Hi Guys, may I make a request for a crit please? You can give it to me straight, I can take it.
It's a two minute piece to a backing track called Barrelhouse Shuffle in the key of E. It's a nice relaxed piece that I've grown to enjoy playing to. I know I've played better when the camera's not on so there are bits I know are pretty poor but on the whole I suppose this is where I currently am at the moment in my playing experience.
I've found improvisation quite difficult but feel I'm improving in that area. I know I couldn't repeat the same piece twice but elements of the melody do get stuck in the memory and I play an approximation of them each time with a little flourish or something extra.
My playing doesn't sound blue enough for me. I think I'm so pleased to play anything at all that I'm elated and can't get that down, depressed and blue feeling into the music. Not sure how to conquer that one yet.
I'm still struggling with going over the bridge and back. I want to crack that problem. I see and hear many players who just tootle around the first six holes and feel they are missing a lot.
I also need to work on my lack of vibrato and tone but I'll see to that once I've got to grips with improvised melody and going back and forth on that bridge.
Ok Tookatooka, I'll bite. No, not really. I think you are progressing well, as someone who has a similar amount of time in as you. From your description, I think you have a good understanding your weaknesses and have set goals to work on them. With that, you will continue to improve.
Specifically, yes, your tone needs work. It sounds a bit thin. As for that bridge, if you can overblow the 6 with good tone, there is your key to getting up there. I'm working on that too. I personally can't make much bluesy sense of the upper octave without that blue third. Take Adam's advice on the vibrato/tremelo thing. Just work on it for 5 minutes every day and it will come. I like what you are doing with the improvising -- repetition with variation, you are following the progression, and I like that you work from the melody; that's how we know one tune from another (OK, learning some signature harp riffs for certain songs is good too). Three cheers, pip, pip, jolly good! ----------
Sound nice, Tooka! Nice groove and theme there. Well, maybe you should go to high end some. I shouldn't talk about that since I'm not good at it myself. I can't make it sound as bluesy as I want it to but. I (we) have to keep going there, you know. Just sit noodeling without backingtrack for half an hour or so a few times a week and it will give itself to you. Same thing with new positions, imo.
Another thing you can do is to go really low and stay there. Lots of 1 hole playing and bending all 1,2 and 3 hole to hell and back. That is always cool I think... Try taping up all but three holes or so for example 1,2,3 and start playing. Then move to different holes. Really gets you to work with your phrasing...
Thanks a lot mr_so&so. Yes, tone is a bit thin. The annoying thing is when I play unrecorded it sounds reasonably OK. I think my mics introduced extra thin-ness and raises the treble. Needs more work and understanding.
Yes that bridge is giving me problems I can very easily go up over it and tootle about on the nine blow etc. but get stuck on the way back. Keep hitting the seven blow in error and it throws things out. 6OB is a bit problematic. I can't depend on it 100% of the time yet.
Vibrato. Yes needs time I'll try the 5 minutes a day routine.
Melody. I think I'm doing reasonably well on except for the fact that when I change to a different backing track to play to, elements of my previous melody creep back in. My melody/riff repertoire is not wide enough yet to mix and match but hopefully it is getting larger each session.
Thanks Pistolcat. That's something that's puzzled me. What do you mean by phrasing? I've heard it mentioned a lot but never really understood what it meant.
I think it sounds very nice! In time, groovin not boring, octaves. To make it sound more bluesy, I think bendig the 4 more would really help. Scooping it, letting the 5 bleed in. Same for the 3/4 draw.
The biggest change you could make tooka is to play the right notes. At the moment you are very Major Pentatonic based - far too many 2 blows, unbent 3 draws and also you rarely play a 4 draw without following it with a 4 blow. Step out of 'happy land' and focus more on the Minor Pentatonic scale or blues scale if you want to add the 4 draw bend. Don't just bend willy nilly, bend to play the right notes.
Here's an example of making a standard beginner's phrase into a blues gem by playing the right notes.
Original phrase: 4d 4b 3d 2d 2d
Now replace the 4b with a well intonated 4d' and the 3d with a well intonated 3d'.
The new phrase is now: 4d 4d' 3d' 2d 2d
Those small meaningful alterations can have a huge impact on the sound of the phrase.
