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Trying to improve my tremolo accuracy, particularly on the 2nd 3rd and 4th strings.
I am told that 'resting' the thumb on the next string will improve accuacy, but I find this very restricting to the flow of the tremolo notes, and very difficult to do as it sem to create a lot of tension in the right hand?
Any ideas on whether the thumb should 'rest' on the next string or not. What is the generally accepted technique, thumb rest or thumb free?
RE: Resting thumb in tremolo??? (in reply to britguy)
for me thumb resting. fingers staccato attack. slowly build up speed. over months the tension you describe will begin to feel more like control and accuracy.
RE: Resting thumb in tremolo??? (in reply to britguy)
we share the same suffering if I play tremelo without resting I usually sound faster and more musical while playing resting the thumb limit my movement and the speed as well and cause tension. therefore I usually mix them both I play the high basses (6th,5th,4th) with resting and the rest without resting
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Joined: Jun. 7 2010
From: The South Ireland
RE: Resting thumb in tremolo??? (in reply to britguy)
Ah my old enemy ........tremolo.....
I do try very hard to rest stroke the thumb if possible , this also depends on the bass line , if the strings are adjacent or not , if they are, then good I will (try ) rest stroke but sometimes they are not so the thumb will jump to the next string to be played. Things that I think help me , I now start with the tremolo then the thumb iamiP...iamiP...iamiP...etc , this I think helps the sound ( as oppose to Piami) I now try to make the first thumb stroke a bit heavier than the other two . thinking of a tremolo in 3/4 i would have iamiP....iamiP....iamiP,etc if you know what I mean , In order to make the first P stronger I bring the thumb out and hit in in on the bass string a bit harder than the others, the next 2 P's just rest stroke across. I suppose a vid would be in order here as trying to describe what happens in words is a bit cumbersome I do a lot of experimentation with guitar height and angle of neck and hand , finger positions , to find the best one for me ,, This is the hard part finding what is best for yourself , finger angle and hand position are very important it seems. also how close you play to the bridge changes things quite a bit . I totally simpathize with your tremolo problem I have been messing with mine for a long time , maybe I'm not the best one to give advice for that reason.
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Joined: Nov. 8 2010
From: London (living in the Bay Area)
RE: Resting thumb in tremolo??? (in reply to britguy)
You have to be able to do it both ways: as someone else said, it’s not possible to rest when the strings aren’t adjacent — or when the bass string is adjacent to the tremolo string (because you don’t want to stop the tremolo from ringing).
Watch videos of Paco Peña on YouTube — he has a very good even tremolo.
Posts: 3497
Joined: Jul. 12 2009
From: Washington, DC
RE: Resting thumb in tremolo??? (in reply to britguy)
Whether or not you rest your thumb (and I tend to think it does not help) while performing tremolo, do use a strong thumb stroke, as a strong thumb stroke leads to a strong iami. I know there are differing opinions on this, but in my opinion, that means using the sequence Piami, as your strong thumb stroke will have more effect on the iami at the beginning than at the end of the sequence.
Cheers,
Bill
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RE: Resting thumb in tremolo??? (in reply to BarkellWH)
quote:
ORIGINAL: BarkellWH
Whether or not you rest your thumb (and I tend to think it does not help) while performing tremolo, do use a strong thumb stroke, as a strong thumb stroke leads to a strong iami. I know there are differing opinions on this, but in my opinion, that means using the sequence Piami, as your strong thumb stroke will have more effect on the iami at the beginning than at the end of the sequence.
Cheers,
Bill
I agree with this. I don't rest the thumb but I also have the most ridiculous looking thumb tremolo motion of anyone I imagine (I bend at the joint closest to the tip of the thumb to help sound the note)
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