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Thread: Tips. exercises, approach to strumming while playing melody

  1. #1

    Default Tips. exercises, approach to strumming while playing melody

    Hello,

    TL/DR Would like to find exercises or strategy for strumming while playing melody over the top.

    OK, I am about 3 months into mandolin. I don't have enough music background to quickly apply chords, but am able to play single note melody smoothly enough and toss in an extra string here and there.

    I see everywhere (yes I have gone through what I can find on mandolessons) players strumming and the melody is still the primary voice.

    I just don't understand the mechanics of it very well. When I slow the videos down, I don't see a common approach.

    Example, attached is a hack of the Game of Thrones intro. I can play it, and I can strum along kinda and still hit the key notes kinda. Something is missing though.

    There must be a way that music teachers introduce this concept to place a nice strum in between the notes where you can and it stays "tidy."

    I can't find a How-to where to begin.

    Do you try to hit the melody note on downstrokes? Or as the last note? I know it should be the highest note. How do you keep a good rhythm going and not lose the melody? What are the key concepts I'm missing?

    How would a music teacher explain it? What would he tell the student to work on? (Or is this just so varied and deep that I'm miles away still?)

    Thanks very much. Nice to be here.
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  3. #2
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    Default Re: Tips. exercises, approach to strumming while playing melody

    Try a search for chord melody instruction. Aaron Weinstein is a well known teacher of this technique, and Mel Bay stocks his book on the topic. (NFI)
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    Registered User Sherry Cadenhead's Avatar
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    Default Re: Tips. exercises, approach to strumming while playing melody

    Are you referring to basic strumming or strum patterns that make the piece more interesting?

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    Default Re: Tips. exercises, approach to strumming while playing melody

    you might could try what is referred to in jazz as "call and response"... play a single chord, 2 or 4 bars etc of the chord at different tempos (your call) and then play a portion of the major scale, melody or riff (your response) start slow and increase tempo. As you get comfortable and progress do this in major and minor 1-4-5, 2-5-1, 1-6-2-5 chord structures...or vice-versa from playing melody to strumming...I dunno, just a thought
    Last edited by CBFrench; Apr-03-2021 at 9:25am.

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    Default Re: Tips. exercises, approach to strumming while playing melody

    Disclaimer: I'm no instructor, but I have fumbled my way thru lots of chord-strum melodies (for lack of a better term).

    Quote Originally Posted by crash2 View Post
    ... Game of Thrones intro. I can play it ... strum along kinda ... hit the key notes kinda. Something is missing...
    YIKES! Talk about VERY challenging timing, almost as complex as the closing phrases of the Hawaii 5-0 theme, the last piece that I found highly challenging to read off the music. Maybe start with something simpler, like Mary Had A Little Lamb?

    Keep in mind that most roots-ish music (the stuff that most folks around here are attracted to) is based on major chords, AND most of the on-beat melody notes (often the 1 & 3 beats, or the 1-2-3-4 if there are lots of passing 1/8th notes in between) are directly from the currently-operative chord. (That's why we humans, maybe sub-consciously, tend to "hear" the chord even in unaccompanied music.)

    That, to my thinking, makes it not too difficult to finger some version of the chord shape while picking out the main melody notes, then slip a finger into the position of any passing note and/or insert a strum where it seems appropriate. If you get a handful of simple tunes down that way, I suspect that you'll be off to a decent start ... the ol' "baby steps" approach.

    At three months into ANY instrument, that should be a decent accomplishment.

    Just to appreciate Game of Thrones' complexity, I suggest playing the melody alone while chanting aloud the timing:
    "ONE and Two and Three and FOUR and Five and Six and ..."
    I suspect that you'll gain some appreciation, and maybe a goal to build up to.

    Or maybe I don't have a clue!

    EDIT: Whoops! Just read you music; realized that:

    1- Doesn't have the chords listed, which could be important to fingering them! Shouldn't be too hard to find; as in "that's what Google is for".
    2- It's listed as 3/4 time, rather than the 6/8 that I've seen it in & counted out above; but close enough.

    It also lacks all of the "in between" counter-melodies (DAH Dum da-da-DAH Dum) that, to my ear, really make the whole tune. But that can be a longer-term goal!
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    Default Re: Tips. exercises, approach to strumming while playing melody

    Quote Originally Posted by EdHanrahan View Post
    Disclaimer: I'm no instructor, but I have fumbled my way thru lots of chord-strum melodies (for lack of a better term).
    YIKES! Talk about VERY challenging timing, almost as complex as the closing phrases of the Hawaii 5-0 theme, the last piece that I found highly challenging to read off the music. Maybe start with something simpler, like Mary Had A Little Lamb?
    This is so accurate. ^

    But in any case, and to answer Sherry

    Take this video opening for example, and I do see the partial chords, which I think are years away for me (stuck with GOT theme)

    https://youtu.be/g8h2tUUP4-Y

    What he's got going on is not inconceivable. It's not fast, the melody stands out, and the strum pattern is consistent. HOW he gets the melody to overpower the other strings being hit -- with that touch and that consistent beat --- I was wondering if there are "known goods" out there that I have not discovered yet.

    I will try the call and response idea, sounds fun, thanks very much.

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    Registered User Sherry Cadenhead's Avatar
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    Default Re: Tips. exercises, approach to strumming while playing melody

    Quote Originally Posted by crash2 View Post
    This is so accurate. ^

    But in any case, and to answer Sherry

    Take this video opening for example, and I do see the partial chords, which I think are years away for me (stuck with GOT theme)

    https://youtu.be/g8h2tUUP4-Y
    Thanks, especially for that video, crash2. This is an interesting thread for me as I'm trying to go beyond playing straight melody. Can't figure it out by watching others play.

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    Default Re: Tips. exercises, approach to strumming while playing melody

    Crash2, Thanks for asking this question. I'll be following along, because I've been wondering about this exact thing. My husband plays mountain dulcimer, and that sounds is common in dulcimer music, but we can't figure out how to translate the technique.
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    The Amateur Mandolinist Mark Gunter's Avatar
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    Default Re: Tips. exercises, approach to strumming while playing melody

    The technique of that young man requires way more than three months’ training, but it’s good to stretch yourself and aspire to making great music. Some things to work on for this piece ...

    1. The groove. Watch his right closely, concentrate only on that for the entire piece. Listen to the pulse he is creating with that right hand throughout. Forget about the melody, take a small section and repeat it over and over trying to imitate the rhythmic pulse you are hearing from him.

    2. The coordination. Notice the relaxed manner of both the right and left hands, even with the pinky stretches.

    Yes, this is very doable, and this is a great video to learn nuance from. It is not the sort of playing you can learn overnight. You’ll need to master the groove, learn the melody part, learn how to harmonize on multiple strings. Then you’ll have to put in the work to make it sound relaxed, flowing, effortless. You’ll need to learn to be relaxed (no death grip or tension in either hand) and work on how to subtly emphasize parts.

    Start with the groove. To start is to be on your way. Persevere. It will take more time than a month or two.
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