Tricky Mandolin Chords Made Easy

Find any Major, minor or 7th in easy-to-play simple and chop chord forms. Chord diagrams provided for each chord.
0:00 All 12 chords of the Circle of 5ths played
0:58 Two-finger open position chords
5:28 Two- and Three-finger moveable chop chord forms
No Pinky photo: Sophie Janotta via Pixabay.
Support to help cover the time it takes to put these videos together is greatly appreciated! paypal.me/BanjoEddieCollins

[@mgmtrace1]

A very good teacher of the mandolin.

[@RobertEMason]

I think you've got a great vocal - like a pleasant Bob Dylan!

[@djba]

Thanks for this very helpful video.

[@djba]

Also, I would like to add that I purchased your ibook on 10 steps to the mandolin and it is great.

[@ronmeinsler]

This was a fantastic lesson. Thank you for doing this.

[@dougscrivens4002]

At 71 I was thinking of giving up learning the mandolin, especially after struggling with the Bm chord. This video has made it much better. A big thank you from Redditch, 🇬🇧. 👍

[@EddieCollinsMusic]

Great to hear...there are certain "work-arounds" that still provide that authentic mandolin sound.

[@ronaldgrider7810]

They got a Bm 2 finger it's simpler

[@yvonneainsworth2679]

So good! Thanks, this is exactly what I was looking for ☺.

[@unclejeff64]

This is the video I've been looking for since I got my mandolin. Thanks!

[@EddieCollinsMusic]

Glad you found it. Good luck with your picking.

[@reckonimokie123]

I love this video, watch it over & over. Great for beginners & chop for small hands. Keep them coming.

[@EddieCollinsMusic]

Right, a lot of pickers don't realize there is an alternative for those playing with small hands. Thanks.

[@billfindlay1812]

Excellent video Eddie...really explained a lot. ..many thanks

[@EddieCollinsMusic]

Appreciate the feedback Bill. Helps me plan for future topics.

[@mirekklemens662]

Thank you very much my friend. New Subscriber. 👍 My regards from New York. ❤👍👍

[@EddieCollinsMusic]

Thanks and welcome aboard!

[@48Xtian]

Very nice lesson. I allways Learn something new thanks tout your lessons. Thank you very much.

[@EddieCollinsMusic]

Thanks Christian...really appreciate the feedback. Happy picking!

[@Shmerpy]

Thanks for this. I've been trying to learn chords on the Irish tenor banjo (same tuning), so this helps out a lot.

[@EddieCollinsMusic]

Yes, there's a lot of crossover there, especially with the ways to avoid the "big stretches"

[@SomeBlokeJenkins]

I just started mandolin two weeks ago and this video help me a lot! Thank you!

[@EddieCollinsMusic]

Glad you found us and good luck with your mandolin journey!

[@WysteriaGuitar]

Beyond brilliant, thanks you sir.

[@EddieCollinsMusic]

Great, glad you found it useful.

[@Newfoundmike]

Love it Great Layout and Thanks. best tutorial I've ever seen on anything on KZbin

[@EddieCollinsMusic]

Really appreciate that! Glad you found it useful.

[@johngault5214]

Great stuff mate, great shapes. thank you

[@EddieCollinsMusic]

Glad you are finding them useful. Happy Picking!

[@taylorf1388]

Wonderful. Thanks!

[@EddieCollinsMusic]

Glad you found it useful

[@petethefeet5281]

Thanks Eddie - I've been playing mando four years now and still can't get a clean sounding full g chop - this is a great solution - very helpfull

[@EddieCollinsMusic]

You're not the only one...glad this will work for you!

[@sambsialia]

Truly helpful. Thanks so much

[@EddieCollinsMusic]

Glad it was helpful!

[@lloydsplace101]

i bought your beyond bluegrass banjo book yrs ago it was excellent. im gettin into mando now. this is great video

[@EddieCollinsMusic]

Super, mando is a lot of fun. Enjoy the ride!

[@kenbyrd1918]

Thanks just starting, helps a lot!

[@EddieCollinsMusic]

Glad to help!

[@stephenhunt572]

Superb video best I have ever seen been playing mandolin now for a couple of years bought a book on chords which has every chord possible on all four string but I must say your method is far better thanks keep making your videos

[@EddieCollinsMusic]

Really appreciate that feedback. Yes, they have to put lots of chords you don't really need into those chord books, best to keep it simple and understand how to take a few shapes and move them around.

[@reckonimokie123]

Thank you. Good lesson.

