Beginner boom chuck question...

[dadsaster]

I've been working on my bluegrass chop. One of the common strum patterns is to pluck the bass note on the beat and chop the chord on off beat. When using this pattern and playing a G-C-D progression (as an example) the problem I'm having is that the bass note is the same for the 4 chord (D) and the 1 chord (G). To my ear, this makes the boom-chuck sound funny as the bass note isn't changing when the chord changes. How do you guys solve this problem?

[CarlM]

Usually in bluegrass the chop just plays the chuck of the boom chuck and leaves the bass note out because of this. In group with bass or guitar they are playing the I-V notes on those beats and you should not conflict with those. It will mess up the sound. If you really need to get the boom notes in then you need to find different chord shapes that include the I and V on the bottom two strings.

[Mandoplumb]

If you are playing bluegrass mandolin you DO NOT do the boom chuck, that is the guitar's part. Learn to do just the chuck. If you must do a movement on the beat make it a phantom movement then strike the chord on the off beat. This is a crutch and you need to start eliminating the phantom movement as quick as you can, like yesterday. I know the adverage person has to learn to do this but it is possible for it to become second nature, I have to concentrate to clap on the beat. If I'm on an audience that starts clapping to the music I sometimes, just for kicks, will start clapping on the off beat. Before long the clapping will sound like a round of applause.

[dadsaster]

I should have clarified that I'm trying to produce a boom-chuck for solo playing. When playing with a group (which I haven't yet), I'll just chuck.

[Mandoplumb]

I come from a strickly bluegrass background so I can only answers from a bluegrass style perspective. First you will rarely hear BG style songs with just a mandolin accompaniment. I have done it in church as a solo for a different from ordinary sound. What I do is not really chords in the truest sense of the word, I may play chords but with a lot of runs and fills whatever the song needs at the time. I cannot do a full rythem as accompaniment on the mandolin.

[CarlM]

Playing solo I do not do boom chuck on mandolin. It does not work very well. Instead strumming different shuffle patterns and cross picking intermixed with chop works better. Sometimes even straight chop on the back beat works surprisingly well to accompany singing or guitar. When I play guitar with mandolin players in duos a good solid chop on the off beat works when I solo setting solid rhythm.

[hatta]

Playing solo I do not do boom chuck on mandolin. It does not work very well. Instead strumming different shuffle patterns and cross picking intermixed with chop works better.

Can you specify these patterns? How would I do this?

Sometimes even straight chop on the back beat works surprisingly well to accompany singing or guitar.

Isn't this "bluegrass style"? Why would that only work sometimes?

[CarlM]

The different shuffles are limited by your imagination and the timing and rhythm of the piece as well as who you are playing with. A couple of examples: a chop on beat two followed by an up stroke and down stroke on beats 3 and 4 gives a pretty good drive. Down up down up on all four beats can work with different beats accented and/or damped by lifting your fretting fingers slightly. Alternating crosspicking can be nice on slower songs especially mixed in with strums.

Don't just limit yourself to this. These are just examples and can be mixed in and out as you play the song. John Hartford said to change your backup every eight measures.

The straight chop on the backbeat is the bluegrass approach and should be adhered to in that environment otherwise the sound of the group gets cluttered. I say it works sometimes because if all you do is chop, in a solo or duo context, it can get boring for you and the listener.

Listen close to Sam Bush and David Grisman to hear a lot of backup approaches beyond just chopping constantly.

[Peter Coronado]

How about a 245x for the D instead of 745?