Thanks guys all tips greatly appreaciated i just signed up for another 6 months at harmonica academy,Just finished 1 year,i did this to a jamtrack the school has,I feel like i need to spend more time on my target notes,among other things,but any tips that i can work on for the comming year will be gladly taken,I hear a lot of players on here after a year and it gets frustracting,I have no idea where im at for a year,anyway thanks
You would be welcome at The Harmonica Club anytime. You sound like the average member of the gang. There are some beter, there are some worse. I say keep it up. I'm in my 9th year and still have a way to go.
thanks Jim yea that was me singing lol trying to,Ive wanted to check out the harmonica club in tulsa i live down the road about 45 min.Just havent got to make it there yet.
First, good on you for putting this up. You're doing fine. I sure as hell hope this song isn't auto-biographical!
Personally, I'd rather have Simon Cowell for a critic than Paula Abdul. So I won't blow smoke here.
The criticism I would offer is the following:
1) You're always hitting the 3 draw (the "3rd") unbent. Although this is more acceptable over the IV and V chord, the major 3rd is definitely not part of the blues scale and sounds amateur over the I chord. If you want to sound more bluesy, that 3 draw should generally be bent down a 1/2 step.
2) You're staying in your "comfort zone" almost exclusively - holes 3 4 and 5. You play there because you've learned, probably unconsciously, that its hard to go wrong with those holes. But this is a trap. You need to explore the whole harp. Force yourself there so that you begin to learn the licks that do work.
3) if you want us to hear your harp work - play more and sing less (for us - not in general.)
thanks Greg, whats funny is from day one i was using the whole harp,played a lot of the High end,But last 6 months have been trying to use just the lower,notes because i needed to get a better grasp of playing the lower registers cause on all my improv jams for the 1st six months i didnt want to work the lower blues scale notes hard enough,i guess i got something acomplished if you say i worked the low notes alot,the only problem with me and higher notes is not from not using them its getting them to sound good with the lower notes lol,yea i added the vocals cause on most my stuff i would just play and play 2 min after i played all my licks lol
this is me at about 5 months,I put it on here for advise and got some pointers awhile back,they said i had a good ear,and timing,but needed to work more on attack,and less noodling,my Harp teacher said i needed to use more 2d notes also,this last recording my goals were to have less harp so blend with the song more,to use,only basically lower,blues scale more,and to stay off the high end mostly because even when i try i cant,more attack and phrase it with the vocals,unsteed of playing all the way though,So far ive got need to work on the blue 3rd more,and should work the higher end back into it some,I did both recordings on 1 or 2 takes i tryed to keep it that way because i can listen better to what i might need to improve when put on the spot.anymore advise greatly apreaciated.
"1) You're always hitting the 3 draw (the "3rd") unbent. Although this is more acceptable over the IV and V chord, the major 3rd is definitely not part of the blues scale and sounds amateur over the I chord. If you want to sound more bluesy, that 3 draw should generally be bent down a 1/2 step."
Greg I think I have to disagree with some of this. If you are going to play the 3draw without a bend it should be on the I chord and not on the IV. The major third is actually a part of the I chord, so the it won't clash, but playing the 3draw with a bend will give you more of a bluesy sound. But this doesn't mean you always have to play the minor/blue third over the one chord when playing blues, the opening riff for Juke uses the major third for example.
The IV chord on the other hand is somewhere where you almost always want to avoid the unbent 3draw(when playing blues). This is because blues typically uses dominant 7 chords, and the dominant 7 of the IV chord is the same note as the 3draw bent down a half step. If you play the unbent 3 draw over a IV7 chord, it's definately going to clash.
On the V chord you could play it either way I suppose, depending on the sound you want. The unbent 3draw is the major 6th of the V chord, and the 3draw with a half step bend is the minor 6th. It would be similar to the difference between playing the dorian minor scale or the natural minor scale.
sounds like that im still not using the 2d enough still because you mentioned the use of the 3,4,5 as comfort zone area,and i can see where your right there,i was hoping and at least trying to enclude more 2d,I also would like to use more 1B and 4B more,if you listen the the second song,which was one i did around 5 months playing,i felt like i was more fluid and have more use of the whole harp,but then also to much playing going on and i didnt think just played,the 1st recording,i posted which is my recent take,I planed it out more but still tried to just go with it on a take or 2,some things seem tighter some things i like what i was doing 6 months earlier,i guess the trick is to pick out the best things of each and dump or work on the rest,but between the 2 songs thats about every lick i know,sure makes for a short set lol.
Thanks for asking me to listen to your song. I read all the comments so far. I am of a different way of learning. I still don't know a scale, keys, the various positions or much of anything from technical view. I play via ear and am able to figure whatever it is I am wanting to hear. I am hardly ever asked to give feedback on playing. Most times when I get around up and coming players they want to show me what they got, and rarely ask what I think or ask me to play. So, I am in new waters here. with that backround out of the way. Here is what I hear.
