Welcome to our forum. A Message To Our New and Prospective Members . Check out our Forum Rules. Lets keep this forum an enjoyable place to visit.

Check out our 2023 Group Christmas Project HERE

AAA
Avatar
Please consider registering
guest
sp_LogInOut Log Insp_Registration Register
Register | Lost password?
Advanced Search
Forum Scope




Match



Forum Options



Minimum search word length is 3 characters - maximum search word length is 84 characters
sp_Feed Topic RSSsp_TopicIcon
Teeny Double Stop Break Through
Snow Deer.
Topic Rating: 5 Topic Rating: 5 Topic Rating: 5 Topic Rating: 5 Topic Rating: 5 Topic Rating: 5 (5 votes) 
Avatar
coolpinkone
California, the place of my heart
April 9, 2015 - 12:40 pm
Member Since: January 11, 2012
Forum Posts: 4180
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline

Hey everyone... I have been learning a fiddle tune.  Snow Deer.  Its fun and not to hard.  

The song  starts with double stops... and when I was practicing with my friend.  Her double stops did the "ringy-stereo" thing.. ya know.. what a double stop is supposed to do.

After trying it a few times and it not working.  She said to just play the top note. So I have been doing that.   :)

exactlyIn this case it is the F# on the e-string in first pos.  So I have been playing with just that.

Last night in practicing along.. I gave the double stop another shot.  It is D on the A string / F# on Estring.    Is there a name for that double stop?  violin

Anyway.. RING>>>> RING...heart I found I had to be really clean on the D note with my fingertip.. and pull down on my bow getting enough of the estring.  

YEP.. it sounded so good I almost peed my pantsbananabananabananabanana.   (sorry.. just an expression)

#1 issue... tension in fingers and bow hand.... death grip returned for this little interaction.. facepalm

Vibrato Desperato.... Desperately seeking vibrato

Avatar
Uzi
Georgia

Honorary tenured advisor
Members

Regulars
April 9, 2015 - 1:29 pm
Member Since: January 19, 2014
Forum Posts: 973
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline

Woo hoo!  Cool.  That's actually one of the harder commonly used double stops, so if you can do that one the rest are easier.  Yes there is a name for it, it's a partial D Major chord for one. If you played a D Major (D F# A) on the piano or guitar, for example, that double stop would fit right in. 

A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort. ~Herm Albright

Avatar
coolpinkone
California, the place of my heart
April 9, 2015 - 1:45 pm
Member Since: January 11, 2012
Forum Posts: 4180
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline

Thank you Uzi.

Makes sense that it is a partial D major chord.    Thank you so much.

It was really fun to hear it work out.   I play this silly one at the end of Ashokan.. open G & D.. (not sure if it is legit... but I like to do it.)   :) banana

Vibrato Desperato.... Desperately seeking vibrato

Avatar
Uzi
Georgia

Honorary tenured advisor
Members

Regulars
April 9, 2015 - 2:19 pm
Member Since: January 19, 2014
Forum Posts: 973
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline

Very nice.  Good to see that you appreciate the unique sound of fiddle chords. That's what gives so many genres of fiddle music their unique sound characteristics.  Since you're already playing the open G-D chord (that's the 1st and 5th of a G Major), try next playing the A D (A on the G string open D) which is the 5th and 1st of a D Major chord -- inverted) then play the B-D (B on the G string, open D) which is the 3rd and 5th of a G Major chord followed by maybe the G-E (open G, E on the D string) which is the 1st and 3rd of an Em chord.  Play them up and down and all around and I think you'll like the effect.

Also, you can play the first and fifth of any major chord by playing the note with the chord name and then playing the same position on the next higher string -- since all violin strings are a fifth higher than the one below it. So to play a G chord you're playing the open G and D.  To play an A chord play the A on the G string and the same position on the D string, which is an E and you playing an A chord and so on. This means that you can easily provide rhythm accompaniment to any songs for which you know the chords.

A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort. ~Herm Albright

Avatar
Just4Fun
Members
April 9, 2015 - 2:22 pm
Member Since: March 18, 2015
Forum Posts: 62
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline

Ouch, my fingers hurt just thinking of trying to do that combination!  Great job forging ahead with it!

Avatar
Georganne
Members

Regulars
April 9, 2015 - 2:54 pm
Member Since: August 28, 2013
Forum Posts: 993
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline

Yay.  Good job.