[@EddieCollinsMusic]

Thanks Teresa

[@scottreichert1104]

this is great. thanks, eddie. i met you at steve kaufman's kamp in 1998. i was there for guitar, and you were, too. outside at night we had jam sessions, and you were a lot better than others, including me. you were patient and took time to show what might help our playing. later, in 2006, i started playing mandolin and put down the guitar because the layout of the fretboard on mandolin made hugely more sense. and so here you are over 20 years later, and once again i learn. this time, how to take full advantage of that sense and symmetry, showing us that the right things are always close by. thanks again, eddie.

[@EddieCollinsMusic]

Scott, great to hear from you and thanks for filling me in on the background where we met. You are right about the mandolin being a very logical instrument. I always enjoyed jamming all night at those camps, even the I became one of the instructors...would always so up to class somewhat tired, but got the job done! Good luck with your future picking.

[@pfi343]

Best chord video I've seen yet! and no little finger YAHOOOOO

[@EddieCollinsMusic]

Yes, the dreaded pinky gets a lot of us! Good luck going forward.

[@reckonimokie123]

Thank you. Simplified

[@EddieCollinsMusic]

Great, Glad it helped

[@YankeeFiddler13850]

Great information and we'll presented! I wish I saw this before I recorded my first original

[@EddieCollinsMusic]

Thanks, good luck with writing more tunes!

[@lynnglidewell7367]

Hooray! Thanks Eddie. Someone was trying to tell me I must learn a nearly impossible chop chord stretched out across half a dozen frets. My fingers are short, gnarled, and stiff at 70. No way that's going to happen. I learned loads from you playing Banjo not realizing you teach Mandolin too. Fantastic!

[@EddieCollinsMusic]

I noticed one of my mando heroes playing that simple chop that I share. It's provides the chop tone that you're looking for. It's sad that some pickers espouse to the "chop ultimatum" the way they do. Glad this will help you!

[@actionsub]

Ditto for tenor banjo and tenor guitar. Wish I'd seen this two days ago before I restrung the tenor guitar for Chicago tuning!

[@jamespeschka8762]

great video Eddie very informative

[@EddieCollinsMusic]

Thanks 👍

[@rimrock2010]

So glad I didn’t have to quit playing the mandolin because I can’t play full chop chords! Great video, Eddie.

[@EddieCollinsMusic]

@@rimrock2010 Yes, I certainly hope there weren't others who took that message to heart and gave up...there's so much more to mandolin than just that!

[@reckonimokie123]

I love this lesson for small hands

[@EddieCollinsMusic]

I've had lots of students over the years that needed other alternatives. Glad it worked for you as well!

[@thisNewFoundLand]

...that was an incredibly helpful lesson! Thanks so much, Eddie. You are a great teacher, and i admire your genuineness in style. Superb. Subscribed. Be well. Keep the lessons coming, please.

[@EddieCollinsMusic]

Really appreciate the sincere comment, thanks!

[@cgandy2]

Great lesson, Eddie! Wow, you give me hope with playing chop chords now! Thank you!

[@EddieCollinsMusic]

Right, that little trick has helped a lot of folks who were on the edge of giving up. Good luck!

[@victorvialmosamusic8547]

Very interesting

[@reckonimokie123]

Thank you

[@EddieCollinsMusic]

You're welcome

[@ronblack2404]

Love this for young beginners. Wish there was a quick reference chord chart available

[@EddieCollinsMusic]

There's one on page 208 in my Bluegrass Mandolin in 10 Easy Steps ePub, or email me and I'll send you one. [e-mail]

[@dougscrivens4002]

Try Amazon

[@lunchmoney5086]

Try googling it. I got all kinds o PDFs and screenshots before I bought a big chord book.

[@robertshorthill6836]

Eddie, I'm an older dude that has shorter fingers than some. I like that alternative G chop chord that has no D note that leaves out the E string. Also, that shape works for the A chord, but the E string can be played if the open E isn't minded in the skeam of things. BTW, I have been with my mandos for around 9 or 10 years and still can not get that D on the G string. I see several other players just fake that D note, and nobody seems to care.

[@EddieCollinsMusic]

Right, I prefer the 3-note G on strings 4, 3 and 2 as it gives a deeper sound, rather than sounding the notes on strings 3, 2 and 1 and not getting anything out of string 4.

[@robertshorthill6836]

@@EddieCollinsMusic two Bs and 1 G, no D note. They claim the D note should be in the G chord, but I have found a booming guitar has all the D volume one would need. Do you agree?

