Gm chord

[tmsweeney]

I just happened upon this version of G minor, never encountered it before (although the more I am exposed to mandolin music I find there is a lot I have not encountered before)

E 3 (G)
A 5 (D)
D 8 (Bb)
G 0 (G) or x (omit)

A G minor triad with the 5th in the root in natural ascending order.

works well with the C minor

E x (omit) ( you can do the 8th high C)
A 6 Eb
D 5 G
G 5 C

and then the D7 (omit the root)

E 2 F#
A 3 C
D 4 F#
G 2 A

a very pretty chord indeed

[journeybear]

Yes, very pretty, indeed. Also, pretty g-d difficult to play, for me. You must have bigger hands than mine. Because for me to play it, I have to scrunch down my index finger to get the G on the E string, and then stretch for that Bb on the D string. I imagine working it into a song at a lively tempo would take some doing, some serious practicing to be able to fret that easily and quickly. The Gm chord I use in that area of the fretboard is 3556 (Bb-G-D-Bb). It also works well with that Cm, which I use all the time (with the C on the E string.) I use a D7 very similar to yours, 2435 (A on the E string), which omits the root as well.

Generally, stretched-out chords like this are one of my bugaboos. I'm much more inclined to use chords which are like fistfuls of strings. Some of my go-tos in that area tend to include an open string or two, for ease. Even the G chop chord 7523 gives me pause, which has the same five-fret stretch. In this small cluster of chords are 6402 F#m ( and the easier 6400 F#m7) and 5300 Am - which would be a toughie to barre up for me. But be that as it may, that's a nice-sounding chord you've got there. Tough for me, but probably not for others.

[tmsweeney]

All that mandola, octave and cello work has stretched me good, I will admit fatigue is setting in more and more, on those stretches.
3rd in the bottom is "wierd" sometimes.
I found this while learning Grisman's "Tzigiani" which is Romanian for Gypsy I think (in Dracula the "Tzigiani" was the name of the Gypsy tribe that Harker discovered filling the boxes in the castle for the Boyars gold) He did as a medley with Grapelli, O'Connor, Marshall and Wasserman and "Typsy Gypsy" as Fistorza and a tune called Fulginiti -Tzigiani / Fisztorza / Fulginiti.
David and Stephan do it in Gm, The Tony Rice unit (Tony, Wyatt, Fred Carpenter, John Reichman, Todd Phillips) in Em ( for that open guitar chord).from the "Still Inside" Album, it sadly did not make it on to any of the compilation CDs, I was lucky enough to find it on Take's Bluegrass YouTube Channel.
I originally learned the Tony Rice version in Em but then moved back to Gm as the cords are much easier on mandola in Gm.
So I may use that chord shape in that tune.

[mandocrucian]

a moveable minor chop shape:

e 3 (G)
A 5 (D)
D 8 (Bb)
G 7 (D)

Some shapes should be practiced with several different fingerings, which you might use depending on the preceding and/or following chords, to minimize moving your fingers around a lot. Some of the options for the barre C

A 7 E
D 5 G
G 5 C

1-1-3 (i-i-r) or 1-1-2 (i-i-m);
2-2-3 (m-m-r,)
2-2-4(m-m-p),
3-3-4 (r-r-p).

If you intend to do much with walking the chords or chord melody you'll want to make your movements as efficient as possible, and that means use of interchangeable/multiple fingerings, depending on context.

Niles H

[tmsweeney]

a moveable minor chop shape:

e 3 (G)
A 5 (D)
D 8 (Bb)
G 7 (D)

Some shapes should be practiced with several different fingerings, which you might use depending on the preceding and/or following chords, to minimize moving your fingers around a lot. Some of the options for the barre C

A 7 E
D 5 G
G 5 C

1-1-3 (i-i-r) or 1-1-2 (i-i-m);
2-2-3 (m-m-r,)
2-2-4(m-m-p),
3-3-4 (r-r-p).

If you intend to do much with walking the chords or chord melody you'll want to make your movements as efficient as possible, and that means use of interchangeable/multiple fingerings, depending on context.

Niles H

Thanks I never thought about the D on the 7th,
I use the 553 on the dola more than the mando, but there are always new worlds to gain.

Reischmann was doing these very cool minor 7 suspended 2253 chords in the Tony Rice tune "Devlin"
there was also a 9667 EMaj7 then up to a B7sus (?) 9797

what really have trouble is with the partial bar chords Dm7 5355 (bar the and e) Kind of like the Stormy Monday chords on guitar.
took me a while to get those on guitar as well so we shall see.

[Tom Wright]

I use these closed voice triads and forms often. They concentrate the sound and power into a small pitch range. All popular singing harmony is close voiced, whether high lonesome or the Beatles.

The familiar four-note G chop does not need the high note, the lower three notes, D.G.B (7-5-2-x) are where the power is.

I use these forms (from G course upward in pitch):

D -- 7-4-0-x
C -- 9- 5-3-x
G -- x-9-5-3
C minor -- 8-5-3-x
A -- x-7-4-0
E -- x-6-2-0

Also, a bass note underneath is cool, like adding the open G under the close triad as in 0-9-5-x.

The comfortable open voicings like 0-0-2-3 spread across a lot of pitch range, and make a less focussed effect than closed triads. Guitar voicings are mainly close triads, easy from the closer intervals between strings.

[tmsweeney]

thanks Tom, I do use some of those, probably not as much as I should.

I try to not play the same exact chord shape (where it works) as the other mandolins when in that scenario.

I tend to use the 3 note chords on mandola a lot but some of those stretches can be challenging.