HarpNinja
3538 posts
Oct 23, 2013
9:20 AM
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I've been trying to jam along with his greatest hits. I am finding that most his bottom end playing works with lip pursing...same with the middle octave for the most part.
The TB effect is most evident with slaps in the middle of the harp and some of his chording. Is there a term for when you play a riff and then chug a rhythm part between phrases? For those out there who also do that, do you TB to accomplish it? Do you tongue switch?
I also found myself playing the 3 hole really flat to match his pitch. My harps are pretty much ET, and I am sure his three hole was -12 or more. It is enough of a difference that I feel like I am out of tune no those riffs, although he's technically the one out of pitch, I guess.
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Last Edited by HarpNinja on Oct 23, 2013 10:06 AM
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Frank
3062 posts
Oct 23, 2013
9:27 AM
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It's a "time keeping" technique that he is famous for - Not sure if there is a term, but the purpose is to propel the rhythm and keep you and the listener in the groove and the "pocket" :)
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Kingley
3218 posts
Oct 23, 2013
9:36 AM
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Frank is right on the money.
Little Walters harps were all tuned to 7 Limit JI. If you want to really "nail" that sound, then you'll have to use 7 Limit tuning.
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Frank
3063 posts
Oct 23, 2013
9:55 AM
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Walter also masterfully mixes major and minor in ways that are unique to him and part of the reason he sounds so fresh, brilliant and cool :)
The rhythmic breaths can also contribute greatly with helping the player not get winded or lose his playing power and stamina...The little space they add is also another way to keep things interesting within certain songs.
Last Edited by Frank on Oct 23, 2013 10:05 AM
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HarpNinja
3539 posts
Oct 23, 2013
10:09 AM
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I edited my OP as I was curious as to how some people approach said rhythm thing.
Regarding temperament, I realize he played 7LI, how that related to 19LI, and how they both compare to the current Hohner MB compromise.
7LI is just too flat for my taste - especially for melody playing or non-blues stuff. The Crossover compromise is something I use, but I do sometimes tune to the MS compromise.
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barbequebob
2355 posts
Oct 23, 2013
10:20 AM
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Except for harps that were solo tuned, like the predecessor of the 364S (which were the Marine Band Soloist/School Band model), all diatonics that were being made by Hohner until they introduced the Golden Melody in 1974, were all tuned to 7 Limit Just Intonation, which Kingley correctly states.
He did mix major and minor but that was very common with both big band jazz/jump blues horns and many jump blues guitar players like T-Bone Walker/Bill Jennings/Tiny Grimes or jazzman Charlie Christian used back then.
If you're gonna really get into a more traditional blues sound, including what both Walters and Sonny Boys did, you need to ditch using ET tuned harps and not only will it help for the single notes, but also the chording and double stops as well.
When I started in the early 70's, this was the same tuning being used on diatonics back then as well. Most of the stuff he played can be done quite easily with either method, tho in some tunes, LP may work better.
Just remember, with 7LJI, blow 2/5/8 is tuned 14 cents flat, blow 3/6/9 is tuned 2 cents sharp, draw 1/4/8 are tuned 2 cents sharp, holes 3/7 are tuned 12 cents flat, holes 4/8 draw are tuned 4 cents sharp, holes 5/9 draw are tuned 29 cents flat, and holes 6/10 draw are tuned 6 cents sharp.
If you're gonna do the BW stuff, as well as both Sonny Boys, pre-'85 Cotton, Paul Butterfield, or any of the older black harp masters, do NOT use an ET tuned harp and use one tuned to 7LJI and everything will become a lot easier.
An alternative is 19LJI, but you'll notice a big difference when you play 5 & 9 draw immediately.
The thing you gotta remember about using 7LJI is that when play 5 & 9 draw too hard, instead of being 29 cents flat (tho some charts have shown that to be anywhere from 27 to 32 cents flat, so that means there's a variable here and you really need to use your ears carefully in the tuning process), you'll wind up closer to 49 cents flat and the average player doesn't have any real breath control at all to stop themselves from doing that.
It may be technically flat when based everything being ET tuned, but one also needs to remember that if you were a guitar or horn player, you're seldom going to hit every note exactly ET and their technique at times is not unlike bending on harmonicas and there's going to be plenty of stuff not ET and since LW was heavily influenced by horns, horns can easily adjust to going bsck and forth between ET ad any other tuning.
