sloeg
1 post
May 17, 2008
3:11 PM
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Hey everyone, first topic.
I got a song by sonny terry and brownie mcghee which I love and that i'm sure you know. Gonna lay my body down which you can listen on deezer if you want for free (or study war no more or gonna lay down my shield and sword ...).
Anyway sonny is doing really great jam stuff on the harp but i really can't pick it up, even after trying hard. I tried tong block stuffs; in and out 123 holes but i can't get it to sound right. It's on a Bb I think.
Please if anyone can help it would be great and i'm sure this kind of play can be implemented in many songs as well.
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oldwailer
40 posts
May 17, 2008
11:36 PM
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Hey, that is really a cool sound he gets there--I'll be working on it this week--I'll let you know if I get a break-through. I have doped out a couple of Terry's tunes--they usually require a lot of "spoken" nonsense syllables to work out--you just gotta figure out what words he's saying behind the harp--if that makes any sense--anyway--I like the tune a lot and I have now discovered Deezer--so thanks!
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zobot
13 posts
May 18, 2008
11:44 AM
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I love that sound too! I tried really hard but couldn't get it either- all we can do is hope that oldwailer comes through with the goods!
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sloeg
6 posts
May 18, 2008
5:14 PM
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Ok if think I got it and now I feel quite miserable because I think it is damn easy. Actually in is just a series of 123 draw combined with single 2 draw. A subtleties that adam explains in one of his first lesson. I don't know if he uses tong block or leap pursing though. Anyway what is quite hard to get is actually the rythme and as soon as you get it right it sounds right when before I thought I was actually doing the wrong notes.
Still not 100% sure so test it guys and tell me.
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2draw
2 posts
May 19, 2008
7:01 AM
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I dont think Sonny did any tongue blocking I think the best way to test yourself is record yourself then play it back " tape dont lie"
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oldwailer
41 posts
May 20, 2008
6:26 PM
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I'm hot on the trail now--that means I don't really have it yet but it is getting to be a lot of fun to jam with. I think Adam went over a Sonny Terry Riff in about lesson 9--give or take a couple--and it turns out that that riff works pretty well for Riverside--with some alterations and permutations--which means just wade in there and mess around with it until it sounds right.
I found it really helpful to center on just playing the melody first--get it really jammin with some of the riffs ST uses--then start the rhythm chugging kind of in between the melody. That seems to work best for me anyway.
That's about as much as I can add here--I'm not going to even try to tab it out.
I discovered an old book that I bought back in the 70's, I think--at least I seem to have come out of the 70's with it--it's "The Harp Styles of Sonny Terry" by Sonny Terry as told to Kent Cooper. I just looked through it and it looks like it might be pretty good--although "Riverside" isn't one of the tunes in it. I might get around to studying it in the next few days, if I get a chance. One of the great things about the book is a life story in Sonny Terry's own words--really cool reading, makes the book worth it even if you don't study the techniques presented...
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2draw
3 posts
May 21, 2008
4:28 PM
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I also have the Cooper book Its great and I learned alot from it.the copyrite on mine is 1975 I dont know if you wood find it today. a great read also.
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oldwailer
44 posts
May 21, 2008
7:16 PM
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Just for the hell of it I just checked on Amazon--there is one used one available--didn't find any on Ebay. Might be hard to find--but I got one and I've just started studying it today--it's great--the first section of instruction gets right into detail on Sonny's chugging style--cool--thats what I love most about his playing!
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