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Dirty-South Blues Harp forum: wail on! > Feedback request - Open mic rehearsals
Feedback request - Open mic rehearsals
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belfast_harper
356 posts
Oct 04, 2013
2:57 PM
I haven't played much for the last year as I found it hard to motivate myself, recently I have started jamming with a guitar player and I have gotten the bug again.

We are going to play a few open mics, and I recorded a few songs from our practice session the other night and I would appreciate some feedback on things to work on.

Cheers, Ryan












Last Edited by belfast_harper on Oct 04, 2013 3:01 PM
Greg Heumann
2397 posts
Oct 04, 2013
3:17 PM
Ryan, I'm gonna be honest.

The guitar playing is good. The harp playing is OK. The vocals aren't. They're really, badly out of tune.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but I believe honesty is the best policy.


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belfast_harper
357 posts
Oct 04, 2013
4:00 PM
Greg,

I knew the vocals weren't that strong, I was hoping they might be enough to get by. Unfortunately neither of us are singers and someone had to do it and the guitar player stepped up to the plate, he is also singing in a 2nd language and that might not help things.

I can't sing, but I have never really put effort into trying so I will try to find some songs that are easy to sing and start working for them so I can step in and share the burden.

The good thing about recording my self is that it has given me a chance to hear what I like and what I don't like in my playing and I now know what I need to work on.

Last Edited by belfast_harper on Oct 04, 2013 4:02 PM
nacoran
7197 posts
Oct 04, 2013
5:44 PM
The vocals are really quiet. They are getting buried under the harp. I like the parts where you are playing and the guitar is playing, and I like the parts where the guitar and vocal are going alone (not great singing, but sort of folky). It sounds like you are playing off the guitar part instead of off the vocal part (I usually err too far the other way and follow the vocal too closely). Focus on making your harp part fit the with the vocal. In this context the guitar is background. The leads need to blend.

It's always hard to tell from a recording what the room sound levels are like since you don't know where the mic is. My old band was recording once in a small room and the only way we could get a good room balance was to put the tape deck (way back in the day when that was high tech recording!) out in the other room. Make sure the guitar player tunes up on you. Play around with mic placement a lot. Unless you are doing things all in separate tracks, it's the easiest way to make sure the mix levels are right.

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KingoBad
1399 posts
Oct 04, 2013
8:11 PM
It sounds as if the guitar is nice and tight and the world is falling in around him.

I think because the singer's time and phrasing are so off, it is throwing of your time too, but there were many times when you came in off time (in a bad way). Plus you are destroying the vocals with your harp in many cases.

It's rough now, but you guys will get it. Your harp sound is good, you just need to get it all together with practice (and perhaps a new singer).

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Danny
belfast_harper
358 posts
Oct 04, 2013
9:58 PM
Thanks for the feedback.

The recording was just made on my phone sitting on the table in front of me so I come across a bit louder in the mix.

We have only played together a couple of times and I think the guitar playing gives us a strong foundation to build on, I just need work on making the transition from a full time noodler to a sideman.

There is a lot to work on, for now I think I will play a lot less for now, stop stomping over the vocals and work on complementary fills, timing and creating interesting solos that fit with the songs.

Everything is very rough now, but now I have something to work towards I will be a lot more motivated to practice and should be able to get my self out of the rut I have been stuck in for the last year move to the next level.

Last Edited by belfast_harper on Oct 04, 2013 10:00 PM
didjcripey
642 posts
Oct 05, 2013
1:37 AM
I couldn't hear the tracks, but after the comments; how about some instrumentals? Watermelon Man, Chicken Shack, The Hucklebuck, Cissy Strut, Tequila,Mercy mercy mercy..... plenty to choose from and Adam has tutorials on most of the ones mentioned.
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Lucky Lester
Martin
471 posts
Oct 06, 2013
12:00 PM
1) You can´t use those vocals -- they are off; and he has no clue about melody.
2) The harp playing is a bit to much all over the place. I´d suggest you hold back quite a bit more during the vocals. Fewer notes, don´t get in his way (but still, the vocals ...).
SteamrollinStan
62 posts
Oct 07, 2013
1:43 AM
For open mic's its good, your playing will get you through, its not like your being paid $$$$$ for a pro gig eh?..i liked what i heard, and i'll listen some more later.
belfast_harper
359 posts
Oct 07, 2013
8:23 AM
I should be able to get my harp playing to an acceptable standard before the open mic, as far as I am aware the only harmonica they have had there before is Bob Dylan style rack harp so I think my playing will go down well if I keep things simple and play on time with a nice acoustic tone.

We can swap one or two songs for instrumentals, but we will need to have some songs with vocals too as it is a singer-songwriter style open mic.


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