---------- "You will never get every possible thing out of an instrument, but the instrument will get every possible thing out of you" - Ray Charles.
I like the relaxed groove. But no, it's not very bluesy. Looks like Hungus and LeeEdwards have some great advice on getting more bluesy. Your technique isn't the problem, it's your note choice.
My two cents: Throw in some trills (aka warbles or headshakes), especially the 4-5 draw.
I mean this with much kindness and it holds the key I think you are searching for. Forget about thinking about what the world thinks, what you are not good at, and let what is really inside out. Until you do this there will always be a wall between you and your soul and the music will convey it. I have seen this scenario countless times. Be kind to yourself. Love your music and no matter how simple or complicated it may be it will shine like no other! Walter ---------- walter tore's spontobeat - a real one man band and over 1 million spontaneously created songs and growing. I record about 300 full length cds a year. " life is a daring adventure or nothing at all" - helen keller
Your technique sounds fine to me, Tooka. I am still a student so don't presume to know more than anyone. I know I know much less than most. That said, I think Walter has a good point. You sound a little controlled, restrained. Are you afraid of making a "mistake"? Be a bit wilder. I have had situaitons out busking when everyone is walking past, no-one paying attention, no coins dropping, and I just say "F&*k it!" and go wild. I have more fun and passersby seem to respond more too. My teacher said to me last year something that changed up my playing. "Play more triplets." I sometimes think of playing like being a striker in soccer. It is good to accelerate, slow down, accelerate, slow down, give a shoulder shimmy, then explode to get past the defenders and put the ball in the back of the net. I dunno if this makes any sense but that's my two cents' worth. Cheers, and keep harpin'!
I'm probably not in a good position to critique or give advice because I've probably been playing a lot less time than you but...
I think it sounded good but agree with the phrasing comments. I too struggle with that although I do understand it. How you put the sentences of your runs/riffs together. The question/answer thing is something that I always keep in mind. Phrasing is as you would speak and add texture to your sentences. Some short and punctuated others longer and softer, while others are broken up and others linger with longer notes etc.
How long have you been playing by the way? ---------- Tommy
Sounds good to me, Took, although (gun to my head) if I had to criticize (and I don't) it's maybe you stay in your comfort zone too much. I like to hang back and then explode with some technical stuff and then go back to the comfort zone, and leave some empty space from time to time to let the audience think, what next? Maybe change up the dynamics some, speed, volume, and again the all-important empty space. I wouldn't criticize it all...except we ALL know there is always room for improvement.
No, it's what I might call "polite" playing, so that it sounds more like cowboy campfire playing than blues. It needs aggression. The sound needs to be a bit fuller. Perhaps you play too many notes, so that you don't have enough time to express yourself on any one of them. You need to play fewer unbent 3-draws, if you play any at all. ---------- Andrew. ----------------------------------------- https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000874537399
Last Edited by on Jan 28, 2012 7:40 AM
if you want to sound BLUE,You can`t go wrong with learning the Muddy Waters [hootchie kootiche main]riff .. basic riff but kicks a$$ that and a 3-4 draw in warble ,two riffs and you are do in it to it...
Wow!!! Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou. You have given me so much to think about and practice. A lot was stuff that hadn't occured to me. In particular "sounding bluesy". Thanks for the info and tips Lee that will surely get me in the right direction. Seems I have a number of habits to break and new ones to make.
The feedback has been great thanks so much, you've given me a lot to work on and the encouragement to keep going. I was a bit reluctant to ask for a crit but I'm so pleased I took the plunge. ----------
Lots of good stuff in there. If you want bluesier,maybe some wails and warbles and a few less notes.Just practicing wails,warbles,and bends can help with bluesiness.
Hi Lmbrjak. Thanks. I know what you mean but the added complication is that I play as a soloist and there is no harmonica rest to sing or for a guitar solo etc and a melody needs to carry on through the piece. It would be easier (I think) if there was singing/guitar solo etc. because the harp could then come in with a warble or wail to break things up. Hope that makes sense? ----------
Last Edited by on Jan 28, 2012 1:32 PM
Took, I listened again. If it's not blue enough for you, that's fine, and you can work on it. You could just as easily say it IS blue enough for you...maybe you had the deep indigo blues, but now it's getting better and you're getting on with life, doing this little shuffle in a laid-back manner...depends of what you're trying to express. Personally, I find a slow blues more conducive to the darker, more aggressive approach. Still, there's a lot of good stuff (and well executed) in that little two-minute piece. Stand tall, young man.