BTW, a blue note is listed as a note 1/2 step flat, when compared to the note when played in a major scale, but that was an explanation that made sense because until the 70's, when some keyboard instruments were set up for "note bending," and sheet music was written mainly for piano, an a real blue note is actually not 1/2 step flat, but in fact, based on ET tuning, in reality, it's 50 cents flat and here's where a horn, guitar or harmonicas are actually better able to get that real blue note than a piano does.
Hope this helps.
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Sincerely,
Barbeque Bob Maglinte
Boston, MA
http://www.barbequebob.com
CD available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/bbmaglinte
Last Edited by barbequebob on Oct 23, 2013 10:21 AM
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chromaticblues
1486 posts
Oct 23, 2013
11:19 AM
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One of the things he (and others from that period) did was play a TB slap on the blow 3 in the flow of the song between riffs. Not as loud as the riff before or after.
Clarifying what BQBob said. 1,4 and 8 draw 4 cents are sharp. I like to put the 5 and 9 draw at 14 cents sharp. That just sounds right to me. I know mathmatically it doesn't fit into any formula, but I like it.
Hohner actually had tuned the 5 and 9 draw at 32 cents flat and 24 cents flat before the changes in the 1990's.
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HarpNinja
3540 posts
Oct 23, 2013
11:55 AM
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Thanks for the temperament info, but I am more concerned about the rhythm technique and ways to approach it. I thought it might have a technical name I could google or something.
Dennis Gruenling showed me how to do it at SPAH '10, and I got the hang of it, but then didn't practice it enough to embed it in my playing. Now, I am trying to do that and can't remember how.
I *think* he was tongue switching and chugging from the left side of his mouth. I am not sure if that's how most do it or not. I have a mental block nailing the timing or something. It is easier for me to emulate that from LP, but I don't get the slap effect. I can fudge it, but not nail it.
I can solo vamp, though, where it is more of coming back to a chugging pattern. I just can't do the quick accents or whatever they are.
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barbequebob
2356 posts
Oct 23, 2013
12:05 PM
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Get into more of the jump blues stuff that's primarily horn oriented or some of the jump blues guitar stuff and really take more time with nailing the groove, and avoid playing ahead of the beat, which is fine for rock, but bad news for playing blues.
Much of what he plays is played softer than you might think he's doing and it's almost like ghost notes. Another thing is that he isn't tight cupped 24/7 and often there are things combined with the way he's using his hands, be it open hand or even opening 1 or 2 fingers, manipulating the embouchure (something most players never learn to do). It's not unlike the way horn players do things as what he was doing is adapting sax stuff to harp.
He never shakes his head when he plays warbles, just like BW did.
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Sincerely,
Barbeque Bob Maglinte
Boston, MA
http://www.barbequebob.com
CD available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/bbmaglinte
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Kingley
3219 posts
Oct 23, 2013
12:30 PM
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I agree with every thing BBQ Bob has said.
As you're playing think groove not riffs. You must to be able play support to yourself if you want to play that style convincingly. You don't need to tongue switch to do it. You just need to be able to do partial chords, octaves, pulls and slaps and above all feel the groove. Being predominantly a rock player it's going to be a learning curve for you Mike. You need to be able to swing and play ahead of, behind and also on the beat. You need to be able to do that at will and all the while making seamless transitions from one to the other. Watch Rick Estrin's DVD. He covers this exact subject on there and explains how to do it.
Last Edited by Kingley on Oct 23, 2013 12:32 PM
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harpwrench
705 posts
Oct 23, 2013
12:42 PM
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I'd suggest digging into his playing with Muddy instead of his greatest hits. You need to ingrain the feeling and like Kingley said its going to be tough.
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tmf714
2119 posts
Oct 23, 2013
12:42 PM
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I agree with Bob as well-but you will need to be able to left and right side tongue block to pull off Walters style and be convincing.
Your single most valuable tool would be here-
http://www.amazon.com/Sourcebook-Little-Walter-Licks-Harmonica/dp/157424096X
Sorry if that double posted.
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Frank
3064 posts
Oct 23, 2013
3:34 PM
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Walter is soon discovered, as one begins to study him- to be a "Rhythmic Genius"... and it's one more reason so many players are drawn to him like a moth to a flame ...We want to learn how to get that natural freedom of FLOW while creating a deep rhythmic FEEl of swing... His notes are smothered in a rhythmic dance of swing and seduction. If there is a spot in tune of Walters that you would like more insight into - maybe someone here can put up a little video showing and explaining the procedure.
