Playing a Minor Chord (big hands?)

What songs are you playing now? Do you have a question or comment on playing techniques?

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Kennethpauls
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Joined: Fri Mar 02, 2012 8:45 pm
Location: Ventura Beach, California

Playing a Minor Chord (big hands?)

Post by Kennethpauls »

I'm just putting it out there if anyone has thoughts/help on this subject:

I'd been playing a minor chord by playing the bass note with my fourth finger (right hand), and two notes on 2nd (index) finger. Kind of a shorthand/easy method.

King Keyes (a most excellent teacher, rest in peace), briefly showed me to use the 5th finger to play the bass note, and the 2nd & 3rd (index & middle) fingers to play three accompaniment notes for a fuller minor chord. I was stubbornly annoyed at change and balked at trying it. Now in my enlightened adulthood, I terribly regret that move and have been expanding the songs I know by using full minor chords. However:

Two people have told me they play 4-note minor chords using their 4th finger on the bass string, and I'm at a loss to understand how anyone can stretch that far between the 3rd & fourth fingers. Anyone?
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Dave
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Re: Playing a Minor Chord (big hands?)

Post by Dave »

I tried to use my 4th finger for a 4-note minor chord and I can say that it's a stretch for my hand as well. I won't deny this is possible for some players but, if it's uncomfortable for you, my suggestion would be to go with using the 5th finger (pinky) as King Keyes advised. Jane Curtis also promotes the use of the 5th finger in this situation.
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Kennethpauls
Posts: 104
Joined: Fri Mar 02, 2012 8:45 pm
Location: Ventura Beach, California

Re: Playing a Minor Chord (big hands?)

Post by Kennethpauls »

Oh that's good to hear, thank-you. I'd been trying the other way and getting very frustrated.
carmen

Re: Playing a Minor Chord (big hands?)

Post by carmen »

Hi Kenneth-Paul

it's a persons' thing. If you are confortable stretching your 4th finger, you can use it for the bass note, if not, you take your 5th finger.

I do have small hands and I most of the times use my 4th finger.

By the way: using the shortcut chord (only playing 2 stings with your 2nd finger instead of playing the full chord) is okay, even here in Bavaria. Teachers turned over "the wild side" of only using the 2string2ndFinger chord because students have a really hard time learning the full minor chord.
And if you think about a minor chord as a major chord, just without your 3rd finger, it's pretty easy to play minor ;) (one of my students had her minor-break-through this way this week :P )

Best from Munich!
Carmen
Kennethpauls
Posts: 104
Joined: Fri Mar 02, 2012 8:45 pm
Location: Ventura Beach, California

Re: Playing a Minor Chord (big hands?)

Post by Kennethpauls »

Thank you, Carmen!
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