I think this is what you guys call it, when you listen to a song and try to play it by ear?
Any how I thought this would be a useless endeavor for me and have never really tried it until today.
Any serious harp stuff would be a brick wall for me, but i picked a few of the simple melodies I have grown up with since I was a child. And to my astonishment they came rather easily! I never thought I would pay anything "by ear!" There is hope for us musically unfortunates! ---------- If you don't cut it while it's hot......
Last Edited by Havoc on Nov 15, 2016 5:09 PM
Thanks Killa. I'll work melodies for a bit and reference this post when I think I'm ready. Thanks for the references, looking forward to attacking these when it's time! ---------- If you don't cut it while it's hot......
It sounds tough, but its actually a very Simple song. I think you ll find alot of songs that way. They sound tough, but as soon as you figure them out .. wow, super easy. I think that will also help ... the more songs you learn (from adams lessons or youtube or otherwise) the easier transcribing other songs will become. Because you get used to hearing and copying. And also because you start to learn the language of blues, i think.
Anyhow I know EVERYTHING seems darn near impossible now, but trust me the ball will start rolling faster and faster. If you keep at it you ll get there pretty quick.
Follow those funky harp lessons. They helped me tremendously.
I'm not sure exactly where your at, but feel free to post some sound clips if you need help or want a bit of guidance on your sound. I'm just now getting to the point were I;m somewhat happy with my tone and skill. So I think I actually may have a leg to stand on as far as giving advice ... lol.
Last Edited by Killa_Hertz on Nov 16, 2016 5:52 AM
Havoc, here's something you can try "by ear" that's pretty simple. Listen to Bo Diddly's "I'm a man" or Muddy Waters "Mannish Boy" (same song) and see if you can duplicate the simple harp notes. If you're good at single notes, hit them. If not, hit the notes as chords. See if you can figure out which are draw notes and which are blow notes. After a while your ear will tune to knowing where you need to be on the harp.
Of course to do this you need to be in the correct key. For this exercise you could try different harps until they sound right or you could go to backing tracks for the song and it'll often tell you what key in which it's being played (of course you'll want to be in 2nd position) but I think the originals are more fun because the vocals are there to work around.
If you can't tell the key by listening (and most of us can't), you can look it up on line or use an app on your phone to detect the key of any song. I use Key Detect by MIXVIBES. It's usually pretty accurate.
If you get stuck on the draw/blow aspect, contact me directly. Click on my name and it'll bring up my contact info.
I have a tough time figuring out keys right away still.
One thing I do is play the root notes.
So if your listening to a song and trying to figure out the key .... If you think it's played in 2nd position (a majority of songs are) pick a key and play the 2 draw to the beat. If it just doesn't fit try another key. Repeat until you find the one that sounds right.
To take it one step further ....
Sometimes after going through the whole case of harps .. nothing matched. This may mean the song is a minor tune. A trick I got from SnowMan is .... play the 3"' ... thats the 3 draw 1 1/2 step bend. If it sounds like it fits ... it's likely a minor song.
I realize you may not be able to do that bend yet, but the thought was in my head .... just remember that tip for later ... its a good one.
"You guys are making this forum such a great resource!"
We try. The Pros line Adam, Ronnie,and Jason have given so much to me. Mostly for free or darn close to it. They do it just to see other succeed and get joy out of learning to play the blues. Also to help advance the instrument along.
So I feel like I owe it to them to do the same. I don't know a Ton, but Ill do anything I can to help. (Plus any excuse to talk about Harp and Blues, Im all over it. Lol.)
The guys that have been doing this a while kind of tire of talking about beginner level stuff. So that's why they created the begginer forum. And MTG and Bee have been here since the beginning of it.
I love being a part of it. The harp community really is great. And this forum is surely at the heart of it.
Sorry im rambling.
Btw, I do everything from my phone. So you absolutely can record and upload from your phone. I understand it is a little nerve racking. I don't upload much either. But if you get to the point that you would like to, just ask and i can show you how.
Last Edited by Killa_Hertz on Nov 17, 2016 8:28 AM
Have found that transcribing helps me immensely. I take a well articulated piece that I like and do my best at finding what key, position, notes and finally the rhythm is played.
I like to actually write it out with full RHYTHM in the notation. Is a big help when I have forgotten the piece come a year from now. At least to break it down into chunks of bars and all - stealing all the good riffs for improv later.
I have found that a ton of what is played is really just paying attention to the scales. When transcribing, it sounds so complicated but often is really a lot of scales played here and there to make the piece stand out. As Killa says, less is often better ...
When I started playing, there was a long piece that I really liked that seemed impossible but taking it piece by piece, it got done and I learned a tremendous amount that would have not have come if I just noodled.
Not sure if I have helped. But a lot of people do not realize that transcribing / tabbing can be done with QWERTY and RHYTHM on one line. It makes it a ton easier in the long run. Particularly as it moves to the PC from your napkin scratchings.
Killahertz- just got to crosseyed cat. Thanks for the cheat! Been grinding nose on a little theory, this is the perfect break! Thanks! ---------- If you don't cut it while it's hot......
Hey Havoc! Yeah I guess it's transcription if you just play something you're picking up by ear. I always think transcription involves writing it down in some way (I.e. 'Script'), but maybe that's not so. I usually think the 1st thing I transcribed was Charlie McCoy's version of 'lovesick blues'. I sat and went through it phrase by phrase, correcting a few times. Probably still didn't get it all but I learned a lot in more than 1 way from the exercise
Superbee-I'm still only playing melodies by ear. The funky harp cheat was an excellent break from what I've been studying. My skills aren't sharp enough to extract James cotton or any other of the greats yet. Jerry Portnoy's disc set has been a big help the last few weeks. I feel like he gives just enough instruction to put you on track and then you have to feel things out yourself, which I've appreciated! I still have a long way to go and enjoying it! Using great, simple, straight forward instruction like funky harp's is excellent when you need a quick fix of new licks. ---------- If you don't cut it while it's hot...... ---------- If you don't cut it while it's hot......
transcribing, to my knowledge, is when you take the key it is written or played and then transcribe it to a different key. Either long hand or a gadget that does it automatically. an example would be..."this song is in C...I need to transcribe it to E as that is the key the band is playing it in, (in our case we often just grab the appropriate harp)
Spderyak- thank you. You got me doing a little Google search. It would seem that both understandings have merit, after reading a few definitions. ---------- If you don't cut it while it's hot...... ---------- If you don't cut it while it's hot......
yes, I see where I am wrong, it is transposing when we change the keys. So.. often I would watch my wife transcribing the music and transposing it to a different key while doing it.
I think that is a better way to say it...esp after I asked her...
