|
Dirty-South Blues Harp forum: wail on! >
how far down the road i be now.
how far down the road i be now.
Page:
1
dambuster
6 posts
Mar 18, 2009
9:10 AM
|
ive been playing harp for about 3 months or so now, and have done loads of studying , listening , and practising, my practise has mainly been confined to the car, except when the place is empty i let it rip. mr gussows lessons have been good along with mr gindicks on utube particually the lesson on musicallaty from mr gindick. work has been shy round these parts so some days ive managed to get 2 or 3 hours practise in a day.i have enquired about having one or two custom harps built for me. but i have decided to work with what i have for now but i seen that video on utube about the budda harp that some chap had built for him, think i will have to have one or two of them,in time fingers crossed. learning to play harmonica has to be one the most difficult things ive tried to do in my lifetime,and boy there have been times when i have just felt like lobbing it out the window, theres days when i seem like im just going round in circles, but on the plus side the last week or so ive been making some good breakthroughs with me single note stuff ,hitting the 12 hole draws so that they are clear and toned, , anyway good people i know this is a difficult question and maybe a difficult one to answer but at what level should i be in the beginners stage as in beginners terms ,and what should i be able to do at this level, i expect a bit of mickey taking ,but any honest opinions and advice would be greatly appreciated, cheers.
|
oldwailer
590 posts
Mar 18, 2009
9:16 AM
|
Look to the left--the orange border--near the top, there is a question; What level are you?" Click the question. Adam has already provided a good answer for your question there.
Yes, it can be frustrating at times--but it's a very fun journey for the most part--once you get to a point where you can put on a CD and jam along with it, it gets to be very fun and addictive--and that level of playing isn't that far away at all!
Last Edited by on Mar 18, 2009 9:20 AM
|
mr_so&so
55 posts
Mar 18, 2009
9:28 AM
|
Patience, my friend. There's a lifetime of learning in the harp. It's been said that it's the hours, not years, that count. But realistically, it's going to take you years to get good.
|
tookatooka
151 posts
Mar 18, 2009
10:02 AM
|
I'm a slow learner but when I get it, it's there for good. Blues improvising still puzzles me at the moment although I'm quite good at the blues basics (bends etc)and know quite a few riffs but haven't mastered putting it all together and that's after almost 2 years, but I can always fall back onto nice tunes and melodies to keep the interest alive and keep the enthusiasm for the instrument.
----------
When I'm not blowing, I'm drawing.
|
Grillslinger
26 posts
Mar 18, 2009
10:26 AM
|
There's always a lot to learn. Keep it up. The more you learn, the more you find out there is to learn!
|
Miles Dewar
246 posts
Mar 18, 2009
9:19 PM
|
dambuster, tookatooka...I started just playing along with jam tracks using single notes, counting every quarter note with the root note on my harp. Then i would play with that rythmically, and then just throw in a couple of those riffs I knew. I just work around the crappy version and it comes out better every time. I'm not the greatest and I've only been playing for a year and a month, but I have a lot of fun improvising, and it is working for me.
and damn right Grillslinger.
Oh yeah, i checked out your meat...looks good. Makes me hungry.
----------
---Go Bears!!! (Richard Dent for Hall of Fame)---
Last Edited by on Mar 18, 2009 9:20 PM
|
snakes
133 posts
Mar 20, 2009
1:13 PM
|
Remember dambuster this cliche as it is so true. Goals are well and good and serve a purpose, but it is the journey that matters. Don't get too hung up on where you are skill-wise except to use that notion as a tool to improve your practice methods and thus enjoy the journey more.
|
mickil
106 posts
Mar 20, 2009
4:58 PM
|
dambuster, I'm not even going to tell you how long it took me to accurately bend the 3 draw; I'm too embarrassed. So, when you say, 'there have been times when i have just felt like lobbing it out the window...' I know what you mean; it's like pure rage. Just keep doing it. Now, if I'm having trouble with something, I practice it less, not more. But, I practice it little and often. A few things have fallen into my lap by doing it that way, things I'd thought sounded impossible.
----------
'If it sounds GOOD to you, it's bitchen; if it sounds BAD to YOU, it's shitty' - Frank Zappa
|
Aussiesucker
194 posts
Mar 20, 2009
10:49 PM
|
I think that its a very long journey that really never ends. At least thats my take on learning the harp. Even when you get good there is still lots that I find that I cannot do. Maybe its because I choose not to go down certain paths & therefore limit my learning? But if I dont like something ie a certain tune then I figure I would be wasting time trying to learn it.
6 months back I signed up for a course at The Harmonica Academy and I found that some of the Freshman exercises were challenging me but also from day one I was able to easily play some of the most advanced tunes they were teaching in the final year. I could not work out where I was at so I have gone back to the beginning as I figure that knowing all the basics is pretty important.
|
Post a Message
|
