superchucker77
31 posts
May 03, 2008
3:03 PM
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I am going to be playing a gig in about three months, and I will be playing completely solo...........FOR THREE HOURS! I have been playing for three years and I am sixteen years old.I am considered to be pretty good. This will be a big break for me, and I need to know some suggestions for some harmonica songs that can be played without any backup music. Any and all suggestions will be very helpful. It will be just me, some harps, an amp, and a mic ( and hopefully a few people will come by to listin :). Help me fellow harpers.
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harpmonkey
23 posts
May 03, 2008
5:33 PM
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Wow...
Not only is three hours a long time for a combo, it is damn near torture for any solo.
Harpin is about voice, mood, and phrasing (all stuff you already know) but trying to "fill" three hours will make it hard to not wear out folks ears.
Blues and blues harp, needs the balance of "empty" space, that your sould fills with music.
In music, it's the music between the notes.
In poetry, it;s the words between the prose.
In books, it's the words in the white space.
That is kind of hard to do for three hours by yourself.
Listen to Cotton's "Slow Blues" and even he needed a little "weight" on the other end of the "heavyness" that he put out their with his perfect bits of silence.
(it's hard to put that feeling into words)
But congrats on the gig! And I am sure you will work it out.
Make videos and post them!
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eharp
18 posts
May 03, 2008
5:53 PM
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your problem shouldnt be how to fill 3 hours with harp music. it cant be done. you or the crowd will need breaks.
the question is how do YOU fill 3 hours. lets say you got lots of solos and riffs. song can go maybe 5 minutes with a short introduction. you would need only 36 songs! even less if there is a turn over in the crowd.
but you and the crowd will need breaks. the key will be for you to engage the audience between songs with history, stories, jokes and questions.
remember to take it slow between songs. wipe your forehead, tap your harps (and maybe a quick shine), ask for a glass of water. better yet, ask for somebody else's water. a short conversation with that person could occupy a couple of minutes.
the whole concept, since this is your first time, is to not lose the crowd.
good luck.
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superchucker77
32 posts
May 03, 2008
7:51 PM
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Its going to be outside in a gazebo. There will be music on the whole street and in some of the stores. A lot of people will be passing buy to listin to music and shop. I will of course take some breaks but I need to learn some more songs without backup music to fill in the gaps. I have not heard all that many solo harp songs that run for a very long time. Any more ideas?
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motta8830
1 post
May 03, 2008
7:59 PM
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I know it's not real hip but you can always play some real melodic sounding 1st position stuff. I know it sounds a bit cheesy but to people who have never heard the harmonica, even stuff like that is cool.
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Warbleman
13 posts
May 03, 2008
8:05 PM
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You are going to be singing along with yourself right? Because if so then it is a much easier task then playing just harp. If you sing then you can use the harp to respond to your call and it's very possible that when you inevitably run out of riffs and fills, people won't notice because you will be throwing lyrics their way. And you could do Paul Butterfield's Driftin' and Driftin', there is 13 minutes filled.
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Warbleman
14 posts
May 03, 2008
8:26 PM
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Well you might want to become one... otherwise I'll put a good word in for you with the man upstairs and hope for the best.
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kudzurunner
43 posts
May 04, 2008
5:39 AM
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Congratulations on the gig. I assume you're being paid. Paid gigs mean you're a pro.
I confronted the question you're confronting back in the fall of 1985, when I first decided to go it along on the streets. I took out a sheet of looseleaf paper and began writing down every single song I knew. Some of them were little more than repeated rhythmic riffs.
The key thing is to take your time. That really means that you can't get out there, blow everybody away on the first song by throwing everything you know into the mix, and then keep doing that for three hours. You've got to think in terms of varying the mix. Slow and medium tempo songs are probably better than fast songs, because fast solo harp for more than five minutes can be exhausting.
If I were doing the same thing over these days, I'd work from a few basic concepts.
1) Start with some basic rhythmic grooves that you can lock into pretty easily. Several kinds of shuffle, several different two-beat stomps, a rock beat like Johnny B. Goode
2) Think "please the audience." Are there any standards and/or contemporary songs that would stop them in their tracks if you started playing them? This really means "think MELODY." "Summertime," "Misty," "Life Gets Hard for a Pimp." This is worth some thought and some practice time. Is there a melody that, if you could fit it onto the harp, would get people to stop, listen, toss tips, and ask you to play it again? Any Stevie Wonder melody would do that.
