Getting tremolo up to speed...

[Bob Stolkin]

I'm starting to get my tremolo pretty smooth, but I'm having trouble getting it quickly up to "speed". It seems to take me a couple of pick strokes before it's at tempo, like a lag. Any tips on how to correct this?

[Jim Broyles]

Just practice. Start your pick moving at the speed you want the tremolo right away when you want to start it. Work on getting the tremolo smooth at the speed you want, not getting a smooth tremolo then getting it up to speed. Starting slow and building up speed is a good way to learn the technique, but you have to execute it at "song speed" when you are playing.

[Doug Hoople]

I'm starting to get my tremolo pretty smooth, but I'm having trouble getting it quickly up to "speed". It seems to take me a couple of pick strokes before it's at tempo, like a lag. Any tips on how to correct this?

Try initiating the first couple of strokes FASTER than the intended speed, and settling back down to the intended once you've got it underway.

Even though you're practicing this for the purpose of bringing your initiation speed under control and don't generally want it to bleed into your performance for all your tremolos, there are actually cases where doing this in performance adds a splash of drama to your phrasing. You'll find that Brazilian bandolimists do this fairly often. Danilo Brito, in particular, a player who is in extraordinarily complete control of his right hant, uses this to spectacularly good effect.

One other thing, now that I'm thinking of it. It's not always a bad thing to ramp up to your tremolo speed, also for phrasing. A little like a skater lingering before pushing into the arc of his/her stroke. A nice, satisfying bit of acceleration.

[John McGann]

it's a good idea to practice measured tremolo- the idea being that you keep track of every pick stroke (number of strokes per beat) and be very aware of where to start and end.

Depending on the tempo, trem can be 4, 6, 8 or more strokes per beat. I'd try doing long notes, one open string, with the metronome, and keep time- one note per beat to start, then two (D/U) then three (DUD UDU) then 4 (DUDU) skip 5, then 6 (DUDUDU) skip 7, then 8 (DUDUDUDU). This is a great way to get better command of time as well.

Then, the trick is going in and out of tremolo in context. The speed you'll choose will depend on the tempo of the tune and your personal taste and chops (ability to execute accurately).

It's true many players use "unmeasured" tremolo (Bill Monroe being a great example), but it's harder for us mortals to control, especially how to connect cleanly to a subsequent non-tremolo phrase.

[Jim Broyles]

John, how do you mean unmeasured tremolo? Just DUDU in any combo of strokes per beat? Also, I find that when a song has a 3 stroke tremolo, it doesn't sound right to make it 2 or 4 stroke. The 3 stroke trem, such as Bill Monroe employs in "Bluegrass Special" is the hardest for me to remember to execute, but it sounds the coolest to me. It's easier to initiate a beat on a downstroke so I have to concentrate to get the 3 stroke trem.

[John McGann]

Hi Jim- some of the rough n' tumble bluegrass (which I love) can be "go for it" rather than measured. Andy Statman would obsess over whether Bill played 13 or 14 strokes on a particular phrase...I believe David Grisman also agrees with the "unmeasured" in Bill's playing, but Dawg uses some great measured trem...that unmeasured is the hardest to imitate exactly (if you care to be that devoted!)

I'd always start a tremolo passage with a downstroke (even on an upbeat)...but that's just me. Those 5's and 7's that we skip would be pretty weird to keep alternate picking going on the second set, since the pick directions would reverse, i.e. the next downbeat would start on an up. I'd play the group of 5 dudud dudud and 7 dududud dududud and neither would be true tremolo, exactly, to me anyway...good for Balkan music, though ;)

In Bluegrass Special, the tremolo at 1:43 sounds measured to me, like groups of 6 DUDUDU- there would be 3 notes for each beat (as measured by the walking bass) but every other group of 3 notes (per beat) would start on an upstroke- so I think of it as 6 over 2 beats, with the new group of 6 starting on beat 3. In fact, I think this 6 group is very common in bluegrass music (but not the only way to play!) Technically, it'd be called sextuplets rather than triplets, same rhythm but different articulation (sounds more like a big group of 6 than 2 groups of 3).

If I thought of it in groups of 3, I might think DUD DUD- a common Django type articulation, but less smooth (and not as fast) than a standard tremolo due to the repeated downstrokes (and Django's fast tremolo would be DUDUDUDU for sure...)

[San Rafael]

That's what I'm talkin about: Prof. McGann's posts. I do reps of 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13. I start and end with a downstroke. All dudududud. I go up and down a pentatonic scale, tremming each note (7,7,7). I try to rip them. I "count" by sub-groups in the longer rips: like two "fours" plus one for 9. I want a trem that starts immediately, at full speed and volume, like flipping on a light with a switch.

[Arto]

John wrote: "Then, the trick is going in and out of tremolo in context..."

I heartily agree. I´d say especially going OUT of the tremolo smoothly takes practice, both playing tremolo to single notes and playing to the end of tremolo line and continue with another tremolo line.

I have being training just playing tremolo on open strings, with a metronome, increasing from one downstroke to DUDU per beat and increasing the metronome tempo a few clicks up at a time. Sounds boring as hell, but I have really enjoyed it and made progress. I have tried to keep my tremolo totally even, avoid any tension, and tried to keep my right hand free-floating (the last of course is a matter of personal preference). On best days I sometimes get near 200 bpm. It´s not so long ago that 80 bpm was a challenge, so I´m quite happy of this.

BUT, and here is the point: I do the above playing JUST the tremolo. When I start playing real music, melody lines, ENDING the tremolo is the challenge. Especially ending one tremolo line (with downstroke) and continuing with other tremolo line (starting with downstroke). Does not need to be complicated music but for example the easier right-hand exercises from Ms Mair´s book to notice that 200 bpm is a total impossibility... 90 might work... So, more practice...