Hollistonharper
61 posts
Apr 03, 2009
10:10 AM
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In the spirit of "giving it all away" as Adam did in his blues harmonica secrets revealed and everything since then, I thought it would be interesting if the developing harpers on this forum would share a tip that they have found particularly helpful in moving their playing forward. It doesn't have to be a secret revealed or something new and different, just a practical tip that was useful. I'll prime the pump and hopefully some posts with a couple--
--open your mouth wide and stick the harp as deep as it can go, until it touches where your lips meet. Basic key to good tone, a basic building block that must be mastered.
--practice playing quietly as though you are trying not to wake up the baby in the room next door. I've heard this a bunch of times but it recently struck me like an epiphany--if you can articulate your notes and sound your bends while playing softly you will have developed strong fundamental skills.
--how to bend notes while tongue blocking. Admit it, it seems impossible to a developing player, as remote as overblows. Try pulling down the back of the right side of your tongue and also curl or fold that side back over (up, towards the top of your tongue) at the same time and see what happens.
Last Edited by on Apr 03, 2009 10:22 AM
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oda
55 posts
Apr 03, 2009
10:50 AM
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In the first few months I was starting, whenever I asked for advice people would say "just practice" and that used to piss me off so badly... but it's good advice, you can't beat getting acquainted with your harp no matter the level.
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Preston
253 posts
Apr 03, 2009
11:23 AM
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String riffs together!
I used to set around and go, O.K., I've got a handfull of cool riffs, but what do I do with them? I would play a single riff, then put the harp down and ponder life, wishing I knew a song to play. Then one day I decided to just start stringing all my riffs together. Some sounded good following the previous one, some didn't. Before too long I was jamming: speeding up or slowing down riffs, slight adjustmenst in riffs, and alot of the time finding new ones by accident. One day I recorded myself and when I was all out of ideas I checked the time on the recorder and I had gone on for over 7 minutes.
Jason Ricci Triplet Scale climbing/descending exercise.
Once I practiced those and committed them to muscle memory my improvisational skills increased dramatically.
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Buddha
222 posts
Apr 03, 2009
11:45 AM
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Harpwrench, I think you're wrong on that... Post an MP3 or video and let's see if you're right.
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Grillslinger
43 posts
Apr 03, 2009
11:53 AM
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Preston, do you have a link to those exercises?
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Preston
254 posts
Apr 03, 2009
12:29 PM
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I can, but J has a youtube channel. Look through and find his videos on playing fast.
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geordiebluesman
170 posts
Apr 03, 2009
12:42 PM
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Here's some good advice that i have taken two years of my own wasted time to come up with. Start at the beggining, Learn your scales and bends work on your tone and get it all down. Learn half a dozen basic riffs till you can play them fowards and backwards without thinking and then experiment with mixing them together. When you can do all of the above you are ready to really get going. PS this is really good advice i only wish i had the dicipline to follow it!
Last Edited by on Apr 03, 2009 12:43 PM
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isaacullah
152 posts
Apr 03, 2009
1:59 PM
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Practice scales like crazy! Do them in all the positions you can. Do it over and over and over again. Do it from the low octave up through the high octave. Do it over and over! Use rythmic patterns when palyig scales. Do it over and over! Play them slow, then play them as fast as you can. Do it over and over!
Did I mention you should do this over and over? You should do this over and over!
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The magnificent YouTube channel of the internet user known as "isaacullah"
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Miles Dewar
280 posts
Apr 03, 2009
2:14 PM
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Thanks Isaac, A guitar buddy of mine gave me that advice....I didn't listen to him. When i did, It became much easier to break down songs. And the blues scale gave me many, many riffs and licks.
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---Go Bears!!! (Richard Dent for Hall of Fame)---
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Preston
255 posts
Apr 03, 2009
2:16 PM
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Buddah has a good video of him practicing the scale to a song. I tried it when I first saw it, and it is alot more fun than just practicing the scale up and down.
I have an exercise I'd like to think I invented where I put the 2nd position, 1st position, and 3rd position blues scale in a 12 bar blues jam. It sounds like crap musically, but that's not the point. It is to practice the scale in a context of a song.
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bluzlvr
154 posts
Apr 03, 2009
2:30 PM
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Practice to a jam track of some kind. Since I don't have a computer these days, I decided to order a blues jam track cd for guitar knowing that I could use it for harp also. When I first started using it, it wasn't as easy as I thought it would be. After a little work with it I noticed that it helped force me to practice stringing licks together and helped with my timing(both harp and guitar.)
