I'm a newbie--builder and player. I've messed around with guitars in the past but am not what you would call "fluent" in playing them. So with the smaller form factor of the mandolin I'm trying to figure out how the best hand position. At the same time, I'm trying to figure out the best way to wear the strap so that as much weight as possible is taken off the mandolin. I've watched a bunch of videos, and they all seem different. Here is my current approach:
I grasp the neck with my left hand and rest it pretty firmly in my palm. My thumb raps up the back of the neck and curls over it, almost touching the top string, the G. I do not press my thumb against the back of the neck. This is largely because it's nearly impossible, with the weight of the neck in my palm. With my thumb wrapping up behind and over the neck, my smallest fingers have to reach the farthest to contact the strings (if that makes any sense).
As for a strap...right now I'm just using a piece of rawhide twine. I'm looking at buying a "real" strap, preferably an adjustable one. My mandolin is an F5, so one end of the strap is wrapped around the scroll, and the other is on the endpin. I hang it from my right shoulder (the same arm with the hand that holds the pick, obviously). When I let the mandolin hang, however, the peghead slumps toward the floor. So to prevent this I have to heft the weight of the neck with my left hand. This makes moving the left hand up and down the neck somewhat difficult.
Appreciate any tips you can offer. Thanks.
-Mark
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