Help playing Chet Atkins

[somecafone]

I bought a Chet Atkins transcription book, and I can't get past the first four measures of "Mr. Sandman."

Any suggestions?

[clothwiring]

Slow down and take time, do a little each day. You'll get it. I work with a guy who's great at Atkins style...while I'm a novice at it...I just work the lines over and over that I need to learn for our songs. Once I'm there I'm golden.

[dkaplowitz]

I think beginner to intermediate travis picking and classical exercises/etudes will help you to approach Chet's fingerstyle playing. Otherwise, just look for somewhat repetetive picking patterns b/c he's probably doing something out of a travis style picking approach during most of that song.

[shigihara]

and listen to as much Chet Atkins as you can !

It's all here:

http://freddie.spb.ru/rock/chet_atkins/

Amazing site !

[rgsss14]

This may seem unorthodox -

Some people say practice the bass separately and the melody line separately, then splice the two together.

I always viewed the two as being integrated - take it measure by measure and play the two parts together, using your ear to guide the way....

[rhp52]

Pay close attention to the feel Chet gets (to all his playing). The rock steady bass line against the syncopation of the other notes in the pattern.This is the difference between just playing the notes and having a bouncy, syncopated and dynamic result. IMHO this applies to all chord/melody-fingerpicking except where uncalled for. I found this very subtle and was somewhat difficult to achieve the desired effect. Chets right hand is equal to his left. Hope this helps!

[gennation]

Are you also listening to the tune? Depending on what level you read music at you may just need some direction. If don't read music and are only reading the tab or something, then definitely include the recording while learning it.

[clothwiring]

Originally Posted by rgsss14

This may seem unorthodox -

Some people say practice the bass separately and the melody line separately, then splice the two together.

I always viewed the two as being integrated - take it measure by measure and play the two parts together, using your ear to guide the way....

The dude I work with said the exact same thing, said he used to sit and practice the basslines in his head at lunch and would "thumb" them out then separately practice the melody/chord part of the song. I personally like to go real slow and work up to speed, that works better for me usually. From there I'll just run through the "concept" of playing it and that'll help me memorize the song and patterns.

[Stephen Landry]

I also tend to take this kind of stuff (well really all fingerstyle, not just Chet stuff) measure by measure, very slowly. Practicing the parts separately never really worked for me.

[jspax7]

Originally Posted by rgsss14

This may seem unorthodox -

Some people say practice the bass separately and the melody line separately, then splice the two together.

I always viewed the two as being integrated - take it measure by measure and play the two parts together, using your ear to guide the way....

+1. Exactly the way I teach Travis Picking. Start with a simple tune like Freight Train. The bass (thumb) is always on the downbeat. If you tap your foot, (which I highly recommend) you will feel this. Then the melody notes can be played on the beat or against the beat. (upbeat) It really is simple if you break it down and walk through it.

1. One beat at a time
2. One measure at a time
3. Two measures at a time

IMHO, practicing a 2 measure phrase is the best way to become familiar with a tune. And, always, always, count. Knowing when to play is at least as important as knowing what to play.

[jspax7]

Originally Posted by somecafone

I bought a Chet Atkins transcription book, and I can't get past the first four measures of "Mr. Sandman."

Any suggestions?

If you have the first 4 measures down, practice the next 4 first. Then go back and combine them.

If you have the CD, put it in your computer and slow it down. Listen only to the new phrase. (avoid information overload)

BTW, If you have Windows media player, rip the song to a play list, then do this;

Click View
Click View Enhancements
Click Play Speed Control

Click on the green line graph to set the desired speed. Hope that helps.

[somecafone]

Too many quotes to quote.....

Playing bass and melody independent of each other never worked for me either. Glad to hear I'm not the only one.

Thanks for the Windows tips.

[jspax7]

If bass and melody separately doesn't work, try 1 beat at a time. I've found that isolating the beat where you're having trouble can help. This is especially true if you play up to a certain point, (beat) and hit the wall.

The problem is usually where you make the mistake, so practice that beat.

Rhythm is an essential element in Travis Picking, as it is in all music. When I began to think in terms of beats, rather than notes, it made all the difference.

BTW, if you feel like you can't play the bass line separately, I still suggest trying it. With time you'll improve, and your sense of rhythm will too. If there is a pattern to be found, it is usually in the bass. I don't recommend playing the melody separately. Get the bass for 1 chord, then play the melody with the bass. Hope this helps.

[daddyo]

Originally Posted by Stephen Landry

I also tend to take this kind of stuff (well really all fingerstyle, not just Chet stuff) measure by measure, very slowly. Practicing the parts separately never really worked for me.

The concept of independant bass and melody lines never worked for me either. I started out on classical and there, with sheet music, you learn the concept of conterpoint. Sometimes the bass and treble voices are simultaneous, other times they are not. Look at vertical slices of time and which notes occur in any vertical slice. Time is the horizontal staff, the slices are via 1/8 or 1/16 notes, or maybe even 1/32. Of course many times there is a swing beat but the concept is the same. Adrian Legg did a pretty good job explaining this in an interview I read.

[B Bent]

Like others have said take it slow and be patient.

The only advice that I have is take the chet/Travis picking in peices. I sat down and alternated picking the alternating bass lines with my thumb. After i got really good at the basslines I started incorporating chords and different melodies. But for me the bass lines were the hardest thing to coordinate for me.