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Thread: Picking both strings in a course

  1. #1
    Every day is a gift. Sheila Lagrand's Avatar
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    Default Picking both strings in a course

    Sometimes I'm only picking one of the strings in a course. Any tips or practice techniques to help me improve my technique? TIA!
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  2. #2

    Default Re: Picking both strings in a course

    Pick through the strings instead of lifting your hand or raising the pick out of the strings. Keep your pick motion in the plane of the strings as much as possible. It has to be worked on at very slow tempos if you have picked up that bad habit. I had it for a long time and it was a devil to fix. I still catch myself occasionally. I do not know if you float fingers or rest the wrist behind the bridge. That can help as a reference for depth.

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    Registered User withfoam's Avatar
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    Default Re: Picking both strings in a course

    Practicing "rest strokes" may also help. The whole idea is to pick through and land on the next course, so you'll start to feel varying degrees of attack through the courses you're playing.
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    Default Re: Picking both strings in a course

    Interesting inquiry. When I first picked up the mandolin along with one of the how to play books, I found no guidance about picking through both strings. Eventually, it became clear that strumming across both strings was the way to go. It takes focus and practice. Spend some practice time watching your right hand while playing open strings. It’ll come.
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  8. #5
    Every day is a gift. Sheila Lagrand's Avatar
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    Default Re: Picking both strings in a course

    Thank you all for the suggestions. I will give these techniques a shot. They sound promising.
    Phoebe, my 2021 Collings MT mandolin
    Dolly, my 2021 Ibanez M522 mandolin
    Louise, my 193x SS Maxwell mandolin
    Fiona, My 2021 GSM guitar-bodied octave resonator mandolin
    Charlotte, my 2016 Eastman MDO 305 octave mandolin
    And Giuliana, my 2002 Hans Schuster 505 violin, Nehenehe, my 2021 Aklot concert ukulele,
    Annie, my 2022 Guild M-140 guitar, Joni, my 1963 Harmony 1215 Archtone archtop guitar,
    Yoko, my ca. 1963 Yamaha Dynamic No.15 guitar, and Rich, my 1959 husband.

  9. #6
    String-Bending Heretic mandocrucian's Avatar
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    Default Re: Picking both strings in a course

    Slightly detune one string of each pair. Doesn't have to be much, but you'll hear it. Be consistent - when you alter the pitch in a pair (say the treble string), do the same orientation with the other three pairs. This way you can hear which string, and when, you are omitting (most likely on the upstroke).

    Now, play your tunes or exercises - if you are only hitting one string, you'll know immediately. This is how you can monitor your technique.

    Niles H

    PS: Intentionally playing only one string of a pair of strings is also an advanced playing technique used in combination with split string fingering.

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  11. #7
    Every day is a gift. Sheila Lagrand's Avatar
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    Default Re: Picking both strings in a course

    Quote Originally Posted by CarlM View Post
    I do not know if you float fingers or rest the wrist behind the bridge. That can help as a reference for depth.
    I'm not sure I know what "float fingers" means, but when I was playing today I made a point to take notice. The only place my right arm is in contact with my mandolin is at the armrest. So maybe I float fingers?
    Phoebe, my 2021 Collings MT mandolin
    Dolly, my 2021 Ibanez M522 mandolin
    Louise, my 193x SS Maxwell mandolin
    Fiona, My 2021 GSM guitar-bodied octave resonator mandolin
    Charlotte, my 2016 Eastman MDO 305 octave mandolin
    And Giuliana, my 2002 Hans Schuster 505 violin, Nehenehe, my 2021 Aklot concert ukulele,
    Annie, my 2022 Guild M-140 guitar, Joni, my 1963 Harmony 1215 Archtone archtop guitar,
    Yoko, my ca. 1963 Yamaha Dynamic No.15 guitar, and Rich, my 1959 husband.

  12. #8

    Default Re: Picking both strings in a course

    Quote Originally Posted by Round2 View Post
    I'm not sure I know what "float fingers" means, but when I was playing today I made a point to take notice. The only place my right arm is in contact with my mandolin is at the armrest. So maybe I float fingers?
    Floating fingers means letting your fingers glide along the pick guard or finger rest to establish a depth reference. That is the normal technique for guitar and is used by a significant number of mandolin players. It will wear the finish if you do it on a top without a pick guard.

    The most common approach on mandolin is to let the wrist lightly glide along the back side of the bridge to create a reference point. Either of these things are done to help avoid the problem you are having with your pick moving in and out of the strings and catching just one string or missing all together.

  13. #9
    Registered User John Kelly's Avatar
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    Default Re: Picking both strings in a course

    Once you have the downstrokes sorted out, remember to do the same with all your upstrokes, Sheila. It can be very easy to pick away from the second string on an upstroke.

    I like Niles' tip of putting one string of each pair very slightly out of pitch so that you can hear when both strings are being picked! Some players deliberately tune this way - called wet tuning, to create an effect somewhat akin to an accordion in musette tuning.
    I'm playing all the right notes, but not necessarily in the right order. - Eric Morecambe

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  14. #10
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    Default Re: Picking both strings in a course

    I can see the sense of not wasting motion lifting the pick in the air above the strings. I also found excercises in classical mando books where you carry through till it rests on the next pair. However, bluegrass books usually don't mention that, and of course you can't do it going down from A towards E or up from D towards G unless you got an extra pair there. So, is that exercise a temporary thing to get you in the habit of picking more in line with the top, or is it designed to get you finishing on the next string every time it's available as a matter of course - if so, does that work for fast playing?

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