I hear you are into what you are playing and for a year at the harp, I really don't have much to say. You are rolling along. More time on the instrument and with live music with others will be the thing that takes you to the next level(s). I did hear your breathing to be on the short side with the singing and playing - kind of tight and from the throat. Relaxing and letting it come up from the gut will really give your singing and playing a richer sound. I say all this as something to investigate. You are doing great for a year. Don't try to force things. That will only put you backwards on the journey. Unfortunately we all try to force things no matter how far advanced we are. There will always be room for relaxing and flowing better and hopefully as we improve we create bigger windows of flowing and not forcing things. Other than that, I also encourage you and all people to enjoy the sounds that come out while you play. On playback it is good to listen critically, but still don't forget to enjoy it! when playing, it should be all joy. Then a day comes where the 2 meet most of the time. That is when you are ready to start playing music for real. It is like my martial art training. You start with a white belt and if you study under a real master after decades at it, the belt turns black with sweat. Then you are ready to start learning because you have built the foundation in the body and mind to really learn. But here in the USA, the black signals the final step. It has taken me about 30 years to reach this point with music, but I have enjoyed my playing since day one. I am finally at a point where I can really flow with a spontaneous flow, but I still try and force things regularly. It is just the time between pure flow and forcing is growing. Never stop being a child with your art. That is the key to the soul and flowing. All the head thinking stuff will keep you out of touch with it. Sorry I couldn't comment on specific notes and such, but that isn't my way and there are people here much better qualified. Thanks and I hope what I wrote may give you some stuff to think about. Walter
I just thought of this exercise. Maybe it is old hat, I don't know. I often, since I first started, would inbhale on a single note, slow, even, and very light. I try to form a perfect note in volume, tone, throughout the lenght I have breath. It also was very meditative and still is. Then I started inhaling all the air I could, and then immediately going to an exhale for as long as I could and keep the tone, and volume as perfect as possible as it was on the inhale. I think this has really helped my playing and I still do it regularly. I use to make note on a second hand and see how long I could go. It is amazing how much air is hidden in your lungs that we forget about. ---------- walter tore's spontobeat - a real one man band and over 1 million spontaneously created songs and growing. I record about 300 full length cds a year.
Thanks Waltertore,ill try that exercise,it allmost sounds like a martial arts breathing exercise,but then again i can see where the 2 could fit,reach down pulling the chi,out from deep inside you,I have notice that sometimes i think im going backwards from trying to hard im not working so i have a lot of time and i practice 3-4 things a day and then rotate,Im trying to learn simple folk, tunes,Celtic tunes,and plus the blues with,other music,and blues harp when your by your self,no backing .I hope the overload will eventually pay off as i get a better understanding of each style,But i need to remeber its fun,and having fun,sometimes wanting to learn to fast can rob you of the fun,it hasnt for me, yet but its working on it.lol My Karate instrutor's belt was a old grey belt worn and torn, with ravels of strings hes still at it even though hes in his 60's i havent hit the gym in years.but thanks and ill try that exercise.
Your welcome Hobostubs! Our culture is one of material roots. When we pay for a service we want something concrete to grab onto. The way I teach doesn't have that root. I learned for guys like Lousiana Red, Sonny Terry, Lightning Hopkins. There was no exchange of money or concrete things to grab onto. It was more about getting inspired and letting your own self emerge. You might want to consider backing off learning so much stuff and just spend time playing and don't get discouraged when new things come in and leave just as quick. They will return, but only when you are relaxed and thoughtless. They come in during those momements and most try to immediately recapture them. I still am having things pop in and out that I remembered seeing the above guys do 35 years ago. I have learned to enjoy those moments and they will come back in time, with my own style stamped on them. One will never develop their own style jumping all around and moving ahead too fast. I assume most would want to have their own style because then he can express his feelings direct. If you are feeling isolated musically, that is a clear message to listen to with your soul. turn your head off and listen. Walter ---------- walter tore's spontobeat - a real one man band and over 1 million spontaneously created songs and growing. I record about 300 full length cds a year.
Ryan, you're absolutely correct. The unbent 3 sounds awful against the IV chord but is acceptable against the I. I know this intuitively, but I sure wrote it backwards! Thanks for clarifying. ---------- /Greg
so am i using the 3d in the awful spot or the aceptable but could be bluesier with a bend spot?Dont make me half to listen and think lol.either way i guess i need to work on the blue third more,whats weird is i thought i was hanging on the 3d to much maybe or was it the 4d,ive been trying to stay closer to the 2d because my teacher Tony Eyers said i wasnt using it enough on the kid you got to go recording, on that recording
I haven't gotten to listen to your track yet but I've checked out your other stuff and will listen to it.
That said,
I think what's great about music theory is it is an access to figuring out the lay of the land when you are thrown in the middle of the soup, and after that, I'm with Walter, follow your gut.
Other than a lame experience learning some open guitar chords and aping religious folk music that I had no passion for from a nun back in catholic school days, I am completely self-taught, which may not be saying much.
I think of the 3 hole as that stinky note of tension, the groan, the growl, the resistance, the tension, whatever in the context of what I want to express (in 2nd position).
The best thing about theory, in my opinion, is the time saver it can be to get to that place that is ultimately beyond the rational pre-determined mind, ultimately to forget about as we do the english language when we are truly at our most self-expressed.
I know from your material that you are a musician. I think your job is to expose yourself to a lot of music and start to distinguish what catches you and why, figure the key out, jam along, keep expanding.
The blues tonality takes a bit to absorb too, and I certainly don't proclaim to be a bluesman, I played a more major sounding pentatonic cross harp thing, very simple, in the nineties. I started listening to blues, trying to get the difference back then and only now have a grasp. It's a between the notes kinda thing that you got to hit bent within a certain sweet range to get.
The only other thing I can say and could say to myself as well is say it like you mean it. There is only one you and you are where you are and that is perfect. Keep the harp in your mouth, when you're pissed, throw a fit, when your pumped, blast it, cry through it, whatever (I have played while crying, that's some good shit!) keep speaking the language.
You rock and I dig what you bring to the world of music. ---------- http://www.youtube.com/1shanester
thanks Shanester,you could be a motvational speaker,your words are very inspiring,and what you said makes alot of sence with the 3D ill have to rember that,sometimes explanations like that,really turn a light bulb on for me thanks
