I have heard that whatever one does on a fiddle can be done on a mandolin.
That's what a mando teacher told me, anyhow, but he didn't play ITM.
Well, fiddlers play cuts, taps and rolls. Can one do this on a mandolin?
It seems that a continuous sound, as in fiddle or flute, certainly helps
in playing these ornaments.
Cuts, taps and rolls on mandolin
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Re: Cuts, taps and rolls on mandolin
On plucked strings, cuts are just pull-offs, taps are hammer-ons, and rolls a combination of the two. So technically, why not. But it's more idiomatic to substitute fiddle-style doubles and trebles. And since those ornaments are really articulation enhancements, and mando is very articulated already, there's not as much need. As on other strings, pull-offs and hammer-ons are as conditioned by phrasing and fingering considerations as by imitation of wind and fiddle ornaments. IMO.
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Re: Cuts, taps and rolls on mandolin
Actually, I find full rolls quite hard on mandolin. It's the high string tension.
If I were to roll on guitar (which I don't because I'm crap on guitar anyway) I could do it with one pluck and then just hammer and pull-off as required: the instrument has low enough tension, enough sustain and resonance for it. On mandolin I find either the sustain or my technique - or both - are not up to it. On mando and tenor banjo I'd be more likely to rely on picked triplets etc.
Cut and tap analogues are no prob. Same with sliding.
If I were to roll on guitar (which I don't because I'm crap on guitar anyway) I could do it with one pluck and then just hammer and pull-off as required: the instrument has low enough tension, enough sustain and resonance for it. On mandolin I find either the sustain or my technique - or both - are not up to it. On mando and tenor banjo I'd be more likely to rely on picked triplets etc.
Cut and tap analogues are no prob. Same with sliding.
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Re: Cuts, taps and rolls on mandolin
I think the key to doing rolls on the mando is to pick the last note. Viz: downstroke, hammer-on, pulloff back to the original note, pulloff to the open string, upstroke on the original note. Works for me.
I often use a cut/left-hand-pizzicato to articulate the middle note of a triplet. It sounds nicer and doesn't screw up my picking pattern.
I often use a cut/left-hand-pizzicato to articulate the middle note of a triplet. It sounds nicer and doesn't screw up my picking pattern.
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Some of the other music I do
Some of the other music I do