Double stops are a way of playing harmony lines with yourself. As a
result, the use of double stops makes for a richer, fuller solo, than by
playing single notes. Just listen to any good fiddle player like Bobby
Hicks or Johnny Gimble, and you will hear for yourself how much artistry is
conveyed by double stop useage.
Where do double stops come from? They are a pair of notes from the scale
you are using to play the tune you are performing. My discussion of double
stops will be mostly confined to Western Major scales typically used in
playing Western music. You will have to evolve your own specific set of
double stops for other scales and modes.
The first note of the double stop is the melody note you wish to play (say
a "C" note in the key of "C"). Your double stop harmony note would be any
other note of the "C" Scale that is higher in pitch than the melody note.
The most common harmony note in western music is the third interval. So, if
you want to harmonize a "C" note, count up, using the melody note as "one",
three notes in the scale to get the note "E" ("C"=1, "D"=2, "E"=3). On the
mandolin you could play these two notes in the following places (I'm sure
there are others, this is just to give you an idea of what I'm talking
about):
E |-------0-------
A |-------3----7--
D |--2--------10--
G |--5------------
E E E
C C C
Notice that the two notes stay in the same relationship with each other.
The lower-pitched note ("C") is always three frets higher on the
fingerboard than the higher-pitched note ("E"). This relationship between
the notes is echoed in the middle two notes of a "Chop" C chord as played
on the 7th fret of the mandolin:E |-----8-- A |-----7-- = "E" Note D |----10-- = "C" Note G |----12--"C" Chop chord played at the seventh fret
Notice how the two notes tie together the playing of melody notes and chords. If want to harmonize the second note of the "C" Scale, "D", you must count up three notes of the "C" Scale, starting with "D" = 1 to the "F" note. These two notes played together would look like:
E |-------1-------
A |-------5----8--
D |--3--------12--
G |--7------------
F F F
D D D
Notice there are now FOUR frets between the two notes (this interval is
technically a minor third interval-not a Major third one, so the higher
pitched note has to be lowered in pitch one fret, thus widening out the
space between the two notes. These notes relate to the middle two notes of
a "D" minor chop chord (rarely) played at the ninth fret:E |----10-- A |-----9-- = "F" Note D |----12-- = "D" Note G |----14--"D" minor Chop chord played at the ninth fret
What's happening is we are slowly building a harmonized scale in the key of "C". Remember that a major scale is harmonized by having the first note of the scale be a Major chord ("C" Major in the key of "C"), the second chord is a minor chord ("D" minor), the third chord is a minor chord as well ("E" minor). The fourth chord is a Major chord ("F" Major), the fifth chord is a dominant seventh chord (G7--for all intents and purposes similar to a Major chord, and played as such usually in Bluegrass). The sixth chord is a minor ("A" minor). The seventh degree of the scale is called by some a diminished chord; others name it as a minor flat-fifth chord ("B" minor b5). The eighth degree of the scale brings us back to another Major chord based on the key note of the scale ("C" Major).
So, a "C" Major scale harmonized in thirds would look like:
E |--------------------------------------0----
A |-----------------0----2----3----5-----3----
D |--2----3----5----3----5----7----9----------
G |--5----7----9------------------------------
E F G A B C D E
C D E F G A B C
Notice carefully that the first four double-stops have the same fingering
relationships as the second four. If we move the entire series of double
stops up one fret so that we are harmonizing the "C Sharp" scale, we have a
nice moveable harmonized scale that can be played anywhere on the mandolin
fingerboard-your choice:
E |--------------------------------------1----
A |-----------------1----3----4----6-----4----
D |--3----4----6----4----6----8---10----------
G |--6----8----10-----------------------------
E# F# G# A# B# C# D# E#
C# D# E# F# G# A# B# C#
Just remember to start the scale with the lowest-pitched note of the double
stop pair on the first note of the scale and keep the fingering
relationships the same for the rest of the scale. That way you don't have
to bother counting from one note to the next or wonder what the third chord
of an Eb scale is. It is all patterns. Let's play a harmonized scale in
thirds in the dreaded key of Bb:
E |-------------------------------------------
A |----------------------0----1----3-----5----
D |--0----1----3----5----3----5----7-----8----
G |--3----5----7----8-------------------------
D Eb F G A Bb C D
Bb C D Eb F G A Bb
Notice the fingering requirements had to change a little to accommodate the
fact we are starting off on a fingered note and an open note, but the
relationship between the first four double stops of the scale and the last
four stay the same. If we want to play a Bb scale that adheres to the
fingering shown in the "C#" scale, we would have to start the scale off
with the Bb played on the thirteenth fret of the "G" string, or the Bb on
the eighth fret of the "D" string:
E |-----------------3----5----6----8----6----10-
A |--5----6----8----6----8---10---12------or-13-
D |--8---10---12--------------------------------
G |---------------------------------------------
D Eb F G A Bb C NA D
Bb C D Eb F G A Bb Bb
So you can see the thirds double stops only require learning a few
fingering relationships, and then extrapolating them over the length of the
neck. Practice playing these harmonized scales melodically the same way you
manipulate the single-note versions of the scales. Tremolo them. Play them
against drone notes. Play the notes individually, one after the other. You
will find them very satisfying. If you want to play a more Bluegrass or
country sounding scale, omit the fourth and seventh degrees of the scale
(making it a pentatonic scale). Try variations on this. I think you will
recognize these double stops from the playing of Bill Monroe, John
Reischmann, Ronnie McCourey, Jethro Burns, and most of the other greats
playing out there.My next post will cover the next most popular double stop: the sixth. Try to figure out how to play them on your own and compare.