Tremolo. Is it necessary for mandolin?

djangolin

I'm sure tremolo can be used as a crutch, but I would challenge anyone to listen to Gruber Ruesz Quartet - Sunny CD and tell me that some of his solos would be better without the tremolo. I was listening to this CD again the other night (I'm sorry but I can't remember which cut) and thought that losing the tremolo on certain solos would have cut the heart out of them. So my opinion is that it may not be absolutely necessary but it sure adds a lot in some cases.

dunbarhamlin

Have to admit I may have to overcome my tremolophobia for the next box slated for completion - Vega didn't make a piccolo mandolute, only a bowl back, so I've extrapolated a 10 1/2" scale instrument from a 205 cylinderback mandolin - expect I'll have to try several soundboard sizes, bracing details and body depths to find the ideal. Basing my bracing changes on the typical differences between between full and 3/4 size guitars, and initial dimensions on comparison of full size and piccolo bowl backs. (Also it'll make a change to have only four courses on a mandolin.)

Working against my tremolo is a change to a 'proper' pick grip - was three fingered, then brushing behind the bridge and now unsupported - really improving my rest strokes and tone, but so far at the expense of speed.

Cheers
Steve
(O - happy 'Fat Thursday')

Herb

I've been playing mandoing for awhile now. Most everything except for Bluegrass. Also, I play in a mandolin orchestra. When used in the proper spots a tremelo can have a nice effect. Too much can sound like the guy said in an ealrier post "a bunch of geese. In the orchestra, not all of us tremelo all the time. The music is marked so not to over do it, and have a nice effect. Like celtic music..it's not used much. Gypsy jazz..if used sparily it can add a nice touch. Like in the haunting intro to "Dark Eyes." I found, when playing at high spedds, do;t use it, but in slow ballads, it can add alot ot the message you are trying to convey. I also play in a mandolin and guitar duo, and we play alot of Italian serenades and Piazolla tangos, and some other stuff. The italian songs almost hve to have it to sound proper, but in the quicker tangos,,I only use it spsringly. In the slower tnagos, I do use it for the half notes and whole notes when appropriate. All in all, it a matter of touch and what you want ot get out of the instrument. Experiment with what sounds best for the tune you are playing.

jmcgann

A really fine pair of examples of great jazz mandolin with tremolo by Andy Statman would be "Barbara in the Morning" from his Flatbush Waltz CD (Rounder) and "Stardust" from "Buellgrass Across the Tracks" with Peter Erskine on drums. Very expressive and beautiful!

maaxman

try playing 'naima' without tremolo
it is the only way to 'bow' the beast.

remember...a beautiful tremolo always gets the girls

maaxman
studio city

jmcgann

Try playing Naima without tremolo on a "non-woody" mandolin that has decent sustain into a great condensor mic (with Jimmy Garrison, McCoy and Elvin on brushes a la the '61 Village Vanguard recordings- the really interesting girls like that!)



Hey- don't let me tell you how to play- use tremolo like crazy if you want to. It is a beautiful, expressive sound in the right hands. Personally, I think it's a kind of articulation rather than something I automatically apply to long tones.

maaxman

john
thanks for your reply.
now that you mention it i am most willing to try to hold onto those long notes with some help from my left hand and see if i can stretch them on overtones.
no really great condenser mikes in my immediate future.
yes... the really interesting chicks dig the overtones

(I play a 1919 A4...is that a "woodsy"?)

Just started working with your gypsy picking lessons and enjoying them.
i can tell already they are going to help my getting around.

do you have suggestions about how to tame my pinky?


maaxman

jmcgann

(

maaxman wrote:

I play a 1919 A4...is that a "woodsy"?)


do you have suggestions about how to tame my pinky?


maaxman

The A styles can have good sustain or be percussive, a lot depends on the setup and how you play. The mandolins that bluegrass players love, with the "woody" tone (think F5) tend toward a more percussive ("bark for the chop") sound. The Monteleones, Zeidlers etc. have a nice combination of sustain and bloom (good long tones) along with the projection that allows for a percussive sound when you want it...in other words, you can't "play sustain" into an instrument that doesn't have it, but you can play an instrument with good sustain percussively.

To tame the pinky, a pinch of raw hamburger and a drop of single malt scotch every two hours on the fingertip :twisted:

I had this problem for a long time ("flying fingers")...it's a good idea to keep your fingers down as you ascend the string, i.e. on your A string a Bb scale: 1 3 5 6 in tab (Bb C D Eb) with fingers 1 2 3 4- by the time your pinky comes down, all 4 fingers should be down- you don't lift the 1st finger, 2nd finger or 3rd once they are down-they stay down.

Now, as you go up, try to keep all 4 fingers "in the neighborhood" of the frets (planet Earth) and not up around Saturn. I had to practice a lot to break the old rock and roll habit of flying fingers, but it was worth it.