Hey there, so I've been playing for ~6 months now (3 months "normal" harp, 3 months blues stuff) and I started to record my play a bit... - what can I say, it sounds horrible and I doubt it's ONLY because of the super cheap headset mic I am using, lol. The tone is pretty weak and the blue third does not sound bluesy at all to me, but check it out for yourself:
Maybe you guys can give me some tips about what I am doing wrong. I have already tried the exercises that Killa posted (http://www.harpgear.com/) and it's gotten better with that (e.g. it helped me to play the higher notes especially), but I still think my tone is pretty bad. :/
PS: The song is Floyd's Hotel, which I got from the preview of one of Adam's first beginner lessons. The only reason I will not apologize for my horrid play is the fact that it is not allowed by the site, btw. :D
That's being a bit harsh on yourself. The recordings a very quiet but it sounds basically ok - just it's on the 'plain' side for blues harp. But there's a nice bit of vibrato when you land on the 2D. I think your 3D sounds nice, I've not put a tuner on it to see what kind of third it is (major, blue, minor or 'other'). But that's to your own taste anyway.
If you want make it more 'blues harp', you might typically add slaps/pulls to the first bit of the phrase 6+ 5 4 (I think that's it) if you can do that. And/or play them as splits i.e. 6+3+ etc.
Or if lip-pursing/lip-blocking add dips and scoops - you can do that even to the 6 blow. If you listen to chromatic harmonica playing, they do that almost as standard.
Then you could add a double-stop to the 3 draw. Let a bit of 4 draw leak in and pull it down a bit to the blue third/minor third whatever you fancy.
Those simple measures will thicken up the tone a lot.
Last Edited by MindTheGap on Apr 28, 2017 7:15 AM
I couldn't hear the samples. They wouldn't load on my smartphone.
But it took me a good while of working on it to get my Tone to the point were I was somewhat happy with it.
Some advice Winslow gave me was.. Before you go to practice, spend a few minutes working on your tone. Don't play anything fancy ... just hold a 2 draw for example..and focus on changing your mouth, throat, breathing to get the best time. Then hold it for a while. Get the sound of good tone in your head. Then as you play ... you will have a reference and you will slowly start to be able to keep the tone without concentrating so much on it.
Mtg also had great advice. Learn a couple tricks to fatten up your sound. When alot of the pros play, there are actually a few layers of sound there. It tags time to be able to hear it.
Don't worry your in the right track. Some have been playing for years and still have bad tone. Your already working on it ... your doing fine.
6 months? Ya, you're being too hard on yourself. You don't sound too screechy to me. I've heard worse from players with a lot more time at it. You need to add some textures in there. I'm a long time LP but I have to say you need to incorporate some TB into your playing. Filisko is always emphasizing the chordal aspects of our little instrument. Chords make our little instrument sound bigger.Start with slaps and pulls,as MTG recommended.It might not be comfortable at first,but the sooner you learn those techniques,the easier to incorporate into your playing.
It sounds okay to me. I always think what I record sounds poor. It could also be down to the place where you record. I do a lot of my practice in the cab of my truck and the acoustics are not very good when I record in the kitchen/diner at home it sounds better. As most of my recording is done on my phone I put the crap sound down to that, till I tried recording on other stuff, laptop etc then I realised it was me. Try to save what you record then listen back to it a few weeks from now, it's a very good way of finding out how you are progressing and things that maybe you need to bush up on or practise more. But you seem to be doing alright to me, keep it up your a lot better than I was after six monhs.
The positives . . . your time is pretty good, the single notes are clear, and (as mentioned above) you're developing some vibrato.
It does not sound bad in the least; you're just in the learning curve where improvement comes with consistent practice. I'd likely diverge a bit from some of the above suggestions (Tongue Blocking, slaps, pulls and such) and advise a couple more simple things at this point.
Primarily, I'd look at your embouchure, the shape of your mouth and how it's applied to the harp. To my ear (and I'm assuming by the sound you're lip pursing rather than tongue blocking, and that's just fine) I suspect you might not have the harp too deeply in your mouth. That might be the biggest reason why your tone sounds a bit more thin than you'd like.
