Mandolin Lesson - Playing Through Changes

Don Julin demonstrates an exercise for playing only chord tones.

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[donjulinlessons]

I wouldn't say ignore it...........but some tempos are easier to play with all downstokes and some work better with alternate picking. This tempo lands right in the middle. Not fast enough to need alternate picking, but fast enough to make this technique work. My basic rule about this is....ALL downstrokes if the tempo is slow enough, and fairly strict alternate picking at higher tempos. NEVER RANDOM!!!! I hope this is clear enough to be helpful.

[sk84fun218]

ok, so if i apply this to a more bluegrassy feel, my main goal is when changing chords to make sure i land on one of the notes in the arppegio for that given chord, then im free to play around with the rest of the sale while im on that chord, but when it comes time to change again just make sure i land on a arppegio for the next chord?

[Don Julin]

Not a stupid question at all. Chord tones are jazz lingo for arpeggios. Example: The G major chord contains the notes g,b,d. Combinations of these three notes, played in a melodic fasion could be called an arpeggio or simply G major chord tones.

[sk84fun218]

this may seem like a stupid question, but what exectly are the chord tones, is that an arpeggio?

[jevocke]

Hey, great video, but out of curiosity, why do you count on 2 and 4 instead of 1 and 3? i mostly play bluegrass and i do metronome work on 1 and 3 because 2 and 4 just seems confusing. What's the advantage?

thanks,

j

[hhold]

you seem to ignore the alternate picking rule. amI right?