LH Technique / Finger-span / Thumb Position

[Mark Gunter]

1) 8.75"
2) Ring finger
3) After a concerted effort, I use the Mike Marshall, modified violin grip. This was super difficult to adapt, as I spent many years playing a 7 string electric guitar and others with wide, flat necks. That lends to classical left hand technique. A few years ago, I switched over to a Strat, with a much rounder neck, so I was doing the Jimi, SRV thumb-over grip. Needless to say, everything about the mandolin has been quite different than what I was used to.

Jimi, SRV, Merle Travis, Doc Watson, and those original, early acoustic blues players - A lot of years throwing my thumb over the neck, I know what you mean.

I tried hard to keep my open space and not "palm" my mandolin neck, but I found myself instinctively going there for certain passages in some tunes - and finding myself really "stuck" then in terms of getting to the next position. Re-training to have my thumb pointed toward the neck as my "home" or "go to" position has been the answer for me but it's not easy. I embrace "re-training" these days though, when it comes to solving technical issues or improving technique or musicality.

[MediumMando5722]

I embrace "re-training" these days though, when it comes to solving technical issues or improving technique or musicality.

Amen. All of my guitar playing utilized modified economy picking, meaning I paid absolutely zero attention to pick direction. The only exception was all the metal rhythm guitar playing, which was all downstrokes. Palm-muted 8th notes on the low E string at 220 bpm with a good amount of distortion sound wicked.

[Sherry Cadenhead]

1. 8-1/4
2. 3rd finger
3. Same as Louise (my primary teacher is a violinist)

[SanMan56]

@ Mark Gunther. I have short fingers and your method of thumb position on back of neck actually gives me the best reach and string attack.

[ralph johansson]

1) 8.75"
2) Ring finger
3) After a concerted effort, I use the Mike Marshall, modified violin grip. This was super difficult to adapt, as I spent many years playing a 7 string electric guitar and others with wide, flat necks. That lends to classical left hand technique. A few years ago, I switched over to a Strat, with a much rounder neck, so I was doing the Jimi, SRV thumb-over grip. Needless to say, everything about the mandolin has been quite different than what I was used to.

That's odd. When I got started on the mandolin about 50 years ago (after 10 years of guitar) my approach to left hand technique was exactly the same: don't use the left hand to support the neck, just bring the hand to the neck and let the thumb land where it lands. There was abolutely no effort involved.

[pops1]

I have short fingers, but I let my thumb wrap around the neck in a natural feel. What I feel is more important is keeping the fingers curled like you would on piano, guitar, typing, endless things where speed and accuracy are important.

[bratsche]

Haha... my thumb feels lucky when she occasionally gets to peek over the edge of the neck. Wrap around it? She cannot even imagine that!

bratsche

[John Lloyd]

Interesting thread. My left-hand approach depends to a some extent on what I'm doing, but in general:

1. Just shy of 9"; call it 8 7/8". Apparently a bit on the short side, but then again so am I (5'6").
2. Generally the 3rd finger; sometimes the 4th in fast passages. That's probably a bad habit.
3. In 1st position I anchor the ball of the thumb loosely on the side of the neck with the left edge at or near the nut. If a small stretch is required I tend to roll the thumb more nearly parallel along the neck, pointing towards the headstock. Thinking about it, this isn't terribly different from what I do on violin.

That's for single-note passages. When chords are involved my thumb tends to move to a position more nearly opposite the index finger.

And that's as nearly as I can reconstruct any of this while sitting here without a mandolin.