When I first started playing the harp I cried alot. My life was pretty sad and my singing often went through the harp reeds as tears fell down my cheecks. Also before I ever had a harp I made believe I had one and did cuppng effects with my voice and also used a piece of wax paper over a comb to make sounds. This is a blending of all of them. I never recorded it before. I wasn't crying today but digging the unique sounds I got blending my voice and harp together with hand effects. Lots of unique sounds came forth. I bet amplified this would sound quite wild. This is all acoustic with no tricks. I added some reverb and that is it. All of this never would have come about if I had lessons, had knowledge of what is "right/wrong" by musical rules. I am glad I learned in isolation with no rules. They make up the root of who I am. I figure somebody is going to say - that has been done already. If so, please post an example.
---------- 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
Here is another thing I came up with years ago via not knowing any rules. Improvising lead harp and lead guitar together. This can only come off if the same person is playing both instruments at once. It has been done alot by 2 people, 1 harp, 1 guitarist, but it is very sterile/predictable because both players are having to think as they play. Also most examples are pretty scripted to boot. Improvising everything I do leads to some fun discoveries. The freedom of timing, phrasing, is endless. Playing with others and with scripted songs/ideas keeps things much more limited. These things I do are subtle and that is the stuff that I find most intersting in music. the out front wow stuff is the easiest to master. The subtle stuff, which goes right by the majority of people, is a lifelong journey. Finding new in the simple is something that never ceases to fascinate me. 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
There is definitely some singing thru the harp on Yazoo Records Harmonica Masters of the 20's and 30's.
I question the theory that says by learning music rules, you would be unable to come up with this idea. Why couldn't someone who knew rules say, "Hey, would it sound cool to sing thru my harp? Let's see!"
Learning rules does not squelch creativity. I know a lot of rules, but I am capable of turning them into the "off" position and play with the sounds of my harmonica, just like I did for 15 years of playing before I knew the rules. In my opinion, rules expand creativity. If I know one plus one equals two, maybe two plus one equals three? Let's try it and find out! Hey! It works!
Some neat sounds. I had one song I sang through my harp. I've got to agree with Michael that you can know the rules and break them though. I think there are people who are good at structure. There are other people who are good at creativity. Getting lucky enough to be good at one of those things is tough. Getting lucky enough to be good at both is tougher, but it happens. Once you know the rules it's easy to play lots of stuff, so maybe sometimes people don't take the time to be creative, but that doesn't mean they can't be creative.
Sometimes you just need a little inspiration, or a little desperation. I've posted this before, but here is my ode to not having money for the gumball machine, sung through the harp (and layered tracks).
Hi Michael: thanks! I said "I". What works for each of us can often be different. What I love about art and music is I can learn my own way with no consequences. If I did that on my job I would never have gotten my job since it required a college degree/credential (which was all about rules). Most of life is book work, thinking, and routine. Music and art through discovery is an escape from it for me. You seem to enjoy both. Whatever makes one feel good is good with music IMO. Take care. Walter
narcon: I hear traces of that in this song thanks! I don't overdub much so what did you overdub? It sounds like the voice is pretty clear and not vibrating through the reeds much? 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
Walter, that singing through the harp thing is cool. I love when Junior Wells vocalizes through the harp amplified (not singing, but it sounds really cool). But I was really blown away by your lead harp and a guitar song. Having the harp and guitar so closely working together is really effective, and something not too many people on this planet can do. Of course, your whole approach is something pretty unique. Thanks for your generosity in sharing it with us. ----------
Miles: I never go into music with an idea. To me that kills it. These things have come about from just pure discovery. My knowledge may be lacking but I am able to see endless roads that exist because I know very little with music rules. This works for me and keeps it exciting.
mr. so &so: thanks! Could you post an example of the junior thing? I am pretty versed in his stuff and am not sure what you are saying. Getting the lead harp and guitar working together is easy. I just see/hear it as a picture in my mind and it comes out in real time. It is like I am not a player but an observer to the entire sound. This makes playing the guitar, harp, vocals, drums, keys, all at once easy to do. Long ago I gave up trying to do the normal rehearse, repeat thing because this way excites me much more. 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
what I hear is the grunting sound one gets from the diaphram. I dig that sound too. I was fortunate to get to know junior and hear him play unamplified backstage to me about 1 foot from my face. He was a king. 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
Walter, would you ever consider taking Spontobeat on the road to Toronto Canada? I might be able to line up a pretty receptive audience for you from my Expressive Arts school. What you are doing is so far up their alley it is scary. I know there would be a lot of details to work out before this could be possible, but it would be so amazing if it could happen. How can I best contact you off-forum? ----------
mr. so and so: That sure is inspiring! I would love to get up there. I have never played or been to canada. I live in the columbus ohio area so it is not all that far. You can email me at waltertore@sbcglobal.net
I am now a school teacher and have summers off but could work out things anytime of the year. I can give you my phone number when you email me or give me yours. 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
Walter, the whole harp part was played singing lightly into the harp, then I think I added another vocal with my lips off the harp but the harp still cupped, you can sort of hear the echo, but that part sounds more like I'm singing into a cup than into a harp. The final, third part was just a regular vocal.
I don't have a way right now to get it onto the computer, but I've got a tape of us screwing around at band practice one day, seeing what we could use on the guitar strings. We used a set of nail clippers sliding up and down the string, business end rubbing the strings. It gave the guitar a need sound but it wasn't great for string life. We also took an old wind up music box that we had lying around, the kind like they used to put in stuffed animals before everything got computerized, and wound it up and held it over the guitar pickups. It wasn't at all the noise we expected. We were trying to get the sound of the music, but there must have been a magnet in it or something. It made a crazy, insanely loud air siren type noise. I've got it on tape still. The volume was ear splitting. I've also, after watching Sonny Boy II working his finger at the back of his harmonica done experiments with toothpicks. I took one and stuck it in the back of the harp against the reed I was sounding and used it kind of like a guitar slide. The effect was kind of neat, but I think it would take a ton of practice to use it as more than just an occasional gimmick. (After more experimentation I think SBII was using his finger almost like a miniature version of cupping, to flavor the tone a bit. It works better with open backed harps, but even then it's subtle. Now, if someone had a harp with enough space in back (or small enough fingers) and they learned to use their fingertips, there might be something to the style. Maybe finger picks would work? You can mess around with it with the covers off, but I always catch my mustache in the reeds when I play without covers!
I want my next harp to be a steel reed harp so I can play with magnets.
cool ideas nacoran! I don't think them up. they happen by mistake and then I go -wow that was cool and in time they come back and eventually become a part of me. Here is one I did with my trio back in the mid 80's. Go to the 10:30 mark and you will hear lead harp and guitar and me playing the guitar strings with the gold nugget ring on my pinky. Again I discovered that by accident one night playing live. It makes some crazy sounds in conjunction with sliding my index finger real fast on the guitar neck. I am proud of the spontobeat documentary. We shot it in austin on a playschool toy video camera that recorded onto cassette tapes. First we did a studio session and then just put video to it with no real concerns about it syncing up. It was all inspiration and it flowed. We did it all in a couple days and for under $200 including studio time and the cost of the camera and tapes. This was pre computer programs. We plugged the camera into a video tape and put the studio recording on the audio track of the video tape. How I did this I can't remember but it was not near as easy as with todays technologies. This is one part of the documentary. You can see some of the stuff I use to do live like playing the guitar with my boot tips, and my rings. The other half is on my youtube channel. 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
