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Thread: Tremolo Tips

  1. #1
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    Default Tremolo Tips

    I've been playing 3 years, and I still can't tremolo. Sometimes I'll be ok for a few seconds, but then it quickly fades. Of course, I need to practice more, but I'd like to hear from those who are able to tremolo to know what it feels like. Even if you consider yourself average at it, I'd appreciate your opinion.

    My questions are:
    • Is it more technique or muscle development? Maybe I'm giving up too quickly and not letting my muscles develop? Or is it not about muscle strength at all?
    • Once you learn it, is it a lifetime skill like riding a bike? Or do you have to keep at it to keep the muscles in shape for it?
    • Once you learn it, can you do it anytime you want? I once heard someone joke that they can tremolo with a credit card. Is that true? Or do you need the proper pick, proper arm position, proper posture, etc.?
    • Do you have a different technique for each string/note? Tremoloing on the G-string is so different for me vs. the E-string due to the string size and position. Also, playing up the neck adds tension and makes the tremolo feel different. It doesn't make sense to me that one technique can work in all cases.
    • How long did it take you to learn? Did you learn the basic technique right away and then practice for a long time to develop muscle memory? Or was it is a slow-build to where you woke up one day and said, "oh wow, I got this"?

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  3. #2
    Registered User Dean Gray's Avatar
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    Default Re: Tremolo Tips

    Everyone will have their own take on it..... here's mine.

    Check out the classical methods, particularly Bickford, who advises people don't attempt tremolo until they have done lots of work on rest stroke down picking. Really check out your downstroke, then alternate picking. He (Bickford) advises that the movement comes from forearm rotation, i.e. radius and ulnar bones, rather than flexing the wrist/elbow/fingers.

    Classical mandolin has a long tradition of using and teaching tremolo, and the methods are available free on imslp!

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  5. #3

    Default Re: Tremolo Tips

    I learned tremolo through playing along to my favorite songs. I would just tremolo my way through them on whatever note that fit in the song. It really helped me be good at it because it was fun to do. I don't think I'd know how to tremelo even today if I had to learn it with a metronome. Now when I try it with a metronome I still slip out of time sometimes but I'm mostly on point. It's not easy to do.

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    Registered User DavidKOS's Avatar
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    Default Re: Tremolo Tips

    Quote Originally Posted by daveclt View Post
    [*]Is it more technique or muscle development? Maybe I'm giving up too quickly and not letting my muscles develop? Or is it not about muscle strength at all?
    Both - you need to develop the muscles, but that comes from practicing your technique. Dean Gray is right about using classical methods Like Bickford, Munier, etc.

    Quote Originally Posted by daveclt View Post
    [*]Once you learn it, is it a lifetime skill like riding a bike? Or do you have to keep at it to keep the muscles in shape for it?
    It's a lifetime skill but it helps to keep in shape too. . You can never practice enough!

    Quote Originally Posted by daveclt View Post
    [*]Once you learn it, can you do it anytime you want? I once heard someone joke that they can tremolo with a credit card. Is that true? Or do you need the proper pick, proper arm position, proper posture, etc.?
    Well I can use a credit card, but I prefer a pointed pick!

    Round picks glide over strings...a pointed pick actually plucks the string pair, which I prefer in tone color and in terms of control.

    Many folks use the round picks and like that sound, though.

    Quote Originally Posted by daveclt View Post
    [*]Do you have a different technique for each string/note? Tremoloing on the G-string is so different for me vs. the E-string due to the string size and position. Also, playing up the neck adds tension and makes the tremolo feel different. It doesn't make sense to me that one technique can work in all cases.
    Although there are some differences in string thickness and tension when picking on the various strings, neck positions, and even picking sul ponticello or sul tasto (that is, by the bridge or the fingerboard), for practical purposes my tremolo is much the same in any position.

    Quote Originally Posted by daveclt View Post
    [*]How long did it take you to learn? Did you learn the basic technique right away and then practice for a long time to develop muscle memory? Or was it is a slow-build to where you woke up one day and said, "oh wow, I got this"?[/LIST]
    I learned fairly fast and did so as a young teenager - but my technique has gotten better with practice.