 

Opportunity is often missed because it wears suspenders and looks like hard work.

 

Alaska, the Madness; Bloggity Stories of the North Country

Avatar
Worldfiddler
Members

Regulars
April 9, 2015 - 6:24 pm
Member Since: April 22, 2012
Forum Posts: 488
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline

Good one, Toni!

One little tip I have for this (and almost every double-stop) ...

Just play the notes separately, making sure they are in tune, and keeping the fingers down on the notes.

Now, imagine you have another string, right in the middle between the A string and the E string.

Bow that string!

All being well, you should now be playing your perfect double stop :)

Mr Jim dancing 

Avatar
DanielB
Regulars

Members
April 9, 2015 - 6:57 pm
Member Since: May 4, 2012
Forum Posts: 2379
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline

Excellent, Toni!

Bravo!  clap

 

When I first started practising double-stops, I kinda knew a couple songs that used them in a couple places.  To be able to practice it better, I wrote a little melody for the D and A strings so that I could play it as a piece that was all double-stops to be able to practice them better and work on getting a bit of "fiddley" sound. 

I could have just used Bile Them Cabbages or Old Joe Clark or quite a few others, where there were tutorials, but I was kinda burned out on those and in the tutorials, they never did them quite like I would want to do them.  Also, stumbling through respected old traditional pieces, I sometimes think that whoever wrote them is probably rolling over in their grave somewhere when I'm learning them, so messing around with changing things on my own stuff doesn't bother me as much.  LOL

Besides, on pieces you write yourself, nobody can say you are ****ing it up.  You are just "developing" or "exploring" the piece as part of your "composing strategy".  That's one of the least mentioned and best things about writing music.  Gotta love that.  LOL

In case you'd like to try the little piece I worked up, I'll share it here.

Blueberry-Pancakes.jpgImage Enlarger

Now before some observant soul mentions that there are no doublestops shown in that score, I will say that it was quite intentional.  It looks much more confusing to show the doublestops when it's written out and this is a very easy melody.  You just play it in first position (not using your pinky for the A on the D string in this case) and after you're comfortable with the basic melody, you play both the A and D string, letting whichever string you aren't fingering ring open so it is always 2 notes at once.

It's an easy "kid" sort of melody, and nothing tricky like having to finger 2 notes at once on different strings to play it and do a quick impersonation of a fiddler.  LOL

There is a story that goes with the title, but I have saved it for last, so folks with no interest in such things can just skip it.

I often play while I'm cooking.  Cooking always involves some waiting time, and often it isn't really enough to do much with, but plenty to run a scale or two or an exercise of a quick verse and chorus of a song.  When I worked this up to practice the technique, I happened to be cooking blueberry pancakes.  I made up something where I could play it through a few times before it was time to turn the pancakes, and that way I can get in some extra practice time and also use the music as a sort of cooking timer.

When I ran through it again a couple days later, some members of my household asked if we were having blueberry pancakes again, since I was playing "the blueberry pancake song".  They ended up going out and getting blueberries.

So this little ditty (which probably wouldn't have actually gotten a title, since it was originally just an exercise I made up for myself) ended up known as "Blueberry Pancakes" to family and friends. 

When I was first playing it, my tempo allowed for a couple times through before turning the pancakes, if the batter and skillet temp were just as I like them.  But with practice, tempo went up and I usually run it through twice in D, modulate down to G and play it once, and then back up to D these days.  If the batter is a little thick, I may need to run through a single note version of the melody at the beginning or end, or "milk" the ending a little to give just a little extra cooking time.

"This young wine may have a lot of tannins now, but in 5 or 10 years it is going to be spectacular, despite the fact that right now it tastes like crude oil. You know this is how it is supposed to taste at this stage of development." ~ Itzhak Perlman

Avatar
Schaick
Members

Regulars
April 10, 2015 - 10:23 am
Member Since: December 25, 2013
Forum Posts: 878
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline

 Yeah @coolpinkone 

Violinist start date -  May 2013  

Fiddler start date - May 2014

FIDDLE- Gift from a dear friend. A 1930-40 german copy, of a french copy of a Stradivarius.  BOW - $50 carbon fiber. Strings - Dominants with E Pirastro Gold string.

