At 71 I was thinking of giving up learning the mandolin, especially after struggling with the Bm chord. This video has made it much better. A big thank you from Redditch, 🇬🇧. 👍
Hooray! Thanks Eddie. Someone was trying to tell me I must learn a nearly impossible chop chord stretched out across half a dozen frets. My fingers are short, gnarled, and stiff at 70. No way that's going to happen. I learned loads from you playing Banjo not realizing you teach Mandolin too. Fantastic!
I noticed one of my mando heroes playing that simple chop that I share. It's provides the chop tone that you're looking for. It's sad that some pickers espouse to the "chop ultimatum" the way they do. Glad this will help you!
this is great. thanks, eddie. i met you at steve kaufman's kamp in 1998. i was there for guitar, and you were, too. outside at night we had jam sessions, and you were a lot better than others, including me. you were patient and took time to show what might help our playing. later, in 2006, i started playing mandolin and put down the guitar because the layout of the fretboard on mandolin made hugely more sense. and so here you are over 20 years later, and once again i learn. this time, how to take full advantage of that sense and symmetry, showing us that the right things are always close by. thanks again, eddie.
Scott, great to hear from you and thanks for filling me in on the background where we met. You are right about the mandolin being a very logical instrument. I always enjoyed jamming all night at those camps, even the I became one of the instructors...would always so up to class somewhat tired, but got the job done! Good luck with your future picking.
Eddie, I'm an older dude that has shorter fingers than some. I like that alternative G chop chord that has no D note that leaves out the E string. Also, that shape works for the A chord, but the E string can be played if the open E isn't minded in the skeam of things. BTW, I have been with my mandos for around 9 or 10 years and still can not get that D on the G string. I see several other players just fake that D note, and nobody seems to care.
Right, I prefer the 3-note G on strings 4, 3 and 2 as it gives a deeper sound, rather than sounding the notes on strings 3, 2 and 1 and not getting anything out of string 4.
@@EddieCollinsMusic two Bs and 1 G, no D note. They claim the D note should be in the G chord, but I have found a booming guitar has all the D volume one would need. Do you agree?
@@robertshorthill6836 Music theory-wise, the 5th of a chord is not needed to define a chord as major, minor or 7th. And right, the lower pitched instruments provide overtones that resonate through the higher pitches we play as mandolin players, so if they have a D note, it will resonate with our notes to form a complete G chord.
Superb video best I have ever seen been playing mandolin now for a couple of years bought a book on chords which has every chord possible on all four string but I must say your method is far better thanks keep making your videos
Really appreciate that feedback. Yes, they have to put lots of chords you don't really need into those chord books, best to keep it simple and understand how to take a few shapes and move them around.
I'll just mention that if you don't mind using the pinky, then you can play an A major chord like your A minor, but putting the pinky on the 6th fret of the G string to play C# rather than C. And if you can play the standard 3 finger F major, then F# minor is the same shape shifted up by one fret.
Excellent points! I love that "stretch" A chord. I personally do it with the 3rd finger. I also mention that F# minor chord in my "Pesky Minor Chords" video: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-YvXROBtKJNs.html
...that was an incredibly helpful lesson! Thanks so much, Eddie. You are a great teacher, and i admire your genuineness in style. Superb. Subscribed. Be well. Keep the lessons coming, please.
Thanks for the request...so far, I've never come up with a good way to share that one. See if you can find Butch Baldassari teaching it. I kind of learned it from him years ago.
Louis, understanding the relationship between the strings allows you to pick up multiple instruments. Strings 4, 3 and 2 are tuned the same on both guitar and banjo. At that point, it's a matter of getting the right hand to do what it needs to do.
Yes, the notes C and E (on strings 4 and 3) are both in a C and Am chord. The difference is you'd only play the two notes for the C double stop, whereas you can strum all four strings for the Am chord, which includes the open A (2nd) string.
It won't sound like a full chop chord, but you can get pretty darn close. You'll want to experiment with where you are striking the string with your pick...farther away from the bridge will give you a deeper tone associated with the chop.
If you place your fingers right behind the frets to where they are just barely touching the fret wire, you shouldn't have to put much pressure at all. If you feel like you have to really push to keep the notes from buzzing, you may need to have your action set better.
My Apple ePub, Bluegrass Mandolin in 10 Easy Steps has a chapter called Chordacopia that has a bit of this, but otherwise nothing specific to this video. The ePub can be downloaded from the Apple Books app.
I don't understand how the F chord that he plays with just two fingers makes an F chord. Aren't the notes for an F chord FAC? In his two finger position aren't the notes being played FAA?
Right, A F A, but the root and Major 3rd of a chord is enough for it to be defined as a Major chord. The 5th is optional. Those are the little tricks that allow us as mandolin players to get away with some simplified versions of chords.
