hi guys
i've been a mandolin and a fiddle player for a number of years now and when i play the fiddle i have no problems with my 4th finger, but when i swich to mando my pinkie curls up and won't work. it's really starting to bug me now. has anybody got any tips?
Just a guess - maybe the action on your mandolin is too high and so you're using so much more pressure playing it than on your fiddle, that you are getting too much tension in your left hand and causing your pinkie to lock up.
play the tune slow and concentrate on getting a good clean tone with the 4th. aim for clean - no buzz. strength will come - thats all it is - fiddle requires so much less of it
Without seeing what you are doing it is difficult to say what you are doing wrong.
But the first thing to look at is how you hold the instrument - try using a strap rather than carrying the weight of the neck in your left hand. The next most common thing to cause pinky problems is what you do with your thumb - putting your thumb on the back of the neck like a classical guitarist (rather than holding the neck in the crook between thumb and index) usually gives a much more relaxed hand position.
But at the end of the day, probably the best solution would be to get a lesson or two from a good tutor - he/she will be able to see what is causing the problem.
You might try straightening your little finger out and resting the tip on the edge of the fretboard about the seventh fret. Keep it relaxed and lightly in place, and try not to send nerve impulses to it (easier said than done) until you need it.
I don't like the idea of treating a mandolin like a classical guitar, I agree more with Mike Marshall ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NmagoBQunZI) on how you should hold the mandolin which is with the thumb on the side of the mandolin pointing up. This is much more like a violinist would hold it. While it is a personal preference of mine to hold the mandolin like this, almost every elite level folk mandolin player does it that way.
It sounds like a teacher would be of great benefit to you and help you figure out what is going on. In the mean time, check out the FFcP exercises at Jazz Mando.com (http://www.jazzmando.com/ffcp.shtml) which force you to use the little finger.
I play fiddle and tenor banjo and for many tunes on the banjo I switch to second position rather than use my pinky a whole ton, (I use it, just not for say the Abbey reel which doesn't use an F note for example, but I would use my pinky for a tune like Musical Priest)
Basically, if your hand is curled (ie if there is a significant angle between the palm of your hand and your forearm) you will have a significantly weaker pinky. The mando should therefore be flat against the body, worn ona strap, not too low, and the neck should be tilted upward. (If you are holding it like a rock guitarist holds an electric guitar, you're looking at problems).
From what I can see with the fiddlers are our sessions, they only use the pinky on the E string-- mando is the same.
My mando teacher makes me do a weird (but effective) strengthening exercise: wear a too-tight rubber dishglove on the fret hand. This makes you overwork that hand. I also use a climber's forearm trainer a couple of times a week (looks liek a rubber doughnut). You also have to do scales, aiming for a clean tone, no buzz, etc-- a basic violin book shoudl have sets and set sof exercises.
I think the position of the mando makes a big difference. On Mike Marshall's CD, I think he talks about this.
Moving the mando so it is sitting on my left leg, rather than my right leg, and angling the neck away from my body seems to help me. After adjusting the mando position, I can now play the dreaded 4-finger bluegrass G chop chord, and playing melody with my pinky is easier.
Another thing that has helped is doing exercises where I play a note with the pinky up, then fret with the pinky and play a note (then repeat), while trying to get a nice clear tone.
When i switched from amndo to tenor banjo, I started using my pinky regularly, and I would wake up mornings in pain, with my pinky curled up, all gnarly. After about a week it was fine.
mandolin 4th finger
mandolin 4th finger
hi guys
i've been a mandolin and a fiddle player for a number of years now and when i play the fiddle i have no problems with my 4th finger, but when i swich to mando my pinkie curls up and won't work. it's really starting to bug me now. has anybody got any tips?
# Posted on February 15th 2010 by mandolinist
Re: mandolin 4th finger
Just a guess - maybe the action on your mandolin is too high and so you're using so much more pressure playing it than on your fiddle, that you are getting too much tension in your left hand and causing your pinkie to lock up.