Last Edited by Frank on Oct 23, 2013 3:39 PM
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tmf714
2120 posts
Oct 23, 2013
3:40 PM
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Hers is one to get you going-
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tmf714
2121 posts
Oct 23, 2013
3:42 PM
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And another-
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Frank
3065 posts
Oct 23, 2013
3:42 PM
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Right David Barrett calls them pulls - maybe you could google "harmonica pulls" or "rhythmic breathing"
Last Edited by Frank on Oct 23, 2013 5:40 PM
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tmf714
2122 posts
Oct 23, 2013
3:44 PM
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Ok-one more-
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tmf714
2123 posts
Oct 23, 2013
5:12 PM
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Here is a great learning example-I don't know of may players who get this right-it's the intro to "Juke"-
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Frank
3067 posts
Oct 23, 2013
6:02 PM
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This may be of interest, From David Barretts Site
A link for the transcription of Walters "Rocker" is there too :)
http://www.bluesharmonica.com/blog_tags/taxonomy/term/782
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Joe_L
2367 posts
Oct 23, 2013
7:53 PM
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Mike - how did you ever work as a one man band without being able to carry the rhythm on the harp?
The generation of blues players from the south quite often worked solo or in small combos on the street. They had to carry the rhythm. If you're going to play blues, it's sort of foundational. Guys like John Lee Williamson, Rice Miller, Snooky Pryor, Hammie Nixon, Little Walter, Big Walter and Cotton all got their start playing in the streets. Quite often playing unaccompanied. To do that, you've gotta be able to carry the rhythm while playing other stuff.
You can get far without tongue blocking, but I have found that it's far easier to do that, if you can tongue block. I've also found that tongue blocking gave me additional variety, depth and texture.
There are a lot of great tunes for practicing this kind of thing, but you're going to have to travel back in time before 1980 to find most of them. You may have to go back to before 1960...
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Kingley
3220 posts
Oct 23, 2013
10:34 PM
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Joe - I seem to recall that Mike was using a looping pedal to make rhythms when he was doing the one man band thing.
Like Joe L says this kind of rhythmic self support playing is foundational to any blues player (or at least it should be). It's going to take you a while to learn to do this. You'll have to learn to use space and phrasing intelligently to imply the sense of rhythm, as well as using rhythm itself in between phrases. Along with a lot of other stylistic elements. You're going to need to study like DeFord Bailey if you really want to get a handle on playing this kind of stuff. Then progress to John Lee Williamson and then onto the big names in 50's Chicago blues harp playing. I'd also pay attention to Joe Spiers great advice on studying Walters work with Muddy over the greatest hits stuff.
Last Edited by Kingley on Oct 23, 2013 10:35 PM
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Milsson
81 posts
Oct 24, 2013
12:54 AM
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Watch the clip from 4:30 first then read my text.
This is all you need. Adam can lip this types of things but it´s not realy that walter sound. Do it TB style.
I struggled a very long time with this. I knew how to do a slap but i didn´t realize i had to do a kind of back beat articulation with it(pull).
The way i learned was to articulate the pull that barrett talks about with glottal articulations an slow work that out of it.
The fun thing with this is that when it becomes second nature you realy have to fight the urge to play shuffles every time you play.
If you ask me there is only one player to study to get the hang of this rythmic backbeat style and that is BIG walter. And fore most his shuffle. Go to fillisko´s page and buy the sheet/tab for the song and learn it.
Then i would study LW.
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kudzurunner
4321 posts
Oct 24, 2013
5:22 AM
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I play the 4 draw lift exactly the way that Barrett describes. I only lip the 2 draw. I do a lot of TB, precisely because, as a one-man band, I need to create a lot of rhythm. What I don't do is bend notes--especially the 2, 4, 5, and 6 draw--with my tongue on the harp. I occasionally bend the 3 with my tongue on the harp, most often in riffing contexts rather than melodic contexts.
For my money, the contemporary player who absolutely ices the LW TB style is Aki Kumar. The counterrhythmic "edge" that TB helps him put on his notes may not be immediately audible in this clip, but from where I was sitting, out in the audience, it was very audible--and entrancing. It gave his playing a kind of crispness. Hard to describe, but very real.
Listen to the following with headphones and listen for that edge. You might hear it. (Check the 4:25 point.) That--and the swing--are the fruit of good LW-style TB:
Last Edited by kudzurunner on Oct 24, 2013 5:28 AM
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Frank
3069 posts
Oct 24, 2013
6:04 AM
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Here is an interesting comparison acoustic and electric "off the wall"...Both are Completely TB :)
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HarpNinja
3541 posts
Oct 24, 2013
6:09 AM
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I think Frank gets what I am asking and Milsson totally nailed it. That's why I asked if there was a term as I knew people would have a hard time understanding what I was asking.