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Chris Jones
35 posts
Apr 03, 2009
2:56 PM
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Beginners that find Lip pursing natural- quit and do tongue blocking,get that down, then go with what you like best.
Last Edited by on Apr 03, 2009 2:56 PM
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Aussiesucker
232 posts
Apr 03, 2009
3:09 PM
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Practice.
I have found to make practicing easy I use a butchers paper flip chart with practice notes and tabs - large and hung at, or slightly above, eye level.
I used to have my practice notes and tabs on a sheet in front of me on a table hence too much looking down and saliva becomes a problem.
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jonsparrow
23 posts
Apr 03, 2009
4:02 PM
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the best advise i can give though i dont recomend it, is to have no life. then you will do nothing but play harp. i decided i hate every one i know so i cut off every thing from my life so i have all the time in the world. people say practice half hour a day etc... well i practice as long as im awake. ill pick up the harp play for 10 min. put it down for 10 min. pick it back up etc... it helps to be addicted to it. like i can feel the licks in my head and i just wanna keep playing them till there perfect. an i just love the way the harp sounds too. i play guitar, piano, didgeridoo etc, but i just cant get enough harp.
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scstrickland
38 posts
Apr 03, 2009
6:45 PM
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On the eve of the next full moon, go to the local graveyard, sit on a large granite tombstone and play a slow blues in Bb, at midnight. If a large black man approaches and asks to tune your harp....... Don't let him, you'll just get a bad case of lip herpes.
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Hollistonharper
63 posts
Apr 03, 2009
8:52 PM
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The clinical diagnosis would of course be Lip harp-es??
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snakes
161 posts
Apr 03, 2009
9:31 PM
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Place the harp as far in your mouth as you can. Make your top lip touch your index finger if possible. When blowing or drawing make your mouth in the shape that will make the sound of the air passing sound like Darth Vader from Star Wars breathing. Part of this is to learn to lift your soft pallet in the back of the roof of your mouth (kinda' where you get nasal drainage coming from when you have a cold).
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Buddha
223 posts
Apr 03, 2009
9:42 PM
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The best advice I can offer is this...
Nothing is impossible. If you get frustrated then put your harps down for awhile. You will feel it inside when you're ready again.
Stop listening to other harmonica players as much as possible, there is little you can truly learn from most of them.
Listen to ALL forms of music. Music is a language. Nobody taught you how to speak, you just learned from exposure.
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isaacullah
156 posts
Apr 04, 2009
5:34 PM
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Oh, my other new bit of info I just figured out. It's easier to learn how to overblow if you take the coverplates off the harp. You can use your finger or lips to dampen the blow reed, and then you cna concentrate on findng that sweet spot where the draw reed starts to do the overblow. Once you've got that "muscle memoried", it's A LOT easier to hit it again with the coverplates back on. I'm still in the process of internalizing overblows, but this technique has helped me more than any other advice I've found out there.
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The magnificent YouTube channel of the internet user known as "isaacullah"
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Miles Dewar
285 posts
Apr 04, 2009
5:57 PM
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"Stop listening to other harmonica players as much as possible, there is little you can truly learn from most of them."
Buddah, I've heard that before but never understood completely. Could you calify for us please?
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---Go Bears!!! (Richard Dent for Hall of Fame)---
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ZackPomerleau
29 posts
Apr 04, 2009
6:23 PM
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Well, I think maybe I have an idea. Most Harmonica players play strictly Blues, and other musical instruments have been 'mastered' more. It gives you a different perspective that hopefully you could put into your harmonica playing.
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Oisin
166 posts
Apr 05, 2009
12:01 AM
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Attend a Blues Jam and get up and play, even if you only play a few notes at first. There is NOTHING like playing with fellow musicaians ...the best buzz ever.
Don't worry about making mistakes...everyone does it and the audience probably won't notice.
Oisin
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Gray
60 posts
Apr 05, 2009
12:48 AM
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1.ALWAYS keep your eye,ear and third eye out for a harp freindly guitarist.
If you find one dont let him go.(just like Adam).
2.If you play a gig down the beach (on the sand) make sure your table ,holding your harps, is stable.
3.Be a cool harp player,not a novelty navigator.A few notes on a harp can kill.
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harmonicanick
224 posts
Apr 05, 2009
1:16 AM
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Oisin is right on, but make sure you have the the right key. I play mostly 2nd, so just turn your back and check it out.
Personally I cannot see the key mark on the GM's I play without my spec's.
Oh, and have a pen torch with you because that helps if its dark in 'the play area'
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rabbit
18 posts
Apr 05, 2009
3:33 AM
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Folks who play other wind instruments,
especially trumpet, are advised to bring
the instrument to the lips.