Killa's earlier advice (re: from Winslow Yerxa) is very good too.
The other suggestion, before moving on to more advanced things, would be to practice bending exercises (a lot). That will help you develop control, and likely further you on the road to better tone.
Adam has an excellent lesson on bends (for the 2, 3, and 4 draw) in "The Store" section of this site.
Just keep playing; you're doing fine
Last Edited by Rontana on Apr 28, 2017 3:06 PM
Yeah I can't hear the recordings either but all good advice above
The main problem will be that you're playing harmonica. I know that sounds flippant but fact is that harmonica is not inherently toneful. It takes quite a lot of skill and dedication to overcome its natural inclination to sound thin and out of tune.
This entire video by lee Sankey is worth watching but he talks about tone starting around 8 minutes in.
Rontana has a point. About waiting a bit before adding a bunch more techniques.
However, I think I really improved my Lip purse embochure after starting to practice tongue block more. Because I was learning to relax my embochure and get the harp deeper in my mouth. Aswell as relax my throat and breathe from the diaphragm.
Baby steps. Add things as you feel then necessary. It'll all come together.
Now this getting interesting. I think Superbee has it - the basic 'tone' of the harp is thin and, well, reedy!
Deepening your embouchure and dropping your jaw etc. does improve things but it only goes so far. There's a prevailing opinion that your basic timbre is 'given' much your voice. As far as I can tell, no one really knows but that's often said. Seems reasonable as the same kind of things are responsible for your the timbre of your voice as for your acoustic harp tone.
What do people mean when they say 'great tone!' about someone? It does seem to be the collection of tricks and techniques - often a deep vibrato and hand wah - that presses the buttons. 'Layers' as Killa says.
So my opinion is that you could be frustrated chasing a 'very deep tone' by embouchure alone, and (in addition) so you should start working on the layers in as early as you can do them.
Personally, I think I reached the end of the road on 'basic tone' so I choose to artificially enhance mine by playing amped. For example, listening to James Cotton, as I am at the minute, many of his screaming single notes are in fact slight double-stops. They simply sound so much bigger.
Last Edited by MindTheGap on Apr 29, 2017 12:08 AM
A lot of players, and some teachers, always use their layers of technique all the time. I used to find that frustrating - even with Adam and Ronnie. They go "POW, POW, POW!!!" (slap/pull/double-stop/vibrato/hand wah etc.) and I go "wheeze, wheeze, wheeze". Same notes, weaker sound.
But some teachers do strip away the layers when teaching and I found I could sound like their example lessons at least. Which is much more satisfactory. Ben Hewlett's materials, and now Tom Leckie. I'd recommend trying a few of their lessons - see what you feel you sound like compared to them.
Last Edited by MindTheGap on Apr 29, 2017 1:11 AM
Thanks for your replies guys, the reason why I think my sound is so bad is that when i listen to Adam for example, it sounds as if he is playing a completely different instrument, lol.
@ MTG: I am attempting to play the blue third in the recording - although it is where it should be on the tuner, it doesn't sound particularly blue to me. Your advice about adding more effects / layers of sound is good though and I will try to work more with wah wahs and the other stuff you recommended.
@ Killa: I have been doing that but I think I will spend even more time, since without good tone, what's the point of making music. :)
@ Tuckster: Thanks man, I have started tongue-blocking actually and to my surprise, I find it quite intuitive. Will keep working on that.
@ Rontana: Thanks for the feedback, I guess I have to put it a bit deeper into my mouth. What also helped me, was Adam's advice on "fat lips" - my chords sound much better now than before. As for the bending exercises: I worked like 30 minutes every day on bending for 1,5 months, but I stopped because I thought it was more important to learn how to play without mistakes first. I will probably invest some more time into the bends again.
@ Superbee: That's a good point about the harp not having the greatest tone. I must say, that I really dislike the Sankey-video though (I knew it before). Sure, you won't become Sonny Boy Williamson III after just a couple of months / years of play, that's trivial. However, I think that
1. One of the most important abilities of a teacher should be to motivate and (also after reading the comments under the video), Sankey does a great job of demotivation in that video. His message basically seems to be: "Yeah, you will only be decent after 20 years of play, but hey, you can have some fun before (while being bad)!" I get the feeling that he just wants to vent a bit because of all the - maybe stupid - questions that he gets. That's just my impression though. Adam will also say that playing the harp is hard but he still motivates you to keep playing.