3) Even if you don't sing now, you just might be able to pick up a song or two in the next three months--enough to try it out.
4) Think REPETITION. It's OK to repeat songs once or twice over the course of three hours.
5) Go to Jon Gindick's website, if you haven't already done so. He's got hundreds of recognizable melodies.
6) Back to #1: when you're playing solo, you've got two ways of hooking and keeping people: solid groove, and melody. So keeping a strong, steady, but un-pressured beat is really important. Just relaxing into it, so that your audience can relax into it. As for melody: if you've got a good one, you can play it freely, not necessarily in time, and you'll still keep people. A solid groove and/or a recognizable melody trumps anything else you can do on solo harp.
7) Email Joe Filisko and ask if he can sell you a copy of his CD of a solo harp concert he recently put on. He's the master, and while his stuff is pretty tricky, you'll get a whole host of ideas about what you might do.
8) Finally: think POSITIONS. Not just cross harp, but first and third, for a change of pace.
Let me know when you're playing; I might drive up from Oxford and check it out.
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"The will to win is nothing without the will to prepare."
--Juma Ikaanga, marathoner
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eharp
19 posts
May 04, 2008
8:23 AM
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i just heard 2 songs on sirius radio that might be for you. the first is a watermelon slim song. jimmy bell is the name. it is just him on harp. his voice isn't the greatest so that even i could probably sing it.
the second is by sugar blue, mona is the name. it is with a band but nobody is doing much. there is some good guitar in it that you could probably riff instead of the guitar. once again, there is singing required but it is minimal and a big vocal range isn't required.
i had another idea for you, too. madcat ruth uses a high-hat that he mods. it is mainly a block of wood that another part of the high-hat hits down on. he uses this to keep a rhythm. you can glimpse it on his dvd about rhythm harp. he also attaches a small tambourin, that looks like a toy.
i think john lee hooker used a small sheet of plywood barely raised from the ground to, also, keep a beat and add to the music. both things would work best if you are playing while sitting down.
and dont forget to move your body with the music. nobody watches a statue for to long. use the whole playing space.
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superchucker77
34 posts
May 05, 2008
7:46 PM
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Thanks for the tips. If any one wants to come down, it will be on July the 3rd at 6:00pm until 9:00pm. It is in Memphis,Tn in the cooper-young district of town. I will be under the gazebo.
Last Edited by on May 05, 2008 7:47 PM
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superchucker77
35 posts
May 05, 2008
7:50 PM
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Are there any Stevie Wonder songs that are somewhat easy for harp?
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Patrick Barker
52 posts
May 05, 2008
10:15 PM
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This slow blues by James Cotton would be perfect for one of the songs- It's slow, long, and you could improvise in his style while using his beginning and ending to avoid having to memorize it. Only a harp is needed (although the drums and sax add a lot of feel) and its slow, so you can take your time. Just make sure you keep the beat during spaces.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBeuco0PgJs
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kudzurunner
44 posts
May 06, 2008
4:40 AM
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About Stevie Wonder: It's been a while, but I believe that "You Are the Sunshine of My Life" is doable on one or perhaps a pair of diatonic harps. Google "Gindick" and "Stevie Wonder." I bet he's done something on SW.
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"The will to win is nothing without the will to prepare."
--Juma Ikaanga, marathoner
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kudzurunner
45 posts
May 06, 2008
4:45 AM
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There's a lot of great Stevie stuff on YouTube. Here's one:
http://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=a_g9KfrjZ60
To be honest, any solo harp player who can play ANY of this stuff, even badly, is going to get some people to stop.
Just get a big C Super 64 Chromonica, hook it up to an amp with a little delay--or a lot of delay--and figure out the blues scale he's using. I worked out just enough of it at one point to fool people. "Fingertips" and "Hey Harmonica Man."
That's actually another way to go with solo harp: play along with backing tracks. I've never done that, but lots of sax players do it.
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"The will to win is nothing without the will to prepare."
--Juma Ikaanga, marathoner
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kudzurunner
46 posts
May 06, 2008
4:47 AM
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http://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=C_quYiMhL9U
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"The will to win is nothing without the will to prepare."
--Juma Ikaanga, marathoner
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kudzurunner
47 posts
May 06, 2008
4:49 AM
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This YT clip has great Stevie harp--very audible.
http://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=EIfgwNJkCMI
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"The will to win is nothing without the will to prepare."
