So I'm just starting to try to learn a few songs by ear, and I'm not too good at it. But pull up Bad News Brown's "Reign" It took me about 15 minutes but I figured the first line out, let me know if you think it's right. On a G harp -3 -4 5 -6 -5b 5 -6 -5b Then I get a little lost. Yeah it's only 8 notes but it sounds good.
---------------------- It's MUSIC, not just complicated noise.
Last Edited by on Mar 10, 2011 6:14 PM
the song is played in Second position with a B harp not a G harp. (Ritcher tuned) You have right the girst verses but it's because you are using a different position.
Root note of B harp is F#, and the 3 hole unbent in a G harp is a F#. So you have some notes of the scale with a G harp but not them all (unless you overblow) Thats the reason why you get lost. You where playing witout knowing in 6th position!
So, what you can do is (buy a B harp) or play it in third position with an E harp if you have one like I do here in the audio. It'll be more high pitched but you can make almost the same phrases, or at least improvise over the track like I did here,
http://www.goear.com/listen/3b99a94/bad-news-cam-
However if you want to do what he did (with inflection, articulation etc..), you need that b harp.
Don't listen to much of what i did, I messed up, but it's more for you to see how a third position harp would sound with the backing track.
ps: it's a shame he passed away. I'm not fond of rap music but he really had something. And looking at the production of that video amazes me, harp was in the spot light. We need more players like him to reach a wider audiences
---------- With some latin flavour for you, chico!! :P
Thanks Camilo, I should have figured it had to be another key of harp. Those first notes are dead on but I couldn't get anything like the rest out of the G!
I don't have a B and I don't have any budget for harps for a couple of weeks though. Just put a couple grand in repairs for the jalopy over the last few weeks. :(
---------- It's MUSIC, not just complicated noise.
Last Edited by on Mar 12, 2011 7:26 AM
