Anyone have any tips or resources on playing tune melodies on standard tuning, a la Arty McGlynn or John Doyle?
I’ve been hammering away at my scale shapes for the moment - do guitar melody players usually play in open or closed positions?
Thanks!
Guitar is not my primary instrument, but I enjoy picking tunes in open position (standard tuning or dropped-D), moving into higher positions only when the range of the tune dictates. My main role models for flatpicking guitar is Arty McGlynn – whilst he, unlike myself, knew his guitar inside out and could play effortlessly in any position, he tended to play tunes (on acoustic guitar) in open position, using the ringing open bass strings to create a full, harmonious sound.
I think if you are not listening to Dick Gaughan, you are missing out on some great inspiration. Particularly, his album ´Coppers and Brass´. He uses a variety of tunings, but as often as not, standard tuning.
I would recommend playing primarily in open positions (1st and 2nd), occasionally moving up to 3rd or 5th position when the tune goes up to high B. Playing in open positions allows for better ornamentation. For better tone I tend to avoid the open B string unless it’s just a passing note, using 4th fret G string instead. Go for tunes in D, which play really well in standard tuning, or G. A can often be a difficult key because of the string jump from A (2nd fret 3rd string) to e (open 1st) - picking something like AeeA fAeA is much harder on guitar than, say, mandolin.
I’m sure I used to practise scales when I was young(er) but I would practise tunes as the scales are in them anyway.
I used to use economy picking but now prefer the discipline of strict alternating picking (with downstrokes always on the beat). Once you have that then you can choose to break out of that discipline, where desired, but you always have it to fall back on.
I would tend to assume that, as a guitar player, you play by ear but, if not, you should work on that skill. That way you can work out tunes for yourself without having to find a TAB or score (though reading is also a good skill).
DonaldK:“I used to use economy picking but now prefer the discipline of strict alternating picking (with downstrokes always on the beat). Once you have that then you can choose to break out of that discipline, where desired, but you always have it to fall back on.”
This echoes my experience on the mandolin (my main instrument for several years, until I was seduced by the fiddle). ‘Economy’ picking was a false economy in my case, often leading me into awkward situations that I had to interrupt my playing to get out of (I refer now to what I used to do as ‘wild’ picking, since it was completely undisciplined). Learning strict picking patterns (DUDU for reels, DUD DUD for jigs) took my playing to the next level, with more rhythmic consistency, greater freedom for inventiveness in the left hand – and still the possibility to break out of the pattern when it suited. No reason why this would not apply to guitar as much as for mandolin (I carried my newly-learned mandolin technique across to the guitar).
“… often leading me into awkward situations that I had to interrupt my playing to get out of…”
Exactly the same for me, CreadurMaunOrganig. I was trying to play a tune and everytime I got to the restatement of the first phrase I got in a tangle. I know economy picking worked for Tommy Tedesco (and didn’t stop him being the top session player in LA for many years) and as for Tony Rice, well, his picking came from an alternative universe but for us mere mortals alternate picking is a good starting point.
There was some discussion on playing open or closed positions a few years back: https://thesession.org/discussions/42100
Personally, I think if you restrict yourself to playing in an open position, with occasional forays up the neck, you are unnecessarily limiting what is available to you. My approach is to (almost) avoid playing the open strings, but at times they are very useful. Speaking generally, when a tune goes up to A or B (5th/7th fret on the first string) as often seems to happen in the second part of a tune, I tend to stay in that position until the melody returns to around the lower notes.
Scales (with one or two sharps) may be helpful initially to get used to where the fingers need to be on the fingerboard, but as has been said before, playing tunes will help with that.
I have never closely listened to any particular guitarist, but I always pay attention to what any guitarist (in any style) does to see what I can learn from their technique and style. In the context of playing Irish tunes on guitar, I like to learn from any melody player though pay most attention to fiddle and flute players. No offence to banjo players, but I prefer to avoid transferring the banjo style to the guitar – I prefer to aim for fluidity of the other instruments.
This active discussion is worth checking https://thesession.org/discussions/46495
It starts off talking about whistle, but much also applies to other instruments.
With guitar you have various fingering options. If you start slowly with particular fingerings and pick technique, you may well find they hold you back when you want to up the speed - be flexible.
I have found from time to time, it can be useful to approach phrases as “guitar licks”, the sort of thing you can rattle off with a few flicks of the fingers without thinking about the individual notes. Start stringing these “licks” together and you can find you are playing a tune at a faster speed than you thought possible. Also, try and keep your fretting fingers in place when you are going to return to the same note – all part of keeping the physical aspect of playing as relaxed and as efficient as possible.
A few resources:
https://irishguitarpod.com/
https://www.guitarvideos.com/#!/Celtic-Melodies-for-Flatpicking-Guitar/p/131764550
https://pegheadnation.com/string-school/courses/celtic-guitar (mostly fingerstyle but there are about half a dozen flatpicking tune lessons at the end)