I am not talking general vamping or self accompaniment, which I can do - things like Shortnin Bread, 9 Below Zero, etc. Just the little accents on the bottom of the harp that were more like accents, and not chugging sorta stuff.
I watched the Barrett vid, and I can do that in the middle of the harp (recorded in my car before leaving for work on my cell phone, which sounds awful...it might be too hard to hear the pulls, but I can do all the stuff from the Barrett vid above).
I don't care about if this clips swings or not or how it would sound different in a different temperament...it was 6am in my car. I get that. I think you can hear the pull that Barrett refers to - but the phone mic sucks. It is when I get to holes 1-3 near the end of the phrase that I have to fudge.
What I don't get is how to do the pull effect TB'ing and not puckering on the bottom of the harp. That's what I want advice on.
I can TB from the right proficiently. I can play all the draw bends TB style, but have a hard time on the 3 hole keeping it in pitch, so I generally play single notes in holes 1-3 pucker.
I am bad at TB from the left side, and I *think* that is how the bottom pulls might be played by most. I am not sure, hence the question. In listening to Juke, he does some of it in verse two on the turnaround. The riff I play above is probably similar to the first turnaround where he is TB'ing and slapping/pulling in the middle of the harp.
***Edited for added detail and clarification and a boatload of mistakes.
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Last Edited by HarpNinja on Oct 24, 2013 6:42 AM
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tmf714
2125 posts
Oct 24, 2013
6:40 AM
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There are no shortcuts-like I said,you need to become proficient at left and right tongue blocking. It takes a lot of practice-I would not worry about recording and posting at this point. Youe time would be better spent listening to the music Walter listened to and then work on the beat and left and right tongue blocking.
When I say "left" and "right"I mean the holes to the left and right-which is what Walter is doing down there. He is blocking the holes to the right to get the 1-then the holes to the left to get 2-3. LIke I said it wont come overnight,but once you get comfortable with the tongue placement,you can start to move back and forth more and more quickly.
Last Edited by tmf714 on Oct 24, 2013 6:43 AM
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HarpNinja
3542 posts
Oct 24, 2013
6:47 AM
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Tom,
"He is blocking the holes to the right to get the 1-then the holes to the left to get 2-3."
Thank you. This is very helpful information. I think the posting is relevant in that I sorta get the concept as it applies to right TB'ing in the middle of the harp, and I can TB.
When questions like this are brought up, I know the temptation is to walk the line of pontification, but I appreciate the posts that comment on the question and how to begin learning it rather than the machismo factor.
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Mantra Customized Harmonicas
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Last Edited by HarpNinja on Oct 24, 2013 6:53 AM
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HarpNinja
3543 posts
Oct 24, 2013
6:51 AM
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Tom,
I will also be downloading the book you referenced. Thanks for pointing that out!
Anyone know if the Kindle version includes audio?
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Mantra Customized Harmonicas
My Website
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Milsson
82 posts
Oct 24, 2013
7:09 AM
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+1 on tmf714!
I had big problems with this but after a while i got the hang of it. I wrote earlier that i used two "motions" separated by a glottal stop.
First i breath a very short breath over the 123 chord and shut the airstream as fast as i can. Second motion is a normal slap. From the beginning i made those two motions with a second apart and slowly worked up the speed.
BUT that is not the correct way. You get the idea by doing that and in a while you switch over to barrett´s way.
When i do the pull i imagine my self sucking a little vacuum in my mouth cavity while having the toungu covering all the holes then i just switch the tongue to the left or right in a half circular motion, really fast.
When i play hole 1 with this shuffle rythm i always tongue switch. I LP hole 1 every other time thou.
To get that "snap" back beat on the 2 hole draw i do the pull on the 123 chord and as i go for the slap i shift down to only play holes 12(or the wood before hole 1 and hole and 12)
Remember that when you´ll get the hang of it the pull sound, or the chord thingy, must be with the softest touch. This is just the back beat. Think of it like a brush that touches a snare drum
To get the rigth sound you´ll have to play as hard as you can with the most gentle touch! :)
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kudzurunner
4322 posts
Oct 24, 2013
7:13 AM
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Frank: Excellent playing in those two videos, but there's an important lesson in the second video: the backing track doesn't swing--or doesn't swing with nearly the energy and excitement of the LW original. Any player, no matter how good, is limited by the quality of the backing track (and band). Developing players (NOT you; you're developed!) sometimes wonder why they don't swing like Aki. Half the secret is Aki's band, which swings like hell and is relaxed doing it.
