 Chromatic Fingerings
An interesting dilemma for mandolinists is how to properly approach chromatic passages. Within the basic one-finger-for-every-two-frets convention,we introduce a problem escaped in most diatonic music (Bluegrass, Celtic, Folk) for music styles demanding more half steps in Jazz, Classical, Texas Swing, and Choro. Covering six half steps from one string is a challenge unique to instruments tuned in fifths. It's a loftier challenge for the renegade guitarist wanting to pick up the mandolin. Four fingers. Six positions. Hmm...
| In shorter passage, Figure 1 will work fine. Because you have the articulation of the pick to "mask" the motion in between fret, simply shifting or sliding the finger from one fret to the next is a simple solution. | |
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However, longer passages require a different technique. Clark Potter, Professor of Viola at the University of Nebraska cued me in on this nifty little alternative... Though it may seem awkward at first, as you practice Figure 2, the rationale becomes apparent. Frets are wider lower on the fingerboard, so you want the "strength" of the first digits. Also since the higher frets are closer to each other, it makes sense to make entire position shifts higher up the fingerboard. | |
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This may seem quite awkward at first. Give it some time (several weeks) to sink in. If you have to travel more than four chromatic steps in a row, this pattern WILL be more ergonomic.
J.S. Bach & JazzMando
My appreciation for Bach runs quite deep. Though Western (European) music has roots in nearly two millenia of tradition, the harmonic structures and understanding of melodic counterpoint we employ in full force today reached its pinnacle of sophistation with the genius and influence of Johann Sebastion Bach in the early 18th century.
Early Jazz artists in the late 19th century mixed this vocabulary with African and (later) Caribbean rhythmic concepts that would evolve into the Jazz forms of today. Understanding the vocabulary of Bach, including the cadencing and rich harmonic resolution will give the jazzer an edge in 'calculating' the notes appropriate in improvization, freeing the subconsious to a higher level of creativity.
*Mel Bay has a wonderful collection of Bach in a book, "J.S. Bach for Mandolin," which includes literature transcribed for the fretboard and nuances of the mandolin.
Not only is this beautiful to listen to and perform, it offers an academic opportunity to analyze cadences and tonal centers. Bach blends the "math" of music theory with a masking aesthetic. His phrasing hides the "science" of the music quite well, making a pleasure to hear.
*There is also a public domain website Icking Music Archives which takes Bach's famous Cello Preludes and transposes them into the range of violin and viola.(This can be handly printed from an Adobe PDF File.) Because the cello is tuned in fifths like the mandolin, the literature transcribes well. This work was written to be unaccompanied, so it's harmonnic and compositional structure is quite complete.
 These arrangements of many pieces by J.S. Bach make a great composer's works accessible to the mandolinist. Since the bulk of the music has been adapted from various suites, sonatas, and partitas, the authors provides an explanation of each dance form and other similar pieces. Includes: 'Bauree Angloise' from Partita in A Minor for solo flute; 'Marche' from Anna Magdalena Back Book; 'Fantasie' from Partita No. 3 in A Minor; and more. Conveniently wire bound, and in notation and tablature!
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