The mandolin chop is a short, muted chord played on the offbeat. It is the mandolin’s main job in a bluegrass jam. The bass plays the downbeat. The mandolin answers on the offbeat. Together they do the work a drum kit does in other music.
Where the chop falls
Count a bluegrass song “1 and 2 and.” The bass plays on 1 and on 2. The chop lands on each “and.”
Some players count four beats to the bar. Then the bass plays on 1 and 3, and the chop lands on 2 and 4. Both ways of counting describe the same sound: boom, chop, boom, chop.
In a waltz, count “1, 2, 3.” The bass plays on 1. The chop lands on 2 and 3. See how to play a waltz in a bluegrass jam.
The chop chord
A chop chord has no open strings. Every string is held down by a finger. That lets your left hand stop the sound.
The G chop chord uses all four fingers.
G strings: 7th fret, fourth finger.
D strings: 5th fret, third finger.
A strings: 2nd fret, first finger.
E strings: 3rd fret, second finger.
This is a long stretch on a mandolin. Give your hand a few weeks to grow into it. Stop if your hand hurts.
The shape moves. Slide the whole shape up two frets and it is an A chord. Slide it up four frets from G and it is a B chord. Learn the chop shapes for C and D next. With G, C, and D you can play most songs in the key of G.
An easier way to start
A full four-finger chord is not required on your first night. Hold a two-finger or three-finger chord and strum only the fretted strings. Mute any open string with the side of a finger. The rhythm matters more than the number of notes. A small chord on the right beat helps the circle. A big chord on the wrong beat hurts it.
How to mute
Strum down across the strings with a quick, firm stroke. Right after the pick leaves the strings, relax your left hand. Keep your fingers touching the strings, and lift the pressure. The chord stops.
The sound is short and dry, like “chk.” If the chord rings, you let go too late or took your fingers off the strings.
How loud to chop
Match the bass. If the chop is louder than the downbeat, the band sounds tipped over. Chop softer behind a quiet singer or a guitar break. Chop with more force when the whole circle sings a chorus.
When to stop chopping
Stop when you take a break. Another player covers the offbeat while the mandolin plays lead. The fiddle can chop with the bow, the banjo can vamp, and the guitar’s “chuck” fills in.
Slow songs leave room for other backup. Try tremolo, which is fast, even picking on one note or a pair of notes. Hold long tremolo notes behind the singer at low volume. Play a short fill when the singer stops at the end of a line, and take turns in those gaps with the fiddle and the banjo.
Keep steady time
The chop makes the mandolin player a timekeeper. Do not speed up when the song gets loud. Lock in with the bass player. Watch their right hand if you lose the beat.
Bill Monroe made the chop part of the bluegrass sound. Listen to his rhythm playing behind the fiddle and banjo breaks on his band’s recordings.
Practice at home
Set a metronome to a slow speed. Let the click be the downbeat. Chop between the clicks. Stay there for two minutes on the G chord.
Then change chords: four bars of G, two of C, two of D, and back to G. Keep the chop even through each change. Move your hand to the new shape during the downbeat, when the mandolin is silent.
Last, play along with a recording and listen for the place where your chop and the band’s chop line up.
In the circle
Sit where you can see the bass player and the leader of the song. Chop from the first verse to the last chorus, except during your own break. Take a break when the leader nods at you, or shake your head to pass. Read how to take a break in a bluegrass jam.
For more on the instrument, see the bluegrass mandolin guide and the list of bluegrass mandolin players.