I’m starting to learn mandolin for ITM, but I’ve a question. I
first learned from Folk of the Wood’s online lessons to spread
the fingers such that each finger was responsible for 2 frets:
the 1st and 2nd fret played by the Index finger,
the 3rd and 4th fret played by the middle finger,
the 5rd and 6th fret played by the ring finger, and
the pinky covers the 7th fret.
I’ve been having good luck with this for playing ITM.
Then I looked at a Mel Bay mandolin instruction book, and they
have a different left-hand technique. They say to use the index
finger for the 1st and 2nd fret, the middle finger only for the 3rd,
the ring for the 4th, and the pinky for the 5th and 6th frets.
What’s the deal? Is this position used for a different style, or
what? Seems like it would be hard to pick up a high B with this.
I started playing not long ago and use Greg Horne’s, “Beginning Mandolin” & “Intermediate Mandolin” tutors (which are absolutely fantastic for “Celtic”, Blues and Bluegrass, btw), and he suggests the same thing as Folk of the Wood. I wonder if, like so much else in music, it is just a variation of a “regional” style? Both fingerings must obviously work. For my part, I’m sticking w/Horne’s method, as I’m too lazy to learn something new! And, like you, this sort of position seems to work really well for ITM.
fearfaoin, I would totally go with the way you first learned. I think you’ll find that’s the way most people play. Even many short-scale tenor banjo players do it that way.
Oh, good. I was doing so well, I didn’t want to change. But now
would have been the time to do so, before I got set in my ways.
I can’t believe how easy some tunes are coming to me. Once I
have a tune in my brain (from having learnt it on whistle), it’s
fairly easy to pick out on mando. I spent several hours last night
playing all the tunes I could bring to mind. Yay mandolin!
The way mando scale length lets all the notes to most tunes in G and D fall right under the fingers in first position makes it so easy for tunes to fall right into muscle memory. Especially with that fingering system.
Such a great instrument.
Since taking it up I have even developed a minor interest in bluegrass mandolin. There are some really, really great players. I’ve long been a fan of the Irish players like Andy Irvine, but some of the bluegrass and jazz players are brilliant too. Bill Monroe, David Grisman, Tim O’Brien, Sam Bush (who does a great tutor CD), Jethro Burns… Great stuff.
There are some fantastic Grisman/Bush videos on Youtube.
The first way is how most people who come from a fiddle-playing background (like me) will approach fingerings; the second way seems more guitar-oriented and would make more sense on a longer-scale instrument like a 19-fret tenor banjo or a bouzouki.
And, like you, this sort of position seems to work really well for ITM.