Technical question

[mandodebbie]

I was purusing some advanced mandolin music the other day (I'm a curious newbie!)and saw in one measure where the index finger was to slide up (an ascending slide) from the third fret to the fifth on the A string, and...at the same time...the adjacent finger was to slide down (a descending slide) from the fifth fret to the third on the D string. What is this technique called? So far, it is a bit too complicated for me to master... yet. I need to develop more agile finger muscles. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/mandosmiley.gif

[mandocrucian]

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===3/5=====
===5\3=====
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What is this technique called?

A paradox? #puzzle? next to impossible (given the fingering description you provided)

But you could do it if you fretted the D string with your RH index finger, and then the two hands cross each other. The soudn the strings, you'd hold the pick with the thumb and middle finger (artificial harmonic style) while the R index is on the 5th fret. #contrary motion slurring

NH

[psann]

Huh?

[Paul Hostetter]

I get it (go Niles!). Michael Hedges for the mandolin. But....why? Whose big idea was this?

I used to know a guy whose hobby was to fabricate recipes for dishes and submit them to recipe contests. He never ever actually made the dishes, he'd just invent them in his head, write them down, and mail them in. He won a bunch of prizes. But he never actually made the things he wrote up. This sort of reminds me of that. Was it from a real piece of music? Is there a recording?

Actually, come to think of it, I bet Nick Lucas would have done something like this.

[MandoJon]

What is this technique called

A misprint? Just a hunch.

[twaaang]

Debbie, this really does sound like a misprint. Very often "proofreading" is done by non-players who have no idea whether the resulting text makes any sense. I'll bet that whatever you are looking at, some of the rest of us have a copy as well, so if you tell us what book, tune, page, and measure you found this anomaly in, it would give somebody enough context to give you a more useful answer. I wouldn't feel like identifying the material is any kind of disservice to the publisher, who should have had it right to begin with, and should be interested in making a correction in any future edition (maybe you have an early edition which has already been corrected in revisions). -- Paul

[mandodebbie]

Actually, it was in the Jethro Burns Complete Mandolin Guide. Geezz! Now I have to search through aaalll the pages to find where it was. And I forget the name of the song. I'll be back for more information in a day or two. (Sorry for the wait!) http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

[Paul Hostetter]

Knowing Jethro, he probably put that in there on purpose just to mess with people's minds.

[mandodebbie]

Mandodebbie here. Well, I searched and searched through my Jethro Burns book and I have come to several conclusions, as follows: 1. If there is such a slide printed, it was a typo.
2. The slide technique in question was indeed put
there to "mess with our minds."
3. It was a long day working at the ice cream
parlour and I was reading the hammer ons or
pull offs as slides, or something equally wierd.
Anyway, maybe the benefit of this misunderstanding is that I have invented a new (albiet impossible, or at least worthless) fretting technique. I name it the "ascending/descending composite double stop slide". Now, who wants to try an incorporate it in a song?

[Paul Hostetter]

Jethro Burns?

[mandodebbie]

Well, I obviously never met the the "meastro", but aren't we mandolinists all a little sneaky?