Do not bring the head down to the
instrument, bad posture, breathing,
wind etc.
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mr_so&so
76 posts
Apr 06, 2009
6:57 AM
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When you're woodshedding something, don't stop once you've "got it". Be patient. Persist. Groove it. Get it so it's really fluid and easy. That's when improvisation can start.
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Preston
257 posts
Apr 06, 2009
8:22 AM
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Mr. S&S,
That may be the most helpful advice I've read. You are 100% correct on that. Once you've got something committed to "Muscle Memory", you can change it up without losing your place.
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Jim Rumbaugh
24 posts
Apr 06, 2009
9:40 AM
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There is a difference between playing the harp and practicing the harp. If you do not practice new things, you may end up playing the harp for years with no improvement.
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Chevus
45 posts
Apr 06, 2009
7:39 PM
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Muscle memory is an important concept to be aware of when learning the fundamentals and techniques associated with your instrument(s) of choice. Since it is natural byproduct of repetitive practicing, it is vital to focus on what you are actually playing in the woodshed...Sometimes it helps to record your sessions (video or audio), so you can identify things to improve upon next time.
The old adage "Practice makes perfect" is misleading…It is just as easy to engrain bad habits into muscle memory!
Perfect practice is what makes us perfect!
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jbone
42 posts
Apr 06, 2009
9:19 PM
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play live with other musicians whenever possible, even if you don't know a lot yet. start in living rooms, at picnics, around campfires, on street corners. this is where you can learn how to get through a song or a jam type I-IV-V progression or whatever it is they are playing. working with live humans teaches you:
humility
manners
flexibility
timing
assertiveness with tact
see if you can find a guitarist or pianist who will let you just jam with them a few times. hopefully someone who can answer some questions you may have.
later, find an open mic someplace and take the big step on to a stage. preferably with total strangers. ask what key BEFORE the song kicks off and have your harps in some kind of order. use your above qualities to get along nicely with those on stage. think as little as possible past what key you're in and how to add to the song or groove or feel.
i spent a lot of time early on by myself, on country roads and fire trails, blowing the hell out of a harp, trying to learn to make it go like i'd heard my heroes do. playing along the best i could to lp records and radio helped some, but it seemed i was always missing something crucial. when i began actually playing with friends, i got to ask the "dumb questions", let me say this clearly- there are no dumb questions except the one you think is too dumb to ask. that's the one that can hold you back! now in my case, i didn't learn manners very quickly and i wore out a welcome or two. i also didn't make very fast progress on how to drive a harmonica since i was too proud to ask those questions sometimes, and as a result, people started kind of cringing when i brought the harps to some impromptu jam at a living room or wherever. i must mention, i had opportunities to take a lesson or two from some knowledgeable people but i was too cheap and too embarrassed by my own ignorance to take advantage of that opportunity. so it took me a very long time to really begin to get this thing. and it was all i wanted to do. stubbornness took me a long way. a thick hide helped. but i left in my wake some really annoyed musicians who were likely not sorry when they didn't see me any more.
sit in but remember, a bit of humility can take you places bold brassy impertinence can't. and if you can work it out- in person, from a book/cd set, from youtube or wherever, get some lessons.
find a circle of 5ths chart so you can memorize what key harp in what position in a given root key. being as self sufficient as possible is good manners.
when you go to a jam or get invited to sit in with a band, take your own mic. or your own mic and amp. often i will put a low-z bullet- i have the bushman torpedo and also a shure 545, and a sm57- in my harp case. i'd much rather take an empty channel in a p.a. and tweak it some for decent harp tone than try and sound good through a vocal-set mic.
sometimes at a jam there will be a harp player with the band and he may let you use his rig. don't tweak it without asking! some guys get really bent out of shape when this happens. they know how to get a good sound out of their rig more than likely. if they don't, ask them if you can maybe try a change of setting if you have a clue what would improve the sound. but not during a song! in between times.
i think i probably said all i wanted to, but i just want to stress good manners and all they entail, no matter if you're brand new or a seasoned old salt.
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MrVerylongusername
225 posts
Apr 07, 2009
1:40 PM
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Here's a few tips for gigging...- Never play with a drunk drummer
- Always carry spare fuses for your amp
- Buy in-ear monitors
- Buy the soundguy a drink and treat him with respect
- Get suited and booted - sound isn't everything, image matters too
- Look like you're enjoying yourself - even if you're not
- Standing still like a statue won't encourage the audience to dance
- Don't just rehearse the music, rehearse the changes and onstage patter
- Give up your amp and mic for 6 months and just use a vocal mic. It'll make you work on natural tone. You might never go back.
