Allright fellas Here it is. My very first Bluzeman's Harmonica Video Diary installment.
I bought my first harmonica on June 19th 2009, a Hohner Blues harp, key of E . a week later I bought a Special 20, Key of A and used it for this vid. It's become my primary though I still love how the Blues Harp plays, just can't play along with much in the key of B. SO... without further ado.... Let me have it!
Thanks Jon! I play guitar and fiddle around on the mandolin. Soon as I can get my brother to send my 4-track from Florida I'm planning on puttin together some full soundtracks, with guitar and mando, and possibly even some organ (I bought a Yahama Electone organ a few weeks ago for $25. Ha ha. )
After watchin this vid a couple of times here's my self-critique:
I have no seal! I have been working on getting a good seal and right now I am most comfortable with the "two thumbs-up" grip. but I have trouble keeping a good seal around my chin. In this vid I noticed I didn't seal at ALL and I hear how much it affects my tone.
Second I pretty much don't follow any real structure, ie this is 100% improv, though I've been playing around with this groove for about a week. I have not tried to "copy" anyone at all and really haven't spent any reall time trying to learn anyone's tunes yet. If it sounds like a song you know it's accidental or subconcious.
Though I didn't try any vibrato here I have been working on it, mostly the throat vibrato, and after watching a couple different lesson videos I think I am on the right track.
I can get the 2,3 and 4 hole draw bend if I sit at the keyboards and give myself the pitch to hit but I'm a long ways from consistently hittin the right pitch at speed. I have another slower groove I've been working on with alot of bends for practicing that. I'll probably make a vid of that one tomorrow and see if I can get a little constructive criticism on those techniques.
You mentioned your work on a good seal... Working with it, certainly affects your playing a lot. However the most effect on your tone is how your lips are positioned on the harp (as I see it, anyway). Generally when playing a note your lips should single out that one hole, but they should not be of any resistance to the air flow. If your lips are the bottleneck of the air flow/pressure (which I think is the case) then the tone is kinda flatted and generally not so good.
I'm looking forward to your video with bends and vibrato. Keep it up!
A lot of peoplke on here have discussed at length how difficult they find it to get a good seal with the thumbs up grip, myself for one; some people just can't seem to do it: skinny chin or whatever.
Doc Gussow, on his YT Sonny Terry lesson, says he has to swith to the standard grip for a good wah wah.
Also, I notice that you're holding the harp with your right hand, but with the numbers on the top, i.e. the right way up. If you later decide to use a starndard grip, you may find it quite hard to get a good seal that way on the bottom notes, which is crucial for blues harp.
For what it's worth, the only thing I've put on YT discusses this. But, my twopence worth is not meant to be definitive.
Dave Barrett has a couple of YT vids on the subject, which discuss different things to my vid. I just tried to look them up, but YT said it was down for maintainance. Dave's channel is called harmonicamasterclass.
Doc also has a couple of YT vids on the subject; they're somewhere around #40 - #45. ---------- 'If it sounds GOOD to you, it's bitchen; if it sounds BAD to YOU, it's shitty' - Frank Zappa
Thanks for the tips, Mickil, and the direction to those vids. I'll check them out for sure.
Yeah.. I just found it more natural to hold the harp with my right hand. no other reason. I have tried the thumb under hold, but with the right hand all the space is around the upper end of the harp, which sucks for good tone on the low end and kind of defeats the purpose. I have been trying to force myself to use my left hand to hold the harp and use the thumb underneath grip. I'll just have to adapt if I want the tone.
I know how awkward the thumb can feel on your embouchure, but your mouth / hand does find ways to adapt. It nearly drove me half do-lally, but it does come.
I think I make slight adjustments depending where I am on the harp / what kind of harp I'm playing, but I'm not sure. Anyway, with practice, the grip and seal will feel natural.
Good luck. ---------- 'If it sounds GOOD to you, it's bitchen; if it sounds BAD to YOU, it's shitty' - Frank Zappa
"Yeah.. I just found it more natural to hold the harp with my right hand. no other reason. I have tried the thumb under hold, but with the right hand all the space is around the upper end of the harp, which sucks for good tone on the low end and kind of defeats the purpose. I have been trying to force myself to use my left hand to hold the harp and use the thumb underneath grip. I'll just have to adapt if I want the tone."
Bluzeman, I had this exact same problem. About a week ago or so I made a thread on the issue.
I decided to force myself to switch to my left hand, and with a few adjustments I'm very comfortable with using the left hand now, maybe even more so then my right hand. ---------- Michael
Yeah I was the same with the hand thing when I started too! Like anything its practice and repetition to produce familiarity...
Also I play a lot whilst at the computer so playing with the left hand is a necessity since my other is operating the mouse! (I'm sure there is a joke in there somewhere...)
Nice work, Bluzeman. It will be cool to watch your progress. As for the grip and seal, I am a recent convert to the 2-Thumbs Up grip. I found I could seal the chin by rotating my right hand clockwise a bit, so that my chin sits against the base of my right palm to make the seal. I don't have a left/right hand issue, but I suggest that you start out with one of the two standard grips and just get used to it. It will probably save some grief in the long run.
Well I have done pretty good the last two days forcing myself to hold with the left hand and thumb under grip. I get a really good seal, it just feels so damn wierd. lol. I will get it though. thanks ALL for the great tips and encouragement. Workin up a new jam and after about 10 takes that I wasn't happy with I should have a new vid ready this evening :)
try playing long notes, with constant air pressure. slant the harp a little. use your tongue to emphasis the notes by tapping it on the top of your mouth..
Allright, Here it is. I after watchin Gussow's awesome lesson on the Fox Chase (I think it was Gussow.048 or so.) and two days of wanderin around aimlessly breathing TuKa-TuKa, TuKa-TuKa, TuKa-TuKa, TuKa-TuKa I finally gave it a go.
Now, if you wrap your right thumb around the front of the harp, you'll improve your seal and require less wrist movement to get a wah.
In fact, on those Dave Barrett YT vids I mentioned, he gets a wah just by moving his thumb. That's how important the thumb can be - well, is really - to a good seal. It should be resting both on your face and on the harp. ---------- 'If it sounds GOOD to you, it's bitchen; if it sounds BAD to YOU, it's shitty' - Frank Zappa
http://www.youtube.com/user/SlimHarpMick
Last Edited by on Jul 25, 2009 2:56 AM
AHH! Thanks for the tip Mickil. I have been messing around with different right hand positions and I definately can hear the slight difference, and even feel it when I give a good solid draw with the right thumb in front of the harp. THANKS!