2. It's not really true what he says. As I said before, you won't reach world class in a few years, but Adam says that you can get somewhat decent in about 9 months if you put in the time. And check out what this guy has achieved in just 8 months (sure, lots of mistakes, but unlike my play, it actually sounds like music / blues already)! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXYQBIBXxn8
When I look at that video, I start to wonder if I am wasting my time: I have been practicing for 2-3 hours for the past ~6 months and I don't see myself getting even anywhere near that level of that guy in the video. Anyway, I will still continue to practice - currently working through Adam's Beginner / Advance Beginner songs, but at times I get frustrated about my progress. :(
Thanks again for all your feedback, Skull
Last Edited by SkullKid on Apr 29, 2017 3:12 AM
Haha yeah sure that one guy has done great in 8 months but is he typical? Or exceptional? I know what you mean about lee; he lays it on pretty thick. But, it rings true for me. Maybe it will be different for you. You're concerned your tone isn't very good after six months, right? And a very experienced formerly pro player advises you not to worry because tone is very personal and he tells you that you could keep working on it your entire life and still be dissatisfied about it, and you find that discouraging rather than reassuring? Ok, I can see that, Maybe it won't be the case for you. Maybe you'll find the key to magic tone and musical satisfaction straight off the bat. For me, I picked up a harp in 1982, had no clue beyond breath in and out an make noise. 15 years later I began to learn how to play tunes. 13 years after that I tried to play in a band. The next 7 years have been a period of relatively fast progress but I still feel I'm just starting to get the idea and understand how to head towards my specific goals. The point isn't to discourage. Quite the reverse, it's about accepting that it takes work and even then it takes time. Obviously you're doing the work, so that means all it's gonna take is time. My timeframe is very long, largely because I'm sporadic about the work. But I've still progressed. You will too. You're doing all the right things. If you stick with it you'll continue to improve. That's what Lee is saying; don't be discouraged, it takes time
Yeah, maybe that guy is just a genius and I should not compare myself to him, fair enough. I get the point that Sankey makes, and it's a fair one. I just don't like his aggressiveness and negativity, I prefer teachers like Adam or Tomlin that will tell you: "Yeah, it's hard, it's a life long journey, but if you keep at it, you can make great progress." - Sankey just gives me the vibe of "for 20 years you will suck, deal with it." - maybe that is more true than what the other teachers are saying, I cannot tell at this point. One thing about the harp is though: When you start playing the guitar for example, you can play some easy songs after a few days or weeks. Sure, they won't be perfect, but with the harp, even after nearly 6 months, I do not feel comfortable with playing simple songs without making mistakes. Sometimes, that gets really frustrating and I am starting to wonder if it's maybe too late to learn the instrument or wheather I just have zero talent. Skull
SKULL KID I will agree with you totally on your last point it is one of the most frustrating things I have done and I'm 66. Some times I feel like sending the thing in to orbit or at least to the bottom of the garden. One day it sounds good and I'm well pleased that I'm making progress, then the next day it sounds awful and I'm back where I was months ago and can't work out where I'm going wrong. When it gets like that I usually put it down walk away and have another go later, when the tension has died down. But when it is going well the bad bit's get blown away literally.
Practice is hard and is a skill in and of itself I think. Distraction is the bane of my practice sessions. I've wasted a lot of time and called it practice. Staying focused seems to take conscience effort. Skull Kid, sit back a moment and see if we share this problem. I've finally engrained the habit of starting my sessions with focus on three or four things, eg, vibrato, bends, split octaves, scales, a few minutes on each. That's about the limit of my ability to concentrate. But I think I've made more progress faster by adding some discipline. Learning songs is not especially easy. That really takes concentration, and for me over a span of days with refreshers forever. But, and it's more than a cliche, you have to leave time for fun, noodling around. Re tone, it's fundamental, and it requires its own focused practice. ---------- Phil Pennington
1: I think we all forgot to ask what kind of harp you're playing,and how well it's set up. I imagine every one of us has, at some time, felt a bit of frustration over a not-so-great harp. Also, I think learning basic maintenance - at minimum, knowing how to gap the reeds on both plates to suit your breath force - is invaluable. Andrew Zajac probably has some of the most comprehensive free advice online (videos). If you want to go further, check out Richard Sleigh's offerings.
