Re: Tips for accompanying a guitar?
As a general rule, I try to -not- duplicate what others are doing. Arpeggios, runs, fills, double stop tremelos can all have their place - even if they're very simple. Feel free to change your approach and your volume frequently -maybe even 2-3 times per sung line- if it sounds good, based on the tempo, emotion, loudness, and/or absence of the vocal. Personally, I enjoy unusual inversions, such as moving the fretted notes of an open chord up the neck - an extreme but simplistic example would be open G an octave up: 0-0-14-15. Try to be subtle and unobtrusive, meaning don't step on the vocals ... usually. Sometimes loud is dramatic, and sometimes silence is golden (sorry!). As bigskygirl implied, if you're having fun, the listeners and your singing buddy will be, as well.
Extra thoughts:
- The dreaded-by-some bluegrass chop can work great in rock & pop tunes, and probably many others.
- In my head, "bass runs" don't need to be played in a bass register and can sound great on mando in a sparse 2-instrument arrangement. They're simple, and also a good step toward more interesting fills.
- Ed
"Then one day we weren't as young as before
Our mistakes weren't quite so easy to undo
But by all those roads, my friend, we've travelled down
I'm a better man for just the knowin' of you."
- Ian Tyson
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