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tmf714
2128 posts
Oct 24, 2013
7:28 AM
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Mike: The Kindle version DOES NOT include the audio-with all the tech advances you would think they would link or embed the audio-too bad.
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Pluto
266 posts
Oct 24, 2013
7:55 AM
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hmmm, I do see Dennis moving his head back and forth when doing many of the worbles in Rocker. Its not pronounced but he's doing it, but he's doing it. And you can hear him tongue twitching as well. In "Blues With a Feeling" Little Walter is quoted as mentioning moving his head back and forth when he did worbles. Now, I'm not saying Walter doesn't tongue twitch, because you can clearly hear it, especially in Rollercoaster.
In both cases, the players use both techniques.
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tmf714
2129 posts
Oct 24, 2013
8:29 AM
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@Pluto-it is called "tongue switching"- and yes Walter employed it. It is the controlled movement of the tongue from side to side-different from a "flutter" or on-off movement. Kim Wilson uses the technique of switching as well. Just another chunk of Walters bag to learn.
See Rocker at 1:20-
Last Edited by tmf714 on Oct 24, 2013 8:31 AM
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barbequebob
2357 posts
Oct 24, 2013
10:20 AM
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@HarpNinja -- Since you're coming from a rock background more than anything else, VERY few rock musicians know how to play behind the beat, let alone know what the hell it is and most are gonna play off the 1 &3, which easily forces overplaying and not allowing the music to breathe or swing, so learning how to play behind the beat, which is also essential for learning to play jazz, especially big band jazz, is extremely important.
One thing both Dennis Gruenling and William Clarke have in common that I also eventually did was to listen to the roots of LW's influences, which starts with both Sonny Boys (ESPECIALLY SBW I--John Lee Williamson, and more so from the recordings he did as a sideman, especially behind Big Joe Williams rather than the stuff he did as a frontman), plus horn players like Hal Singer or a Red Prysock and jump blues guitarists like T-Bone Walker, and then everything LW does will make perfect sense.
Kingley is dead on right that you really need to take the time to learn to groove more, and develop more of a rhythmic sense of things, which rock players often don't do when they play stuff outside of rock.
Now being more rhythmic does NOT automatically mean play chords, but rhythmic is more along the lines of working WITH the groove, basically hitting things right in the pocket, wheras with rock, that is often not the case at all.
If you've never had experience playing behind the beat, be prepared for a steep learning curve and take some time to hang with musicians who play that way and 80% of rockers NEVER play that way at all, plus there are many different delineations of how far behind the beat.
Getting the feel of how behind the beat works needs to be heavily ingrained to the point that you don't have to think about it. If you phrase off the 1 & 3 a lot, it becomes increasingly difficult to adapt to playing that way, wheras if you learn to play more off the 2 & 4, it becomes easier and you'll also find yourself using much fewer notes and gain an ability to use space in ways that most rockers have HUGE problems with.
With TB, you often need to open the mouth more (but remained relaxed) than you're doing and this is a common problem with players who do LP and try to learn TB, as the lips often aren't opened up enough and the harp may not be in the mouth quite enough to make things happen, plus to go along with that, too often they press the tongue very hard on the harp wheras you only need to have an extremely light pressure to do things and any added force on the tongue slows you down CONSIDERABLY. From what I've heard on that recording, what you're doing shows exactly what I'm talking about.
Unlike rock, when playing black music like blues, soul or latin music, EVERYTHING HAS TO GROOVE, and that INCLUDES solos because it's not just melodic, but also extremely rhythmic as well and that's a big reason why many rock players often have a difficult time playing blues from personal experience dealing with rockers attempting to play blues, meaning something I mention a lot and that's one size does NOT fit all.
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Sincerely,
Barbeque Bob Maglinte
Boston, MA
http://www.barbequebob.com
CD available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/bbmaglinte
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HarpNinja
3545 posts
Oct 24, 2013
11:44 AM
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" From what I've heard on that recording, what you're doing shows exactly what I'm talking about."
I appreciate your post, but would have to disagree with that part. I for sure don't hit the comb hard with my tongue, and it is deep in my mouth. My tongue and lips aren't tense, but I might be tense through the shoulders....I haven't paid attention to that. I just tried pretending to play right now and my shoulders and hands were pretty tense.
