Fingerstyle Mandolin Fingerpicking Approach

Subject: fingerstyle
Date: Tue, 20 Apr 2004 15:16:38 -0600

i am a fingerstyle guitarist, however i have really enjoyed the notion of
fingerstyle mandolin. have any instruction on this?

Greetings,

Yes, an instructional video is in the works...it will be an intermediate to advanced level effort...if you haven't seen our video samplers on fingerstyle mandolin, check them out linked from below...it's great to see some interest in this unique approach to the mandolin...lots of possibilities and with your gained abilities on guitar, you should find the transition to fingerstyle mandolin a breeze...Mickey

Date: Tue, 13 Apr 2004 10:14:16 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: fingerpickin' mandolin

Thanks for sharing your fingerstyle mandolin experiences with us...I've done quite a few video samplers on our website with the fingerstyle approach...

Accolades to you for pursuing this style...I wish more would consider this approach to the mandolin as a serious medium.

Keep in mind, I'm also working on an instructional video dedicated to fingerstyle mandolin....

Keep on Pickin', Mickey

Howdy. I just did a search for fingerpicking mandolin
and your site popped up at the top.

I recently picked up a mandolin due to my getting
a job in a music store in Jacksonville, Fl. I have been
a percussionist/drummer for 18 years. I never got the
guitar or bass bug. But, someone showed me G,C&D on a
mando and the sound took me.
Being that this was my first stringed
instrument, I had no preference of how to attack the
strings. I started with a flat pick, but within a week
I abandonned it for fingerstyle, without finger picks.

It's been a little more than a year now, and I
have practiced a lot, 3-6 hours a day, 5 or 6 days a
week on average. I have developed a few different
techniques. Having a heavy understanding of rythm and
attack, at times I play the mandolin much like a
doumbek, at times I get into a flamenco thing with
fluries of notes using two fingers for tripolets,three
for square patterns (16th,32nd & 64th notes). This may
seem backwards(2 for triangular, 3 for square), but
for triplets, I do two up-strokes (middle finger then
index), followed by one down-stroke with the middle
finger, which puts me back in position for the first
up-stroke. For 16th notes, I use 3
up-strokes(ring,mid,then index)followed by the middle
finger down-stroke. The ring finger goes back with the
middle, but doesn't hit the string because it's
shorter, and is now ready to repeat the pattern( I
also found that all the fingers can do a down stroke
for amazing flurries of notes). I've found that moving
this blurry barage of fingers of from the G string to
the E string and back and forth can be very neato. I
like to play the lower notes on beats 1 and 3, and the
higher notes on beats 2 and 4. Using 64th note patters
with this method proves quite interesting ( try G
minor and C minor then D minor (spooky, yet majestic)).
gotta go, just thought I'd share a few things w/
you.
thanks for your time.

Brian Jenkins

Subject: Fingerpicking Mandolin
Date: Tue, 9 Dec 2003 07:46:55 -0000

Hi

Greetings Dave,

I recently started playing the mandolin after years of playing guitar, mainly fingerpicking, and a couple of brief but intense flings with the 5 string banjo. The main reason for taking up the mandolin was to allow me to play traditional tunes (bluegrass and local - I live on the west coast of Scotland) and to develop my flatpicking. I was also attracted by it's portability - the ideal instrument for playing in the car during lunch breaks on the road.

I agree...I find taking a mandolin on the road is far more practical than guitar...they're even smaller than a travel guitar.

After seeing your video samplers I was inspired to get out my fingerpicks and apply them to the mandolin. Do you have any advice about how to apply fingerpicking technique to the mandolin, particularly re playing tunes that require a fair amount of single string work - i.e. patterns/rolls to use?

I have a video on fingerpicking mandolin that's on the agenda...my suggestion off the cuff would be to continue experimenting with what works for you...one of the critical aspects I've discovered would be how to shape the fingerpicks. I've found a gain more volume and definition by pulling the picks to that they're almost straight at the tip.

There are infinite ways to attack each string in combination with rolls...I've found that different meters call for different patterns. For instance, a jig time works well with a roll effect on a single string in triplets. Whereas, 4/4 timing seems to work well with alternating between the thumb and index fingers. Crosspicking falls into place with forward and backward rolls. I can play quite a bit faster crosspicking patterns with fingerstyle than with flatpick...even so, I love both mediums, and if you've already be perusing our video samplers, you can see that I divide my playing up between the two approaches.

I also wonder if you have an views about the limitations of playing the mandolin this way and should I really be thinking about getting a mandola or octave mandolin.

I believe that fingerstyle mandolin has barely been explored...it has many possibilities that are awaiting discovery. It's an evolutionary process of which, someday, will be considered an accepted medium. Today, it's considered very unorthodox. In respect to bluegrass, you wouldn't want to approach the mandolin with nothing but a flatpick period. Bluegrass has its traditions, and in honor of keeping it pure, we should all be working hard to retain its tradition in every respect...including playing mandolin with a flatpick. An interesting side note is the fact that Lester Flatt of "Flatt and Scruggs" played his acoustic guitar with fingers and a thumbpick. He would play back-up using this technique/medium solely. No one can criticize a legend of this caliber for deviating from flatpicking guitar, which is considered the bluegrass tradition. Interestingly enough, Earl Scruggs himself played guitar lead with fingerpicks and thumbpick.

Yes...mandola and octave mandolin both work well within a fingerstyle medium. They offer the lower bass end that mandolin falls short on. With this feature, mandola and octave can be played effectively as solo instruments within the fingerstyle medium. If I was already playing mandolin, and I wanted a lower voicing, I'd opt for the Octave mandolin...which is entirely different than mandolin...whereas, mandola falls between the two, it still has a voicing that comes very close to mandolin in tonal range.

Hope something here has been of assistance to you...Mickey

I look forward to hearing from you

Thanks

Dave