From the course: Mandolin Lessons: 1 Fundamentals
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The left hand, part 2
From the course: Mandolin Lessons: 1 Fundamentals
The left hand, part 2
- Here are a couple other tips to think about with the left hand. Make sure that you're really using the tip of the finger to press the string down, and not using the flat part of the finger, not the fleshy part, rather the actual tip where you have your callus. (strums mandolin strings) And then make sure that you're not pushing too hard into the string. A lot of students I've had are really using a lot of pressure on that right hand, and then that creates fatigue. There's a certain place (strums the mandolin) where the string won't sound, and then there's a place where it buzzes, and then just beyond that is the place where you get a nice, clear tone. If you push harder, like I'm really pushing in now, you're not gonna get anymore sound, you know, it's not gonna do anything except make you tired, so try to find where that magic spot is, where the string doesn't buzz, (strings buzzing) you know, you don't want the buzzing sound. You want the clear tone, but then feel how that feels…
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