(where the 7b sits). 5 is on your belly. 6 tops a 3.

It will take me some time to internalize this, but keeping it in my face will help speed that along.

[Nevin]

If you are looking to do 60's things remember that you can do the two finger riff where you alternate double stops of fifths above alternated with major sixths much more easily on mandolin than guitar.

[JeffD]

I just now realized that ...

To me that is one of the greatest feeling there is. And be assured, the well is infinitely deep; you will never run out of things to realize. There will always be some kind of epiphany around every corner of the mandolin journey.

If figuring things out and getting those ahaaa moments is your thing - you will never ever get tired of the mandolin.


Then again, everyone would pretty much agree that I am a nerd, and doing stuff is almost as much fun for me as figuring out how to do stuff.

[belbein]

I'm with JeffD. When I recognize a new relationship, it makes my day. If I remember it the next day, it makes that day, too.

So, unlike the "mean" Mr. Henze, I'll give you a hint. In every key, the same pattern of chord shapes produces the same degrees of a major chord. So the pattern of three chord shapes you use for CFG (I, IV, V) you can shift to D and use the same chord shapes to get I, IV, V. And you don't even have to know the notes--just what the root note is for the I and where to find it on the fret board. The fretboard is a huge computer that figures out all the chord degrees for you. All you have to do is ante up by knowing the root of the I chord, and everything else follows.

One caution, though. If you're doing two finger chords, in some (all?) cases you're doing bar chords, but the "bar" is the nut. When you move beyond the second or third fret, you're going to have to make your own bars. Which isn't hard, really. I never do two finger chords without using the whole four finger form, even if my first two fingers or my P finger bar is off beyond the nut. That way I can never forget what the series of forms is. But that's just me.