Lots of microtonal stuff in blues for sure. As a harp player, I primarily think of this when hitting the blue 3rd on the 3 draw. Also, the 4draw bent. Lots of players bend it almost to the floor, particularly when coming from 4 blow. Still sounds cool.
But, I am interested in what ya'll have to say about a technique that I hear in other players and also implement myself: creating a microtonal trill on a bent or overblown note.
1) I hear (and do) this the most on the 6 ob, pushing it up past the minor third above the root, and into the blue third, then back. Or,
2) hit the blue third (on a 6 ob), push up to a major 3rd above the root, then back to the blue third. To my ear, option 1 sounds WAY better, but I'm curious how others feel about it.
3) I also do this on a 4 draw bent. If I'm coming from a 4 blow, I might go to a 4 draw bent a little more than a half step, the release up to slightly higher than a half step bend, then back, and then off to another note.
4) If playing in 1st position, the 4 ob then takes on similar tonal properties as the 6 ob in cross, and so I treat it similarly, and often bend it the way I describe in option 1. Also, 6 ob and 3 draw bend , and 8 blow bend can be treated similarly. 5ob less so.
5) In 3rd position, 6 draw bend takes on similar tonal properties as the 4 draw when in 2nd position. So, I might treat it like option 3.
I particularly like the way these create motion, and add some color to the melodic line. Of course, if your OB sound quality is poor, ornamentation on an OB is going to sound nasty, so solid technique needs to be a given to do it at all. I feel such ornamentation is here to stay, but I'm not even sure people are aware of it as I've seen little discussion of it. So, what is your opinion? Which options do you use, or do you disapprove of such actions altogether?
Preach on! I've been overblowing for more than 20 years but never had harps good enough to allow me to raise the pitch of the ob. But Jason R. certainly does some of the things you're talking about, and your post cheers me with the thought that there's a new watershed for modern blues harp players, a sort of dividing line beginning to emerge, and I'm on the old-guy side of it. I like that.
Great post. I'm eager to hear the response.
Last Edited by on Jan 11, 2010 7:04 PM
I don't use the trills so much on 6ob as I don't use it on the lower octave either. However what I've been practicing a little (without actually applying it in a jam) is hitting the 6ob on the blue third and then bending it all the way down (and than back to the root). It's basically copying the following lick -3' -3'' -2 just an octave higher. You can't really bend all the way down to the major second but it feels similar as in the lower octave.
---------- germanharpist on YT. =;-) - Resonance is KEY!
The microtonal aspect is really a technique borrowed from horn players as they often fall off or on a note by 1/4 steps. ---------- Sincerely, Barbeque Bob Maglinte Boston, MA http://www.barbequebob.com CD available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/bbmaglinte
Thanx guys - This is my new explanation for when I don't quite hit it dead on with my trumpet - "My microtonal approach" ;-) ---------- If it ain't got harp - it ain't really blues!!!!
I like to trill on hole 10 blow and the 1/2 step bend,especially the second time through the progression on a solo in measure 5, but it fits in other places too. Becoming one of my favorites especially on harps from Low f up to D.
I like both those ideas, especially yours German, cause that would be a cool fall off.
@Kudzu,
I'm using stock harps, I just gap em kinda tight. To bend up the ob, I think of pressing the columb of air up to my soft pallate. BTW, love your vids and what you are doing for the world. I'd still be playing "oh susana without your videos."
@BBQ,
Yeah, I like that sliding pitch thing, cause I can't do it on my piano!
To make my points/questions a little more clearly, I recorded this when I got home. Nothing special, just demonstrating what I'm talking about. I like the motion of these things, and the slight unsetting nature of it.
For me it seems that the microtonal trills are pretty close to vibration. Perhaps it is difficult to draw a line where vibration becomes actually a microtonal trill and vice versa.
I don't think of them as a vibration, even though they do create that effect. Its like an upper mordent(see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mordent if you wna to know), but microtonal. Hit the note, bend up, then back down. If it was repetitive, of smaller pitch sway, and more settling than unsettling, then I'd call it vibrato.
I first heard Ricci doing this, and it reminded me of some eastern european folk music (which I like) with cool ornaments.
