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Dirty-South Blues Harp forum: wail on! >
Oldwailer Back from Mecca. . .
Oldwailer Back from Mecca. . .
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oldwailer
622 posts
Mar 28, 2009
7:50 PM
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Well, it has been great fun to banter around and joke about being in Arizona with Buddha--and it was a lot of fun to be there doing it, but I thought I'd take a few minutes and share what I learned while I was there--just in case somebody else might gain something from my experience.
A lot of the stuff I learned was posted in the lessons Buddha gave with me playing the guitar--it was really instructive, but I won't go into that because you can go study those from the master himself.
But I did learn a few other things while I was there ;
1) If you want to get really into harp, you just gotta go get yourself a good instructor--by Skype or, better still, in person. Yes, the information is all right here on the net, and a lot of it is very cheap or free--but, as great as Adam is with his 170-odd YT lessons, he cannot look out through the screen and say "Hey, Oldwailer, You're breathing from the chest! Breathe from the gut!" And then give you individual instruction on a better way to do it.
My harmonica playing lesson with Buddha was only about an hour and a half--and the things I learned will change my playing for the better for years to come. In a few seconds he was able to spot bad habits that I had developed and then get me doing them right. Within 5 minutes he had me playing with a better tone, and doing a controlled blow-bend on the 8 blow--which I could only do now and then before.
This is what I mean--I could have practiced for another ten years and I myself would have never spotted that I didn't know how to breath right--I would have just been practicing choppy licks forever. You need another person who knows how to look to spot these things for you and focus you on what you need to practice.
I'll be working on the stuff from that lesson for quite a while to form good habits where the bad ones were found--but I'll always be a better player because of that one little lesson. That to me is worth the price of a good harp.
2) This subject has come up many times on the forum and there are those who don't really want to hear it anymore I'm sure. But I now believe that, if you want to really get down with harp on more than a light hobbyist kind of level, you just gotta get at least one custom harp in your favorite practice key. Not a custom harp to save for special gigs--but a harp to work out your chops with in the woodshed.
Of course you can learn to customize them yourself if you like that kind of thing--that's what I'm doing--I hope to have a whole bag full of good harps eventually and there is no way I could afford to have them all made for me.
I now have two MB harps, on in G and one in A, that were made by Buddha. These are the best harps I have ever owned. I haven't tried all the harps there are by any means, but these custom harps are WAY easier to bend--WAY louder than any other harp I have owned--and generally just a joy to own and play. My sound and tone were better and more dynamic the minute I put a custom harp to my lips.
If you aren't practicing on a well-adjusted harp, you are struggling against something that you don't need to struggle against. A good harp works with you to make you play better.
Of course, all of the above is just my opinion--just take it for what it's worth. . .
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Hollistonharper
57 posts
Mar 28, 2009
8:18 PM
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For all of the advanced beginners/intermediates on the forum, I want to second Oldwailer's point about seeing a teacher. There's great stuff on the web and incredible stuff on this forum, especially lately, but a teacher will help you really get to the next level and fix what's ailing your playing. I recently started seeing a teacher and had an incredible lesson today. I've posted a fiew videos on harpfriends and gotten some pretty good constructive criticism--a few people have said that while my bends and inflection are good, my playing sounds choppy and I should play more smoothly. Well, I've tried to work on that, but easier said than done. Today my teacher pointed out exactly what I was doing wrong--I was tonguing every note, I think it was helping me keep time, strangely--and he got me to change my approach. I feel like my playing is already so much better. I don't know when or if I would have figured this out on my own. So my point in this post is to simply reinforce that if you can afford lessons in these tough times, it's money well spent.
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harmonicanick
212 posts
Mar 29, 2009
3:17 AM
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I endorse OW's 2nd point as I have just got my first custom harp and its good..
'the convert'
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GermanHarpist
237 posts
Mar 29, 2009
4:36 AM
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We're happy you've come back a better harmonica player and a wiser man. Of course you're right on both points.
'the convert', lol harmonicanick.
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germanharpist, harpfriends on Youtube
Last Edited by on Mar 29, 2009 6:13 AM
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rustym
19 posts
Mar 29, 2009
4:56 AM
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OW- I watched several of the videos with Buddha and what a pleasure that must have been. He really takes the time to TEACH!
Awesome stuff!
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eharp
248 posts
Mar 29, 2009
6:22 AM
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thank you, teacher. may i have another?
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oldwailer
624 posts
Mar 29, 2009
8:28 AM
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Well, Nick, I'm afraid that if I comment on The Hand, I'll get The Hand at the start of my next lesson! Best to keep a low profile on that subject. . .
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djm3801
69 posts
Mar 29, 2009
2:40 PM
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Well, Here's the trick. I have 14 harps, on my first full year of playing only becase I wanted to try all major brands before I settled on the Delta Frost and Special 20 as my favorites and because harps are cheap. Acquired all of them before it would even have occurred to be to get a custom. So I just bought my wife some "no occasion" jewelry cause it was on sale - it was also pretty cheap - about $100. SOunds like enough for a Lotus model ..See what damage the tax man does to me and then I am going to sping for the hell of it..Don't lets start on the IRS. Brings out my bad side.
Dan
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