- Nothing makes you think about stage presence like performing solo or as half of a duo. It's easy to hide in a band.
Last Edited by on Apr 07, 2009 1:41 PM
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The Happy Harper
35 posts
Apr 07, 2009
9:10 PM
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The best advice I ever got was to read the above advice!!!
Great stuff guys.
Oh and also to jam with a metronome, not practice along with it but JAM WITH IT, groove with it like it is another musician that keeps real good time, give it some solos, play off of it. A bit of this at the start of each woodshedding session and you will be rock solid in no time.
Warning!! make sure you don't jam with a country gnome (you know short little guy with pointed red hat, big beard) always jam with a 'city' gnome or as we now call them 'metro'gnomes (the modern spelling drops the silent G). The country ones steal your harps when you aren't looking, watch out.
Hope that helps someone.
Jason
Last Edited by on Apr 07, 2009 9:14 PM
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isaacullah
167 posts
Apr 07, 2009
9:27 PM
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A GREAT free metronome software is the "Wierd Metronome". It has a bunch of different percussion sounds you can use, and you can very easily program non standard times and beat rythyms using differnt percussion sounds. Simple to use, great results, and free.
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The magnificent YouTube channel of the internet user known as "isaacullah"
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DaDoom
74 posts
Apr 08, 2009
12:52 AM
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Here's my tip: do not just play mindlessly. It's ok to just pick up the harp and play stuff but from time to time slow down focus as much as you can on every single aspect of what you are doing:
- how are you holding the harp?
- how is your embouchure?
- how soft/hard are you playing?
- how's your tone on that specific note?
In those moments of focus you'll often notice things that you're doing wrong (best done in front of a mirror).
Try to make your embouchure as consistent as possible over the whole harp. For instance I tend to get away from the harp on it's higher end and thus thin out the sound. That's why I had problems with blow bends at first.
Do not despair on the fancy stuff. I.e. do not spend an hour trying to get an overblow. Try 10 minutes, if it doesn't work go back and practice your bends. It's much more important to be able to properly bend 3 draw for instance. The cool stuff on the harp comes from the subtleties. See what Adam can do just by using holes 1-3 and you'll know what I mean.
Last Edited by on Apr 08, 2009 1:04 AM
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MrVerylongusername
256 posts
Apr 18, 2009
6:12 PM
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Sorry to bump an old thread, but I learned a lesson tonight...
Always carry a back-up microphone for your back-up microphone. Yes, unbelievably tonight BOTH my 520 and my 545 backup mic failed me. I had to play through a low-z Shure 57 all night with no lo-hi transformer. :-(
Looks like I'll be busy with the soldering iron this week...
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MIKE C.
5 posts
Jun 20, 2009
11:23 AM
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It's always better to lay back and play "too little" than go overboard and play "too much". Always bring a full set of 12 harps to a jam session or when you are planning or asking to sit in. This way if a "wise ass" guitar player says,"can you play in Ab?", you san say "sure!".
Last Edited by on Jul 09, 2009 11:17 AM
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nacoran
70 posts
Jun 20, 2009
12:37 PM
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Carry a harmonica everywhere. You never know when a chance to practice or jam will come around. Keep a harp in every room, on every table, in every pocket. (I think Jason said something to that effect.)
Switch harmonicas often. Play low harps. Play high harps.
Make sure some of your practice time is where no one can hear you. You only tend to try the really crazy stuff when you're alone.
Try crazy stuff. Hey, I tried seeing what would happen if I put the receiving end of my trumpet mouthpiece against a hole in my harmonica the other day. I wouldn't call it a success, but hey, since you can kind of play a melody on a mouthpiece I figured maybe I could play two melodies at once and I'd be the first person in the world to do it. If I had an ebow and a steel reed harmonica I'd try that too! I've bent the reed plate on a cheap blown out harmonica to see if the reeds would still sound. (Sure, we've all seen pictures of those boomerang harmonicas, but could I bend it up and down instead?)
Find someone to jam with. Ask questions.
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Mgimino
4 posts
Jun 20, 2009
10:16 PM
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"Stop listening to other harmonica players as much as possible, there is little you can truly learn from most of them."
I also would like to hear an explanation on this.
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EddyLizard2
29 posts
Jun 21, 2009
12:57 AM
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lots of info, thanks to everybody!
I guess Buddha MIGHT have oracled about switching from listening or reading too much to other guys (='talking' harp) to spending some more time exercising and listening to ...'playing' harp!
