SuperBee
4132 posts
Sep 23, 2016
10:01 PM
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Just home from rehearsal for our upcoming 3 set gig:
The list I posted a few weeks back had 13 songs
We added 16 today.
Walking Blues
I'm Ready
Born in Chicago
Blues With a Feeling
Spoonful
Please Throw this Poor Dog a Bone
Big Boss Man
Messin' With the Kid
The Red Rooster
Wang Dang Doodle
Help Me
Dimples
Rollin' and Tumblin'
I Want To Be Loved
Bright Lights, Big City
All Night Long
And the other 13
Hoochie Coochie Man
I Wish you Would
Early in the Morning
I got my Mojo Workin
Bring It On Home
Boogie Chillun
Caldonia
Have a Good Time
Shake Your Hips
Shake Your Money Maker
Sloppy Drunk
Checking Up On My Baby
Ah'w Baby
And I could add Easy to that list to round it out to 30 all up
This is kind of intense as far as a learning curve goes, but I think it's gonna be ok.
I get the CX12 out for I'm ready
I use the UniVibe pedal for a bit of an organ 'vibe' in Spoonful
I want To Be Loved, Bright Lights, and Hoochie Coochie Man are 1st position.
I'm on vocals in 13 out of 29 (30)
The harp is a feature in many, not all, the chrom and the effect and the 1st position give a bit of variety in what I'm doing, and there are 3 different guitars to also change the sound up so I'm hopeful it's got enough variety to stay interesting. I think we'll share the Bright Lights vocal as well.
They are almost all quite well known numbers. Some of them probably a bit too well known, but I'm not leaving out things at this stage. Born in Chicago, Messin' with the Kid, Help Me, I feel I've been playing for too long and every harp in town plays them, so I'll just have to be on my mettle with those.
1 week to go and I won't see the rest of the band until showtime..or at least soundcheck-time.
Anyway, I dunno if this is strictly 'beginner' kind of post but it feels like for me it's the beginning of another phase.
I played Blues with a Feeling today for the first time. At the start all I could remember was the harp line and the first verse. But as I came to the end of the verse I suddenly remembered the second verse, and then the bridge came to me and I improvised a coherent solo from I don't know where. It was weird, living on the edge, with Little Walter whispering in my ear at just the right moment.
Too bad Paddy cried off My Babe
In I want to be loved...I'm channelling Cotton from the Hard Again album. That is a wonderful song to play with the band. 1st position, C Harp, all in the bottom end. Makes a C harp sound like a low F in second.
Normally I have a delay pedal in the mix as well. I really must get a board organised. I can see I'll want 3 pedals available. The amp has reverb on board, but I'm using the UniVibe, Delay and LW Harp Octave at various times.
There are 4 Bassman amps on eBay here at the moment. One was just relisted and $700 added to the asking price. Originally listed at $1500, it's been rewired as a 1959 clone. I would have taken it at $1500 if I was less parsimonious. I was very tempted but then I thought 'I already have a really loud 410 which does a great job'.
Count your blessings Hally.
Anyway, thanks for reading. I'm just full of anxious excitement and getting it off the chest.
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MindTheGap
1771 posts
Sep 24, 2016
2:35 AM
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Looks like a great list! I don't know Dimples though.
Judging by the recordings from last time, you don't need another amp, do you???
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SuperBee
4134 posts
Sep 24, 2016
5:02 AM
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exactly. i'm happy with my amp. its a disease. one i'm rather determined to conquer. i have sold off a couple of amps recently; the 40 watt hotrod deluxe LTD which has strangely come into possession of the band's guitarist. I repossessed it from the guitarist of the previous band, then sold it to another local guitarist, who has sold it to the guitarist in this band. so i cant get away from the thing.
i also sold off my 30watt Ashton Viper to a guitarist i jam with. I sold one of my epiphone valve junior amps to another harp player, whom i believe is happy with it.. and i have loaned another of the 5 watt valve jr amps out. i bought the Deville because i couldnt find a well-priced bassman. and in truth they are still a bit steep. anyway, i'm happy with the deville. its up to the task.
