Left hand "posture"

[Gooseberry]

I was one of the aforementioned (in a previous post) unfortunates who started playingwith some right hand support, I've gotten over that drama, but now I find my left hand somewhat lacking, um. I think I bend my wrist towards the body of the instrument, to support the neck with the blob of flesh at the base of my thumb (poetic yes), this gives me problems moving my forth finger with much co ordination and/or strength (it tends to be flattened out rather than hammering down) plus my sliding it pretty awkward too, what SHOULD I be doing? I used to grip the neck between finger and thumb but that ended up giving me a lump on my hand, any ideas? (aside from playing something else)

[Lolly691]

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[Adyn]

Let's see if I can parahrpase accurately and make any sense hahah...

In Chris's technique class I took last year, the way he described left hand positioning is this... sit (or stand) with your elbow fairly close to your side (but not tightly so) bend your elbow so your hand is about in the place you want the neck to be. Keep your wrist straight and loose with your palm turned towards you.

Now, insert mandolin.

Seriously!! LOL

It should rest on the fleshy base of your index finger and be balanced by the contact with your thumb.

Of course, as you play chop chords or tough to reach sections, this may have to adjust to allow greatest movemnet w/o strain... but this is the base position. You'll have a little U of empty space behind the neck (bigger if you have bigger hands)

For what it's worth, I am still very much a beginner, but I have worked a ton on my techinique and taken classes with both Chris & Mike Marshall, who teach this same method. So I figure, at least in theory it must have some merit! Hehe.

You are right in that you don't want a bend in your wrist, that will cause stress and strain and eventually could cause you problems physically. There are times you may need to bend to reach, but most of the time, and when in neutral position, you should have a straight line from your elbow up the back of your hand.

(I have a tough time with this one myself, and have to keep an eye on it pretty regularly!)

[Gooseberry]

Cheers both!
You obviously have good teachers, beginner or not at least for now you have a good memory of the right thing to do! this clarifies things alot :) I have heard before that the position was similar to that with fiddling, but as I'd utterly messed that one up also , well, meh

thanks again, will go and try out all good goodness here goodly mentioned :¬)

[mandogirl]

I would say to do what ever's comfortable, free and relaxed. Roland White told me to keep contact between the next and the palm of your hand so that the neck just rests in there comfortabley. Then I was told by Tim O'Brien to keep the neck away from your palm - more like the way you'd hold fiddle (may sister who had classical violin lessons was always told to imagine thre's a mouse in your hand and you must be careful not to crush it). After having learnt Roland White's technique this new method caused a little confusion. What I do now seems to work very well: when playing chop chords I find it best to use Roland Whites method - chose a place on the neck in which you can play all the chords you will need for that tune (you can play just about any chord anywhere on the mandolin so this works fine) and play all the chords with your palm resting against the neck. I find this pretty much eliminates the need for any muscle power in your hand so you're better set up for doing a good solo - perservere with it, it takes some practice but once you've got it you won't look back. Then, for soloing, use Tim O'brien's method. This gives you far more freedom even though it is less comfortable. The way I think about it is the less contact you have with the neck, the less you have to lose to move to a different position.

[mandogirl]

Originally posted by mandogirl
keep contact between the next and the palm

by next, i meant neck

sorry!

[Gooseberry]

This is eternally frustrating to be told different things :P still, the fiddle method seems to be giving me the best flexability, especially for 4th finger, with the anything goes rule for chords, why do people keep differentiating between hand position for chopping and playing chords, I was under the impression that finger pressure was the only difference there?

and what exactly is the mandolin scene in Devon?

[mandogirl]

The mandolin scene in Devon I would say is pretty much the same as anywhere else in the UK - limited. There's only about 4 that I know of who play seriously (I don't know a bout North Devon - it's too big a county). There're also a few who have mandolins and pick it up now and then but apart from that there's not much else. But there are more mando players than bluegrass fiddlers which I find a bit odd. Where are you in the UK?

[oink42]

Gooseberry, just to confuse matters further, I use the same left hand position all the time. I keep the bottom edge of the neck against my index finger just above the knuckle. This allows me to reach for chop shapes and bar chord shapes with little movement in my left hand. To do this, hold out your left hand as if you're going to shake hands with someone. Then let the neck of the mando fall into your hand with the neck resting on the bottom part of your index finger.

I'm not entirely sure how I hold the neck when playing melody, it just kind of happens. I shall have to look at that when I next pick up my mando!

Tim O'Brien's suggestion of keeping the thumb against the back of the neck makes sense, but I have found that stance almost impossible to recreate. It takes too much effort and is uncomfortable. I used to use this position for bar chords (as it allows greater pressure to be applied to the strings) but my teacher showed me the above method could be used to finger all kinds of chords so I don't need to move my hand around at all. Ultimately there is no right or wrong way to do things. Just experiment with different ways until you find what works for you.

(Disclaimer : I've only been playing 18 months, so don't take anything I say as expert advice!)