Once again, thanks for a great lesson. Always interesting to get inside the mind of Doc a little bit. Here is my attempt at it... I had some trouble with the backwards rolls, as I just haven't done a lot of that. I worked on the rolls a bunch on their own with a metronome, starting way down at 60bpm and really trying to stay loose (easier said than done). Any other tips, especially as far as right hand technique, would be great. I think initially I was using just wrist motion to get the pick to each string, instead of using a bit of elbow to get the pick in a proper position to hit the string... Kind of hard to explain but hopefully that makes sense. I guess that's a bad habit I didn't realize I had picked up.
Trying to keep the "swing" feeling at this speed was a little tough but I tried my best.
Also please don't mind my lazy dog in the background. He does not care about Doc Watson.
John, I think you've hit the nail on the head - the elbow can't be locked out of the equation. Especially in Doc Watson's technique the elbow was a huge part of the mechanism to get that particular sound.
The practice paid off and you sound really good! Something to work on might be getting a little more dynamic contour in your lines. Particulay the last long descending line sounds a little straight. It's subtle, but see if you can make it all, but that last line in particular, dance a little more.
Thanks for the info Chris. That definitely does shed some light. I try hard to visualize chord shapes/triads all the time when I'm playing, so I guess I'm on the right track? I don't usually think about 7th chord shapes, even when playing bluesier stuff, so that comment about the C7 is especially helpful. I guess I need to learn those 7th shapes/arpeggios up the neck now...
Here is a runthrough on Nine Pound Hammer. Just a couple things to note: I found myself having to move my right hand back a bit toward the bridge because the notes were getting a bit tubby/loose at the end of the B part. I think I'm not used to playing so fast and Tony-ish. I also found myself having to pick a little lighter to keep things clean, which is a good thing I imagine. Is that a good approach to these types of songs? I also imagine it could be that I was playing on an OM.
Also I am recently recovered from the 6th (and hopefully final) surgery on my forearms/wrists, so I am struggling a bit with technique, relaxation, and overall 'feel'. I have lots of plates,screws, and scar tissue in there, so my arm feels very stiff overall. If you have any notes on such things, I'm all ears. I'm much more concerned with that stuff than with specific note flubs, etc.
Hi John, well done! The main thing is that you don't have to pick all of those notes. Use hammer on's and pull offs to make your life easier. Not only does that give your right hand a break (even a mini one note rest can help maintain your stamina!), but it will help the phrasing of some of those licks as well. For instance, at the end of the first full measure where you play from the 1st fret of the 4th string to the open 4th string leading into the C chord (it's at 0:13 on your video), play that as a pull off. When you play the C run immediately after that pull off, you can incorporate slides and pull-offs. I made a video to show you what I mean:
Giving your right hand those brief rests will help you to relax and get more of a flow going. That said, you're very much on the right track. Keep up the good work.
Great lesson! I have a question about the scale(s) used here. I know it starts in G blues as you say, but when he switches to the C chord for instance is he thinking 'C blues', etc? Or is he thinking key of G still but trying to accent the C chord tones more? If you can't speak for Tony, how do you envision it in your playing? It's easier for me if the chord switches to like a B7 or something I'll play B mixolydian, but since the 4 and 5 chords are diatonic to the root except for one note it kind of throws me off, if that makes sense. That probably means I'm overthinking it.
I guess I'm wondering not about this song in particular, but in a more general way about how different players approach this stuff. I know there's no one right way, but I've been stuck on how to visualize and what scales to use when improvising in a bluegrass context. I'm always wondering how I should be thinking when I go to the the 4 or 5 chord. I know most of the notes are same, so I'm more thinking about how to visualize it, and get a better understanding of WHY some of my favorite players are choosing the notes they use. I'm comfortable playing in any key and switching between whatever scales and all that, but I'm not sure it's the best way for my playing.
I know for me (and likely Tony and most other flatpickers as well) I'm not actually thinking in terms of scales when I'm playing. While improvising, if I'm thinking of anything theoretical I'll tend to think in terms of triads or seventh chords. So when it goes to C I might think of a C triad, and I might think about adding a b7 (Bb) as well if I want a funky flavor in there or a major 7 (B natural) if I want a pretty flavor. That's a pretty broad generalization of the thought process but the important thing that I want to get across is that I tend to see this more as a C7 (or C Maj7) shape than thinking of all of the individual notes.
In this particular case I see the phrase that he plays over the C chord as containing a pretty classic G-run (but here it's technically a C run!) that he doubles back on to get a funky Bb and bring it home with a bluesy pentatonic phrase.
It's hard to talk about this stuff without the benefit of being able to play and show you exactly what I mean (which I can't do for the next few days because I'm traveling), but hopefully this sheds a bit of light?
Thanks for the info Chris. That definitely does shed some light. I try hard to visualize chord shapes/triads all the time when I'm playing, so I guess I'm on the right track? I don't usually think about 7th chord shapes, even when playing bluesier stuff, so that comment about the C7 is especially helpful. I guess I need to learn those 7th shapes/arpeggios up the neck now...
