Like Mr. So&So... I too am interested in getting a descent warble going. I can warble and do warble but still seem to NOT use them in my playing like I know I could or should be utilizing them...
I understand there are many who consider the "warble" an amateurish technique… but in the hands of a polished mindfully aware player – they can be an incredibly meaningful and elaborate embellishment adding a unique flair to an overall tune.
Little Walter comes to mind when I think of PERFECT warbling within a tune…
Are there other examples that you guys and gals would like to share of players who have incorporated some sweet warbles into a song of theirs. Thank You!
Frank, did you MEAN descent warble or decent warble? I'm not being a smart ass...this time....as I use descending and ascending warbles quite a bit in my playing. I just recently picked up a Joe Satriani lick from that "boogie" song he does, starts with two half notes then four quarter notes warbled, trilled or whatever you call it when a guitar does it. The ascending warble or trill is used by sax players from time to time.
I'll hear some exceptionable warbling from a harp player now and then, usually Pro...I'm going to begin to make a list of those songs and start building a list of tunes that incorporate excellent warbling technique.
Cotton has some good ones IMHO. I used to use them all the time,but decided I used them too much,so now I rarely use them. They are certainly a crowd pleaser. My guitarist loves them and thinks I should use them all the time. Just to keep him happy,I've been using them a little more lately,but I'm still leary of over using them.
Guess I call this a "trill" - alternating between two notes in the same breath direction that "live" next to each other on the harmonica.
Let's consider, like LW uses in that first example, holes 3 and 4 inhale....
A trill is really "this note...and then that note...and then this note...and then that note...etc".
I would teach students to start very slow - making sure that each note had full shape, body and equal sound as they alternated.
As they start to speed up the alternating notes, I will start tapping my foot loudly every two notes till they really hear this grouping.
Next I would have them do a reasonable tempo and tap my foot every three notes - triplet style - until they really hear and understand this grouping (different "feel" than the two's).
Finally, I would tap my foot every 4 notes as they slowly increased their speed.
I tell them "As you speed up, do not lose the quality of each individual note"...in other words, don't let the note start to squash or sound less than a perfect whole. If either note sounds compromised, slow back down a bit until they come back fully.
Speed comes over time. Don't lose the full sound of each note.
Slowly increase your speed till you reach your upper threshold, back of a bit and sustain as long as you can.
The deal is that "this note and then that note and then this note" start to morph into a single entity. Eventually, with time spent and muscle memory, you will be able to play these two alternating notes as a single entity and it will sound solid.
Some like to start the first note slightly below pitch and allow it to bend up quickly. Nice effect.
The rhythmic tapping of my foot as illustrated above serves to let the student absorb what I call "a metric trill" - one that is regular, well balanced and attached to some type of tempo.
After they "get it", I tell them that beyond the "metric trill" lives an "un-metered trill" - one that isn't attached to any tempo, but is an entity unto itself - just like a single note.
Once the student is walked through all of these variations, I suggest he listen to other players and ODBG's and start to hear "inside" their trills.
I also suggest that they use metered and un-metered trills both in order to decide which one they feel expresses their inner voice in real time as the music flows by.
They can feel free to choose whichever the moment suggests and not to lock into one or the other, for as time goes by, they may decide to go towards one or the other - ever changing as they mature.
As others have mentioned, don't overuse. ---------- The Iceman
Last Edited by on Dec 23, 2012 10:28 AM
Iceman-OT but I can't help but chuckle at your ODBG. Everytime I played blues records,my ex-wife would say "I don't want to hear ODN's." She really wasn't racist,she just knew how to push my buttons.
Personally, I find that term, ODBG, disrespectful.
The hardest part of getting that stuff to sound right is getting the tone right. Moving the head or hands at the right frequency is the easiest part. You have to practice it. When you get one down, move to the next one.
Some, like Snooky Pryor's or some of Big Walter's can only be easily done by moving your hands.
years ago on Harp-L, I came up with the abbreviation ODBG which means Old Dead Blues Guys....
there was a lot of posting regarding what Little Walter would have done, what Big Walter would have done, how Sonny Boy I and or II would have played it, how Muddy Waters treated harmonica players, etc...