I'm still fairly flush with 5 watt amps, and probably 2 many 15ish watt amps. just the one big one though, and it probably is due for service.
i wish i could be as relaxed about doing 3 sets on a single rehearsal as my band mates are
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MindTheGap
1774 posts
Sep 24, 2016
11:03 AM
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There's worse addictions than valve amps!
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Fil
188 posts
Sep 24, 2016
11:50 AM
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SB, what are your secrets for learning and remembering songs?
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Phil Pennington
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SuperBee
4135 posts
Sep 24, 2016
5:27 PM
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Good question Fil. It's made me think and I do believe I have some insights. I'll think about it more before I share, so as to avoid too much unnecessary waffle
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SuperBee
4136 posts
Sep 25, 2016
3:27 PM
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For one thing, I've always been impressed by 'remembering' and have practiced since I was a little kid. I had an 'uncle' who was kind of 'rain man'-like.
And I seem to have much better recall than most of my acquaintances so maybe some natural ability with it.
But a lot of it is in metadata. Reducing the detail of what needs to be remembered down to a few categories. And then making associations based on those things.
This works for words of songs, where knowledge of th.submit.x=
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SuperBee
4137 posts
Sep 25, 2016
9:29 PM
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Oh yeah so part of what I'm trying to say is there are things which must be remembered: essential words, hooks, signature riffs and such
But there are also optional things. 'Improvising' is another word for this. 'Fudging' might be another term. Whether you use one or the other might depend on how handy you are at doing it. I think the more you do it, the better you get at it, so long as you are trying to improve.
But, I have just been sitting in the car studying little Walter's 'blues with a feeling'. I'm combined 'learned' with 'slightly interpreted' for the head, which is the vital part.
I decided to learn the solo today.
Reason for posting is just to encourage anyone who likes this kind of thing, and LW fans especially. If you haven't studied it, 'do yourself a favour'. It's a great demonstration of a constructed solo. The idea of the first 8 measures is really rather simple, but Walter executes it with such flair it sounds great. And then he throws in the most beautiful and satisfying sequence for bars 9 and 10. You really owe it to yourself to experience playing this section. It's absolutely classic blues harmonica. And really not so difficult, so long as you can play those bends
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timeistight
2051 posts
Sep 25, 2016
9:35 PM
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Nice list, SuperBee.
Is that the Junior Kimbrough "All Night Long"?
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SuperBee
4138 posts
Sep 26, 2016
12:54 AM
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No, Jr Wells', but that's not a bad idea
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SuperBee
4139 posts
Sep 26, 2016
1:05 AM
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Talking to the bass player, he asked me to send him some 'more diverse' playlists.
I think the influences above are quite narrow. Only 9 sources really. Maybe 1 or 2 others, if you count influential associated performers.
Muddy
Wolf
Elmore
Jr Wells
Walter Horton
Sonny Boy Williamson
Jimmy Reed
Butterfield
Billy Boy Arnold
Jimmy Rogers maybe should also be included.
So bringing some more recent influences would be good.
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Fil
189 posts
Sep 27, 2016
9:03 AM
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Thank you, SB. A couple of things you said are key for me, eg, reducing the detail and making associations, getting the story down, getting the signature riffs and hooks. I think I tend to jump into a song too early and not spend enough time listening to and understanding it as a whole before starting to tackle it bar by bar. One thing that hangs me up is trying to play so close to the original that if I miss a nuance I'll lock up. So, know the signature riffs and hooks and be willing to improvise/fudge a little in between. And patience, taking the time. I have maybe 8 or 10 songs down solid, not all blues. Then a list of ten blues to learn over the winter.
This is good stuff to talk about in a beginner forum....
Edit...had another thought. I looked at my lost and it could use a couple more 'standards'. Might make me more useful in the jam I get to a couple times a month.
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Phil Pennington
Last Edited by Fil on Sep 27, 2016 9:40 AM
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SuperBee
4155 posts
Oct 01, 2016
4:53 PM
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We got through it. The stuff which was reasonably rehearsed or which I knew really well, went down well. It all went ok but too much 'winging' it for my liking. I'm not good enough/experienced enough yet to just come up with something on the spot that really pleases me. Too much of that sounds 'the same old'. I've got a few numbers that I just need to work on. And the band tends to go into a mode I find unappealing on these numbers we don't know well. It gets loud and louder. There's no subtlety, dynamics. Just noise. I find it tedious.