--Juma Ikaanga, marathoner
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superchucker77
36 posts
May 06, 2008
3:16 PM
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Thanks very much Mr. Gussow :)
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Philosofy
24 posts
May 08, 2008
6:46 AM
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If I were challenged with this, I'd put a good playlist on my iPod, and play along, like I do in the car. I can tune out the lead guitar or harp, tune into the beat and rhythm and step all over the lead instrument.
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2draw
1 post
May 15, 2008
5:43 PM
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I like to play Sugar Rays End Time its short but I add some of my own verse to it sounds best with the low F
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sloeg
5 posts
May 17, 2008
3:51 PM
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got one for you: On deezer (reminder it's a site where you can listen music for free). It's a long solo of 5 min by Terry. There is a little guitar but I think it can be played without easly. The song is drinkin'in the blues.
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Dduck
3 posts
May 20, 2008
6:43 AM
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Wow, 3 hours of solo harpin'! Good luck brother! Adam had a great suggestion with using backing tracks. Also, using a high hat or something like that would surely help fill things. Check out some of what Satan used to do with highhats and that board under his feet. Pretty cool stuff! One thing I would suggest, get yourself some lip balm. I couldn't imagine playing that long with out ripping your lips up!
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superchucker77
37 posts
May 20, 2008
11:29 AM
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Thanks for the suggestions. I will of course be taking several breaks throught the performance. I do not think that I will be using backing tracks nor other instrumentation. I just got in my roland microcube amp, and Superlux D112C harmonica mic. I think that everything will turn out pretty good.
Keep those suggestions coming.
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geordiebluesman
21 posts
May 22, 2008
1:29 PM
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dear superchuker77,i just wanted to say good luck and REEESPECT!,cos your only sixteen and it takes a lot of guts to do a gig like this,but WOW,what great support from so many members of the forum and especially from Mr G,once you've done this,and i have no doubt that you will do it,you will be flying!
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superchucker77
39 posts
May 28, 2008
2:35 PM
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Hi, I just wanted every one to know that I am know a semi-finalist in the Memphis Orpheum Star Search. I will post either a sound clip or a video on youtube of the performance.
I'm not telling you all what I am going to play, but I can say that it's something that youall have been waiting to hear.
Keep those song suggestions coming, thanks.
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geordiebluesman
23 posts
May 29, 2008
3:02 PM
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well done that man!
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Warbleman
18 posts
May 30, 2008
12:29 PM
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When is that performance? I anxious to hear what we've all been waiting for.
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superchucker77
40 posts
May 30, 2008
2:21 PM
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It's is this coming sunday, June the 1st at 3:00pm at the Orpheum Theater in Memphis. I will post a link when I upload it.
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Warbleman
21 posts
Jun 20, 2008
1:13 PM
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So, I realize this thread is a little old, but how'd it go?
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superchucker77
46 posts
Jun 20, 2008
4:08 PM
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Every body on this web site needs to watch this video to find out how things went.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjgyH29uvh4
enjoy.
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superchucker77
47 posts
Jun 20, 2008
8:53 PM
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Patience Young Padawan. It will come.
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oldwailer
87 posts
Jun 20, 2008
8:53 PM
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Come on, Superchucker! Now you gotta come on with a vid for us to see and hear! That was a great story from Dr G--but no music!
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harpmonkey
50 posts
Jun 21, 2008
11:09 PM
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I say if supershucker does not give us the goods, we sneak in while he's sleeping and put spiders in his harps...
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superchucker77
49 posts
Jun 22, 2008
5:24 AM
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llllllllllllllooooooooooooooollllllllllllllll.
It will come soon. Just give me a few weeks maximum.
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eharp
43 posts
Jun 22, 2008
6:28 AM
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mail me the footage. i will get a video up within 2 days.
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superchucker77
50 posts
Jun 22, 2008
6:37 AM
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Thats the problem. I don't have the footage yet. I am waiting for the person who recorded it to give it to me. I should have it by next week.
But don't worry. It will come.
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spec10
Guest
Jul 08, 2008
2:51 PM
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Hey superchucker77, how did the 3rd July gig work out?
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spec10
Guest
Jul 08, 2008
2:53 PM
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argh, nevermind, I have this thread in my bookmarks and went directly to it before i saw the "superchucker finally uploads!" thread. sorry guys. :)
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