Twin lead

[rocky_one]

Whats the secret to playing twin lead?

[Ricky Davis]

3rds.
Actually try and learn the other part someone is playing and then come up with the harmony notes to there start notes. If they are starting on the root; you start on the 3rd above. If they are starting on the 5th tone you start 3rd below. If they start on the 3rd you start on root below. That is a good formula to help you get going in the right direction; believe me I do it all the time and it works well.
Also another trick on the pedal steel is.
After learning one part and say most of it is in the pedal down chord position; go and play the same pattern in the no-pedal chord position; and you will find it to be almost the perfect harmony to what the original figure was in the pedal down position.
Have fun.

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Ricky Davis
http://hometown.aol.com/sshawaiian/RickyHomepage.html
http://users.interlinks.net/rebel/steel/steel.html
sshawaiian@aol.com

[John Steele]

Related question:
When preparing harmonized passages for western swing music, where the 3 parts might be all taken by different musical instruments (i.e. steel, fiddle, lead guitar) how would you stack up the harmonies? One above the melody, and another underneath? all underneath/on top ?
Do you keep your harmonies absolutely parallel to the lead line, or jump around?
Thanks,
-John

[Ricky Davis]

Hey John in Westernswing; I will always take the lower parts because most likely the guitar and fiddle and/or horn will be melody and higher. That's just me.
I will stay with a harmony below but jump to the double part above if I forget what the hell I'm doin. I do always learn the melody part first and try and work up the others as we go; so I'm somewhat prepared to take other parts as the band fills out.
Ricky<FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by Ricky Davis on 05 March 2000 at 04:26 PM.]</p></FONT>