bitterbug
9 posts
Dec 18, 2008
4:26 PM
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So I took the ex down to the music shop today so she could find an amp for her son, and she ended up with a nice little Line 6 with a ton of features.
While we were there I asked if they'd do a straight trade - guitar for harps - and they were happy to. So I came home, got the guitar, and traded it for 5 Special 20s. Not bad on a guitar that was originally 200 bucks new.
Anyway, on top of my Lee Oskar 'C', I've got 20s in the following keys B, Bb, D, Eb, and G. I was kind of hoping to get an A but they didn't have any in stock.
The G has a nice mellow sound. I can't wait to start putting them all through their paces. HarpTabs, here I come! :)
Anyone have any favorite tabs? I've noticed that the harptabs can be just as inaccurate as the guitar ones :)
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harmonicanick
Guest
Dec 18, 2008
4:43 PM
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Forget your tabs and start playing the harmonica to yourself and come back to us in a few years........
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Jeff
176 posts
Dec 18, 2008
4:44 PM
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Harptabs? I've always thought that site was kind of hokey. I mean it's allright if you want to learn inaccurate first position tabs of The Simpsons theme song or some Christmas Carols.
As far as good blues tabs, get on Amazon and buy used:
Big Walter w/Carey Bell tab book by David Barrett
&
Blues Harmonica Collection
That pretty much gives you almost 70 songs: a complete retrospective of Little Walter, Sonny Boy II, Big Walter, Howlin' Wolf and Jimmy Reed.
From there, Glenn Weiser's Chicago Masters tab book and Tom Ball's Sonny Terry lick book are solid additions.
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Aussiesucker
111 posts
Dec 18, 2008
6:10 PM
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Don't agree entirely. Horses for courses. If you cannot get a tune into your head then tabs and midis are not a bad start. Some first position stuff is really good but some you can transcribe across to any position that better suits the tune and your style of play. Some tunes however sound that much better if left alone in first position eg Silent Night wheras Amazing Grace can sound great in numerous positions even 12! I do agree that there are a lot of inaccuracies and a lot of tabs have you playing up on holes 7 to 10 wheras the melody might best be suited to playing in eg 3rd position. Its simple to transcribe a line or 2 to see if it works. Don't be a slave to tabs ie modify to suit and quickly dispense with them. Generally, if you know a tune well, can sing it, then you should not need tabs. However I have found some tunes I have in my head could not easily be played on normal diatonics & thats when I discovered that the Lee Oskar special tunings open up a lot more possibilities.
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bitterbug
10 posts
Dec 18, 2008
8:19 PM
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I've got the sourcebook of Sonny Terry licks, but have to get some of his music to reference from.
The nice thing about the tabs is finding a song I'm already familiar with. The sad thing is finding out the tab isn't remotely accurate.
Tabs do have their purpose though. Getting down clean blows and draws feels a lot more rewarding when you can hear the tune come out of it. Scales just aren't as fun.
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Jeff
177 posts
Dec 18, 2008
9:29 PM
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Get that book Blues Harmonica Collection by David McKelvey, the Essential Little Walter and Sonny Boy Williamson albums and the Amazing Slow Downer. You'll be set for the next few years as if learning on the knee of the masters.
I think tabs are a very legitimate way of learning. The key is to not learn the songs as a memorized sequence of motions. You need to identify each lick and where it is in the chord progression so you can pull each lick mentally into your library of riffs to be used and manipulated elsewhere when you're improvising. If all you can do is start playing the song from beginning to end and not really understand what's all going on musically, you're not really gaining much from memorizing the tab.
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TylerLannan
34 posts
Dec 18, 2008
9:40 PM
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I semi-agree that tabs are a good way to learn. Jeff brings up a good point as well. What really helped me though was learning songs by ear. It really helps cause if you rely to heavily on tabs it can become a crutch and you will be in the "tab only learning mode", where as if you learn to play by ear you will be able to listen to a song and pick up on it. If you are struggling with that try the amazing slow downer (there is a free trial on the website). Just learning to play by ear rocketed my playing to a new level. Sometimes I'll go to a local jam session bring my harps and not play, I just listen. That way I can learn other players riffs and incorporate them into my own playing. It's a great skill to have
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*you can only keep what you have by giving it away*
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bitterbug
11 posts
Dec 18, 2008
9:54 PM
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Cool. I just found an open-source app similar to Slow Downer. Best Practice
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