When I play standing, and am not thinking about embouchure, my shoulders stay back. I also feel really comfortable holding a SM58 or 57 and stay pretty loose. If I cup a bullet though, I have to tell myself not to tense up.
That's a good thing for me to keep an eye on.
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HarpNinja
3546 posts
Oct 24, 2013
12:04 PM
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This is now 5+ years old, but the closest thing to a shuffle I have online. I didn't realize how little straight blues I've ever played. I am mostly posting because I TB a fair amount.
The most recent thing I have for live blues is over 3 years old...
Again, a fair amount of TB, but not with a traditional blues feel.
I do have a SUB30 demo to a swing track, but because I am trying to show the bends, I don't really TB and play mostly single note runs with the "new" notes.
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Mantra Customized Harmonicas
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Frank
3075 posts
Oct 24, 2013
4:05 PM
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Thanks Adam…I agree that BT shuffles more then swings. And holy mackerel, IMO, the original tune – Fred Belows drumming is the cornerstone of Walters inspiration to go places no harp player has ever gone before…Walter feeds off him like a shark that hasn’t eaten in weeks…thus I agree that the rhythm section can make or break a players “swinging momentum”
What I like to do sometimes is take a tune like> Off The Wall< and play it to a click track/metronome and practice bringing out that inner swing…Then do a run through totally solo too …doing this and recording it is a great ear opener on where I’m lacking and what needs beefed up to get things swinging better.
Rhythm is an essential ingredient in blues and I always need to work on strengthening good rhythmic foundational habits and developing a strong inner sense of pulse…You seem to have mastered these things, cause you sure make it look easy Adam
Last Edited by Frank on Oct 24, 2013 4:07 PM
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tmf714
2130 posts
Oct 24, 2013
4:54 PM
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A lesson in backing and timing-
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HarpNinja
3547 posts
Oct 24, 2013
7:33 PM
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After a 45min woodshed I was able to start TB'ing from the left. It was tricky and I had to really focus to not let the right side leak in.
It has been several hours and if I pick up a harp, I can still play clean notes and some rhythm stuff like the Shortnin' Bread lick. Tone is solid. I tried doing some solo vamping off that and can move pretty good. I can't switch to the right side with great fluidity, but jumping to LP is no problem if I am just moving to holes 2 or 3.
Now I can actually work on playing rhythmically as I can hit the right notes.
And, for what it is worth, I don't TB with nearly any tongue pressure. The tip of my tongue is up by the lip of the blow reed plate, but just barely. Honestly, if there was any real pressure, I'd probably cut my tongue.
I've been trying to just jam and insert the left TB chording where I usually chorded LP. Works great, but I can't pull and slap very well from that side yet. I can play the draw bends a bit better than from the right, but not nearly well enough to do so for anything other than a held note. I can play the four chord of a boogie pattern down there "good enough", but I wouldn't do that in performance at this point.
Thanks again for the advice, as I can now TB from the left and I couldn't do that yesterday! The last turn of Juke is a good starting point for application as the left TB'ing pedals off just a couple notes.
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Kingley
3224 posts
Oct 24, 2013
10:27 PM
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"A lesson in backing and timing-"
And then some.... Bharath and his Rhythm Four really understand the intricacies of the music and know just how to lay this stuff down.
Mike be patient with it and take your time. It'll months to learn all the techniques and years of polishing to be able to play tongue switching smoothly and convincingly. You don't need to use lots of pressure when playing tongue blocked. Just relax and let your tongue rest on the harp very lightly. Lifting it off by just a fraction of a millimetre can enable you to do subtle slaps and pulls. varying the amount of lift can have a drastic effect on the tonal variations. To do the "rhythm" thing in between phrases, try using a motion that is similar to a featherlight, quick spitting motion with your tongue. Play it very lightly and at around half the volume of the "normal" notes. That may help you to get an idea of how to approach it.
Last Edited by Kingley on Oct 24, 2013 10:28 PM
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Frank
3079 posts
Oct 25, 2013
5:33 AM
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Big and Little :)
Last Edited by Frank on Oct 25, 2013 5:39 AM
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5F6H
1680 posts
Oct 25, 2013
6:37 AM
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Sorry Frank, that's not Big Walter.
Big Walter did play a version of Juke though on one of the AFBF tours, probably as a tribute to LW who had recently passed.
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Last Edited by 5F6H on Oct 25, 2013 6:39 AM
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Frank
3082 posts
Oct 25, 2013
8:14 AM
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I heard some think it is this feller...Sammy Lewis
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