Let us talk a little bit about Tremolo playing with a Mandolin and tremolo playing is the Mandolin’s way of being able to or trying to sustain a note over a longer period, and the Mandolin is really, while suited to this because having the double courses strings, the pairs of each note G, D, A, E, makes tremolo sound a lot better. You can play tremolo on single string instruments like acoustic Guitar in a work but the Mandolin is really well suited to that. So, what I suggest you do is just take any open string. For instance, let us take this D string,
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And just go back and forth,
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Slowly at first,
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Keep your wrist loose
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Build up speed
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Faster,
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Move faster
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To where, just kind of unbreaking sound almost.
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You can hear that creates an illusion your building a note out.
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This is an aspect of playing that, I think, sort of more contemporary Bluegrass Mandolin Styles, it sort of has dropped out. So, any how,
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You want to start on slow, work up
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Start it slow
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Work up and stay or keep it even
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Even and keep your wrist
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Nice and loose.
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You want to do that just an exercise.
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Sound all the opposite strings.
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So, let me play you a song called “Dark Hallow”, it is on the Key of C Major. This is another standard like the other songs that I have been showing you. There are all songs and tunes you are likely to encounter in a jam session.
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Okay, so that is the basic version of Dark Hallow using Tremolo. If you listen to it and look at the tab, you will notice that there are lot of places where I was sliding in the notes.
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There is, listen to it
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Flatted 5th to a 5th
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And the G note is the 5th of a C chord
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Slide there,
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There, to slide,
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Here slide,
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Slide,
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So, the ending. What I want to show you there, let me just correct that.
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Or,
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You slide down and that what I have written it on tablature.
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That is slide there,
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Slow it down, it kind of looses the effect that
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Really, sliding down to that really it flatted 5th again.
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And then, picking up that note with my index finger on the second fret.
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Another variation or rather than going,
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Openly, you can slide up an catch that D up here in a close position and that might sound better to you.
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Just a slight variation. The other thing about Tremolo is that, once you get comfortable just with the technique then you can start break it up, playing some single notes mixing in with Tremolo notes. If you notice the kick off to this is all down strokes,
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We are leading up to this note. this is a really, really common Bluegrass hit off. Any song that starts on the 5th of the chord,
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That is just kind of standard thing. Not that you want to play that all the time but it is good to know it.
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Somehow, single notes there that in the Tremolo but then, you kind of intersperse Tremolo with some single notes. Not quite sure where I am going to do this but let me play it and then, will see how it comes out.
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Here is single note,
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So, you get the idea,
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By single notes, that is what I mean. So, you are breaking up the Tremolo. One of the high things about that is interspersing those notes with a Tremolo notes, it is hard sort to keep that the timing together and so, that is just something to work on. You might work with the metronome to.
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