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How To Play Triplets Here is the hard part. Most beginners try too hard and end up forcing the ornament and it just doesn't work. The trick is to listen to banjo players play and watch them play if you can. To play a triplet you have to be relaxed or the triplet will not come and you have to have good efficient technique (check out http://www.banjosessions.com/aug05/righthand.html.) After a while you will realize that you can play the ornament and it will be very easy from then on, sort of like learning to ride a bicycle. Use the same stroke you normally use but think da-da-daah when you do it. Start with a down stroke and alternate strokes (DUD) to produce the characteristic sound. Movement is strictly from the wrist and not the fingers. Remember you are trying for a rhythmic emphasis (most of the time) rather than a melody. Start slowly and relax. It is better to see and hear than to describe it so here is an easy scale exercise. Practice making triplets before you try to incorporate them into a tune. Triplet Scale Exercise Don't get discouraged, it took me over a year to learn to do triplets without making a face each time one had to be inserted. Now I just do them as part of the tune and don't even think about it. This is a product of a lot of listening and learning to think in Irish music terms. You will eventually get it right. Lead-in Triplet Lead-in Triplets And here is another example using the first few notes of Fisher's Hornpipe Fisher's Hornpipe Lead-in Practice this on its own in order to make sure you can play it without thinking and then try it in a favorite hornpipe. Hornpipes are good to learn triplets on because they don't demand that you play them at warp 10 the way reels do. Triplets with a Cut Cuts are a common ornament in Irish music derived from the fiddle and the pipes. Basically it is a very quick note, usually one or two frets higher, that separates the main note into two quicker notes. The purpose of the cut is to add a rhythmic emphasis and drive the tune a little more. Since the banjo has very little sustain, the cut has to be done in the middle of a triplet. This is accomplished by a very quick touch with the next finger down like a rapid hammer-on. The note does not have to be sounded clearly, just enough to make the point, and the note does not have to be part of the tune, just there. Irish musicians use this ornament all the time and (again) listening to the music is vital to hearing how it is used. Triplet on Two Strings Moving from one string to another is vital for some tunes and is a very identifiable banjo sound in ITM. The tune The Ashplant uses this technique (see below) as does many others. It is one you have to have if you want to play the music. Practice it on its own before you apply it and it will come naturally. The Ash Plant  Watch how I do it but try to find other variations once you are comfortable. A Lesson from Mick Moloney Mick Moloney Talks About Triplets  Mick plays the Kerfunken Jig And a further bonus, Mick plays Paddy McGinty's Goat, a barndance. Watch how he makes the triplets. His technique is different from mine, but he is consistent and efficient (and he doesn't anchor his little finger on the head.) Paddy McGinty's Goat Resources Roger Landes has an outstanding article (with tabs) outlining the various ornaments for mandolin at http://www.mandolinsessions.com/aug05/tombilly.html. Also check out the archives for other lessons. Dr. Chris Smith has written about right hand techniques at http://banjosessions.com/dec03/irishmusic.html Dan Beimborn has a wonderful website about his music and gives a nice lesson on the right hand at http://www.celticmusic.com/dan/technique.html Mick Moloney has a website at http://www.mickmoloney.com/index.html and can be contacted there, if you can catch him, that is. Gerry O'Connor is a good resource for the triplet and his website can be seen at http://www.gerryoconnor.comHis MadForTrad CD-ROM, which has a lot of information on triplets can be bought at http://www.celticgrooves.homestead.com/CGTutorials.html. Also check out his book, The Complete Guide To Learning The Irish Tenor Banjo, Walton books, distributed by Mel Bay. Check the Archives for past articles on playing the Irish tenor banjo. They contain videos of John Carty showing his take on triplets. You can learn a lot more about Mick Moloney on the net. Here are a few websites to start you out. Mick's website is at www.mickmoloney.com and it has a lot of information that you might want to know about him and his activities. You can buy his books and CDs there too. A short history of the banjo in Irish music written by Mick is at http://www.standingstones.com/banjo.html More written by Mick this time about Mike Flanagan is at http://www.mckenna.dk/historyofmusic.htm A very nice biography and article on Mick is at http://www.dirtynelson.com/linen/feature/48mick.html A great interview from Limerick, his home county in Ireland http://www.limerick-leader.ie/issues/20050423/interview.html His book, "Far From the Shamrock Shore" is a must read if you have any interest in Irish-American music. See his website for details. About the Author Mike Keyes, a native of Franklin, Tennessee, has played tenor banjo since 1957 and over the years has learned to play five string banjo, mandolin, and guitar. He earned his way through college and medical school playing in bluegrass and dixieland bands and currently plays in the Irish band "Good Luck." He is an expert in sports performance and has written and book and over 200 articles on the subject. His interest in Irish music started a number of years ago when effort to learn more about his musical roots led him to the discovery of session playing. Since then he has been to Ireland to learn more about the music and has taken classes and interviewed such banjo greats as John Carty, Charlie Piggot, and Gerry O'Connor. His medical practice is in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin where he practices Psychiatry. |
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