Found a great article on double stops

[Peter123]

This article really put double stops in a way I can understand them. Hopefully it helps someone else

[Anglocelt]

And a big thanks to Pete Martin for writing this really clear tutor and making it available for a $10 donation if you like it.

[Phil Goodson]

And a different article on doublestops for those who prefer a different way of looking at it.

[JeffD]

Lots of great ways of looking at it.

[JeffD]

I think whatever makes the concept click is the way to go. Once it clicks you can see the wisdom in the other ways of presenting the subject. Alternate sources can only help.

[Pasha Alden]

It does. Though I have read this before I know it has got me in the mood to play and practice doublestops. These certainly add colour.

[DougC]

If you are like me, you have some BIG gaps in your abilities and skills. Speaking for myself, of course, I do all kinds of double stops fairly easily. These books remind me about one 'gap' being that I can't read two notes at the same time very well. And that goes for TAB as well as regular staff notation. The other big gap is in knowing what the notes mean in terms of music construction (music theory). Are they sixths? or thirds? What chord to they make if only two notes are played? etc. What are the notes of I, III and V for all of thoes chords anyway?
So this is yet another big reminder (and a big opportunity) to work on this stuff. Thanks And Pete, the money is coming in a few minutes!

[JeffD]

If you are like me, you have some BIG gaps in your abilities and skills.!

I am confident that I will always have big gaps. The more gaps I feel the more gaps I become aware of.

I hope that is always the case, because figuring stuff out is one of the joys of mandolinning.

[Drew Streip]

The other big gap is in knowing what the notes mean in terms of music construction (music theory). Are they sixths? or thirds? What chord to they make if only two notes are played? etc. What are the notes of I, III and V for all of thoes chords anyway?!

Aaron Weinstein's book does a really good job at explaining this. The short answer is: It depends! The longer answer is: The song's harmonic structure determines the notes, and you have to think about words like "thirds and sixths" from two angles.

You can say "Play the harmony a third above the melody" and that refers to an interval, as in, every harmony note will be two steps above the melody note, within the scale. C/E, D/F, E/G, F/A, etc...

Or you can say "What's the third degree of that chord or scale?" For C major, the third would be an A. But if you inverted it and play the E on the bottom, the interval up to C is a (minor) sixth. But E is always the "third" of C.

Note / Scale Degree
C octave (8)
B 7
A 6
G 5
F 4
E 3
D 2
C 1


As far as what chord two notes make.... again, it depends! With a G and B, you can imply G major, E minor, C major 7, A9 (major or minor...) and so on. It's fascinating and infuriating.

[DougC]

It's fascinating and infuriating.

I can harmonize pretty well in singing. So my ear is 'good'. It is in knowing the construction or type of interval that is being used that is important. ( I should ask sometimes, "did I just sing that in thirds or what?" )

I guess the key for me at least, is to do things in context e.g. as it relates to a tune I'm working on. As well as in 'pacing myself' because often it becomes 'just too much' to learn all this stuff. My wife, the violin teacher, likes to say that all I need is to connect the sounds to the theory. For example I know what a fifth sounds like, or a third, (major or minor) so I need to give them a name and know what they are related to. So a fair amount of memorization is in order. And that takes time memorizing the I III V in a bunch of keys.

Also some double stops are in fifths, and some can be notes on an open string making a drone (pedal notes in piano). So double stops as a general term include more than sixths and thirds. And counting thoes darned half steps on the staff make me go blind. Ha, ha.

[JeffD]

It's fascinating and infuriating.

That's what makes it all so addicting. Like a video game - enough success to reward persistence, and enough frustration to keep it from getting trite.

I get frustrated all the time with "duel purpose" double stops. Intervals that imply other intervals and so can be used either as this or that. Versatility is nice, but I sometimes would like a simple life. A lot of "if you want this do that" and a minimum of "or you can do this or you can do this or you can flip it and do that."

[T.D.Nydn]

It does. Though I have read this before I know it has got me in the mood to play and practice doublestops. These certainly add colour.

..and volume!..I'm so much louder when I'm double stopping than when playing single notes,,also,,it catches people's attention,,you can be flying single lines all up and down,,but when you start double stopping all over the place,,that's what turns folks heads around to you,,

[Pasha Alden]

I can say with gratitude that I have a good ear and have enough of a comprehension of theoretical terms and scales such as 3rd 5th and 6th notes. Having said that, I find, like some in this thread, it is the context that is important.
I fear I lean to pitch and memory as focusing only on the fascinating and infuriating will make an already blind musician go more than blind? <big smile> is that possible?



Happy playing all.

[Tom Wright]

You can build harmonic playing by using two basic approaches.

One is what is usually called "harmonizing" a melody, which is what singers do by adding the arpeggio note just above or below the main melody. This is not quite the same as a scale in 3rds or 6ths, because singers will not always stay a 3rd apart from the melody. Sometimes to maintain the chord you use a 4th interval. It is simple enough to sing along and try harmony notes. Then try to find them on your instrument, and practice playing both to yield a harmonized melody. This is the common form you would use if soling over a song's melody.

Another is to combine the melody with the bass line. The two together are the main content of a song. It's a rare song that lacks a familiar bass line. Sometimes it is a simple 1 to 5, like going back and forth from D to A, in which case harmonizing the melody as singers would is more satisfying. But some songs have bass lines that move like a scale, and adding that to the main melody yields harmony without full chords needed. The best chords are those that fit with the bass line. When I develop a solo instrumental I look for the bass notes, as well as familiar riffs and singing harmony.

None of the above requires reading. It is necessary to use your ears, because you will be creating new patterns that probably won't be found in a book for the song you want to work on. I suggested to simply sing along in a harmony line, or try to find the harmony line some singers are using. Then you simply find where it is on the mando. Essentially every one of my arrangements were developed purely by ear. Yours are certainly more developed than sighted peoples', although not automatically trained for extracting harmony notes. That comes quickly, though, as you try to match what you hear or imagine to what you can find on the fingerboard.

Move on from simple melody. It opens an entire world to add bass lines and harmony.