Irish style cross picking on GDAE bouzouki

[Roman Pekar]

I know that there're some players who play bouzouki in GDAE (instead of more common GDAD). But are any of them play this 'cross-picking' style backup similar to what Alec Finn's doing here (he's playing DAD, but still):



From what I know, having this high D helps quite a lot to get this ringing-droning sound, but probably there're some tricks to get similar sound from GDAE?

[Steve L]

You're likely to get better responses by moving this to the CBOM or Celtic section of the forum. If you want that drone, you really need to drop your E string down.

[mandocrucian]

https://www.elderly.com/the-mandola-sampler.htm

"A freewheeling instructional look at the mandola. Celtic, old-time, bluegrass, and blues tunes in standard and alternate tunings. Discography, chords, scales, etc. Note/tab, 32 pp "

[Explorer]

I know that there're some players who play bouzouki in GDAE (instead of more common GDAD). But are any of them play this 'cross-picking' style backup similar to what Alec Finn's doing here (he's playing DAD, but still):



From what I know, having this high D helps quite a lot to get this ringing-droning sound, but probably there're some tricks to get similar sound from GDAE?

The constant droning and ringing is a direct result of using an open tuning (DAD), and of its transposed root-fifth-octave version when he's capoed up the neck. Dropping the E down is the way to get that open tuning.

Here's my suggestion for you to really understand how the tuning makes the sound possible: Drop that upper course on your instrument, and then click on the gear of your YouTube window and play that clip at half speed. (If you're on a mobile device, you'll have to switch to desktop mode; you can find directions for that by searching on "youtube desktop mode mobile" in your search engine.) It should then be relatively easy to learn the backup for the second, uncapoed tune from that video by watching the fingers and listening.

There are also great videos on playing bouzouki/OM in GDAD, which when you try them will show you how much more easily open drone strings work in practice.

Good luck!

[Roman Pekar]

The constant droning and ringing is a direct result of using an open tuning (DAD), and of its transposed root-fifth-octave version when he's capoed up the neck. Dropping the E down is the way to get that open tuning.

Here's my suggestion for you to really understand how the tuning makes the sound possible: Drop that upper course on your instrument, and then click on the gear of your YouTube window and play that clip at half speed. (If you're on a mobile device, you'll have to switch to desktop mode; you can find directions for that by searching on "youtube desktop mode mobile" in your search engine.) It should then be relatively easy to learn the backup for the second, uncapoed tune from that video by watching the fingers and listening.

thanks, just tried this yesterday. I'm doing this on mandola, so no low G. What I didn't want to do is to retune mandola's 3rd string in order to get the sound.
But what I've found is that I can get some workaround capoing 2 frets lower then Alec. So when he plays in DAD I'll be playing in CGD. I still have this high D drone and I can fret lower 2 courses to get right chords. Big problem is that I don't have low root (D) on the open string. Partial capo can help, but I want to stay in standard tuning as much as I can so far.

[Explorer]

Ah! If you're on mandola, the quickest way there is to drop your tuning from CGDA to CGCG, and then capo across the second fret, yielding DADA. You can also ignore retuning the high A course and drop your D course to C, yielding CGCA capoed to DADB, but that doesn't give much advantage in terms of gaining experience with open tuning.

The beat part of using CGCG capoed to DADA is that you can use Alec Finn's videos as your own private bouzouki course on mandola, and then learn how to incorporate the lowest G course into your playing should you ever get a bouzouki/OM which you can tune to GDAD.

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Just to give a little insight into my advice, I do experiment with DADGAD on guitar, but mostly use full fifths on most instruments. My favorite go-to instrument is my oldest instrument, my original-to-me Flatiron mandola, but if I'm traveling the easiest instruments are the mandola-tuned (or tenor-guitar-tuned) McNally Ukulele Strumstick, or the longer-scale 4-string McNally Strumstick (no longer available) which I retuned from DGBE to GDAE (OM). When I want to experiment with GDAD bouzouki stuff, it's normally on the McNally. There's other original music I do in full fifths, but since they're original compositions, I'm free to write them around either the high or low drones, or can capo to something interesting, on my six-course mandophone (CGDAEB tuning).

And then, the ideas and discoveries trickle down to the instruments which are a subset of that six-course instrument.

That's why I'm suggesting you get familiar with the capoed DADA possibilities, and then see how that trickles into your other playing. Even if you don't pursue it all the time, you'll start to see how the chosen drone affects the usage of the other courses.

The other possibility is to learn the Finn stuff as if you are capoed at the second fret on only the bottom two courses, requiring you to start fretting those courses as a default. My own mandola is set up with light strings, and my instrument tech set it up with a incredibly low action, which allows me to use it for barre chords and tenor guitar chord-melody easily. If your instrument isn't as easy to play as mine, I fear that you'll get frustrated, so I'll instead again suggest the CGCG tuning capoed to DADA to start.

Good luck!

[Fergus Lester]

Been struggling to play that sort of chord/melody style that he does. might try GDAD on the OM. Also intrigued by the Ovation mentioned in your sig, Explorer. Any details?

[Explorer]

I converted an Ovation 12-string to full fifths tuning and unison-tuned courses. For the top B4-tuned course, I used the only strings which can tune to B4 at a 25.5" acale length, from Octave 4 Plus strings. Since the strings are twitchy, i made sure the string path was completely free from burrs and sharp endges, and ran the string through unshrunken heat-shrink tubing at the points the string contacts an edge (saddle, nut, through the tuning machine hole) to prevent those pointa possibly cutting into the string, cauaing a break when under tension. The other big rule which preventa breakage is... I *never* let someone else use it, because the two people who grabbed it without permission claimed it was "not such a big deal" when they broke the $8 strings and then didn't pay for any required replacement.

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So... how has retuning to CGCG and capoing at the second fret worked? Given that it's the easiest thing to try, I'm assuming you did so.