I had an idea for a long term thread. If you did any practice today, let us know what you did.
One of the things I have been working on is a bass harp jazz bass line for All the Things You Are. I have previously written it out in scale degree numbers, so I could play it in all 12 keys. Today I have been working on Db. I read my notes for 15 minutes without a backround track, the 15 minutes with my notes and a backing track, then 30 minutes from memory with the backing track.
I have a mandolin lesson tomorrow so I am about to get to that.
Not yet today, but last night I practiced some of my own stuff. Primarily improving the licks of a ZZ Top-ish blues boogie I use for sound checks at gigs. But I want to develop it into a recordable tune of my own. It's actually coming along nicely. Tonight, I'm going to the studio to do some preliminary work on a blues funk number I wrote last year. I'll let y'all know when we have it down. ---------- Hawkeye Kane
A Steve Guyger intro and some 3rd position. I also heard Dennis Gruenling's very cool hand tremelo thing at about 4:37 in this video (but please listen to the whole solo and the way he builds it!)...
...and practised failing to replicate that for quite some time.
Meshing with others. Last night, I went down to the demonstration (to get my fair share). Had some good old 12 bar with some of the Occupy San Francisco types. Just your basic 'front porch' stuff. To me, that never gets old. I can always learn something if I keep my mind and ears open.
Flamenco licks on a chromatic, then stuff bending and ob with two adjacent holes simultaneously, and finally some country bluegrass stuff which inspired a song about a fox a rooster and a hound.
Only an hour today so far. Warm ups on six diatonic key harmonicas and learned how to play Runaway. Played Old Joe Clark up to tempo now. Chromatic worked on some major and minor arpeggios in two plus octaves using corner switching. Worked on pages one and two of the Vaughn William Harmonica romance for fun and the technical Challenge. ---------- Emile "Diggs" D'Amico a Legend In His Own Mind How you doin'
Adams version of Good morning little school girl!! i tried it on a Promaster i have not really used much....wow what a sweet harp!! i have always been a traditional wood comb man!! but this harp may be the exception.
Playing a minor song in 2nd position (Po Lazarus) as the bluegrass band I sit in with after busking often plays it. Did it for the first time last night. Went quite well.
Major scales in second position. I think that it's great for a beginner like myself. You can really hear Do-Re-Mi etc in your head and hit the whole tone bend on draw 3 and overblow on blow 5 a lot more naturally and with less effort than just puffing away.
patience, tripped on a cement seam in front of CVS this morning and went flying vaudville style throwing a backpack and big gulp several yards while i strawberried various body parts.
then i pacticed jimmy rogers 'live at mawbys'. i think that's how you spell it. it sounds suspiciously like sonny stitts 'sonny moon for two'. the harp player isn't listed but i think it's james cotton. i've only found this tune on vynal. it's a rogers '70s thing so i think cotton was under contract with buddha records so that may be why he wasn't listed. ----------
MP doctor of semiotics and reed replacement.
"making the world a better place, one harmonica at a time"
I`ll be truthful, i haven`t really practiced in over 15 yrs. I play all the time but it`s jam improv. I been playing 43 yrs.and i woodshed most of the 70`s 2 to 4 hrs. a day and i also play a guitar.that i still practice,but harp i just jam...
Last Edited by on Oct 26, 2011 2:28 PM
So then 1/2 hour mandolin on a solo transcribed for Red Wing. Then watched a Theramin instructional video and messed around on the theramin. Then I set band in the box to show me the bass notes it would play for All the Things You Are and I worked on sight reading bass clef. Then I played In The Blue Room, the rhythm chords only on the harmonetta for around four keys. Then with a students I arpeggiated a I IV V song in G and D, going through all the inversions. With another student I went through the different types of minor scales in 2nd position, playing each scale and then jamming.
MP, many many many years ago (in 1st or 2nd grade) I took a gym course in tumbling. I still fall down, but still, after all these years, I usually manage to roll with it and avoid serious injury. Of course, there is that split moment when you are convinced you can save your big gulp and yourself. That split second is the lost moment where all things are possible. That's the moment we usually get ourselves hurt. :(
@MP - That's not James Cotton. The tune is "Live at Ma Bee's". It was a standard tune often heard around Chicago in the 70's and 80's. I couldn't tell you who wrote it, but it's been recorded quite a bit. According to the liner notes, it could be Bill Lupkin.
Another version of that same tune is Little Willie Anderson's Been Around. It's a nice chromatic instrumental with some amazing guitar work. Willie was a bad ass harp player who people called Little Walter Jr. I learned a lot from Little Willie Anderson.