Hi Chris,
Once again, thanks for a great lesson. Always interesting to get inside the mind of Doc a little bit. Here is my attempt at it... I had some trouble with the backwards rolls, as I just haven't done a lot of that. I worked on the rolls a bunch on their own with a metronome, starting way down at 60bpm and really trying to stay loose (easier said than done). Any other tips, especially as far as right hand technique, would be great. I think initially I was using just wrist motion to get the pick to each string, instead of using a bit of elbow to get the pick in a proper position to hit the string... Kind of hard to explain but hopefully that makes sense. I guess that's a bad habit I didn't realize I had picked up.
Trying to keep the "swing" feeling at this speed was a little tough but I tried my best.
Also please don't mind my lazy dog in the background. He does not care about Doc Watson.
Thanks!
John
John, I think you've hit the nail on the head - the elbow can't be locked out of the equation. Especially in Doc Watson's technique the elbow was a huge part of the mechanism to get that particular sound.
The practice paid off and you sound really good! Something to work on might be getting a little more dynamic contour in your lines. Particulay the last long descending line sounds a little straight. It's subtle, but see if you can make it all, but that last line in particular, dance a little more.
Chris
Thanks for the info Chris. That definitely does shed some light. I try hard to visualize chord shapes/triads all the time when I'm playing, so I guess I'm on the right track? I don't usually think about 7th chord shapes, even when playing bluesier stuff, so that comment about the C7 is especially helpful. I guess I need to learn those 7th shapes/arpeggios up the neck now...
Thanks again!
Hey Chris,
Here is a runthrough on Nine Pound Hammer. Just a couple things to note: I found myself having to move my right hand back a bit toward the bridge because the notes were getting a bit tubby/loose at the end of the B part. I think I'm not used to playing so fast and Tony-ish. I also found myself having to pick a little lighter to keep things clean, which is a good thing I imagine. Is that a good approach to these types of songs? I also imagine it could be that I was playing on an OM.
Also I am recently recovered from the 6th (and hopefully final) surgery on my forearms/wrists, so I am struggling a bit with technique, relaxation, and overall 'feel'. I have lots of plates,screws, and scar tissue in there, so my arm feels very stiff overall. If you have any notes on such things, I'm all ears. I'm much more concerned with that stuff than with specific note flubs, etc.
Thanks!
John
Hi John, well done! The main thing is that you don't have to pick all of those notes. Use hammer on's and pull offs to make your life easier. Not only does that give your right hand a break (even a mini one note rest can help maintain your stamina!), but it will help the phrasing of some of those licks as well. For instance, at the end of the first full measure where you play from the 1st fret of the 4th string to the open 4th string leading into the C chord (it's at 0:13 on your video), play that as a pull off. When you play the C run immediately after that pull off, you can incorporate slides and pull-offs. I made a video to show you what I mean:
Giving your right hand those brief rests will help you to relax and get more of a flow going. That said, you're very much on the right track. Keep up the good work.
Chris
Hi Chris-
Great lesson! I have a question about the scale(s) used here. I know it starts in G blues as you say, but when he switches to the C chord for instance is he thinking 'C blues', etc? Or is he thinking key of G still but trying to accent the C chord tones more? If you can't speak for Tony, how do you envision it in your playing? It's easier for me if the chord switches to like a B7 or something I'll play B mixolydian, but since the 4 and 5 chords are diatonic to the root except for one note it kind of throws me off, if that makes sense. That probably means I'm overthinking it.
I guess I'm wondering not about this song in particular, but in a more general way about how different players approach this stuff. I know there's no one right way, but I've been stuck on how to visualize and what scales to use when improvising in a bluegrass context. I'm always wondering how I should be thinking when I go to the the 4 or 5 chord. I know most of the notes are same, so I'm more thinking about how to visualize it, and get a better understanding of WHY some of my favorite players are choosing the notes they use. I'm comfortable playing in any key and switching between whatever scales and all that, but I'm not sure it's the best way for my playing.
Thanks!
John
Hey John,
I know for me (and likely Tony and most other flatpickers as well) I'm not actually thinking in terms of scales when I'm playing. While improvising, if I'm thinking of anything theoretical I'll tend to think in terms of triads or seventh chords. So when it goes to C I might think of a C triad, and I might think about adding a b7 (Bb) as well if I want a funky flavor in there or a major 7 (B natural) if I want a pretty flavor. That's a pretty broad generalization of the thought process but the important thing that I want to get across is that I tend to see this more as a C7 (or C Maj7) shape than thinking of all of the individual notes.
In this particular case I see the phrase that he plays over the C chord as containing a pretty classic G-run (but here it's technically a C run!) that he doubles back on to get a funky Bb and bring it home with a bluesy pentatonic phrase.
It's hard to talk about this stuff without the benefit of being able to play and show you exactly what I mean (which I can't do for the next few days because I'm traveling), but hopefully this sheds a bit of light?
Thanks for the info Chris. That definitely does shed some light. I try hard to visualize chord shapes/triads all the time when I'm playing, so I guess I'm on the right track? I don't usually think about 7th chord shapes, even when playing bluesier stuff, so that comment about the C7 is especially helpful. I guess I need to learn those 7th shapes/arpeggios up the neck now...
Thanks again!