I am a pretty new player, with limited experience. If the tune is a pretty quick one, I look for notes to break down (1 quarter note to 2 eighths or 4 sixteenths). That helps fill voids. I also look for open notes that I can move to a lower string and get a unison double. I also look for places to add an additional chord note in appropriate places. I like to use Finale because I can scan a melody line in and screw around with it then get it close to where I want then start playing around on the instrument. This month's Mandolin Magazine has a short article by Butch Baldassari on creating bluegrass breaks. There is a decent book by John McGann called "Developing Melodic Variations on Fiddle Tunes", which carries you through different ways to change a tune up. Take a look at Tater's pdf of Methodist Preacher in the files area and compare it to the fiddle version. You'll be able to see/hear the nature of the adaptation. Nelson -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Robin Gravina Sent: Tuesday, October 14, 2008 5:21 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: Thinking up breaks I also have to produce solos for public consumption, without having the art or technique, but my theory and it is absolutely not guaranteed, is to play blues licks from the chords with loads of strings going- e.g. for your tune in C, when I was working on a solo for 'Sweet love aint around' in C, I took the Taterbug solo for 'Rocky Road Blues' which is on mandozine and tried to just use the positions while bearing in mind the tune of the song. If nothing else, it lets you hit some of the tune notes while playing with a load of sound rather than fiddling around with clever melody lines, which I have to say I cannot do, and if you do it badly it sounds really weak. You could also try the Monroe and Bush versions of 'Walls of time' which are both on the mandozine website and give you rocking things to play in the C and G chords... The Bush one just has to be moved over one string downwards. Anyway, those ideas have made my soloing at least sound acceptable, when I hit it right, even though the last thing it is is original! Best Robin On Tue, Oct 14, 2008 at 10:29 PM, Mark Seale <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: Jonas -
For new tunes, I typically stick around the melody and the chord progression. Then I focus on interesting transitions from one change to the next. Usually that will get you there in an old-time style. Mark On Tue, Oct 14, 2008 at 3:09 PM, Jonas Mattebo <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: Dear All, How do you people approach designing tasteful mandolin breaks for songs? Start with the melody, or play out of chord positions, or just opening the box o' tricks & licks? I'm trying to play in the Monroe/ Compton vein of mandolin playing, and I find it hard to come up with new stuff still within this style. How do I approach it? For example, I'm now trying to come up with a break to the Townes Van Zandt song 'White Freightliner Blues', and it's not really coming along. (The problem is I'm supposed to play this song in front of a 'trusting audience' this friday, so I'm running out of time!) Anyway, the song is kind of fast (for me) and the chords are: C/C/G/G/(X2) D/C/G/G How would you approach this? Thanks, Jonas --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Taterbugmando" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/taterbugmando?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