So, instead of referring to a list of old dead blues guys, I named this group ODBG.
Most are not offended by it, some are amused and a few don't like it...(maybe because they thought it stood for Old Dead Black Guys)?
anyways, as JD sez "I have used that term just because it was easy", so it serves a valid purpose. ---------- The Iceman
Last Edited by on Dec 23, 2012 3:18 PM
I was on harp-l in those days. I knew what it meant. 95% of the people referred to in those threads are black. People don't lump Paul Butterfield or Mike Bloomfield into the group.
I still think it is disrespectful. Many of the people falling Into that category were people who lived very hard lives that most people can't fathom.
I like that acronym. And yes, I assumed it was black guys. I'd love to sound like them. I think it's hard to be racist when most of your musical heroes are black.
http://www.deadbluesguys.com/ Hey, they have a website! BTW, being as fond of anagrams as I am, I have to note that-- Old Dead Blues Guys=Bad Loud Seedy Lugs
Last Edited by on Dec 23, 2012 5:45 PM
Believe it or not, I once had a friend named Pierre...who sadly fell asleep holding a bottle of booze and a cigarette and unknowingly cremated himself, very sad demise - there's a lesson in there somewhere?... :(
Whoa...Very tuff lose JD, My Mother died very young 37...I hate funerals!!!
This thread has taken a path of it's own so might as well go with the flow. Does anyone have a harp they would like to send this kid?
Chuck Berry's "You Never Can Tell" JD...that song should be a staple in every blues hole in the world- GREAT SONG!
Last Edited by on Dec 23, 2012 6:56 PM
Death is okay - this world is FAR from paradise.. Funerals can be a bummer though?
For this thread...I was looking for playing examples of a tune where the artist used his warbling skills in a way that added stunning flair to the song...Not an easy assignment! 1847, where is your link?
Little Walter is master of it in my book. I also like Charlie Musselwhite's way of walking up and down warbling while alternating between draw blow and .
send 10 dollar in a self adressed stamped envelope and I will gladly share my secrets for sounding exactly like Big, LIttle and Medium sized Walters. For you -first lesson free. the WARBLE: it's all in the wrist - method uno place the harmonica between thumb and forefinger select a single note via the method of your choice induce temporary Parkinsons shake in the hand holding hte harmonica - VOILA! a perfect warble.
back pressure between hands, - the quasi chromatic method cup harp primarily in your left hand select single note as above Pretend your left hand is the spring or coil, your right hand id the piston pushing against it - as if you where pushing on chromatic button. VOILA #2
[[Mastering ("The Utilization") of the elusive PERFECT WARBLE within the context of a song]]
I'm not fishing for formulas on how to DO the warble... BUT rather songs were the artist is using the warble in a "keen way"...
1847 and Kingly are on the right track!!! :)
Ps...Folks who want to chime in with "how they do it type advise, etc...is fine too >>> But again - it is playing examples of it being used in thoughtful ways that were after in this thread :)
Last Edited by on Dec 24, 2012 11:10 AM
Guys, guys, guys. I've been doing other things for the past two weeks--like recording a dozen one-hour videos--and somehow missed this thread.
I'll confess: I'm with Joe L, Afro Blue, and JD Hoskins here. I'm truly dismayed by what shows up in this thread.
Tuck, I'm glad she's your ex-wife. Thanks for letting us know that. You and I have never had a harsh word between us; I wish, frankly, that you'd never posted what you posted early in this thread.
Iceman: ODBG, whether the B stands for "blues" or "black," has terribly unfortunate ramifications, since it echoes a familiar and callous pronouncement of overtly racist southern whites: just another dead n----r. I suspect you didn't know that; I suspect that few people here knew that. Now you know. Please don't use it. It legitimately offends some people, including me.
Frank: Given what I've just pointed out above, I'm sure you can see why all your acronymic play comes off as insensitive at best.
I forgive you all. I'm watching your backs, actually, and you don't need to thank me for that. Just lay off the race-stuff-in-code and get back to talking harp. Thanks.
Last Edited by on Jan 01, 2013 11:06 AM
