Tremelo Chords and technique

[bradeinhorn]

hey,

any suggestions here -

1) chord forms to use when playing tremelo
2) general technique.


B

[glauber]

It's just a fast strum, that's all. Keep a light hand and don't sweat it.

[JGWoods]

If I'm going to play a song with lots of tremelo I make sure and use a round pick, or the rounded shoulder of my regular pointed flatpick. Lots of folks like Dawg picks, Golden Gates and such because they do well for tremelo.

[Jim Broyles]

When playing tremolo, I like the sound of single notes or two-finger chords (double stops.) A style which sounds cool is to slide into higher or lower double stops of the same chord, and slide up or down to double stops of the next chord in a tune. This is usually done as a back-up during a vocal, or as a soloing technique.
As far as the pick goes, it is my belief that tremolo can be done with whatever pick generally works for you. I can tremolo better with a Dunlop Ultex 1.14, which is my favorite pick for all mandolin playing, than I can with a Dawg or a Golden Gate or the round end of a Fender 351.
As to general technique, I would say hold the pick firmly but loosely - don't put a death grip on it - and use your wrist along with your forearm however it feels comfortable to you. If your arm cramps up you are tensing up too much. Try to keep your forearm muscles relaxed.

[Tony Spumoni]

Regarding picks - I have found that the rounded picks are a bit easier and less error prone for tremolo, but they produce a muddier sound. I gave up the rounded picks and now I just work on improving my tremolo technique with standard picks (currently using a .73)

[glauber]

As far as the pick goes, it is my belief that tremolo can be done with whatever pick generally works for you.
FWIW, mine too.

[JGWoods]

Agreed that any pick will work for tremolo- but when I get clumsy or stiff from too many years of beating up my hands I find I can cover for it with a rounder pick.
For me that makes the case against an equilateral triangle pick- I like having a round corner available and so have settled on the more teardrop shape picks.

[bradeinhorn]

how about in terms of this sliding into double stops. any specifics on that?

[Jim Broyles]

Best thing to do is learn your double stops and practice going from one to the other. Here's a basic example. Say the tune is on a "G" chord - start with

E|=X==== and slide to : E|=X===
A|=2==== A|=5===
D|=5==== D|=9===
G|=X==== G|=X===

There are a lot of other "G" double stops to use for this style. You can go to the next chord in the song instead of a different double stop of the same chord. It just takes learning what double stops = what chord. Of course a particular doublestop may be used for more than one chord. For example, the first "G" I tabbed above can also be used for an E minor chord as it contains a "G" and a "B" note which are found in the E minor chord.

[bradeinhorn]

how about as far as my right hand technique. is it wrong to have any contact with the the bridge or strings below it with the butt of my hand?

[Jim Broyles]

It is generally accepted that resting on the bridge at all will decrease your tonal response. From 40+ years of guitar playing, I habitually rest the heel of my hand where it falls naturally when picking at the "sweet spot" of the strings, and that happens to be just below the bridge, on the strings. I can hear no appreciable difference in tone between doing it this way and suspending my right hand in the air to play. However, having said that, I do lift my hand off of its resting spot in order to play some tremolo. Not all of it, but some. The consensus here is most likely to not rest your picking hand at all.