Ian
310 posts
Mar 28, 2016
5:08 AM
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This may or may not work, but given superbees comment on off topic threads perhaps what is needed is a thread for off topic talk!
So, take that as an open invitation to talk about anything on this thread. General harp chat and day to day ramblings .
......... GO! ;)
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Ian
311 posts
Mar 28, 2016
5:12 AM
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I'll start it off....
My practice routine has taken a hit recently as we are getting an extension on our house and it's taking a lot of my time, add that in to the upcoming dive season and my focus is all over the place.
What that's has meant is that I find myself 'playing and improvising' more than 'practicing:, as I don't have the time to sit down with materials to work on.
Its been quite liberating to some extent though as I've just been enjoying playing this and that rather than trying to get 'better'.
That all being said I really want to find a good hour or two for a proper practice.
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2chops
502 posts
Mar 28, 2016
7:46 AM
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Ian, great idea for a thread. Timing is good too because I have a project that my wife & I have been working on for the past year, and I haven’t been able to openly tell anyone yet. Other than a few key advisors of course. So…
We’re planning on opening up a coffee house later this year. Our tentative soft opening will be July 25th. Grand opening Aug. 5th. Whew, it felt good to finally say that. This idea has been brewing in my mind for the past 20 years. Last year when I turned 50, I decided it was now or never. So my wife & I talked it over and started our market research last Spring. After determining that the market can successfully bear another coffee house in our town, we decided to go forward. We’ll have traditional Italian style espresso beverages, Italian sodas, premium grade coffee & teas & locally made pastries. But wait, there’s more.
Part of what was important to me with this is “The Stage”. During non-performance periods, the stage will have some comfy chairs & what not on it. When it’s show time they’ll be repositioned on the main floor. The sound system will always be setup & ready to go. So anytime someone wants to do an in house busking session we’ll have that ability. What we’ve found, too, is that there are a lot of people in our area that want a coffee house to go to that has a comfortable setting. The other ones around here do a fine job on their beverages. But their space is either real small or not comfortable enough to want to stay for too long. Only one of them has live music, but that one doesn’t do espressos. So if any of you happen to find yourselves in our town in central Pennsylvania, you’re more than welcome to stop in a we can jam. I guarantee you’ll love the beverages.
We’re so jazzed about this. I have to keep mum on it till round June. My boss thinks I’ll be here for another 20 years yet. My wife’s employer knows that she’s planning on retiring next Spring. She’s been telling them the date for the past couple of years. Reminding them that they had better get someone to learn her job (Financial Operations Manager. Quite complex, particularly due to all the non-profit non-sense she has to deal with) They’re finally getting it in their heads that she’s serious about leaving. But they don’t know exactly what we have in the works. I'll post later when we're open & ready to go.
So there you have it. Now I feel better. Confession is good for the soul. Thanks Ian.
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I'm workin on it. I'm workin on it.
Last Edited by 2chops on Mar 28, 2016 7:49 AM
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Killa_Hertz
851 posts
Mar 28, 2016
10:18 AM
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2chops CONGRATS MAN !! ... Good Stuff. You ll have to tell me the town. I'm in delaware, but PA is a big place. Hope it goes well. Good Luck.
Ian ... What your describing is 90% of my "practice" In the beginning i practiced songs and learned lots of very specific things. But now I play mostly in the car. And I just play. Play songs that i know, but add newly aquired tecniques to them to spice em up or just play licks strung together to make up my own songs.
Ill work in things that I'm trying to learn,(techniques,etc.) but often don't sit and hit on them for hours at a time. I just let things develop as they do. It's worked pretty well so far. I'm moving soon. So im sure once I move and have a practice space I'll find myself playing/practicing at home alot more as most do. But right now i just let it fly.
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"Trust Those Who Seek The Truth. Doubt Those Who Say They Have Found It."
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Fil
123 posts
Mar 28, 2016
6:05 PM
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2chops, when you actually open up, post a notice here. I'll run up from Spring Grove, near York, PA. What a great idea.
