Traditional Music >>
The Scottish Mandolin >>
Tutorials >>
Tutorial 1.6
|
The Scottish Mandolin
Fingering
Back to:
Mandolin Page
Traditional Music
Mandolin Tutorial - Lesson 1.6
Fingering
It is important that you use the correct fingering when you play individual notes. The index finger plays the notes which occur in the first two frets; the middle finger plays notes which occur in frets three and four; the ring finger frets five and six, and the pinkie fret seven.
In the tablature example below, the number "4" indicates that the note is to be played on the fourth fret on the D string, therefore it should be played with the middle finger. This very soon becomes second nature.
What about frets above the seventh? When you use the first seven frets it's called playing in the first position. When you move above the seventh fret, you get into the second position, then the third, and so on. This is often referred to as playing the positions, and it's rather more advanced than our stage. Almost all Scottish and Irish tunes simply use the first position, and none of the tunes we will be looking at go above the seventh fret.