4-11-05 Dear freinds; The 213 fingering for the D Major chord (in D viol/lute tuning) isn't a typo, I assure you ;'). Perhaps 50% of guitarists use that fingering, including myself, so we know it's more than doable. Aside from being doable, it provides many advantages over the in-line fingerings like 1,2,3 or 2,3,4. There's nothing inherently wrong with any fingering, though some are more efficient than others. Some fingerings leave you in an easier position to grab the next chord(s), or effortlessly and speedily _switch_ between chords. Some people physically can't do in-line fingerings (due to fat fingers) without bumping and muting adjacent strings. If one _can_ do the "213" fingering I think it has the greatest number of advantages in the long run. This topic is so fundamental, and comes up so regularly, (virtually every beginning guitarist and on day 1) that I've already written a short article about it in ASCII for posting to guitar newsgroups etc. I'll recycle it here adapted for 4-4-3-4-4 tuning, D viol. On guitar, most people start out learning the open position chords, and E, A, D Major (A, D, G to you) are usually the very first chords they learn. So this issue is intimately tied up with a persons early success/reward/achievement I-can-do-this quotient, hence it truly is fundamental, not trivial -- innocent as I may seem, you stumbled upon one of the biggies (in my book at least) ;') One of the advantages of this fingering is that you never have to lift all three fingers off the fretboard to transition/switch to other often used nearby chords, A and G for example. So using the A D and G chords (or you could say the I-IV-V progression in the key of D, D-G-A) is a synch once you get this fingering and it's switches down. [news-reader or mail program fonts should be set to "fixed width", e.g *Courier* font, for proper character alignment in illustrations below, and please open the viewing window _wide_ enough so lines wrap nicely.] This particular fingering (213) for the "D" Major chord might seem odd at first but give it a try. In the 213 fingering your "index" finger (marked 1) is your "anchor", you never have to lift it off the fretboard when switching between any those three chords A, D, G. When your index finger is anchored you never loose all touch _reference_, you retain a stable base. This fingering is also more compact, makes it easier to fit three big fingers into a tight space, all in a line on three adjacent strings. Below, I'll run through the changes between those three chords. I'll use finger numbers for chord tone dots: 1= Index finger 2= middle finger 3= ring finger any of the in-between transition steps should be silent and as quick as possible. Eventually you want a seamless and seemingly one-action move from one chord shape to the next. Switching from A to D is a 3-step process (index is your anchor) [on viol, for the A Major chord, ignore the high D string note marked [4] for the moment, you can add it in later without affecting the underling point being made, re fast switching between chords] Step 1 Step 2 Step 3 Lift two fingers Slide index up 1 Place two fingers A Major D Major | | nut | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | +--+--+--+--+--+ +--+--+--+--+--+ +--+--+--+--+--+ +--+--+--+--+--+ | | 1 | | | | | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | +--+--+--+--+--+ +--+--+--+--+--+ +--+--+--+--+--+ +--+--+--+--+--+ 2 3 | | | [4] | | | | | | | | 1 | | | | 2 1 3 | | +--+--+--+--+--+ +--+--+--+--+--+ +--+--+--+--+--+ +--+--+--+--+--+ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | +--+--+--+--+--+ +--+--+--+--+--+ +--+--+--+--+--+ +--+--+--+--+--+ Switching from D to A is a 3-step process (index is your anchor) Step 1 Step 2 Step 3 Lift two fingers Slide index back Place two fingers D Major A Major | | nut | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | +--+--+--+--+--+ +--+--+--+--+--+ +--+--+--+--+--+ +--+--+--+--+--+ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 1 | | | | | 1 | | | +--+--+--+--+--+ +--+--+--+--+--+ +--+--+--+--+--+ +--+--+--+--+--+ | 2 1 3 | | | | 1 | | | | | | | | | 2 3 | | | | +--+--+--+--+--+ +--+--+--+--+--+ +--+--+--+--+--+ +--+--+--+--+--+ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | +--+--+--+--+--+ +--+--+--+--+--+ +--+--+--+--+--+ +--+--+--+--+--+ Switching from D to G is a 2-step process (index is your anchor) Step 1 Step 2 Lift two fingers Place two fingers D Major G Major | | nut | | | | | | | | | | | | | | +--+--+--+--+--+ +--+--+--+--+--+ +--+--+--+--+--+ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | +--+--+--+--+--+ +--+--+--+--+--+ +--+--+--+--+--+ | 2 1 3 | | | | 1 | | | | | 1 | 2 | +--+--+--+--+--+ +--+--+--+--+--+ +--+--+--+--+--+ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 3 | | +--+--+--+--+--+ +--+--+--+--+--+ +--+--+--+--+--+ Switching from G to D is a 2-step process (index is your anchor) Step 1 Step 2 Lift two fingers Place two fingers G Major D Major | | nut | | | | | | | | | | | | | | +--+--+--+--+--+ +--+--+--+--+--+ +--+--+--+--+--+ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | +--+--+--+--+--+ +--+--+--+--+--+ +--+--+--+--+--+ | | 1 | 2 | | | 1 | | | | 2 1 3 | | +--+--+--+--+--+ +--+--+--+--+--+ +--+--+--+--+--+ | | | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | +--+--+--+--+--+ +--+--+--+--+--+ +--+--+--+--+--+ Switching from A to G is a 3-step process (index is your anchor) Step 1 Step 2 Step 3 Lift two fingers Slide index up 1 Place two fingers A Major G Major | | nut | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | +--+--+--+--+--+ +--+--+--+--+--+ +--+--+--+--+--+ +--+--+--+--+--+ | | 1 | | | | | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | +--+--+--+--+--+ +--+--+--+--+--+ +--+--+--+--+--+ +--+--+--+--+--+ 2 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | 1 | | | | | 1 | 2 | +--+--+--+--+--+ +--+--+--+--+--+ +--+--+--+--+--+ +--+--+--+--+--+ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 3 | | +--+--+--+--+--+ +--+--+--+--+--+ +--+--+--+--+--+ +--+--+--+--+--+ Switching from G to A is a 3-step process (index is your anchor) Step 1 Step 2 Step 3 Lift two fingers Slide index down Place two fingers G Major A Major | | nut | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | +--+--+--+--+--+ +--+--+--+--+--+ +--+--+--+--+--+ +--+--+--+--+--+ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 1 | | | | | 1 | | | +--+--+--+--+--+ +--+--+--+--+--+ +--+--+--+--+--+ +--+--+--+--+--+ | | 1 | 2 | | | 1 | | | | | | | | | 2 3 | | | | +--+--+--+--+--+ +--+--+--+--+--+ +--+--+--+--+--+ +--+--+--+--+--+ | | | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | +--+--+--+--+--+ +--+--+--+--+--+ +--+--+--+--+--+ +--+--+--+--+--+ anyhoo, the 213 fingering is one of your options. It's the one I use and I've never regretted it. Another advantage of this fingering (not having to lift all fingers off the fretboard loosing all reference) comes into play when one starts learning how to pluck/finger-pick. You won't have to worry as much about what your chording hand fingers are doing as you change between chords, so you can focus more just on your right hand plucking. Changing chords is purely tactile then, you don't have to look at the fretboard, you could be blind, close your eyes, and do it ;') Once you get the 213 fingering down, you'll get lightning speed on the changes, really. so this really is a fundamental day-1 bit of pedagogy as I see it, and just as applicable to classic lute tuning as modern guitar tuning. Pass it on to your comrades and see what you'all think (and imagine yourselves as absolute beginners fumbling around trying to quickly grab your first open position chord changes and progression). Thanks Roger http://www.thecipher.com/viola_da_gamba_cipher.html http://www.thecipher.com/d_basic_gamba_chords_1.html