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Phil Pennington
Last Edited by Fil on Mar 28, 2016 6:06 PM
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2chops
503 posts
Mar 28, 2016
7:10 PM
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We're just up the road from you Fil. 15N for about 2 1/2 hours and there ye be. Williamsport. I'll keep you updated.
Not to hijack the thread, but regarding the initial post about practice...
I've never been one for regimented practice times and topics to be worked on. I'll do short spans of a week or maybe two of hitting a specific technique or some such thing. Then it's long periods of just playing what I want to play. What usually happens is that the thing I worked on for a short dedicated time does creep into my material that I know very well. I especially notice it when on the bandstand and one of my band mates gives me a compliment about having done something different in a particular song. They may not know exactly what I did. But the comment is like, "I can't put my finger on it, but whatever you did keep it in there."
I will say that even though I may not physically practice a specific new thing, I meditate on it a LOT. Studies have been done on this. How mentally practicingvsomething is just about as good as actually doing it. I used this all the time in my martial arts career. So while I'm driving, on a plane or wherever, I can be improving on something. Works for me.
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I'm workin on it. I'm workin on it.
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Ian
312 posts
Mar 29, 2016
2:20 AM
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Hey 2chops, first of all, there is no such thing as hijacking on this thread so don't worry. Thats the point.
Secondly that cafe sounds great.
If I were any closer I'd be there in a shot.
Thanks for the reassurance all that the new structure of my practice won't ruin my chances of becoming the next sonny terry ;)
One harp that I've been playing alot recently, mainly due to my crazy personal life, is my seydel big six. Man I love that little harp. Its on my key chain.
If you havnt played one... Get one now, they are amazing. Wah wah central.
Need to head out and make sure the builders are still working!
Last Edited by Ian on Mar 29, 2016 2:22 AM
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Glass Harp Full
121 posts
Mar 29, 2016
4:30 AM
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All the best with your coffee house 2chops. Sounds like a great idea.
I also do a lot of mental practise. Usually I think about what holes to play and the breath pattern for a particular piece. It seems to stick more that way and as you say you can do it anywhere.
Sometimes I also practise articulations and breathing patterns when I haven't got a harp, usually when I'm in the car. I know a lot of people here play while driving but I think it's too dangerous.
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Harmlessonica
193 posts
Apr 01, 2016
5:12 AM
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Here's a little rant I've been wanting to get of my chest....
My wife has longstanding pulmonary issues, and since I took up the harmonica a year or so ago, I suggested she try breathing exercises with a harmonica.
I knew a low tuned type would benefit her more so I suggested she try my Seydel Favorite low low F. She found it helped her, but unfortunately she doesn't take great care with it and has dropped it a few times.
So I graciously ordered her the proper 'Pulmonica' which is designed for this purpose, so she could use that instead.
She does like the pulmonica, but now refuses to give back the Seydel! Says she wants to keep that one in the handbag.
Normally, that would be an excuse to buy something like a Thunderbird but those are just too expensive.
That was a pretty low blow from her I reckon... :/
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Tiggertoo1962
67 posts
Apr 01, 2016
10:30 AM
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How about you give her a Seydel Favorite low low F for her birthday, and put the money you save actually having to BUY her a pressie towards getting a Thunderbird. The Thunderbird then doesn't seem to be quite as expensive :D ;). Then again, maybe you enjoy being married...
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Fil
127 posts
Apr 01, 2016
10:59 AM
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I posted this once before, but have to once again...my favorite blues lyric, from Hep Cats in Big Town, Sam Myers singing:
Honey, could you really really stand to see me cry?
Not only that, I could stand to see them bring your dead body by.
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Phil Pennington
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Ian
313 posts
Apr 01, 2016
12:14 PM
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Take the covers off and swap the guts for a low big river or something ;)
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Harmlessonica
196 posts
Apr 01, 2016
4:31 PM
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Heh, some sneaky ideas there...
I actually have an inexpensive Seydel Session in Low D which might prove a reasonable replacement. I think I might be able convince her that if she wants to carry a harmonica around, she could do without the extra weight of an aluminium comb... ;)
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SuperBee
3562 posts
Apr 01, 2016
6:32 PM
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Maybe I can drop this rambling burbling here...
i wanted to talk about my MXR Univibe pedal.
