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Dirty-South Blues Harp forum: wail on! >
Blues Harmonica Collection,Hal Leonard Corp
Blues Harmonica Collection,Hal Leonard Corp
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geordiebluesman
129 posts
Jan 02, 2009
3:25 AM
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Happy New Year fellow harp buddies,I hope you had a wild one coz i shure as hell did,But now that the head has cleared and it's a new year i'm kean to start a new practice regime so i'm looking for advice from anyone who is familier with the above book.I want to use it as part of my woodshedding so could anyone suggest their five fav songs from the book to study to get that chicago sound and to help move from begginer to intermediate level,All suggestions will be welcolme
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Tryharp
59 posts
Jan 02, 2009
4:01 AM
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Geordie,
I had a big one, drunk a lot of Guiness.
You cetainly aint no beginner my man. Have a look at adams Defs to the left, "what level are you?", Ive watched your vids, and you sit clearly in a much higher category. I think you are very lucky, that you also have a great natural voice, work on that too. About Hal Leonard, I got no idea!
Tryharp
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Jaybird
22 posts
Jan 02, 2009
10:09 AM
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Geordie,
I have the Hal Leonard "Blues Harmonica Collection", (and just about every other blues harmonica transcription book ever published.)
I learned to play "Juke" from this book. It was the first transcription I ever followed. There are a number of Sonny Boy Williamson tunes in this book. The "Help Me" transcription was invaluable in learning those tricky classic Sonny licks. The transcription for the Jimmy Reed tune "Honest I Do" is well done and a great way to work on the upper end with the blow bends.
In my opinion, once you have learned the basics, transcription books like this is the "fast track" way to make yourself sound like a pro. Instead of you trying to "make up" nice sounding licks based on scales and arpeggios, you have complete, classic "hits" to study and learn from. Recordings are available for most all transcriptions, so you know how it should properly sound, and you can play along with it. If you have a band or a "guitar man" available at a moments notice, then you can perform the song you learned. Otherwise you're stuck just playing along with the origial recording.
Therein lies the problem if you want to learn and perform full classic harmonica tunes. I learned this the hard way. I spent months learning to play Sugar Blue's "Little Red Rooster". There are two transcriptions available for this, by David Barrett and Glenn Weiser. They are both good. I spent hundreds of hours of study and was able to achieve 90% proficiency at 90% speed (my woodshed is ruled by the Amazing Slow Downer). It was only then that I realized if I was ever able to perform this amazing tune for anyone I would need a very cooperative band or a suitable BACK UP TRACK! Since I didn't have a band I went searching for a suitable back up track. None found for this tune, but I wound up collecting back up tracks (I have hundreds), trying to match them up with the transcriptions I have. Not much luck there either.
Which brings me to Steve Baker's Blues Harmonica Playalongs series. In each book/CD set, Steve has done what no one else has been able to do. In one complete package you get a wide variety of tunes and styles (and positions) of playing to work on. You get two recordings for each tune, one with Steve playing, the other is the back up. PLUS in the book you get a transcription, Steve's comments on how to play it, and some exercises to work on to develop the skills you need for playing it properly. The Playalong series is in three volumes. Volume 3 has a complete transcription for each song. The earlier books have transcriptions for the theme and some of the verses.
I learned everything I know about the harp from books, CD's and the internet. I have been playing harmonica for a little over three years and was called a "ringer" (liar?) more than once. I give most of the credit to the Steve Baker Playalongs series.
Jaybird
www.YouTube.com/Jaybird33066
Last Edited by on Jan 05, 2009 8:47 AM
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geordiebluesman
130 posts
Jan 04, 2009
12:07 PM
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Hey Tryharp,Thanx for the Big Up it's most appreciated especially the singing complement,And Jaybird i very much appreciate your detailed and informative reply i have asked for the Steve Baker stuff for my 50th birthday which is in 11 days GULP!
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oldwailer
419 posts
Jan 04, 2009
3:54 PM
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Whippersnapper!
Let us know what you think of the Steve Baker stuff--I might have to give it a go too--after the review by Jaybird, I wish I had the bucks to try it right now. . .
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