[@EddieCollinsMusic]

@@robertshorthill6836 Music theory-wise, the 5th of a chord is not needed to define a chord as major, minor or 7th. And right, the lower pitched instruments provide overtones that resonate through the higher pitches we play as mandolin players, so if they have a D note, it will resonate with our notes to form a complete G chord.

[@reckonimokie123]

I watch this everyday so I a get it down

[@EddieCollinsMusic]

We'll have to include this quote in our "Testimonials" page! Thanks.

[@reckonimokie123]

Thx

[@clawhammer704]

Do a lesson on Raw Hide please....you have helped me tremendously.....

[@EddieCollinsMusic]

Thanks for the request...so far, I've never come up with a good way to share that one. See if you can find Butch Baldassari teaching it. I kind of learned it from him years ago.

[@woogaa12441598]

Good

[@EddieCollinsMusic]

Thanks

[@FoodNerds]

Thanks. I’m a little person and my hands are too small to make 3 finger chords so two finger chords are what I need.

[@EddieCollinsMusic]

Yes, that really works and sounds good to boot!

[@ronaldgrider7463]

Great lesson do you have any material for the Memphis. Scale for Mandolin

[@EddieCollinsMusic]

My video "Pentatonic Jamming - E Blues" should be what you're looking for.

[@ronaldgrider7463]

@@EddieCollinsMusic thanks Eddie your the greatest

[@mandolinic]

I'll just mention that if you don't mind using the pinky, then you can play an A major chord like your A minor, but putting the pinky on the 6th fret of the G string to play C# rather than C. And if you can play the standard 3 finger F major, then F# minor is the same shape shifted up by one fret.

[@EddieCollinsMusic]

Excellent points! I love that "stretch" A chord. I personally do it with the 3rd finger. I also mention that F# minor chord in my "Pesky Minor Chords" video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/j6e7g4J4qbB9hNU

[@louiswiley6121]

Hey Eddie if you learn to play the banjo can you play nearly any string instrument? I guess you play banjo, mandolin, uke, guitar right?

[@EddieCollinsMusic]

Louis, understanding the relationship between the strings allows you to pick up multiple instruments. Strings 4, 3 and 2 are tuned the same on both guitar and banjo. At that point, it's a matter of getting the right hand to do what it needs to do.

[@louiswiley6121]

@@EddieCollinsMusic Eddie: I really appreciate your taking the time to reply to my questions. Thanks, I understand what your saying.

[@propmanager1954]

nice lesson but I'm confused, your Am fingering is the same as a C double stop. Is this correct?

[@EddieCollinsMusic]

Yes, the notes C and E (on strings 4 and 3) are both in a C and Am chord. The difference is you'd only play the two notes for the C double stop, whereas you can strum all four strings for the Am chord, which includes the open A (2nd) string.

[@ForsterArt]

Do you have a book or PDF chart for these things that is printable

[@EddieCollinsMusic]

My Apple ePub, Bluegrass Mandolin in 10 Easy Steps has a chapter called Chordacopia that has a bit of this, but otherwise nothing specific to this video. The ePub can be downloaded from the Apple Books app.

[@pamelainman342]

How much pressure do you put on the frets with your fingers?

[@EddieCollinsMusic]

If you place your fingers right behind the frets to where they are just barely touching the fret wire, you shouldn't have to put much pressure at all. If you feel like you have to really push to keep the notes from buzzing, you may need to have your action set better.

[@harrykuheim6107]

I got tendonitis playing that long G Chord...and wore out my Pinky hammering on...

[@EddieCollinsMusic]

Sounds like some 3-string chords are in order for sure!

[@ronaldgrider7463]

When I use the three finger chop chords for some reason doesn't sound right like the c g chord especially

[@EddieCollinsMusic]

It won't sound like a full chop chord, but you can get pretty darn close. You'll want to experiment with where you are striking the string with your pick...farther away from the bridge will give you a deeper tone associated with the chop.

[@chuckguy3057]

I don't understand how the F chord that he plays with just two fingers makes an F chord. Aren't the notes for an F chord FAC? In his two finger position aren't the notes being played FAA?

[@EddieCollinsMusic]

Right, A F A, but the root and Major 3rd of a chord is enough for it to be defined as a Major chord. The 5th is optional. Those are the little tricks that allow us as mandolin players to get away with some simplified versions of chords.

[@chuckguy3057]

@@EddieCollinsMusic awesome! Thank so much! I just started playing the mandolin 4 days ago!