Re: When to Play the E on the A String?
Originally Posted by
foldedpath
There may not be many "hard rules" when it comes to mandolin fingering, but if you're talking about Irish/Scottish trad, then I think it makes sense to look at what the fiddlers do. It's almost the same instrument, and they figured out how to finger this stuff long ago.
Doubling a note where you could get it with an open string might be useful as an occasional special effect, but I think for efficiency and speed, you're better off staying in first position and using the open E when it comes up in a tune. That's the only way I can keep up with the "Alpha fiddlers" in local Irish and Scottish sessions. Fingering efficiency is important when you're working these tunes up to session tempos.
I think the differences between mandolin and fiddle are great enough that it is more useful to find what works and sounds best for yourself as a mandolinist. One fiddler may be more confident in their use of all four fingers than they are in their string crossing with the bow, and so would tend to finger the E on the A string rather than open, another may choose otherwise. Some things are much easier with a pick than with a bow, especially crossing strings frequently. And of course an open E on the mandolin will continue to ring if there is not another note to be played on the E string soon thereafter, which is a difference in sound to consider. The line D E D D B in a jig will sound subtly different depending on whether one hits that E as open or not. That's why I think it is best for an individual mandolinist to choose the fingering that is the best compromise between efficiency and sound. Left hand considerations for fiddle and mandolin are essentially the same, but right hand ones are not. And this difference often forces fiddlers to develop more competence with their pinky than most mandolinists bother with.
I would however tend to pay attention to violinists' fingerings when playing much more complicated music than fiddle tunes, music which switches positions all up and down the fingerboard. There are still differences worth considering, but it is there that I think the vast formal experience of humanity on the violin can really help a mandolinist (who is often self-taught as has been discussed here). But first position playing in a jig or reel should be a pretty straightforward choice for even a self-taught mandolinist in my opinion.
"Yeah, well, you know, that’s just, like, your opinion, man."
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