(Chris, please excuse me if i am wrong.)
OK, important question for any beginner is: 'what harp?'
To me it was a great help to actually buy and 'try out' a couple of different harp makes.
NOT just MBs! - actually i bought lots of different brands and keys...but did not throw most of them away yet, instead i learn with them now, years later, how to tweak them...
My advice here: Use (at least) a loupe! and good light!:)
Jason,
my 'metro'nom really is a 'pc'gnom...but very helpful too!
i use any backtrack or song i'm just working on repetiously on an old computer/stereo combo in my woodshed.
different software can just loop(quicktime) or also slow down the piece(slowdowner or riffster or...).
So obviously the 'woodshed' was/is of GREAT help for me! (learned that from Adam, thanks!)
What also helped ME a lot was buying EVERY lesson from Adam so far - and really WORKING with them
(besides digesting all those different free YOutube tips and tricks lessons from all you other guys.
Thank you! ...and different www.sites... )
If a lesson is too 'difficult' right now, i just put it aside for later!
I know I'll be getting there!!
If it is too simple...well, there is no 'too simple', there is something to be learned from EVERY lesson so far!
as a beginner you can hardly go wrong with Adam!
Well, for me it also was like a chance of throwing some coins into his busker's hat.
he's a wonderful teacher. His lessons are worth every $...
and i do my 'baby steps' learning by looping parts of that particular lesson and (see above) ...repetition, repetition...
Thanks for this really wonderful thread!
EddyLizard2
(back to the woodshed!)
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Bluzdude46
65 posts
Jun 22, 2009
3:49 AM
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My Best Tip: Listen to these guys.
Beginners today have no idea how much easier it is to learn and have the wealth of knowledge floating around on the internet. I started out meeting a guy who wasn't very good and wound up being better then he in a matter of days. Never saw much of him after that and didn't know any other harp players. I hitched around the country with a few harps in my pockets and learned everything by trial & error, yes I learned awful habits that I'm trying still to defeat.
I've been part of rather succesful club bands yet when I compare myself to others I could possibly be the least technically talented player among us. I show up at Jams and there are MANY times younger, Better Harp players that have been playing fewer years then I.
My best attributes is that I play well with others and I listen to the rest of the band and play with them instead of trying to be "the player" For that reason I'm welcome on just about any stage with musicians that know me.
I know I will always play because I love it and someday I just may get pretty good at it.
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ricanefan
11 posts
Jun 23, 2009
12:32 AM
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Here's my two cents: kids songs and Christmas songs. Figuring these out on my own really advanced my development.
I like to periodically "go back to the beginning" - go over my early learning materials, and/or go back to kids songs. I like to make sure my basics are solid. Been doing it this week, in fact.
Finally, like has already been mentioned, always have a harp with you. I've always got at least one in a pocket; keep a few in the truck; have nine in the van; there's two in my desk at work; one by the dogs' leashes...
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TheBlackNote
68 posts
Jun 23, 2009
3:26 AM
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Play with intensity. Take the emotion you associate with most in life and wail.
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Feel my music.
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Miles Dewar
372 posts
Jun 23, 2009
7:24 AM
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Don't worry if you dont rapidly improve. Just live YOUR journey. Day to day.
It's a pretty obvious thing....But I do find myself forgetting.
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kudzurunner
526 posts
Jun 23, 2009
9:13 AM
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I do hope that GermanHarpist has permalinked this thread, because it's one of the best.
I'll add a couple of things to the mix.
If you get to a point where you feel as though you've played everything you know, are stale, etc., then simplify radically. Bring it back to a steady foot tap on the floor and some basic, funky riff involving the 2 draw, 2 draw bend (whole step), and blue third. Make the riff sound great, and keep the groove strong. Then find small variations. Alternate the variation with the original riff. Work outward from there. Listen to what you're playing. Get lost in the groove. Be the groove. At this point, you're making music. Now expand on it.
Take a riff or a song that you know and transpose it to another key harp. Make it sound good.
Take a riff or a song that you know and transpose it to another groove. If it's a shuffle, play it to a funk groove. Figure out all the subtle changes you need to make in order to make the riff work. Make it sound good.
Get a cheap chronograph with an alarm, or just get a one-hour kitchen timer. When you practice, get in the habit of setting the timer for specific periods of time. 15 minutes. 30 minutes. You'll be surprise how long 15 minutes can be when you're trying to extract every useful bit of it as a practice session. Find 15 minutes here and there in your day. You'll end up accumulating 45-60 minutes a day of found time. But start with the timer. Set it, then start practicing.
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