2: I'd echo Phil on this. I started out following Adam's lessons (and some from Ronnie Shellist) and concentrated on different things on different days (Adam's bends, Ronnies' licks, etc etc). Later, I got very into transposing songs into second position. All of them were songs very familar to me (a lot of CCR, Johnny Cash, Robert Johnson, even gospel and old folk tunes). That's still great fun to me, playing songs I love in a blues style (but I still go back and practice bends and riffs at least once a week).
The least focused for me is when I practice to jam tracks, but I make myself do that quite a lot these days, as improvisation on unfamilar things is where I sense I need the most work.
Just food for thought . . . and it's never too late to start (I was 54 or 55 when I really began learning). So long as you're enjoying yourself, time becomes irrelevant.
Good points Rontana. My thoughts were reset on this when I took up the trumpet. It's simply going to take a long time just to get to what I call 'basic competence' - much longer than harp or drums. I have switched from a 'reaching goals/sounding good as quick as possible' approach to just enjoying the process of learning it. Hopefully in a few years it will sound good too.
Re Lee Sankey, I never clocked that before, but now you've pointed it out I see what you mean. Not very inspiring.
Re the 'Tribute to Adam Gussow' vid. He's learnt it well - and you can surely hear all those techniques I was talking about in there? That's the blues harp schtick. He doesn't sound quite like Adam though, he's got a more gentle style. Nice. Nice throat vibrato on lower notes, and the mouth-vibrato on the high blow bends, you can see it going on. Notice that he uses his hands to shape the sound, but he hasn't got the really deep hand wah thing yet - or doesn't deploy it here. If he had it, he'd deploy it - they all do!!!
If you do those things, you'll sound like blues harp too. Notwithstanding the mystic, gnostic, deep embouchure tone thing.
Last Edited by MindTheGap on Apr 29, 2017 11:18 AM
Another thing ;) because I don't think it's fair to characterise what lee is saying as 'for twenty years you will suck', and if someone gets that vibe I think maybe recalibrate your reception.
He's really saying you will suck forever.
I mean, if you take what he's saying as meaning there is a point which delineates sucking from playing well, then yes, he is saying you will never reach that point. You'll never get there. It will never be done.
Do I suck? I often feel that I do. Most of the time actually. I get on stage with a band and people applaud and sometimes dance and at the end of the gig I get paid and my band mates have been calling on me to keep coming along and I get invited to jams and people offer to let me try their amps and people including harp players approach me to ask about my gear and all these things I could interpret as encouraging signs that I'm doing something right. But I listen to recordings and compare to what I am trying to do and I hear all the shortcomings. After all this time, I still can't do it right. But I know that I do it much better than I was doing a year ago. And when I think back on what I was doing 5 years ago, I must be so much better now. But 5 years ago I probably felt better about my standard of play than I do now. How can that be?
Clearly I've raised the bar. I've come to better appreciate quality playing and I have a better idea of where I fall short.
And this is what will happen for as long as you continue to play. You will start to think you're getting it. You'll feel good about it and at some point you'll realise actually you're not that good. That can be hard to take. Suddenly all you'll hear is how bad you sound. You'll reflect on how much you've been practicing and for how long and you'll feel frustrated.
Couple of things here; these points represent opportunity. Mainly, your big opportunity to get out. Take up a proper instrument or just do something useful with your life which will allow you to have satisfying relationships and respect from the community.
The other thing you can do if you are really intent on becoming a disappointment to your family and an object of derision among your friends, is to realise that understanding you suck is a vital stage in improving your game.
