Play the G string, 2nd fret with your 2nd finger and the E string, 1st fret with your index finger. The only difference with D Minor is that you’ll have to change your fingering to make it less awkward. The same goes for D Minor, just slide the 1st string note down one fret. Do the same for C Major, and you’ll get C Minor. Play G Major, then simply lower your index finger one fret. You only have to change one note in each of these three chords to change the chord quality to minor. In the last two sections, we learned the G, C and D Major chords. Practice playing G, C, and D to a familiar folk tune, changing chords on the downbeat (usually coinciding with the start of a word in the vocal part). Here’s how to play the V chord, D Major: G string, 2nd fret, and E string, 2nd fret. Plenty of folk songs for beginner mandolin can be played with just three chords: G, C, and D. In the previous section, you learned the G Major and C Major chords, the I and IV chords in this key. The mandolin is the same as all other fretted instruments in that there are certain keys and open chords which lend themselves easier than others, due to the tuning of the instrument.Īs such, let’s choose the key of G Major as our starting point. Pretty cool, right? Now let’s take a look at some other must-know open chords to help your playing. Now take that same chord shape and move it down one string, so that you’re fretting the 2nd and 3rd strings.

The great thing about the mandolin is that it’s tuned symmetrically (open 5ths), meaning that you can use the same chord shapes across all the strings.įor example, play the 2nd string, 2nd fret and the 1st string, 3rd fret. Keep reading to learn about chord symmetry as well as open, minor and movable mandolin chords.

If you’re going to play mandolin well, there are some basic chords that you need to know.

E flat mandolin chord