Re: Mandolin Positioning When Sitting
If you turn the fretboard "up" so that you can see your fingers (which many beginners do, i guess), you need to contort your wrist more, as you need to bend it "around" the neck. For better visualization: Assume the extreme and imagine holding your mandolin horizontally. Then, your arm/wrist/fingers would go underneath the neck, upwards, and back across strings towards you, which is nearly impossible. And every degree you rotate the instrument away from being held completely vertically brings you closer to this position, therefore I would recommend holding it vertically. Which is also why I love those fret markers on the binding (not every instrument has them).
Of course, sometimes one has to watch his or her hands, and then it's fully okay to rotate the instrument slightly or to bend over to have a look at the fretboard, but generally I'd recommend that you'll try (and practise) holding it vertically. As you already mentioned, this makes fingering much easier.
Mandolins: 1920s (?) Meinel & Herold Bowlback, 2006 Furch "Redwood MA-1" A5
Octaves: 2004 Fender FMO-66 Flat-Top, 2015 A. Karperien 5 String Electric
Banjos: 2007 Gold Tone IT-250F Irish Tenor, 1963 Vega Vox No. 1 Plectrum, 2016 Recording King RK-OT25 Clawhammer
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