Avatar
Fiddlerman
Fort Lauderdale
April 10, 2015 - 10:37 am
Member Since: September 26, 2010
Forum Posts: 16429
10sp_Permalink sp_Print
0

Good for you Toni. Isn't it great when discover new techniques and notice improvement in your playing. It's one of the things that keeps you moving forward. ;)
Glad to hear it. As someone said above, the 3rd finger and 1st is a slightly more difficult double stop which tells me you'll have an easy time with the easier double stops using open strings for example.
Bravo!!!

"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."

Avatar
TerryT
Coleshill, Warwickshire
Members

Regulars
April 10, 2015 - 3:23 pm
Member Since: December 15, 2011
Forum Posts: 1731
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline
11sp_Permalink sp_Print
0

coolpinkone said
Thank you Uzi.

Makes sense that it is a partial D major chord.    Thank you so much.

It was really fun to hear it work out.   I play this silly one at the end of Ashokan.. open G & D.. (not sure if it is legit... but I like to do it.)   :) banana

I have a transcript  of Ashokan Farewell that has a set of doublestops as part of the  2nd repeat, which is testing but acheivebale if you want a copy of it.

if you play over the melody with them its  great help for double stop intonation

I am amazed at how old people of my age are.....

Avatar
cdennyb
King for a Day, Peasant for many
Members

Regulars
April 11, 2015 - 11:48 am
Member Since: February 13, 2012
Forum Posts: 1817
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline
12sp_Permalink sp_Print
0

Rock on fiddle partner! Proud of ya. Now to get the vibrato going too. Oh my!dazed

"If you practice with your hands you must practice all day. Practice with your mind and you can accomplish the same amount in minutes." Nathan Milstein

Avatar
coolpinkone
California, the place of my heart
April 11, 2015 - 1:09 pm
Member Since: January 11, 2012
Forum Posts: 4180
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline

@Worldfiddler - thank you for that tip... "invisible string" makes sense.  hats_off

@Georganne, @Schaick, @Just4Fun  thanks! birthday_balloon

 @cdennyb  thanks !!!!   Vibrato is coming.... Vibrato is coming.... Shifting... and doublestops.. oh my... dancing

@Uzi  " try next playing the A D (A on the G string open D) which is the 5th and 1st of a D Major chord -- inverted) then play the B-D (B on the G string, open D) which is the 3rd and 5th of a G Major chord followed by maybe the G-E (open G, E on the D string) which is the 1st and 3rd of an Em chord.  Play them up and down and all around and I think you'll like the effect."  

Thank you Uzi.  I needed somewhere to go with double stop practice so this will be handy.  exactly

@Fiddlerman thank you.  I hope to show you all it soon.   I have made it happen.. that doesn't mean I can do it every time.. yet.. LOLbeg

 

@TerryT thanks, I do play Ashokan.  I haven't got to the point where I can incorporate double stops comfortably, but I will soon. I believe I have the sheet for the double stops of Ashokan.serenade

@DanielB  - Thank you.  I am printing off the Blueberry Pancakes lesson.  I thank you for that.  I will keep you posted on how it turns out.  Thanks for the detailed information.  You Rock.jimi-hendrix

Thanks for all the positive feedback friend. :)

Vibrato Desperato.... Desperately seeking vibrato

Forum Timezone: America/New_York
Most Users Ever Online: 696
Currently Online: Mouse
Guest(s) 149
Currently Browsing this Page:
1 Guest(s)
Members Birthdays
sp_BirthdayIcon
Today None
Upcoming Sofia Leo, TKDennis, FiddleDetroit, CookiesViolin, JPferrman, Designer 88, LyleA, Stephen, Dorque, Trisha, Elaisa, wonderputz, Gordon Shumway, dougga, Russionleo, JohnG
Top Posters:
ELCBK: 7761
ABitRusty: 3915
Mad_Wed: 2849
Barry: 2690
Fiddlestix: 2647
Oliver: 2439
Gordon Shumway: 2425
DanielB: 2379
Mark: 2149
damfino: 2113
Member Stats:
Guest Posters: 3
Members: 31663
Moderators: 0
Admins: 7
Forum Stats:
Groups: 16
Forums: 81
Topics: 10590
Posts: 134224
Newest Members:
Adityaail, SoCal335, Jan Howard, edwardcheng, Oscar Stern, bryanhanson, bittruster, fiddlecastro, jackdaniel, romanmills08
Administrators: Fiddlerman: 16429, KindaScratchy: 1760, coolpinkone: 4180, BillyG: 3744, MrsFiddlerman: 2, Jimmie Bjorling: 0, Mouse: 5309