Realisation that you suck is cause for celebration among those afflicted with the desire to be musicians. All the stuff you do really well will fall off your radar as you focus on the things you can't do and get to grips with avoiding them or getting better at them.
I can't play 16th notes. I mean runs thereof. One day I might try to do something about it. And my bends suck
There's a dave Barrett video 'somewhere', maybe a discussion with one of his interviewees or with Gary Smith, where they talk about bending and how they still have to practice it 'every day'. Consider, these are pro players of many years, decades, experience.
I was speaking with Christelle Berthon one day, maybe 6 years ago. Actually the day she got her big harp tattoo on her forearm, she was a few minutes late to meet me and had her arm all wrapped in plastic, but I don't know if she'd remember talking to me. She told me about how much work she did to play how she does.
for a start, she was already a pro level musician before taking up harmonica. She trained as a bassoon player at music-dedicated school.
She described her normal day was 6 am start, and she practiced harmonica until midday with just a couple of short breaks for sustenance. I don't recall all the detail, but she described the detail to me and I remember it involved mainly scales but also technique and specific projects (eg songs).
But this should not be discouraging. Sometimes you can make really good progress in a short time. I remember Jimi Lee taught me a scale which I needed to practice before I had my next lesson with him. I hadn't done much on it but I took my dog for a walk on a flat street and set about memorising all the moves. By the time I returned home I had it committed to memory. I'd been out for around sn hour. When I got home I put on a mild jam track, probably a jimmy reed shuffle, and I tried playing that scale over it. Within another hour I could just about manage it. I practiced it again with the jam track a few times that week and you know, I pretty much had it down and it's stayed with me ever since. Maybe the handiest thing I ever learned.
What did lee say, about tone? It is something which emerges over time. Ok he then says it took 20 years to get a decent sound and he's still working on it. Now you could take that as 'you'll suck for 20 years', sure. But I see it as saying he thinks he has 'decent' tone now, but still sees room for improvement. So he has always been dissatisfied with it and still is in a way. But I betcha you and I would've thought his tone was something to aspire too even ten years ago.
Perception is weird.
I wrote to dave Barrett once, asking his opinion on claims people were making about bending using the throat. The 'throat-bending' wars.
David's view was that people perceived they were doing something with their throat, but it was in fact the tongue they were utilising. 'Yes, perception' he said.
Neither here nor there I suppose in terms of this discussion except insofar as I think it's good to be aware of the possibility that what you think you are doing may not be what you are actually doing.
Well the open mouth, throat, dropped jaw thing is only half of the equation. Your breathing has to change aswell.
If your anything like me, when I first started I was breathing with my throat. What I mean by that is ... in order to get louder I would draw in more air by force. And to do this I would tense my throat. (Like your trying to suck a thick milkshake through a straw. )
Needless to say, this is all wrong. How can you have your throat opened and relaxed while it's tense and straining for air? You can't. So you need to learn to draw from your diaphragm. It's hard to describe how to do it exactly. But try blowing likeep your fogging up a window. Notice how your throat, mouth, and breathing are. Notice how the air coming out is hot vs cooler air if you were to blow normally.
Now try reversing it .. like you have hot food in your mouth. Notice your mouth cavity gets larger, your throat opened in the "yawn" fashion, and your breath is being drawn in from down deep.
Good deep embochure is also important.
Just try to be conscious of these things while your playing. Record yourself. A/B changes you make in embochure, breathing, mouth cavity, tongue position, etc. Notice how when your tongue is pushed upfront by your teeth, your tone gets really high, thin, and reedy/metallic.
Reseach the subject online. Pick the Brains of anybody you can who has good tone. Your on the right track. It takes y time before you really start to see results, but not 20 years. Give it another 6 months of the right effort. You won't be a problem, but you will likely be much happier with your tone than you are now.
I did, and it's great. Skullkid, listen to the first note of D's solo - not only is he shaping the sound with his hands but also adding in a double-stop.
It's not that I disagree with Killa's advice on embouchure, breathing, yawning (although I lump all that together under 'embouchure'). It's necessary but not sufficient IMO. You won't sound like classic blues harp without the layers.
Personally I think that's self evident - but anyone feel free to dispute. That's what this beginner's forum is about - working out how to get there.