I bought the pedal on a whim and hoped I'd find something to do with it. I feared it would sound too 'mechanical' to use, and thought the TC Electronics 'viscous vibe' maybe better with its 'expression pedal' feature...but also wondered if the trade off maybe in the quality of the effect itself...anyway, bought the MXR pedal home and tried it out.
It sure isn't for everything. It does sound too mechanical to use in many applications. not like a reverb or delay or some tone-shaping effect that you might just forget you were using and leave on as a part of your 'normal' sound.
But I took it to jam and experiment ensued.
Where I found it shone was in making the harp sound unlike a harp, where a harp was maybe not called for in the song.
We had a new player along last time and when we asked him to call a song he played Hey Joe.
Of course, I know the song but had never played it on harp. I think that song has had its day really, and listening to the lyrics it's hard to imagine playing it. About as useful as learning 'good morning schoolgirl'. But anyway, in the garage...ok. The guitar part is very strong.
I played it in 5th position and just chose notes from minor pentatonic which is the same pattern and notes as 2nd major pentatonic. Fine.
But when I turned the Univibe on, revelations. Just using the chorus effect, with the level up around 3 o'clock, speed relatively high, around 2-3 o'clock and depth not to strong, before noon I think, this think gave a pretty decent organ kind of sound, and seemed to fill out the sound without getting in the way. Not the place to be playing 'like a harmonica' with classic harp licks etc, but just moving with the harmonic structure of the song. I was very pleased with the outcome really. I've made a recording which I'll share once I've edited a suitable piece out. It's not the sort of thing you'd want to listen to in entirety. Jams are more for participating in than listening back to. At least these ones are. Lots of long jams with people trying things out that don't always work. I've been working on getting them to play more songs in shorter versions but that doesn't always work either. I don't like to cut people off when they're having fun. Which is really what we are doing it for.
Years ago...like 2010...I was jamming with a couple of these same guys but we had a guitarist who wanted to take it further and enlisted the bass and me to form a blues band. After about a year (took a while to get a reliable drummer) we actually played a gig...and this was the catalyst for an escalation of seriousness which saw the bass player bow out and more messing about to replace him...which saw us eventually break up with some bad blood and recriminations. The other guitarist from the jam had stayed out of the band idea, saying it would kill off the fun. Now all these years later I am back at his place with the original bass player, a different guitarist and some occasional guests, and a beginning drummer and it's all sweet. The neighbors are allegedly happy to hear us and I think perhaps the guitarist/host was right all along...the playing of music with others is the good thing. Playing in a band on a stage is not just about sounding good. It brings a whole swag of stuff that isn't about the joy of playing music at all.
But I digress...I just wanted to share about the Univibe pedal and my interest in playing like an organ. I've read it before about these organ type pedal sounds and I see it's true. It's not sufficient to have the effect. To make it really work you have to play in a suitable way.
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Harmlessonica
203 posts
Apr 03, 2016
4:17 PM
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Well, some good news, some bad. I have the harmonica, but the reeds don't sound as good as I remember. Low tuned harps don't take too kindly to being dropped. Good to have it back though...
Nobody Knows The Trouble I've Seen from Harmlessonica on Vimeo.
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Last Edited by Harmlessonica on Apr 03, 2016 4:18 PM
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SuperBee
3573 posts
Apr 03, 2016
5:28 PM
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Lo tunings are very prone to alignment problems. It's a Seydel I think you said? They use these weighted reeds and the tip is vey deep. If they twist at all they'll strike the side of the slot on the way through. Temperamental things. But usually fixable. Not my cup of tea.
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Harmlessonica
207 posts
Apr 04, 2016
4:22 AM
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Yes, quite right, Seydel Favorite with weighted reed tips.
I do like the low tunings in general but once you go below, say, low C, you can get various issues that affect the musicality.
Nice for a change of pace once in a while though.
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Killa_Hertz
940 posts
Apr 04, 2016
11:22 AM
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This actually belongs in the Must Own Harp Albums, but no one is really saying to much in there so. Ill just throw it up in here.
