from May / June 2022 Problem of Acoustic guitar | Cameron Knower
Mother Maybelle Carter’s performance beautifully colors the legendary recordings of the Carter Family and is only further revealed by scrutiny, transcription and analysis. Her playing is clearly melodic, but on both her bass runs and guitar solos on vocal songs, she rarely hears playing strictly melodic numbers.
This weekly workout introduces a pair of lesser-known Cartercuts as a source material for melodic flat picking exercises. The instrumental “Cumberland Gap” from the 1963 album. Pickin’and Singin’And she played the Delmore Brothers song “I’m Leaving You” Near the house: Mike Seeger’s collection Old-time music from 1952 to 1967..
Weekly training Is a series of monthly guitar exercises consisting of interesting technical workouts that make the fingers of the fretting and picking hands work in different ways and provide musical research to help you visualize and explore the fingerboard. ..
We have organized the lessons along two axes: difficulty and section. In the first week, you’ll learn the first section of the two sections of “Cumberland Gap” and the more difficult version with special playing techniques and prosperity. In the second week, we will use the same process in the second section. Weeks 3 and 4 use the same approach to tackle “I’m away from you.” By the end of this weekly workout, you’ll have two playable arrangements aimed at deepening your flat picking idiom techniques and understanding.
Week 1: Introducing cross-picking by “Cumberland Gap”
“Cumberland Gap” is a simple 16-bar structure with a 4-bar phrase played twice in each section. Let’s start with the first section of the Carter Family recording. In this section, the melody is placed in the high register. (Note that most versions of “Cumberland Gap” start in the opposite direction and have a lower melody.)
Example 1 The melody is pretty simple, as it mainly applies to the open strings at the top of the open C chords that we all know and love. (In the original recording, Carter used the capo on the 4th fret and sounded the chord like an E.) However, it’s important to pay close attention to the dynamics when rendering this section. Higher strings are less likely to have an inherent sound than lower strings, so you should focus on balancing the dynamics throughout your guitar’s string set.
The logic that applies to all these examples is to adhere strictly to the picking direction. Downbeats get downstrokes, and upbeats get upstrokes. The same is true for synchronization. For example, if there is only one eighth note that corresponds to the “and” of the beat, it will be played with an upstroke to prepare for the use of an ongoing downbeat.
Example 2 Incorporating cross-picking, strum and chord decoration, the melody is delivered in an all-in-one package, so there are clear challenges. Some players use down-down-up picking patterns, but it’s a good idea to stick to alternating picking patterns for cohesion. Like other tricky passages, this is a slow tempo at first and is best dealt with on a measurement-by-measure basis.
Tips for beginners # 1
To get the hang of alternative picking, try playing a consistent quarter note on a single string with just a downstroke. This is followed by alternating downstrokes and upstrokes to play eighth notes at a more dynamic level. Keep in mind that upstrokes are naturally weak and require special emphasis when practicing for the first time.
Week 2: Refine details
You will notice most of the single notes in Example 3 It fits in an open C-shape. The secret to convincingly encountering this passage is the surplus of fretting hand power. In Carter’s playing, it’s important to remember that the open strings resonate with each other, creating the overtones that are essential for rendering the melody flowing. Another important feature is the use of light strum in the chords in Majors 1 and 4.
of Example 4You will notice that the core melody remains largely intact. Around this core framework, cross-picking has been added to embody the placement in a banjo-like way. Take the time to pay equal attention to strength, rhythmic accuracy, and timbre, as in the carefully selected examples of the first week. Pay close attention to the precision required for the decorative notes at the top of the bar, the strum pattern of the eighth note, and the chromatic scale leading to the top of the song, especially in bar 4.
Tips for beginners # 2
For better control of dynamics, practice with a metronome, preferably headphones. Use the metronome volume level as a reference point to match all notes to the same dynamic level for better balance and render the melody differently than the notes below.
Week 3: The tricky dynamics of “I’m away from you”
This week we’ll be using “I’m Leaving You,” which has fewer open strings than the previous song and makes it harder to play in a flowing way. It also contains more single note executions and ideas that provide ample opportunity to practice the use of dynamics.Staring Example 5It is important to render the first 4 bars with an accurate and powerful tone before proceeding to bars 5-8. Measures 5-8 require a light attack to render the strum concisely.
Intent Example 6 To show you how to work out at a higher register. Set one octave up. This example is a note-by-note transposition of the first four bars of the example. 5. For additional workouts, try playing the low and high versions in succession with the metronome with consistent timing, feel and accuracy.
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Tips for beginners # 3
Try switching between rhythm and melodic performances.To do this, play the first two measures Example 5, Followed by two bars of strummed G-code. Once you have mastered this, apply the same philosophy to majors 3 and 4.
Week 4: Unique note selection in Melodic Bass Run
Example 7 Presents a master class with a unique note selection within the context of a melodic bass run. For example, pulling away from the third string with the frets on bar 6 and the deep chromaticism of the final idea of bar 7 are challenging to play correctly, but very rewarding. When working on such passages that combine different fretting hand positions, do your best to imagine them before physically learning the ideas. Not only does this help you play with confidence, but it also helps you keep them for creative use in other contexts.
Try for some additional twists Example 8Use a high shape for the G-code, extend chromaticism in bar 3, and use an eighth note triplet in the last bar. This process gives the solo a more modern bluegrass edge. In addition, cross-picking is used in the context of rhythm playing. This is a tricky concept because it has less quarter note strum to fall back. Instead, you need to rely on your ability to play eighth notes quickly, with high rhythmic precision and robust tones for picking up slack.
After running these examples, it’s a good idea to check the original recording of Mother Maybelle Carter. Such lessons may contain detailed transcriptions and insights, but they cannot convey the knowledge gained from in-depth listening.
Tips for beginners # 4
As a practice of style and technique, try incorporating the bass in bars 7 and 8. Example 7 For your rhythm performance. As with any other idea in this lesson, do your best to seamlessly balance the dynamics between the strum and the single note.
Take to the next level with “East Virginia Blues”
To take on the challenge further, learn this excerpt from Mabel Mother’s performance at East Virginia Blues. We’ve included a fair amount of cross-picking to build to reflect the original recording framework. As with the other examples in this lesson, start slowly and measure with each measurement, paying close attention to dynamics and accuracy.
Cameron KnowerMethod book author The guitar also has emotionsIs a Los Angeles-based multi-instrumentalist and educator specializing in jazz, bluegrass and old-time music.
