How to further improve my kontra playing abilities?

[Hrvoje]

I would appreciate any advice you people (fellow kontrasi?) can give me. I'm an average kontra player, but I'm willing to learn, but I have no one to teach me here in Croatia, I know I could be better if someone would show me the "tricks". Don't get me wrong, I know my majors, minors, 7ths, 6ths, dims and all that and I can keep up the rhythm, but I want that extra something... can I call it "kontralicks"? :D

Yeah, and does someone know where one can get good bonepicks (in Croatia)...? I'm dying to get one, I have a decent plastic one, but that can never compare to the bone (horn) one...

Thanks in advance!

P.S. Please don't give me the advice "Listen and play with Dukati/Janika etc." cause I've already done that and "skinuo sam" all I could hear, the problem is that you can't always hear everything the contra plays, so I might have missed a minor 6 here and there...

P.P.S. Vjeko, mozda mi ti mozes pomoci kao vrstan kontras?

[Grga]

Bok Hrvoje

Što se tiće kontra, ništa ne mogu raditi jer sam primaš, ali vidi što je napisao Joe Kirin na "All kirin aside"-u za 5.31.2002 (31.V.02 za evropejaci kao nas!) o trzalici od kravljeg roga. Osim toga, Zlatko Ćosić ("Tambura Samica: osnovni tečaj") kaže; "Zanimljivo je da se ponegdje i dan-danas koriste trzalice od kravljeg roga. Takva se trzalica može, a ne mora, prokuhati u ulju ali se površine obavezno moraju obraditi rubom komada stakla. Važno je upamtiti još i to da se trzalice od roga tokom sviranja "podmazuju" - prevlačenjem trzalice preko vlastitog čela (tradicijski način)".

Nadam se da je ovo upotrebljivo.

Sretno

Grga.

PS - engleski jezik je stvarno dobro!

[Hrvoje]

Bok, Grga!

Hvala na savjetu, dobro da si me podsjetio na Kirinov savjet kako napraviti trzalicu od roga. Mi imamo kravlje rogove pa cemo si probat sami napravit trzalice kad ih je vec tako tesko nabavit.

Hvala na komplimentu, ja studiram engleski pa bih trebao dosta dobro znat taj jezik. Ni tvoj hrvatski nije los. Ti zivis u Londonu?

We can switch to English if it will be more comfortable for you and other non-Croatian-speaking visitors of Tamburaland who might start with:"Hey, write English, I don' understand!" :D Too bad that more people from Croatia don't visit this site, maybe it should be made bi-lingual (Vjeko what do you think? Making a Croatian version of the site? Advertising it more in Croatian tambura circles etc. etc.?)

Bok!

Tamburasi all over the world unite! tongue.gif

[SRVT]

This website might help all you kontra players that are trying to find "that chord"......

http://members.aol.com/chordmaps/

Explains the theory of Chord Progressions

[Vjeko]

this site is also good
http://www.looknohands.com
http://www.looknohands.com/chordhouse/guitar/index_rb.html

[Djuroslav]

Hrvoje mentions that he knows all his majors, minors, diminished, 6th's, and 7th's. I, however, need a little help with some of those. Where might I find a chart that illustrates the proper finger positions for playing all the various chords available for an E, 4-tone Kontra? Thanks for any help in locating such a resource.

[jokirinaround]

I have a chart.

I will pass it on to Vjeko and then anybody will be able to dload it.

jka

[duka]

Hrvoje,

Did you ever try playing a song in "chord-melody" style? This is something guitar players do all the time when playing without a band. Essentially you are playing the melody of a song using chords. The melody is in the highest voice of the chord. It sounds pretty cool and it really improves your knowledge of inversions and your ability to hear chord changes. Try it with an easy folk song first.

Bok

[dp]

Hrvoje,

Although you probably know this, I'll just mention....that the Bugarija's (Kontra) main objective in a tamburica band is to assist the berde in keeping rhythm. Many Bugarija players are known mainly for a "metronome" style of playing (Pista Kormanjos-Ork. JB, and Luka Nikolic-Slavonski Becari to name a few). When you think of those guys, you think of a constant rhythm that only changes when "requested" by the primas.
Another objective of the kontra is to change the dynamics of a song by adding a tremelo/hit-tremelo-hit where needed by the phrasing in a song or even the where appropriate with the matching the lyrics of a song. Darko Dervisevic(Susa)-Ex panonia was the kontras that seemed to raise the level of that style of playing. The interesting thing about him is that he could also do those off beat hits and tremelos on songs so fast that it was almost tough to comprehend exactly what he did. But Susa also had the "sexy" chord progressions to add to that style. I guess what I'm saying is that the guitar is more prevelant to exotic chords because of six strings, and the bugarija only has 4 - so some of those chords are not even audible on the bugarija. So learn the chord progressions and how they are placed in a song, but concentrate on developing the "style" of your right hand, because your right hand in kontra playing is the hand that is most noticable.

-dp

[ January 14, 2003, 03:48 PM: Message edited by: dp ]

[Hrvoje]

Hey, my question generated quite a few responses :D thank you guys! Duka, I never really tried playing my kontra "chord-melody" style, I'll try that out... Dp, thanks for the advice about the right hand, I agree that it is really important when to tremolo a chord or when to hit it on the "1st" (beat) to emphasize it etc. I sometimes have trouble hitting the strings on the 2nd when we play some really fast gypsy songs (e.g. Seva, but that's because my berdas likes to quicken up the pace to a double than the normal :D ), for that it just takes practice.