In connection with the unbent 3-draw and the blues scale, I often find people play on the top octave in a way I don't like. It's probably the 7-draw that's the culprit, but I've never listened to them closely enough to analyse it. Anyone have any thoughts on that? (I was wondering about the 6-draw too. In theory it isn't in the blues scale, but it can lead into the IV chord nicely, especially if scooped) ---------- Andrew. ----------------------------------------- https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000874537399
Lots of good comments so far, but I think timing is a major factor in the lack of "bluesy" playing as well. I think you're thinking too much, and not opening up to the feeling of the music. You, just like legions of other aspiring/intermediate harp players, are stuck on the beat. Just as the blue notes, and many techniques mentioned above add to the blues, the placement of those notes in time matters immensely. I struggle teaching this, as much as I've seen guys struggle doing it. I think body movement helps. Just rock and roll your whole body with the music. Then, imagine you're a boxer. Think about bobbing and weaving so you don't get hit. Then just toss in a lick like a jab, maybe lock up the other guy with a long note. Then shake things up with a shake or a rat-a-tat-tat. Harmonica isn't the bass. You have to break things up to make things interesting. ---------- 12gagedan's YouTube Channel
@12gagedan...much better expressed than my ham-handed attempt. I think I said changing speeds. I don't mean tempo. I meant, for instance, take a two-bar "fast" run of notes. You can start slower than the beat and then pick up speed to end it at the right time. Or you can do the opposite and start a little faster but have more time to be expressive at the end. I don't know if this is making any sense.
I've seen a lot of your vids, too, Dan. Thank you. I always come away with something.
Whilst there are many things that will improve your playing tooka and I wholeheartedly agree with Dan that timing is vital in any form of music I do think that note choice should come before everything else. Afterall if you were to play 'Over the Rainbow' using a natural minor scale it would still sound wrong even if your rhythm and timing was correct. With the amount of suggestions here there is a real danger of confusion. The problem with asking for advice on an open forum like this is that you'll get lots of advice from people who know what they are talking about based on knowledge and experience and just as much from people who lack both.
The first question any musician should be able to answer is 'Can I competently operate my instrument?'
Can you play all of the notes required in the blues scale from the 2d to 6b with accurate intonation and consistency?
If the answer is 'no' forget about everything else. It may not be much fun, but I've never bought into the idealistic notion that learning something should always be fun. Sometimes you have to work hard to achieve something and the people who believe that you should 'just have fun' usually improve very, very slowly or in some cases not at all. There's greater fun to be had and a much greater feeling of satisfaction after you've put in the required effort.
When you can do this move on to 1 note per beat for a period of 5 minutes at a moderate tempo. Then increase tempo.
Then move to two notes per beat for 5 minutes. Then triplets and so on.
The goal should be to pick one very necessary thing and master it. Don't allow yourself to be spread too thin as you'll likely end up mastering nothing.
The key to making progress is to prioritise and keep things simple.
I would suggest being able to get all of the necessary notes out of your instrument first so that it becomes automatic, then use those notes whilst working on timing, rhythm and phrasing, followed by dynamics and then microtonality. Always be mindful of your tone whatever you are working on.
On the list of things that'll make you sound bluesy warbles and wailing/bending for the sake of it are right at the bottom as far as I'm concerned. I would advise anyone who believes otherwise to focus less on making 'bluesy' noises in the hopes of convincing themselves and others that they are playing blues and instead focus on learning to play blues melodically and with musicality. Concentration and good old fashioned hard work are required to be able to do this, but you only get out what you put in. Unfortunately, not many are willing to do what is necessary usually because of laziness.
---------- "You will never get every possible thing out of an instrument, but the instrument will get every possible thing out of you" - Ray Charles.
Lee. Very much obliged to you. Excellent advice indeed and advice which I will certainly put to good use. Thank you very much for your generosity and wisdom. ----------
Tooka - You're welcome. ---------- "You will never get every possible thing out of an instrument, but the instrument will get every possible thing out of you" - Ray Charles.
