Wimpy Notes

[stringalong]

I'm an intermediate mandolin player, probably always will be. Does this mean that I am cursed to occasionally play what my teacher Brian Oberlin calls "wimpy notes"? Those are, of course, the notes that kinda go "thud" instead of ringing out nicely. I practice scales to overcome them and that helps, but they still crop up in my tunes, esp. the more difficult tunes. I play Old Time music in a band and jams.

[ColdBeerGoCubs]

See the "plateau" thread.

[Jim Garber]

I practice scales to overcome them and that helps.

That is a key to understanding that this is all a long term process. I have been playing for decades and there will always be challenges down the line. Just play some of the tunes you played a year or even a month ago and realize that they are better than they were when you first play them. Those difficult pieces become easier with practice -- it also sounds like you have a world class teacher, so I am sure that he can be of enormous help.

[OldSausage]

You hear almost no-one who doesn't hit one of those at least now and then. But you can fix it - work on the part that you make the thuds in very slowly, paying particular attention to what your right hand is doing. It could be that you just need more practice to get your left and right hand co-ordinated, but if you play the tunes slowly and work on getting those thuds out, it won't be long before you can play the whole tune through without them. Think about using a metronome if you're not already. They can be frustrating at first, but they're really helpful for being able to work at slow speeds once you get the hang of them.

[neil argonaut]

I find with playing more, I don't make less mistakes or badly played notes, but instead just get better at recovering quicker, making a mistake into something good or covering up a badly played note and getting away with it more.

[Rick Lindstrom]

Like Neil said- don't even break stride. Just keep playing as if nothing happened, and most people, if they notice at all, will admire your poise. Eventually those particular notes will disappear and you'll find other things that aren't quite up to what you'd like to work on.

Rick

[Pete Summers]

I find with playing more, I don't make less mistakes or badly played notes, but instead just get better at recovering quicker, making a mistake into something good or covering up a badly played note and getting away with it more.

I remember reading a quote from Jascha Heifetz about his violin playing -- he said he hit just as many wrong notes as any other fiddler, it is just that he recovers more quickly. Interesting.

[Mark Robertson-Tessi]

"It was a palm mute. Intentional palm mute."

[Laird]

I don't make less mistakes or badly played notes, but instead just get better at recovering quicker, making a mistake into something good or covering up a badly played note and getting away with it more.

Yeah, I've become much better at taking a wimpy note--or, better yet, a wrong note!--and using it as the place to begin my slide up or down to the next place I wanted to be, so that it becomes transitional rather than wrong or weak. I'm hoping that it usually seems intentional.

[JeffD]

I find I make the most whimpy notes when I am trying to play a tune faster than I really can. In my practicing I slow it down to the point where I can make every note sing, and then slowly bring up the speed.

Of course in a jam you are not in control of the tempo so much, so just hang on and enjoy it. You will find over time, especially if you practice playing slow on those tunes you need to, that your jamming will sound better and better.

[llg]

"Stevie Ray Vaughn missed a note or two" -- Tim Wilson (the comedian for those of you who may not be familiar)

Just become more and more familiar with the chords and scales with every key and you will always have places to fall back to. We all make mistakes, though it does seem like some never do. Just keep playing right through the mistakes and you will definitely make less of them. And if you make a name for yourself you can play sucky all the time and get away with it--Neil Young made a career out of it.

[stringalong]

Very interesting, Laird. I can usually turn a "wrong" note into an improv, but had not tried the slide from the wimpy note. I also notice that the longer a tune is played by a jam or my group, meaning minutes long, the better I get and the more improvising I can do. I need time to warm up, and that takes a long time. For one tune, 15-20 minutes of playing "over and over" like at a dance. For home practice, I need an hour of practice before I get to that point. Not that I consistently play over an hour at a time, but I know it works for me.

[stringalong]

Thanks to every one of you who wrote about "thud" or wimpy notes. Every post had something important to say, and I will benefit from all. I expect the 301 other viewers of this thread will, too!

[Dobe]

I thought I played a wrong note once, but I was mistaken .

[AnneFlies]

Sometimes I hit so many wrong notes I wonder which tune I'm playing.

[OldSausage]

Sometimes I hit so many wrong notes I wonder which tune I'm playing.

That's what we call "jazz". You're probably playing "Satin Doll"

[Mike Snyder]

I alluz figgered it was "Giant Steps" in the wrong direction.

[mommythrice]

That "bad note" always sounds better if you stay on it for a couple of beats and screw up your face like it is a really emotional part of the tune.

[stringalong]

Good point, JeffD, about wimpy notes being often due to playing faster than I'm really able to do well. Thanks for your response to this thread. I realized after I read your post that when I lead off for jams, which I am often asked to do particularly when there's no fiddler present, I mess up some notes at first. I don't like to play solo, and that's what this amounts to. I'll try leading off more slowly next time. The tune will likely speed up anyway as we go along.

[Willie Poole]

I found that "wimpy" notes most of the time come from bad timing between my right and left hand, by that I mean I might be a little late with the pic strike or a little late holding the string down on the fret at the same time I pluck the string...A lot of others can be caused by small frets, I like larger frets and it is much easier to get the strings held down on the frets so the timing between both hands seems to be better....

As far as speed goes learn a song by playing it slowly and then each time you practice speed it up a little bit and pretty soon you will be at "warp" speed and your fingers will just go where they are supposed to without you even thinking about it....

NEVER GIVE UP though....Willie

[stringalong]

Yeah, I've become much better at taking a wimpy note--or, better yet, a wrong note!--and using it as the place to begin my slide up or down to the next place I wanted to be, so that it becomes transitional rather than wrong or weak. I'm hoping that it usually seems intentional.

I don't have trouble turning "wrong" notes into improvisations. It's the wimpy notes that are "getting to me." I get discouraged easily anyway...

[Beanzy]

I only seem to do 'wimpy' notes with my 3rd finger and sometimes my little finger (I tend to try harder with that so mis-fret it less then the 3rd) I know with me it's just a case of focussing and tempo.

[stringalong]

Good advice from Willie and Beanzy. Thanks. I'm starting a Word file with people's advice here. Thanks, every one of you.

[Bertram Henze]

I found that "wimpy" notes most of the time come from bad timing between my right and left hand, by that I mean I might be a little late with the pic strike or a little late holding the string down on the fret at the same time I pluck the string...

Sync issues are very common. What helped me is imagining that it's really the fretting hand that does the playing while the picking hand is just helping to enhance the tone; that way, I always fret in time before I pick.