Mandolin Thumb Position

For links to all of my instructional mandolin material and for free mandolin chord charts and beginner lessons please visit http://www.bradleylaird.com/playthemandolin

This little video demonstrates how the left thumb moves around to various locations to allow you to play lead and chords better...

Category:

Howto & Style

Tags:

• mandolin
• instruction
• lesson
• lessons
• bradley
• brad
• laird
• bluegrass

[hurtigsphilen]

My thumb has two different "locations" too, but mine are switched. I "grab" the neck, while i play lead, and place the thumb at the back of the neck while i am chopping... I play mandolin in a bluegrassband, and i really dont want to get injuries by playing wrong (i played guitar and practiced for about 4h per day, and injured my hand, i really dont want to do that again). Do you think i should learn to play as you?

[bradleylaird]

I think you should explore other ways of doing it and then do whatever feels best to you. There are lots of really good mandolin players who all have different methods. My big point of the video is to illustrate how there are more than one way to skin a cat and I go with whatever helps me reach the notes I am trying to hit--in the easiest manner possible. Make sense? Photos in instruction books tend to illustrate "the way" when often there are other ways too.

[skye131924]

sooo...you can't keep your thumb in the same position? it changes around?

[bradleylaird]

Right! The "textbook" thumb position changes as needed... at least for me.

[dlaird69]

Nice sail fish on the wall! :)

[bradleylaird]

haha... yeah, there is a pretty strange collection of oddities in the "den of chaos"... that fish was given to me by some guy who told me "it was caught by the mayor of West Virginia"... next time I heard the story he had changed it to "the governor". The mayor! haha...Brad

[kamandolin]

Thanks, Brad! Your videos are the best!

btw, love the "den of chaos"!

[plentyeheh]

Excellent Mr. Laird. A view from the other side is well needed in the land of exercise films. View from player perspective would be a boon to see what the fingers are doing. Could you clip the camera to your nose or something ;).

Look forward to more.

Bestens. P.