Double Stops: Thirds

A double stop is just two notes played together. It sits between a single-note line, which can sound thin against a full band, and a chord, which is often too much. That middle ground is where an enormous amount of soul and Motown guitar lives.

The most common flavour is thirds. Take the scale of the song's key and play each note together with the note two scale steps above it. Some pairs come out as major thirds and some as minor thirds, depending on where you are in the scale — you do not have to think about which, because if you stay in the key, the scale sorts it out for you.

Here is the C major scale harmonised in thirds on the top two strings.

C major in thirds, first and second strings

Eight pairs, walking up the scale. Play them with the first and second fingers, or the first and third where the stretch is easier.

e
B
G
D
A
E

--0-----1-----3-----5-----7------8-----10-----12--|
--1-----3-----5-----6-----8-----10-----12-----13--|
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Learn the shape of it rather than the fret numbers. Notice the pattern is not regular — sometimes the two notes are one fret apart, sometimes two, sometimes three — and that irregularity is what keeps it in key.

The usual way to use these is descending, in a short run at the end of a phrase.

A descending phrase in thirds

A-C down to E-G. Four pairs, over about two beats, then silence. That is a whole soul guitar fill.

e
B
G
D
A
E

---8-----7-----5-----3--|
--10-----8-----6-----5--|
------------------------|
------------------------|
------------------------|
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Play those four pairs and then stop. The stopping is as important as the notes. If the phrase is short enough to leave room for the singer to come back in, it is right; if you carry on into the next bar, it is not.