Listen to Killa's amp demo up now. He's doing the right layers to make it sound like that, tongue slaps and so on. Amped harp doesn't sound like that just playing clean single notes - it's not like an electric guitar.
Last Edited by MindTheGap on Apr 30, 2017 1:35 AM
Sounded okay esp for 6 months. Lot's of good advice (more than I'll ever read)
Perhaps it's been mentioned ..but it is a huge help to actually know what a particular note sounds like.
For example.. C harp.. the double bend on the 3 hole gives A. What does the note A sound like when a piano hits it..or the guitar or sax..harp etc What does it sound like an octave higher..or lower etc etc..
another example might be when sliding up the harp and perhaps you want to hit the note on the 5 draw..nice to know what that note sounds like. We can slide up and say okay I'm on the 5 therefore it must be this note..but wait I think I slid up to the 6 draw..but I don't know maybe I didn't.
If we actually know what that note sounds like..then we know if we've missed it or not. So i find it to be a big help.
Thank you skull for initiating a great thread! I think I am an individual who thrives on encouragement. I can't imagine anybody not enjoying encouragement, unless it's obviously patronizing. Keep up the work and dedication and you will find results! I don't know the timeline though. My next goal is to actually learn a classic blues song. I've been playing around 18 months and know 0, start to finish, blues classics. I know a few portions of ones I really enjoy, but I really need to make an effort to sit down and figure out a song start to finish! I'm not a musician but I truly enjoy playing!
If you enjoy it, and enjoy your vision of where you'd like to be you're on the right track! ---------- If you don't cut it while it's hot...... ---------- If you don't cut it while it's hot......
Thanks for all of your feedback and suggestion, guys. I don't have time right now, but I assure you I read everything you wrote and will answer as soon as I find the time!
Mtg I agree. Tone is just a piece of the puzzle. However in my experience, without good tone, it doesn't really matter WHAT you play ....
before I started down this venture to find decent tone .. I could play pretty fast, had some tricky licks, some layers, etc.... but I still thought I sounded like shit. I had a very high pitched tone and all my recordings of myself just drove me nuts. Probably similar to what Skull kid may be hearing.
Again Tone is only one piece of the puzzle, but when I finally found that piece it was VERY satisfying. Because when you can just lay on a fat held single note ..and it just rings just right... man, it really feels good.
Kinda like magic Dick was saying in his video. With the right embochure and the correct breath control .. that reed just rings perfect. And all those overtones come out and the harp rings like a bell.
I've really been wanting to make a few videos for this forum. For guys like Skull kid and Havoc who are trying to break the code. Share all the things that I've learned. But I feel like it could be taken the wrong way. Since I haven't been playing that long and ... I'm trying to teach now ?? I think it could come off pompous.
But it's so hard to explain these things. Much easier to demonstrate.
If I can show a thin sounding chord vs a full toned chord ... it's like Someone said in a previous post about Adam's playing .. it seems like a different instrument. When you hit the chord with proper tone there are so many overtones that come out that it literally sounds like a completely different harp.
Killa - yes, you should make some vids. That's one of the things this forum is about. I think they would be well received.
I've been left with a feeling that there is more juice to be squeezed from the basic tone, but I can't find it myself. It's possible it's a given thing rather than a learned thing, in which case it would be a fruitless search.
I think that there may be a certain level of natural ability that limits where you "cap out" with your tone.
But I think for the most part it's all learned skills.
Thanks for the seal of approval guys. I'm going to do it. I'm going to Make a few videos. It ll probably take a while ... because I procrastinate, but .....
I think I will probably post something like a bibliography in the description. All the youtube videos and articles that I learned these things from. So people can dive deeper into what it is im talking about. I just think I can explain it in all in a footnotes fashion that can get the ball rolling in the right direction. And then you can go into the different areas and dive deeper into each area.
Take something simple that you know really well and just work on getting the best tone you can. Filisko uses the Mannish Boy riff. First he plays it as basically single notes and then he progressively adds embellishments like slaps and double stops.
Tuckster - sure, I think that this the way. But the question in this thread is about basic tone vs embellishments (Killa's Layers).
