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how do you do tremelos?

does anybody know a good way of practicing tremelos/trills in a bluesy situation...for example octaves or 5th and b7th. i am really having problems doing this cleanly. is this a lack of rhythmic understanding. any suggestions of how to think about it and practice?

thanks,
james

by james3 on 07/31/2007, 01:25

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for octaves i jiggle my whole forearm and hand, it's a flutter, a quick small motion. i don't rely on the finger muscles. it's like quickly jiggling a key in a lock, only faster.

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by Jazz+ on 07/31/2007, 10:06

it's also a practice thing. the coordination can be difficult for some people to get.

a good way to practice is to do a slow blues and play simple chords in both hands (two handed chords). tremelo both hand so that you get a wall of sound and then a new chord comes up, don't stop, just shift your hands to the closest position for the new chord and keep going.

to build up some strength and endurance for this kind of thing, look around for the george cables exercise i have posted around here somewhere (do a file search for george cables)

If I'm not back in 24 hours, call the president.

Scot is available for skype jazz piano lessons (and google hangouts, phone call, etc...)
Use the contact link at the top of the page.

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by Scot Ranney on 07/31/2007, 10:43

my classical teacher says it's all in the wrist, and i can pretty much nail them now (after months of not quite getting it). but some intervals are harder than others

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by on 07/31/2007, 12:33

so is there a specific rhythmic concept behind it? like all sextuplets or all 32nd notes or something like that?

thanks,
james

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by james3 on 07/31/2007, 14:14

i would start by playing your tremelo in 8th notes at a slowish tempo, with a metronome (say at 100bpm for starters). then at the same tempo upgrade to triplets, then 16th notes, then sextuplets. by then it should sound like a tremelo. however, an effective tremelo should be relaxed and feel good, so it doesn't really matter which of the above (if any) it ends up as.

when trilling thirds, try practising with dirrerent sets of fingers, and aim to become equally comfortable doing it with 1 & 3, or 2 & 4, or 3 & 5.

in blues piano, 3- or 4-note chords are often tremeloed in the right hand. for instance, over a c7 chord you might play a tremelo of the notes e - g - bb - d, giving the ninth on top. there are several ways you can make this happen:

1. alternate the bottom note (e) with the top 3 notes played together.
2. alternate the bottom two notes (e and g, played together) with the top two notes (bb and d) played together.
3. alternate the top note (d) played by itself with the bottom 3 notes played together.

these three methods all have their individual sounds, and you'll probably find some more comfortable than others. that's part of what gives different pianists their individual styles.

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by DrJazz on 07/31/2007, 17:06

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how do you do tremelos?

There are 5 comments, leave a comment.

by Jazz+ on 07/31/2007, 10:06

by Scot Ranney on 07/31/2007, 10:43

by on 07/31/2007, 12:33

by james3 on 07/31/2007, 14:14

by DrJazz on 07/31/2007, 17:06

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how do you do tremelos?

There are 5 comments, leave a comment.

by Jazz+ on 07/31/2007, 10:06

by Scot Ranney on 07/31/2007, 10:43

by on 07/31/2007, 12:33

by james3 on 07/31/2007, 14:14

by DrJazz on 07/31/2007, 17:06

Reply to Thread

Jazz Piano Notebook Series

"Latinesque"

LJP Jazz Piano Blogs

Most Recent Discussions

Articles

Top Sheetmusic Picks

Jazz piano education is cool.

Rock on. Follow your passion.

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