# Posted on February 15th 2010 by showaddydadito
Re: mandolin 4th finger
play the tune slow and concentrate on getting a good clean tone with the 4th. aim for clean - no buzz. strength will come - thats all it is - fiddle requires so much less of it
# Posted on February 15th 2010 by geoffmc
Re: mandolin 4th finger
Without seeing what you are doing it is difficult to say what you are doing wrong.
But the first thing to look at is how you hold the instrument - try using a strap rather than carrying the weight of the neck in your left hand. The next most common thing to cause pinky problems is what you do with your thumb - putting your thumb on the back of the neck like a classical guitarist (rather than holding the neck in the crook between thumb and index) usually gives a much more relaxed hand position.
But at the end of the day, probably the best solution would be to get a lesson or two from a good tutor - he/she will be able to see what is causing the problem.
# Posted on February 15th 2010 by skreech
Re: mandolin 4th finger
You might try straightening your little finger out and resting the tip on the edge of the fretboard about the seventh fret. Keep it relaxed and lightly in place, and try not to send nerve impulses to it (easier said than done) until you need it.
# Posted on February 15th 2010 by gam
Re: mandolin 4th finger
I don't like the idea of treating a mandolin like a classical guitar, I agree more with Mike Marshall ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NmagoBQunZI) on how you should hold the mandolin which is with the thumb on the side of the mandolin pointing up. This is much more like a violinist would hold it. While it is a personal preference of mine to hold the mandolin like this, almost every elite level folk mandolin player does it that way.
It sounds like a teacher would be of great benefit to you and help you figure out what is going on. In the mean time, check out the FFcP exercises at Jazz Mando.com (http://www.jazzmando.com/ffcp.shtml) which force you to use the little finger.
Mike Keyes
http://www.banjosessions.com
# Posted on February 15th 2010 by mikeyes
Re: mandolin 4th finger
You always have the option of not using it. If you're playing a good tune, I could care less what fingers people use.
# Posted on February 15th 2010 by The Merry Highlander
Re: mandolin 4th finger
I play fiddle and tenor banjo and for many tunes on the banjo I switch to second position rather than use my pinky a whole ton, (I use it, just not for say the Abbey reel which doesn't use an F note for example, but I would use my pinky for a tune like Musical Priest)
# Posted on February 16th 2010 by Earl Cameron
Re: mandolin 4th finger
Mike, thanks for posting the link to that Mike Marshall clip. It deserves to be seen by a lot of people.
# Posted on February 17th 2010 by DaveL35
Re: mandolin 4th finger
Basically, if your hand is curled (ie if there is a significant angle between the palm of your hand and your forearm) you will have a significantly weaker pinky. The mando should therefore be flat against the body, worn ona strap, not too low, and the neck should be tilted upward. (If you are holding it like a rock guitarist holds an electric guitar, you're looking at problems).
From what I can see with the fiddlers are our sessions, they only use the pinky on the E string-- mando is the same.
My mando teacher makes me do a weird (but effective) strengthening exercise: wear a too-tight rubber dishglove on the fret hand. This makes you overwork that hand. I also use a climber's forearm trainer a couple of times a week (looks liek a rubber doughnut). You also have to do scales, aiming for a clean tone, no buzz, etc-- a basic violin book shoudl have sets and set sof exercises.
# Posted on February 19th 2010 by chris stolz
Re: mandolin 4th finger
I'm working on my pinky too.
I think the position of the mando makes a big difference. On Mike Marshall's CD, I think he talks about this.
Moving the mando so it is sitting on my left leg, rather than my right leg, and angling the neck away from my body seems to help me. After adjusting the mando position, I can now play the dreaded 4-finger bluegrass G chop chord, and playing melody with my pinky is easier.
Another thing that has helped is doing exercises where I play a note with the pinky up, then fret with the pinky and play a note (then repeat), while trying to get a nice clear tone.
# Posted on February 26th 2010 by DianaWolf
Re: mandolin 4th finger
When i switched from amndo to tenor banjo, I started using my pinky regularly, and I would wake up mornings in pain, with my pinky curled up, all gnarly. After about a week it was fine.
# Posted on March 3rd 2010 by primrose lass