Tremelo issues, please help

[racer_x]

What is the best way to seperate the thumb from the a-m-i pattern?
My thumb always hits right after my index finger. I have a hard time getting a seperate rhythm going with my thumb. What are some good ways of practicing the seperation? This is very upsetting to me. With a piece like Leyenda the tempo works well with the a-m-i rolling and the thumb doing its thing, but with other pieces where the tempo is completely off it is hard.
Am I missing something? I hope I am not confusing anyone here.
Another way of explaining my problems is this way. Most of the time when I use my thumb on a bass note the tremelo slows or can even stops for a second at different tempos. This damn thumb is driving me crazy. It should stop being a follower and learn to think on its own. lmao
Thanks in advance.

[Beumont_suite]

Any technique can be learned effectively if slowed down to a degree that the mind can be trained to accept it. Since the mind controls your thumb it would make sense to simply slow it down until you've trained your thumb not to get in the way. Even if you have to slow it to quarter notes, that reduction in speed will make all the difference. It almost sounds now like you've trained your hand to produce tremolo improperly. Take it back to the beginning and start over is my advice.

[M. Stephenson]

I am not to sure if this is a joke or not, as the thumb is supposed to follow the 'i' and the thumb is not supposed to take on a rhythm separate from the fingers. Tremolo is a repetitive pattern of 16th notes, anything else is not tremolo. Also, to the best of my knowledge Leyenda does not have tremolo, it is mostly triplets during the 'fast' part.

Assuming that the above is a misread of your post :oops: ,then I agree with Beumont_suite - it sounds like you learned tremolo improperly.

:arrow: Use a metronome and set it at whatever tempo that you need to get even 16th notes. At a slow pace it should have the rhythm of a train. It takes time, patience, determination and brutal honesty with ones self.

I have been working on tremolo for well over a year trying to get RDLA to the point that I can record it. I had a heck of a time doing tremolo while doing rest strokes with the thumb and I am still not good at it.

One thing my teacher had me do was to play p-a-m-i all on one string, like the 'b' string. This really helped me to get the rhythm right.

:arrow: Another thing to do is to learn a thumb intensive song such as Gerardo Nunez’s “Estudio para pulgar e indice”

http://herso.freeservers.com/tabs1.html

This piece will give you greater control of the thumb, guaranteed. 8)

[byers1991]

Generally, the thumb is the first of a group of fast notes(usually 4 16ths but not always. It almost always is the first of the group. No matter what the written bas rhythm is the hand plays constant rhythm. If this is not the case you might not be dealing with tremolo. However, my suggestion (which worked for me but may insite an outcry) is do PIMA all on one string. I start with string one and then move to other strings. Also practice imap, mapi, apim in groups of sixteenths on one string. Learn to accent the first note of the group. Since each finger will get a chance, you will learn to balance the sound better. Good Luck!

[selma600]

the ubiquitous (here, anyway) "Pumping Nylon" has some great tremolo exercises in it. (Book one)

[racer_x]

I was never taught a tremelo technique by anyone. I am just trying to learn how to do it. Thanks for the advice. I'm sure it will be very useful.

[ChadT]

I have been working on tremolo for well over a year trying to get RDLA to the point that I can record it. I had a heck of a time doing tremolo while doing rest strokes with the thumb and I am still not good at it.

One thing my teacher had me do was to play p-a-m-i all on one string, like the 'b' string. This really helped me to get the rhythm right.


One thing I have done on RDLA is to play one p-a-m-i with the thumb playing the bass note as usual followed by one p-a-m-i on the upper string that the tremolo is occuring on. So it would be p on the bass string followed by a-m-i-p-a-m-i on the high string. It slows the tempo of the melody by half if played at the same speed. I usally just practice a few bars this way trying to get the melody up to speed with the extra picking on the high note. It's a fun exercise and makes the piece seem simple when you go back to playing it normaly.

[selma600]

What is the best way to seperate the thumb from the a-m-i pattern?
My thumb always hits right after my index finger. I have a hard time getting a seperate rhythm going with my thumb. What are some good ways of practicing the seperation? This is very upsetting to me. With a piece like Leyenda the tempo works well with the a-m-i rolling and the thumb doing its thing, but with other pieces where the tempo is completely off it is hard.
Am I missing something? I hope I am not confusing anyone here.
Another way of explaining my problems is this way. Most of the time when I use my thumb on a bass note the tremelo slows or can even stops for a second at different tempos. This damn thumb is driving me crazy. It should stop being a follower and learn to think on its own. lmao
Thanks in advance.

I am currently working on "Leyenda." It's not a tremolo, though. ????????? What position are you playing from?

[racer_x]

Was that question for me?

(What position am I playing it from?)

I thought Leyenda was considered a tremelo piece. (at certain points)
The 'B' is played fast enough to sound constant. But maybe it is my lack of tremelo knowledge to really understand what can be defined as tremelo or not. Someone said they were triplets.

[racer_x]

>This sums it up<

Analysis: (Renato Bellucci)
I have been asked many times by my students why I insist that the starting sequence of Bs starts with an m-i sequence and not with an i-m. I can only say this: I played both and m-i works better. It seems reasonable to think that, being Asturias almost a tremolo (p-a-m-i with the missing a leaving us with p-m-i) it is logical that we follow the same pattern going from the outside of the hand inside.

[Beumont_suite]

Hey, does anyone here do the 3 finger tremolo, omitting the "a" finger? I'm surprised at how well it actually works. Not something to replace the regular 4-finger version, but fun to play around with.

[selma600]

Was that question for me?

(What position am I playing it from?)

I thought Leyenda was considered a tremelo piece. (at certain points)
The 'B' is played fast enough to sound constant. But maybe it is my lack of tremelo knowledge to really understand what can be defined as tremelo or not. Someone said they were triplets.

All the ones I have seen fingered start in the 7th...you play an open B alternating with a B on the 9th fret...although it moves down to another position a little later. I think, if you are trying to play it as a tremolo, you are going to run into trouble sooner or later. If you can pull it off, though, go for it...and post your fingerings?????

[racer_x]

First off I do not have the piece down yet, this will take a while.
At the begining of the piece it is slow enough where you only need to use your i or m finger on the open B. As it speeds up I use a,m,i on the B. The lower notes are all played with my thumb. I am just playing the piece as I hear it.

[selma600]

First off I do not have the piece down yet, this will take a while.
At the begining of the piece it is slow enough where you only need to use your i or m finger on the open B. As it speeds up I use a,m,i on the B. The lower notes are all played with my thumb. I am just playing the piece as I hear it.

You can download a free copy on 8notes.com that has the tab added. You might try playing it using the 7th position fingering...just a suggestion, because I tried it as a tremolo before my teacher pointed the 7th fingering out to me and I had reached a point where your fingers just get snarled if you try it with tremolo. It can be done, but it's a LOT harder....

[racer_x]

Thanks Selma

[racer_x]

As far as position I do play it in the 7th.

Fingering including the thumb is p-m then when it gets faster p-a-m-i