hymn playing

[andrewjohnsson40]

In this hymns you see Em-D/F#.
I use the same fingers for D/F# as for the Em, ie the minor fingerings.
Is this how you do it? How is the slash chord with the third in it be played fingeringwise?

Do you have any tips on how you would play this?
Is it just chords with melody? After all a hymns is to be played with at least one singer so melody might be the wrong thing unless it was instrumental.
Any tips?

 

[TomBR]

I'd have thought those were normal "slash chords." If fingering the chord, the note after the slash should be the lowest note of the triad. Alternatively, play the chord but add the note after the slash as a bass note. In D/F# the F# is the third, so the counter bass gives the F#.

(Obviously on Stradella bass you have zero control over inversions so it's a matter of emphasising the slash note in another way, usually by adding a bass note, often the counter bass.)

 

[fjsys]

Tom is correct.
D/F# means to play Dmaj chord with an F# root note. (Counter-bass of D)

Depending on how flexible your fingers are, I use the same fingers (3/2) for both. But if you are using 4/2 for the minor, then 4/2 will work. Use what you are comfortable with, but be consistent.
The book "Melodic adventures in bass-land" would help a lot for this situation.

As to how to play it, it depends.

I would start by holding the bass/chord for two counts and just playing the melody on top of it.
This is what I do in a church service when the congregation is singing with me. (Melody is most important, no professional singers in the group)

For a solo, I would try to bass/chord it with alternating basses, and adding the third (or full chord) in the melody.

Just play with it till you like what you have, but remember if you are playing in church you are not there to show off. You are there to move the service along.

HTH
Ben

 

[TomBR]

Sung nicely with organ here

 

[TomBR]

Just had a quick go. It seemed to come out satisfactorily and hymn-like with plenty of sustained left hand chords. A lightish bass register would be nice if you have it, not too many reeds! The slash chords didn't seem too critical and A7 seemed to do ok instead of the A-sus at the end.

 

[george garside]

assuming you know how to play the right hand (melody) of a hymn tune and want to get an 'organish' sound out of the bass its worthwhile experimenting with the bass to get the desired effect. The D chard and F# counterbass mentioned is a good example but can be varied by eg moving smoothly from chord+ counterbass to bass + counterbass and back.

Unless you are playing and wish to adhere strictly to a written version experimentation with the bass on an 'if it sounds right it is right' can open up all sorts of possibilities

george