View To A Trill

[mike f]

To trill or not to trill? If that’s what it’s even called. A technique I see all over the place, that fast whole or semi tone trill, appears to be beyond me.

I’ve always played my vibrato bending the string. Seems more natural to me.
Any advice or opinion on trilling? Is that even a word?!

[velvetkevorkian]

Can you post an example? Trilling to me would be repeatedly hammering on and pulling off (or on a bowed or wind instrument switching between two notes in the same stroke/blow), but that's different from vibrato?

[mike f]

@velvetkevorkian it’s a rapid slide down a tone or semitone and back up to the original note done twice in quick succession.

[TKenrick]

I guess you're referring to the Joe Dart/Paul Jackson/Me'shell Ndegeocello/Stuart Zender/just about every other funk bassist trill (I also hear it referred to as a 'shake').

 

This is the most gloriously silly example I can think of that has trills on almost everything: 

 

 

The thing that I find makes a huge difference is this: it's in the arm, not the fingers. Take your fretting hand thumb off the back of the neck and use your elbow to generate the rapid back and forth sliding motion. Forget trying to be too accurate or polite with it to start with, it'll take a while to feel like you've got it under control and then you can gradually refine the movement. 

 

[mike f]

@TKenrick that’s the one!

 

Thank you so much.