Yeah, one more question about kontra playing... It's about the duration of a chord, do you prefer that it is stopped abruptly or letting it ring (I play in a tamb. orchestra and my professor taught me to let it ring, so I like to let it ring, or mix two styles (letting it ring in slow songs, stopping it in quick))?

[Ivan_Petracic]

i occasionally play Kontra. I hate playing those dims, i can never manage to get the positioning that fast, but i gotta start workin on it. The arrangements i get from Duka aren't gonna be gettin any easier.

[SRVT]

Thats a good story Clive tongue.gif

[nishtazato]

Joe, just a suggestion, if you have charts to improve playing skills why don't you give them to your junior group? I think it would help us to improve before festival. :rolleyes:

[Djuroslav]

Nishtazato

Get in line, my friend. I'm still waiting for the Kontra charts to be posted. :cool:

[ January 25, 2003, 12:40 PM: Message edited by: Djuroslav ]

[nishtazato]

I was referring to Kirin. Sorry for the mixup.

[Djuroslav]

No mix-up at all Nishta. I know you were referring to jokirinaround. SO WAS I! :D

[duqati]

What is the tuning on the E 4-tone? I want to learn the chords, but all I have right now is a guitar at home. I hope that chord chart will get posted, that would be incredible!

[SRVT]

Chord Chart for a E-kontra is now on tamburalicks

[jokirinaround]

btw.

I apoloigize for not getting the chart posted. I forgot about it.

But thanks to SVRT b/c I think that chart is better than the one I have.

jka

[Hrvoje]

I'm glad I started some positive things here on Tamburaland regarding a tambura often neglected and even more often mistaken for a guitar :D I always like to offer my bugarija to anyone who asks me "Is that a guitar?" and I say "Yeah, yeah, sure!" and then watch the surprised look on the guys face :eek: when he realizes that all (guitar) chords he tries to play don't sound like they're supposed to (some even notice that there are only 4 strings)... Ok, what I meant to say is that I think the kontra (bugarija, beglajt) should be valued more in tambura music and I appreciate the effort of SRVT and Joe Kirin for putting the chord list on the site. Although I play D-kontra (yep, you heard me right) I plan on buying a decent E-kontra in hopefully not so distant future so I'd better download that chord chart ;)
Duqati, E-kontra is tuned E G# B E, maybe you can tune the bottom 4 strings of your guitar to that tones, I once tuned my guitar to a D-kontra (D F# A D) and I de-tuned the deep E string to D so I had a D A D F# A D guitar (D chord all 6 empty strings) and it sounded pretty cool, I even recorded a song with it, but I lost the mp3 during a reckless format of my drive... :confused:
Keep those bugarijas playin!

[Djuroslav]

Can I get a concensus on the correct tuning for an E-Kontra? The much appreciated chart says, E,B,G#,E; While Hrvoje states that it should be tuned thusly; E,G#,B,E. Which if any, is correct?

[Tominellay]

The string lowest in pitch is E. Second lowest in pitch is G#. Third lowest in pitch is B natural. The string highest in pitch is E.

The four open strings form the E major chord in root position, "do-mi-sol-do'", or 1-3-5-8.

Tominellay

[ January 28, 2003, 02:30 PM: Message edited by: Tominellay ]

[dp]

Hrvoje...just a question?

What is the difference between an E bugarija and a D bugarija???....ahhh besides the strings and tuning...

Is the fret board different?...the neck size?

[Djuroslav]

One more question, Hrvoje...

Do you guys refer to it as a "bugarija", or a "kontra" over there?

[Hrvoje]

dp, well, I'm not really sure, but I know for a fact that a D-bugarija has a slightly longer neck (the distance between frets is probably slightly bigger than on E) and also a slightly bigger body.
Djuroslave, since I live in Zapresic, a small town west of Zagreb, I usually call it "bugarija", but in Slavonija they call it "kontra" and sometimes I also use that term (I also found out that in Zagorje they call it beglajt - from the German word for the instrument).

[SRVT]

Correct me if I am wrong, but I always thought that beglajt was the combination of Bass and Kontra....

[jbtamburasi]

Hey SRVT,I'll post the chart for tuning and chords for "D" Bug.................7 string!! ;)

[SRVT]

heh....Jedva Cekam, I always wanted a good reason to buy a shiny new 7 string bugarija :D

[Hrvoje]

beglajt= bas+bugarija=rhythm section... hm, I don't know, I think bajs & beglajt = beges & kontra = bas & bugarija etc.

[duqati]

beglajt = bugarija - half the calories of regular bugarija

[Sum Junak]

Anybody know the correct meaning behind the term "beglajt"? I've heard that term used before and never understood it.

[Grga]

Beglajt is the name they use in Zagorje (the hills north-west of Zagreb) for the kontra. Beglajt comes from German "begleiten" = "to accompany". Easy!

[Ivan_Petracic]

^what he said.

[Ivan_Petracic]

for Kontra's
as far as i know D and E Kontra's are the same, my Kontra was D but i put on new strings, tuned it up to E and it's good stuff. Also i find it easier to play, because Primasi usually play E so then it's easier for me.

that's all u need. E prim, A basprims A bass and E kontra.

[Aussie^Tamburas]

gday ivan,
"that's all u need. E prim, A basprims A bass and E kontra".

couldn't have said it better myself woohooo
I am just another hrvat thats obsessed with Srijemski stim hehe

keep it real fellas

Dundee