I'm probably more sensitive to it, as the harp player. The bass man gets into it and plays great lines but when he gets really busy and loud, it's very difficult to hear or find a place to drop the harp in. So there's some work to do, which is unsurprising. Maybe make the bass more of a feature in some songs and let him go for it.
Despite that, we will get another gig at the venue next month, drew good comments, and played an encore.
The band has the elements to enable us to be really good I think. I can look at the lists and see what worked well, and what could be better.
It's a step on the road. Probably better to be actively performing a mix of good and a bit rough than just rehearsing for months seeking perfection. At our ages, we'd run the risk of never making time to play enough. At least this way we get to play and have the excitement of an audience and seeing how they respond.
Stage volume was a problem at times. Rarely is a problem in rehearsals. Not sure why so on stage. Just excitement I suppose.
I always find it hard to sleep after a show. I hope I'll get over that soon.
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MindTheGap
1786 posts
Oct 02, 2016
12:16 AM
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Well done! Did you all enjoy it? Did you get paid?
I think that not getting to sleep afterwards is part of the package. Do you get an ear-worm with one of your songs?
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SuperBee
4156 posts
Oct 02, 2016
3:12 AM
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I've seen messages today from drummer and guitarist proclaiming great gig.
Yes, to my surprise they paid us from the till.
I had songs replaying in mind for several hours.
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MindTheGap
1790 posts
Oct 05, 2016
2:51 AM
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What are your thoughts now a few days have elapsed. Did you have recordings to review? Is the band going to spend the takings on different equipment?
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SuperBee
4169 posts
Oct 05, 2016
6:54 PM
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No recordings, no planned purchase.
I'm waiting for an outline of the drummer's thoughts. He let it be known he had some thoughts but he hasn't shared. ("Definitely nothing major" he said). Maybe he decided better to do in person. I prefer that too. Generally less dramatic than email.
I think we have about 2 sets worth which are reasonably strong and 1 set which is pretty rough and disorganised.
What I really think is that it's hard to remember structures, endings, intros without repetition, and that's what rehearsal is for. And this band just hasn't/doesn't rehearse much at all. I think we played once in between our 1 set debut and our 3 set gig 5 weeks later. Maybe it was twice.
I'm sick at the moment, head cold type thing, so just not practicing even solo. But I need to get a few things down.
I was disappointed with I'm Ready, spoonful, rolling and tumbling.
Specifically I couldn't hear the chromatic in I'm ready, and that made me very tentative as I was not able to hear if I was hitting the notes cleanly.
The effect I wanted to use in spoonful was also lost in the stage sound so I had no confidence in it. Eventually I turned it off. I still couldn't tell how the harp sounded in the mix but at least I knew it wasn't squealing.
Rolling and Tumbling was impossible to follow. There was no consistency in the number of repeats of the riff between the melody lines. This also led me to play tentatively. I was good for the 1st and second rounds but would there be a 3rd? I didn't know. And I couldn't throw a harp melody line in because I couldn't tell if it was out of sync. It was cacophonous to me.
I feel this about quite a few of the songs. When I feel like this, I tend to shut down the harp because it just contributes more noise.
I'm not interested in noise for the sake of it. In big boss man I was simply too underrehearsed to deal with the noise level. I doubt it sounded good. I mean, I doubt I'd have liked it if I was in the audience. The actual audience seemed to be ok with it.
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MindTheGap
1792 posts
Oct 06, 2016
12:46 AM
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I particularly like the intros and stops/starts in blues songs. And songs which have extra bars in, or twists in the structure, Rolling and Tumbling being a good example. They do need rehearsing.
A thing I've learnt is that audiences on the whole either don't notice or don't care about mistakes, even ones that seem horrible and glaring to the players. Makes you wonder what all the rehearsals are for! Unless they are aspiring musicians themselves of course, in which case they are happy to let you know in the break ha ha. 'Damning with faint praise' seems to be the weapon of choice.
It's not an excuse, and I like the band to get things right to get max enjoyment for ourselves. But it doesn't seem to impinge much on the listener's view of having a good time.
Last Edited by MindTheGap on Oct 06, 2016 12:54 AM
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