7 Easy Mandolin Chords To Start With
I’ve seen beginner mandolin students buy one of those big chord charts and try to work their way through it. You don’t want to do that. Some of those chords you won’t use for awhile and some of too difficult for your new fingers. Many of these I’ll give you below only use TWO fingers.
Here are the basic mandolin chords that I start beginners with.
You’ll learn your
Basic Mandolin Chords for Beginners
G Major Chord
This mandolin chord only requires two fingers. Your middle finger on the first string/3rd fret and your index finger on the 2nd string/2nd fret. The other two strings are open. That’s what the little circles at the top of the chord chart mean if you haven’t seen that before..
C Major Chord
This C major chord on the mandolin is basically the same as the G major moved over a set of strings. You’ll use the exact same fingers just down. Your MIDDLE FINGER on the 2nd string and your INDEX FINGER on the 3rd string. The only real difference is now you have that 1st string open.
D Major Mandolin Chord
Now we are getting into some different fingerings. This one uses your MIDDLE FINGER on the 2nd fret of the 1st string and your INDEX FINGER on the 2nd fret of the 4th string. The two middle strings are open.
Chord Exercise to Practice
You may not believe this, but with only these three chords, you can play a TON of songs. What I want you to do is to practice going between these chords in this order:
G C D G
This is a common chord progression to many songs in the KEY OF G MAJOR. You can start by strumming TWO hits on each chord and then move on to FOUR hits on each chord. The goal is to stay perfectly in time with no hesitations. This takes awhile!
Let’s keep going for more chords:
F Major Mandolin Chord
Once again, the F major chord on mandolin is closely related to your original G major chord. All you’ve done is moved it down to the lowest two strings of the mandolin. You might be wondering what that X is on the 1st string. That simply means to not hit or strum that string. Easier said than done! Just try to limit your pick stroke to the lower three strings only.
Chord Exercise #2 To Practice
Here is another common chord progression you can practice. This time starting on C major, aka the KEY OF C MAJOR.
C F G C
I’m giving you these exercises in a specific order because you’ll later find out that certain chords belong together and other ones don’t.
D minor Mandolin Chord
You now have your first minor chord on the mandolin. This one involves the MIDDLE FINGER on the 2nd fret/4th string and the INDEX FINGER on the 1st fret/1st string. Look how it is related to the D major chord. You will notice how it is only one note difference. I won’t go into this too much now, but something you should know- A major and minor chord differ by only one note.
E Minor Mandolin Chord
Here is an easy version of E minor for mandolin. There are other variations, but this is the one I like to begin students with as it is easier on the fingers. This involves a new technique called the barre.
Your MIDDLE FINGER goes on the 3rd fret/1st string. Take your INDEX FINGER and lay it flat across the center two strings, catching both of them with one finger. It’s okay if your index finger lays across the 1st string as well.
Chord Exercise #3
You have now developed quite a bit of chords. Let’s see how many we can put to use in one chord exercise.
C Dm G C
C Em F C
This is much harder than anything you’ve done up to this point. However, it is just an exercise to get your fingers used to the motions and sounds of these chords in the context of a song form.
A Major Mandolin Chord
I’ve saved the worst for last. I say that because students generally have trouble with this one. It involves a barre across the second fret/4th and 3rd strings. It will take some squeezing and pressure to get these notes to make any sort of sound. Once again, it is okay if you lay your INDEX FINGER across more than the lower two strings. In fact, go ahead and lay it across ALL of the strings.
With your ring finger, reach up and hit the 4th fret of the 2nd string. The 1st string is X’d, so just don’t strum or hit it.
I hope this beginner mandolin chord guide was of some use. Wish you the best on your mandolin journey and happy picking! If you want more MANDOLIN Chords, check out my Moveable Mandolin Chord Guide
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