This has probably been covered here, or somewhere, before, but for all my searching, I can't find what I'm looking for.
First, I'm a beginner. Right now I'm fooling with double stops. Playing them on a down stroke isn't much of a problem anymore. With practice I have been able to strike both strings cleanly. The problem is with up strokes. If I try an upstroke with a double stop, I can't hit both strings consistently, and it just feels awkward.
So my questions are:
1) Are double stops played on an upstroke? (I may be misunderstanding what I read)
2) Should I expect and practice to hit both strings on the up stroke, or is hitting just the lower of the two strings common and expected?
Thanks much for any input. This is a great site with a lot of good information.
Also, is there a search function for the forum? I've looked but can't seem to find it.
Cheers,
George
Doublestops are playing two notes together to create thicker, more interesting sound for solos or rhythm guitar. They always demand a player's attention and preparation. The demanding nature for these intervals compounds the difficulties of their execution. They are played both up and down strokes or anyway needed to go beyond the limitations. Using the side of your thumb to tap a double stop into a muted chop always gets attention.
Hope it helps
Joe
As Joe mentioned, they're done both ways.
To train your picking hand, try a blues shuffle on 'inside' strings, like this:
-----------------
-----------------
-2-2-4-4-5-5-4-4-
-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-
-----------------
-----------------
When you have that down, try other string sets.
The upstroke double stop is especially useful on the B & E strings - it's sometimes called a 'chop' stroke by funk or bluegrass players. You'll eventually get into a nice rhythm doing things like this:
-------5-------5-
-------5-------5-
-7(8)-----7(8)---
-----------------
-----------------
-----------------
where you're bending the G string, followed by that chop stroke.
Oh, and you'll want to hit both strings. Everybody misses once in a while and ends up with just one... but try for two every time.
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I've always played double stops with downstrokes only, but I'm trying to alternate up and down. It's hard to do at slow tempo, and I feel I can play pretty fast with downstrokes only, too. But can you guys please elaborate on "chop strokes"?
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