Last night: I practiced by going to an open mic night my buddy from work hosts in Croydon, PA. I was the only harmonica player there. I sang & played a few songs & had fun. The blues broke up the monotony of soft classic rock songs all the guitar guys were doing, haha.
Tonight: In summary, 8 major scales on chromatic that I have memorized (will get 9th next week), 1st, 2nd, 3rd pos scales on diatonic (not including any overdraws or 1ob) + band in the box jamming, jamming along with blues on my iPod, played a tune in time with metronome, other metronome work, 1st pos maj scale on diatonic with pitch matching on my piano. Perhaps later song ear training software if I have the energy/time.
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~Ryan
"I play the harmonica. The only way I can play is if I get my car going really fast, and stick it out the window." - Steven Wright
Pennsylvania - H.A.R.P. (Harmonica Association 'Round Philly)
----nac, yeah, i'm good at falling too. i have a bone disease and have spent a lot of time over the years on crutches. i didn't attempt a big gulp save. :)
Joe L thanks for the info on "Live at Ma Bee's" :)------ it's a hip little tune. i'll go with Bill Lupkin but you gotta admit, it sure sounds like Cotton. i'll look up willie anderson too. see yah,
MP doctor of semiotics and reed replacement.
"making the world a better place, one harmonica at a time"
I went over to the new high line park to practice some performing. I played my Houses of The Holy thing in 12th position. And then, when a young couple stopped their stroll to listen, I went into Du Du Liegst Mir Im Herzen in 1st pos. The crazy thing was, they started dancing! My head is still swelled.
I practiced trying to play like Dennis Gruenling...I know "THEY" say to strive to sound like "YOU", I'd rather sound like Dennis LOL!!!!
I usually start off things by working on my harmonicas, what ever needs done - tuning, changing a reed, gapping etc.etc.
Then I like to go over some instrumentals, that is always a re-learning process for me.
Then I'll jam to some blues artists Cd that I like.
Then jam to jam tracks.
I am always using different positions and switching to chrome quite frequently. I have 7 CX 12s in different keys so I can always pick one up for most any song I want.
And of course, I try to pay close attention to my Tone, Timing and Technique - so that ultimately it becomes 2nd nature.
Thats it in a harp NUT shell....
Last Edited by on Oct 27, 2011 5:30 AM
Doh re mi etc, starting on 4 blow, easy enuff, try doing it using bends starting on 1 blow and bending your way through it, i'll get it right eventually.
Today, the key of D on bass harp All the Things You Are. Played the 7 modes of jazz melodic minor on chrome in all 12 keys. Practiced soloing on All the Things on chrome. 1/2 hour on mando, Red Wing then a mando lesson. Wrote out For All We Know chord changes in nashville numbers system.
I had my first real harp lesson yesterday, very exciting for me. Face to face with Ronnie Shellist. Planning to go to Boulder for the seminar with Ronnie and Adam. So I figured I needed a lesson or two before that. So I am working on elementary bending. Having real issues with 3 hole bends. But it is better than yesterday.
Rack harp and cajon. The tunes don't matter, just the coordination of doing them both together.
and Vincent on the chrom having finally manged to type the chords into band in a box in the right order with no missing bars and sorting out that the lead sheet I have has the 1st time bar in the wrong place :^( ---------- "Come on Brackett let's get changed"
Last Edited by on Oct 31, 2011 3:11 PM
Played along with a range of Muddy tunes, mainly 'Baby please don't go', Getting on quite well with thatBig Walter stuff. Starting to get a bit ofmastery with the ole TB blowbends, getting sweet deep tone and virato on 10hole *1step!* bend :D
Perserverance!
Last Edited by on Oct 31, 2011 4:47 PM
I practiced chugging using quintoles, gruoped be 4. I played some scales and some breathing patterns. ---------- Excuse my bad English. Click on my photo or my username for my music.
Lately I have been practicing songs that have become "earbugs" for me. That is, I have a song in my head, and I sing it out load and try to work out a way to play it on harp too. So I'm not copying anyone's solos or anything, just playing by ear from my head, if that makes sense.
Right now my earbugs are Freddy King's "I'm Tore Down" and Fred McDowell's "You've Got To Move" (which has been with me since someone posted a vid here a few weeks back). I wrote some new lyrics to that one too.
Before that, it I worked on "St. James Infirmary". I had two beloved pets die within 6 weeks of each other and that song stuck with me for a long time. So much so that I rearranged some of the old lyrics and added new ones. My BYBO3 entry has a recording of it - not played as well as I can do it, but sung with some feeling. I also played and sang that again this morning. ----------
