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We've covered the three main mediums of fingerpicking mandolin...after finding the medium of your choice, or even during the process, you'll want to experiment with how to best position your picking hand. There really isn't a right or wrong way to position your picking hand...for, fingerpicking mandolin does not have a tradition that has set parameters on how to play...as would be true with classical guitar. Therefore, our focus here will be to present different approaches allowing you to experiment and find one that you feel would be most comfortable. Remember, even though you may find one hand position more comfortable than another, doesn't necessarily mean that it's the optimal position...

Pivoting the fingerpicking hand with the little finger braced...

This approach is commonly used amongst bluegrass banjoists. With this position, you'll find the advantage lies in the ability to always know where your picking fingers will land. With a floating hand, one that hovers above the strings without any part of the hand braced, you won't have the reference point. Another advantage of having the little finger braced on the face of the mandolin, or on the pickguard, is the solidness offered with each pick stroke. Keep in mind, this fingerpicking position will limit you to use two fingers and the thumb...for the third finger loses its agility once the little finger is braced against the instrument.

Bracing the hand on or behind the bridge...

This position does work for some...however, it is limiting in that you're stuck playing in one position. You will not be able to use this same position and move towards the fingerboard for a softer tone. The real advantage to this position is the ability to slightly mute the strings as you're playing...giving a more popping percussive tone.

Floating the hand...

This would be similar to a classical guitar position. The main advantage is you can use three fingers and the thumb...other advantages include less limitation of playing upwards towards the fingerboard. This is more of an independent position that does require some practice to ensure that you can find the strings accurately. This is the position I use on both guitar and mandolin...it seems to be the most independent of all three right-hand positions.

Afterthoughts

The choice to use two fingers or three will have to be ultimately decided by you the player. There's no doubt, that you can pretty much do everything you need to with two fingers. For instance, all linear lines can be played with one or two fingers in combination with the thumb. The main sacrifice of not using three fingers would be the ability to hit all four pairs of your mandolin strings simultaneously...or, the ability to play full back-up chords in a comping fashion.

When choosing your picking hand, be sure to adjust your fingerpicks accordingly...if not using fingerpicks, you may need to focus on trimming your fingernails accordingly...

We will now advance forward by introducing studies and exercises that will assist you in getting used to your new hand position of choice. As you go through these exercises and studies, feel free to experiment with the three different hand positions; you will eventually discover your own right-hand position that works for you...it may even be a combination of the above three hand positions.

Mickey

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