Learn to play double stops

nancyfiddle

This site is amazing.  I keep looking around trying things I know and learning a few new ones and one of the things I realize is I have never learned to play double stops .. mine sound wimpy.  Is there anywhere at this site where I can learn and practice some?  I can tell I'll never learn Bluegrass if I don't learn this first.  Thanks.

 

fiddlewood

You might check out the intermediate versions of waltzes or hymns. Those usually have numerous dbl stops to deal with in them.

There are several types to use and ways to work on them. Usually start fretting each note right first, then putting them together and learning to balance them with each other..
here are a couple threads where DS have been discussed before.

https://bluegrassdaddy.com/forums/topic/double-stops-6/

This thread goes through several things you can use to build "backup" fiddle and incorporat DS into playing.
https://bluegrassdaddy.com/forums/topic/arpeggios/

Hope some of this helps a bit. If you come up with any more questions, ask away!

Dave

cricket

What Dave said!  Double stops are hard to play in tune...that's the absolute truth.  So you're not the only one struggling.  I think if you practice a tune you like to play that has a double stop in it...just playing it a lot will help.  Takes time.

nancyfiddle

Thanks for the info....both of you.  Will continue to work on these and I'm 'glad' to hear they're hard...and not just me LOL!

 

cricket

Misery loves company...lol...well it ain't all that bad, but yeah, they are just hard to do.  You'll get it though, if you just keep practicing them.  Sometimes I'm amazed at how good my double stops sound, then, the next day, I might try 'em again and they are so awful I just have to stop or it'll make me sick to keep listening to myself...lol.

Kenny

Nancy
Dave really helped me with the videos for double stops.  One of the videos is over 2 years ago.  That is when I first started playing double stops.  So you can see it took some time for me to practice these, but now I am very comfortable using them.

One thing that may help you find double stops is to take the notes that make up a chord = the 1,3, and 5 notes of a scale.  Example using a G chord try making a double stop from the notes G, B and D.   In the G scale these are the 1,3 and 5 notes. G scale = <strong>G is one</strong> , A is two , <strong>B is three</strong>, C is four, <strong>D is five</strong> , E is six, and F? is seventh.

Then try to find any two of these notes on the G and D string.  ex. B (2nd finger)on the G string played with the G note on the D (3rd finger) string.  B on the G string with the open D on the D string. There are more to find  on the G and D string.


Then look at G, B and D on the D and A string,  Any two of these notes will make a nice double stop in the key of G.   ex. G note on the D string(3rd finger) with B note on the A string (1st finger) etc.

then move to the A and E strings lookin for any pair of G, B or D

 

This helped me a lot ,

Good luck,
Kenny

Kenny

Note: not all double stops have to be notes of the chord as Dave shows in "Pass Me By"
This was just a place to get started.

 

Nancy Bitter

@Kenny OMG !!! Looking over these old discussions and the lite bulb just went on for this topic!!!!! Thanks Kenny!!! (hope your still on this site)

John (BGD)

Great thread! Good stuff, @Kenny .

"Bile them cabbage down" is a good place to begin Or maybe go straight to "Cajun fiddle."