    Also, I learned to play Italian music on mandolin first, before I started playing other genres. Italian mandolin style uses a lot of tremolo, whereas other styles like ITM, not so much!

    What style of mandolin music have you been practicing?

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    Registered User Frankdolin's Avatar
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    Default Re: Tremolo Tips

    Hi Dave, I'm no pro, not trained, but been at it a long time. Good advice so far. And I can't do your clever lay-out so this will be in sentence form. First it's both technique and muscle development. Really it's pick control. Your pick control is every bit, if not more important than your left hand. Your left hand is just holding the note your pick controls speed, dynamics, tone, volume, and more. Yes it's like riding a bike but you always have to play or you may fall. Yes there is a lot of variations of style ect. in tremelo. You just have to find what works for you. I was lucky to learn verry young and not held back by any "feelings", and just got at it till I had it. There was a song that had come out called "Wipeout" that had a great drum cadence, roll, I don't know the tech name, but I loved it and tried untill I could copy it with my pick hand. I credit that for helping me alot. One thing you can try is take a whole note and start breaking it up into 2 strokes then 4 on and on. The tremelo should fit in whatever time space you want it in what seems like perfectly even spacing. And when really good you should be able to vary your speed within the tremelo. My advice. Don't quit trying. Practice to a song you like. Have fun.

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    Registered User Simon DS's Avatar
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    Default Re: Tremolo Tips



    I got it on the first day after working for about five hours with this vid.
    Then I lost it for it for two days and on the fourth day around lunchtime, that was it.
    No problem.
    Good luck!

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  13. #7
    Registered User Bren's Avatar
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    Default Re: Tremolo Tips

    Quote Originally Posted by daveclt View Post
    I've been playing 3 years, and I still can't tremolo. Sometimes I'll be ok for a few seconds, but then it quickly fades. Of course, I need to practice more, but I'd like to hear from those who are able to tremolo to know what it feels like. Even if you consider yourself average at it, I'd appreciate your opinion.

    My questions are:
    • Is it more technique or muscle development? Maybe I'm giving up too quickly and not letting my muscles develop? Or is it not about muscle strength at all?
    • Once you learn it, is it a lifetime skill like riding a bike? Or do you have to keep at it to keep the muscles in shape for it?
    • Once you learn it, can you do it anytime you want? I once heard someone joke that they can tremolo with a credit card. Is that true? Or do you need the proper pick, proper arm position, proper posture, etc.?
    • Do you have a different technique for each string/note? Tremoloing on the G-string is so different for me vs. the E-string due to the string size and position. Also, playing up the neck adds tension and makes the tremolo feel different. It doesn't make sense to me that one technique can work in all cases.
    • How long did it take you to learn? Did you learn the basic technique right away and then practice for a long time to develop muscle memory? Or was it is a slow-build to where you woke up one day and said, "oh wow, I got this"?
    First of all, I think if you can do it for a few seconds, that is a good start.

    Most tremolo is really only in bursts of a few seconds.

    So work from that - play a simple melody with a burst of tremolo on some notes and a little rest of normal picking in between.

    Then fill in the bits between as you feel more confident.

    Unfortunately, I have been playing so long that I cannot remember how I learned it.

    It's so normal to me that I worry more about overdoing it.

    I don't practise it much because it's something I do more when playing out and I haven't been playing out since last March.

    Technique wise, everything I do is "wrong" so I'm hesitant to advise anyone.

    I do think I get better sound by using the tip of a large triangle sculpted "speed bevel" pick like (running from cheapest to priciest) a Primetone 1.5, Wegen TF140 , BlueChip CT or Hense Magnus Zetterlund.
    Bren

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    Default Re: Tremolo Tips

    When you are trying to tremolo, angle your pick. It will have less resistance and glide thru the strings easier. The more you angle the less volume and the less resistance, meaning you can play harder with. Most folks, when learning, play too hard on the tremolo and this helps. When you get it down you will be able to finesse it and play softer and easier. A rounded pick will help too, may not give you the sound you want, but will lower the resistance to the pick. Same rule applies, angle the pick.
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    Default Re: Tremolo Tips

    I do not feel qualified to give lessons beyond teaching my grandchildren but I do play with a lot of tremelo and have one observationI have found.
    Do not use a death grip on your pick, hold your pick between your thumb and fingers as lightly as possible.
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  17. #10
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    Default Re: Tremolo Tips

    Quote Originally Posted by Bren View Post
    Most tremolo is really only in bursts of a few seconds.
    .
    There are classical mandolin pieces where long notes (often tied for measures )are played with tremolo; additionally one may need to change dynamics during these long tremolo tones.

