HELP!?! David Bromberg (Delia) is Ruining My Holiday

mikejboss · #1 09-05-2009, 06:42 PM

Wife's outta town, got beer in the fridge and Saturday's mail brings the David Bromberg DVD lesson. So much for a relaxing holiday weekend. The very first song, Delia, is probably the simplest and I can't get past the first 4 bars of the intro.

This is basic thumb/finger independence which I thought I had been gaining but obviously not. I need some sort of excersize to work up to this level. Does anyone have an excercise for developing this technique that really works or is it just beat yourself in the head until you get it?

The MP3 is at: Delia

Here's the first few bars of Delia ...

joe paul · #2 09-06-2009, 01:21 PM

Thanks for the mp3, I've never listened to David Bromberg and that was real nice. People may have different ideas about getting the alternating bass / finger independence down, but it really is just a long long road with countless hours of practice to get there.
On the one hand, tuned to dropped D thing on the D chord with the octave in the bass is a good way to practice because the left hand is relaxed, you only have to think about fretting the melody notes. Still, it's a very fluid sounding arrangement, nice to aim at but not easy to really get down.
I don't want to tell you stuff that seems too obvious, I don't know exactly where you are with this, but here goes anyway...
It's really important to have the tune in your head, or else it won't ever happen. Listen to it a lot. Try playing along, but just playing the bass notes to hear the chord movement, then seeing where the melody notes lie in the chord, then after a few runs through, start adding a little of the melody.
When you're learning, go slow and think about when you're pinching - bass note and treble note at the same time - and when the treble is on the off beat, when it's syncopated.
I hope that helps... Mississippi John Hurt's music really gave me the key to this style, so I can only recommend you spend some time with him too. Stefan Grossman also has a lot more good material to help with this kind of playing.

Keep at it!

Gordon

mikejboss · #3 09-06-2009, 02:02 PM

Thanks for the input, Gordon. I think Grossman might have been somehow involved with this DVD lesson. It's staring to sink in but there are parts that I just can't "hear". In this tune, there's a roll he does repeatedly on the D chord in the first position. The roll isn't a problem. But I can't "hear" how the alternating bass notes fit into it. And I'm not sure what speed to practice at. A lt of times, it's a no-brainer - you just slow down to the point where you can do it. but on a roll with syncopation, I might be doing more harm than good slowing down past a certain point.

Mainly, I'd just like to find a way to feel how that roll works. Isn't there a magic bullet wonder drug out there somewhere? I was afraid that I'd get the type of response you gave - you just have to grind away. Ouch. I enjoy practicing but I just want to make sure I'm not doing more harm than good. I picked up golf a few years ago and started reading magazines. In many ways, it's like guitar - practicing hand-eye coordinatio while staying relaxed. I heard an excellent take on practice: "Practice doesn't make perfect; practice makes permanant". I'm sure this applies to guitar as much as golf. I'd hate to think the hours I'm putting in to practice is doing more harm than good.

Maybe there shold be a rule like - if it takes longer than 2 hours to get past the first 4 bars, the song is beyond your level. That sort of begs the question about getting to the next level. Golf, as most of sports, has become very scientific w.r.t. learning. Not much has happened in music education since the Suzuki Method. It's a shame.

john57classic · #4 09-09-2009, 07:17 AM

A couple of thoughts: first, are you using a metronome?. An essential tool really for all types of practice but exceptionally helpful for learning alternating bass type fingerstyle pieces. Second, on the roll, first just start out trying to make a four note chord with the thumb, and index/middle/ring fingers. Once you get that coordination down the roll timing will come. for most people the ring-middle-index roll is easier than in the oher direction but try it both ways if you want.

Howard Emerson · #5 09-09-2009, 08:56 AM

Mike,
Could you please post a little clip of you playing, anything at all, so I can hear where you're at to begin with?

I can give you some good advice after that..............Yes, I know it's daunting............deal with it:-)

I've played with David many, many times and have seen him do Delia many times.............The easy stuff only sounds that way, but there are ways of 'blocking it out' into bite sized pieces.

If you only want to send the clip to me, I'm at [email protected]

Regards,
Howard
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJqbuVoz2TE