Re: Really good tremelo exercises?
Originally Posted by
mikerofone
The problem/challenge I have with tremolos as a relative mandolin newbie is not in creating the tremolo sound/effect itself, but in trying to maintain enough volume for it to be heard. I find myself using the "long" edge of the pick rather than playing just off to one side or the other of the point as I would picking single notes. Could this be my problem?
It’s at least one identifiable part of the mandolin you haven’t yet figured out. I’m only half a year into playing mandolin myself and I’m finding that the good players have a consistency to their technique. e.g. They don’t change how they hold the pick when playing loud vs. soft or single notes vs. strumming vs. tremolo. They’ll adjust grip strength a little but the position of the pick in the fingers and the part of the pick that contacts the strings both stay fixed. As I’ve been picking some pro players’ brains and practicing I’ve concluded that for me a good pick grip for tremolo also serves all other picking needs. YMMV of course but I hope this is helpful.
A couple years in, now, and still learning!
Ratliff F-style Country Boy
Eastman MDO-305 Octave Mandolin
Kentucky KM-272
I don’t know what I want to be when I grow up.
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