    Thus there is need to practice extended tremolo and to control the loudness and softness during those passages.

    If you only play fiddle tunes and such, you may not encounter this musical issue.

    https://classicalmandolin.weebly.com...mandoline.html

    some lessons
    Last edited by DavidKOS; Jan-05-2021 at 11:29am.

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  19. #11
    Registered User Bren's Avatar
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    Default Re: Tremolo Tips

    I don't disagree with that DavidKOS.

    My idea, as a picker of mostly, but not only, fiddle tunes and such, was that the bursts of a few seconds that he has currently attained would serve as a platform for davecit to step towards more extended tremolo.

    I enjoyed your link and will now strive not to be a Pétacheux.
    Bren

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  21. #12
    harvester of clams Bill McCall's Avatar
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    Default Re: Tremolo Tips

    Quote Originally Posted by DavidKOS View Post
    There are classical mandolin pieces where long notes (often tied for measures )are played with tremolo; additionally one may need to change dynamics during these long tremolo tones.

    Thus there is need to practice extended tremolo and to control the loudness and softness during those passages.

    If you only play fiddle tunes and such, you may not encounter this musical issue.

    https://classicalmandolin.weebly.com...mandoline.html

    some lessons
    That lesson site is very interesting. Thanks
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  23. #13
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    Default Re: Tremolo Tips

    Another one is tremolo on two string double stops all the way up the neck in, say, a couple of the common keys, D, C and G.

    The technique is a bit like surfing or roller blading/ice skating backwards, there’s a sudden transition to a different way of picking.
    Picking at speed can be similar. If you can get cleanly above a certain speed then you can go into overdrive and continue even faster.

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  25. #14

    Default Re: Tremolo Tips

    I certainly don't think my technique is as good as it could be, but in the interests of providing another perspective, here's more or less how it works for me.
    For fast tempo, say above 110bpm, I find I'm forced to play more from the elbow and less from the wrist. Lower than that speed I tend to play more wrist on Irish tunes and more elbow on American tunes. But as tremolo is effectively much faster than a 110bpm tune, I use mostly elbow movement when playing tremolo.

    I've been aware of this for a while and so I've noticed I'm not alone in this, but there are many players who use the same arm/wrist combination for all speeds.

  26. #15
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    Default Re: Tremolo Tips

    Thank you everyone for sharing. It's been more helpful than you imagine, especially those that say they can't explain it or don't remember how they learned. It seems to be like tying a shoe -- everyone has their own way of learning and at their own pace, but once you learn it's automatic, and impossible to explain!

    I'm going to focus on some of the training tips in the excellent video posted above and power through until I break through the wall. Today is Day 3, and I'm making some progress.

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  28. #16
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    Default Re: Tremolo Tips

    A couple of trem questions, if I may:

    1) I found a tip in a classical book that it's useful when changing strings in a tremelo section to replace the very last single stroke of the 'old' note with the new note. Say you're moving from trem D on the A string to trem G on the E string over a bar line, then the very last trem pick stroke of the 'old' bar you'd play a G. I think the idea is it softens the transition and gets you on the new string by the beginning of the new bar. Do you do this?

    2) As a mandolin beginner, I find it useful to break long notes of folk tunes (e.g. a waltz with lots of 2-1 crotchet rhythms) up into something faster than the tune but slower than proper tremelo - you might be playing semiquavers, instead of tremelo that would have 4 or 5 tails on each note if you wrote it all out. Is there a name for 'note repetition not quite fast enough to be tremelo'?

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