Triplet Tremolo

[Dioptase]

Hey everyone,

Was reading a co-mando page on tremolo and some folks were mentioning Mike Comptons emphasis on "triplet" tremolo. What is this, exactly, and how does it differ from.. well.. other kinds of tremolo. (laughs)
Micah

[Dolamon]

I think (dangerous) this refers to a triplet of 16th notes fitted into a 1/4 note space. This is one of the common elements of both Irish Banjo and even Bouzouki players. You can hear this done by Dan Bierbohm on his Shatter the Calm CD or on his web site.

In this style of playing (Celtic) the triplet is done as a filler for a quarter note ... to give emphasis and movement to a section of music. Often, in hornpipes for example, you'll have a series of long, 1/8th note arpeggios or melody extensions separated or highlighted by a 1/4 or dotted 1/4 note. Either a banjo or a Mandolin won't have the sustain to carry the note ... loudly so, the triplet / tremolo is used to further the motion of the music both rhythmically and melodically. It seems Mike Compton does approximately the same thing, at the same "space".

To write this out, you can either do a three note triplet of 1/8th notes or ... 2/16ths followed by an tied 1/8th note. This may be a more accurate way of writing this ... whichever way you write it, it sounds like a fast staccato in the middle of a melody. Nice touch actually but it can be over done, if used in the wrong places.

[John Flynn]

This was a topic of interest in John Carty's mando/banjo workshop at the Irish Tionol in St. Louis two weekends ago. He called those triplets "trebles," which seems to be the jargon used in his scene in England and Ireland. Even though he did "trebles" incredibly well, he opined at length about how trebles are often being over-used to show off fancy technique, often getting in the way of good Irish music. His advice was to use them sparingly for emphasis and not in every phrase.