I've been keen to break down technique to its building blocks, and so made an effort to look at basic tone isolated from the layers. Including analysing the harmonics. It's generally hard to analyse, as people generally add layers as standard. On the MF a while ago we had a good little delve into 'acoustic volume' using unembellished notes which I think should be a good indicator of the 'reeds singing' that people often describe, and Killa mentions here.
Winslow contributed some samples to this (amongst others) and I confirmed what I already new that a big acoustic volume is made by enhancing certain harmonics - not the fundamental, which is often implied when talking about a deep, rich timbre. I can amplify these harmonics - you change the shape of your mouth.
But, despite proving to myself that I'm doing the same thing as a good player (in terms of basic tone), I always feel there is something else to be had! Never satisfied.
Last Edited by MindTheGap on May 02, 2017 8:19 AM
Killa - that would be a shame to just publish links to other peoples vids on the topic. Even Adam's attempt to emulate 'beginner tone' is a bit unrealistic I think.
Much more useful to have something from someone who's been through it recently.
MTG-point taken. It is hard to describe how to get good tone. Some of it has been mentioned here-relaxed open airway,etc. The Filisko example was maybe too much. My teacher,who could play great in his sleep,uses "You Got To Move". No bends.He tries to play it with the best tone possible. You should record yourself to gauge your progress.
Last Edited by Tuckster on May 02, 2017 8:52 AM
Tuckster I do something similar. People hear me play sometimes and want to try. Because it looks so easy I guess. So ill let them try one of my harps i dint play (like a bushman) But after they try them they wanna know HOW!? So I do this little Rythm (from one of Adam's videos) 44 +5+5 55 44. Then add octaves. Then slaps. Then some ghost notes. Then hand wahs. The I play the single not version again. People start to get it then, that there is alot more going on Then they thought. Lol.
Mtg. No I didn't mean I was just going to post video links. I meant that after I made a video and taught everything my way ... I would post links of the places where I learned all these things. So that if I left anything out or didn't explain it right or fully enough .. they could get the original version.
I have so much to say on the subject. On quite a few subjects actually. I could do one on layers aswell. Lol. But i'm going to have to plan it out before I do it or ill get off track.
Anyhow, .... sorry this got so off topic
Last Edited by Killa_Hertz on May 02, 2017 1:51 PM
There was humor on another forum thread to the effect that a fellow couldn't play the harp he just bought from another harp player as good as he wanted...
the answer was..the fellow who sold it forgot to shake all the "hillbilly" notes out of it before he sold it...
@ knight66: Glad to hear I am not the only one and I agree: when you feel like you're playing well, the harmonica is awesome. :)
@ Fil: I agree that practicing is a skill on its own - fortunately, what I may lack in talent for the instrument I make up with dedication and concentrated practice every day.
@ Rontana: I got a special 20 and it sounds fine to me. Cool to hear about your transposing - I would love to get tabs from you for some CCR songs. :P
@ Superbee: You make good points and as I said: I agree with Sankey's point completely. What I don't like is the way he presents it, it feels very angry and negative to me. I mean check out Adam's videos on "Do you want to be a harmonica player" where he talks about having a heart attack on stage and many other unpleasant experiences - yet after the video, you STILL want to become a harmonica player. When you check the comments under Sankey's video, many people understood the video much the same as I did. Noone was put off by Adam's video. Yes, I saw and interview with Berton where she says that she practices like 8-10 hours a day. Her sound is awesome though.
@ Havoc: You are welcome! :P
Some great advice I found under an old video of Tomlin regarding tone: To know what kind of deep tone you are going for, you can angle your head and look to the ceiling which will open your throat!
@ Killa: I don't think it would be pompous at all. It's not like you are saying "hey, I am a pro, check out how it is done", but you are giving your perspective and thoughts on the subject - nothing wrong with that, in fact, I would really love it if you'd make such videos! Btw: the advice about breathing as if you wanted to fog a window has really helped! My single notes are much stronger now. Time to incorporate that tone into my regular play now!
Last Edited by SkullKid on May 04, 2017 5:20 AM