BEE - I just checked out William Clarke - Serious Intentions. Now That's What I'm Talking About! I have his Blowin Like Hell Album. But honestly haven't listened to it much. Sometimes I buy things and they get lost in the sauce. Really Lovin This Album Tho! Good Call. I needed something fresh to listen to. Imma be diggin into some clarke for sure.
I like blues that throws in the occasional horns and organ. But the singers voice has to be on point aswell or it ruins it for me. Like Slim Harpo, I just cant do it. lol. No offence to Slim. His playing is great.
But doesnt William Clarke play alot of Chromatic? Chromatic bugs me sometimes if im not ready for it. Like Carey Bell plays alot. Because Im listening trying to figure out riff ideas and I hear stuff I like. But they re chromatic. lol.
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Pay No Attention To The Man Behind The Curtain.
And Don't Pet The Monkey ... He Bites!
Last Edited by Killa_Hertz on Apr 04, 2016 12:17 PM
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Ian
315 posts
Apr 07, 2016
4:23 PM
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Lol, I know right. I'll often hear a bit harp and then realise it's chromatic. Would like to give my chromatic more time but time is precious right?
Anyway....
Quick question, anyone got any recent recommendations for songbooks recently? My only stipulation is that it uses the up and down arrow for of tab rather than d and b etc....
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Killa_Hertz
970 posts
Apr 07, 2016
5:25 PM
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I don't use songbooks. There are tab websites out there. But i dont really like tabs either. Atleast by themselves. Lol i realise this is the least helpful post ever, but ....
Have you tried any of adams tradebit lessons? Video+tab ... cant beat it.
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Ian
316 posts
Apr 08, 2016
4:20 AM
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Yeah, I use adam's tradebits all the time, they are great.
What I'm using at the moment are the longer transcriptions that you get with the blues play along books, they are excellent. Full blues classics start till finish.
The only problem with that series is you only get about 7 tunes, and I normally only really like half.
The online tabs I've never found any real use.
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Killa_Hertz
975 posts
Apr 08, 2016
4:52 AM
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Hmm. Maybe ill look into them. I ve never found much use for tabs. How do you get the feel of the song? I find it's easier listening.
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Ian
317 posts
Apr 08, 2016
11:43 PM
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I only ever get the books that come with cds, so you get something to work towards. Some of them will have backing tracks as well as examples. Its basically a bit like adam's stuff minus the instruction.
The playalong books are good it's just like I said they are a bit short. But, they do offer full 3 or 4 page songs, showpieces i guess.
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Glass Harp Full
125 posts
Apr 09, 2016
12:29 AM
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I know what you mean about the song choice in the play along books. I've bought books to get one or two songs I like. It would be great if you could choose what songs were included. Maybe one of the publishers will offer a print on demand type arrangement where you can select say 5 songs from their collection of transcriptions to be included in one book.
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Ian
318 posts
Apr 09, 2016
3:22 AM
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Your right, that would be cool. They could go fully digital with that idea as well. Decent tabs and the audio in a download under the publishers banner.
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Killa_Hertz
986 posts
Apr 09, 2016
6:47 PM
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Yes digital would be much more practical. That's very cool. I never knew they had ones that came with cds. It would be nice to learn an entire song. I would definatly be interested in that. What kind of songs are they?
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Ian
320 posts
Apr 10, 2016
2:49 AM
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The Chicago blues play along has..... Got My Mo Jo Working • Hard Hearted Woman • Help Me • I Ain't Got You • Juke • Messin' with the Kid • One More Heartache • Walking by Myself.
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Killa_Hertz
990 posts
Apr 10, 2016
7:18 AM
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Very cool. I figured out help me already. That was the first song i learned. Will Wylde does a pretty good lesson on it. Aswell as checkin up on my baby. (Still tryin to get it to sound like SBWII, but that's another story)
And i know the hook of mojo from adams lesson, but would be interested to see the whole version. Aswell as if their hook varies.
I think i might check these out. Thanks Ian.
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Last Edited by Killa_Hertz on Apr 10, 2016 7:20 AM
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