Hi, all.
I've been playing awhile now but I cant decide on my blues solo exactly how to attack a song. When I play double stops as triplets I almost always use downstrokes but I cant decide how to play single line triplets.
Should I alternate pick them, use all downstrokes or use UP, Down, UP?
The real problem I'm seeing is when I practice scales I usually alternate pick them but lately when I play I notice that I use almost all down strokes from 3 note chords to double stops to single line licks. How do you guys approach a series of single note triplets no hammers or pulls on the same lines or on adjacent string skipped lines? Why practice alternat picking when I not using it for very much?
I'm just wondering if playing them with all downstrokes is going to slow me down? What do blues musicians do? SRV and the like when they run single line blues runs?
If I just straight alternate pick the d,u,d,u,d,u I will be using a down stroke on one beat and an upstroke on the second beat. Not sure but that might mess up the groove.
|---|----------------------------
B|---|---------------------------
G|---|---------------------------
D|---|-0-1-2-----------------2----------
A|-2-|--------0-2-1-------0------------
E|---|-------------------3-------------------------
How would you all play this? Down,up,down, alternate pick, all downstrokes?
Did SRV incorporate alot of alternate picking in his style? I think most of his double stops played as triplets were all downstrokes but I'm not sure on the rest of his solo's. In anycase I should practice like I play or play like I practice and right now I'm not sure how to practice scales.
Wow, loaded question. I'll take a stab at it and maybe I could brining a few things to the table. Sometimes I will use alternate picking with triplet runs for efficiency and fluency. Meaning that to play triplets with all down stroke you are using energy to get the pick in position for the next down stroke in time to play the next note. Using alternate picking, you (in not all cases, but most) will probably make less movement which helps in conservation energy. That was the efficiency piece. The other thing that I feel (and this is only me) is that alternate picking also helps provide more fluid, less accented notes, which could add more of a 'runny' feeling to whatever line you are making. I always use all downstrokes when I want to really emphazise something. But again, that is style. You may find that you are more fluent with all down strokes.
Also I always viewed practicing scales in this metaphor: it's like sketching before drawing. I make sure that I am able to play each note cleanly, but will try different approaches to the scale to figure out it's different colors. Try using all down strokes, then all up strokes, then 4 down and 4 up, then 4 up, 4 down, then two down, two up. then play the scale with triplets, then in eigths, then in 16ths and think of string skipping. Try staying in time so that your up strokes are on the 'and'. You may find that this will give you a raggae feel. It is good that you want to break your mold, just make sure that you continue to play each note cleanly and accurately.
on a final note, I don't know how SRV attacks his notes, however, try different techniquest and compare how they sound to the desired effect. Hope this helps, Peace.
"What's the point of callin' shots;
This cue ain't straight in line.
Cue ball's made of styrofoam
And no one's got the time." (Garcia/Hunter)
