Here are some ideas for hitting both strings in a course. Lots of folks have trouble with this at first.
If you're not sure if you are hitting both strings, tune one of them quite a bit flat. Then play some sort of exercise on that pair. The worse it sounds, the better you're picking. Try to make both tones sound equally loud. Then you know you're hitting them both. Tune back up for the rest of your practicing! I find that using rest strokes, where the pick comes to rest against the next course, is useful for helping me get into the groove of hitting both strings. Sometimes you'll want to use them while playing, and sometimes not. But they're a good way to get the feel of hitting both strings. I like to describe the action as "pushing the pick through the strings," rather than plucking the strings. in other words the strings get pushed down towards the top of the instrument by the tip of the pick and then make noise on the rebound. the strings get out of the way of the pick, not the other way around. The only way you can do that is to push the tip of the pick more or less parallel to the top of the instrument, with no dodging up and down. A firm grip helps. It helps to rotate the pick a little bit - either with the end towards the neck down a little (maybe 15-20 degrees) and up (as John Reischman does). This way the strings slide along the end of the pick more than grab. You'll get less pick noise, too. Experiment with different picks, too. Maybe some of this might be helpful. There are many approaches. What matters is getting the sound, while not hurting yourself. Topher On Sat, Jan 9, 2010 at 7:36 AM, Dasspunk <dassp...@gmail.com> wrote: > When it's going good... real good... I'll blow off everything to keep > it going. I try (in vain) to keep THAT in my muscle memory. Make THAT > my habit. Mike would probably say he does the same thing but his worst > days are still better than my best. He can be annoying in that way ;) > > Playing back by the bridge forces me to play more evenly, more > accurately and apply the correct amount of force to the stroke. In my > experience, there's a perfect amount of force--and it's probably less > than you'd think-- that produces the most sound... and the right > sound. > > Again, I'm not sure if my words will translate into the proper > meaning... it's tough to describe. > > One bit of advice I always give that helped me a ton is this: practice > in a mirror. Watch your right hand. Look at Mike's right hand and try > to make your right hand look like his (or Bill's). Try, try, try, try, > try. > > Now if you're practicing in the mirror you find yourself distracted by > your own incredible good looks, you're probably a Sagittarius like me > and you'll need to get a smaller mirror :) > > B > > > > On Jan 9, 8:47 am, Linda <lj...@intas.net.au> wrote: >> I like the idea of the pencil eraser and will think on that some. >> >> The Tater says I am only playing the top string of two sometimes. He >> wants me to use the area just near the bridge more. I find it >> difficult to push through...push the pick through the strings in that >> spot. Am working on it. >> Sometimes when I practice, I trying playing looser and give all real >> attention to what the right had is doing, not worrying too much about >> the fretting (which gets sloppy when not attending). So far, I find >> there is improvement but I sure wish I had a way to know for sure when >> I am getting it right. >> Brian, you are right about getting it right and how it feels. Every >> now and again in the lesson I get a thumbs up, which means I am doing >> it the right way. >> Feels like going to the moon in rocket.... >> linda >> >> On Jan 10, 12:53 am, 14strings <perrypale...@gmail.com> wrote: >> >> >> >> > Maybe the mental image of striking both strings with equal force and >> > contemporaneously helps the process of digging in and keeping the pick >> > on the stringS. Many of us have the poor technique (myself included) >> > of catching just one string in a pair. That will give us half the >> > volume and half the tone. Half the fun. >> >> > Perry > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Taterbugmando" group. > To post to this group, send email to taterbugma...@googlegroups.com. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > taterbugmando+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/taterbugmando?hl=en. > > > >
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