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Dirty-South Blues Harp forum: wail on! >
Saying hello from Central California
Saying hello from Central California
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RollingHarp
2 posts
Jan 31, 2013
9:55 PM
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Hello Forum,
I just joined and figured I would introduce myself. I have played harp for about a year, and love it. I live in California, I'm into cars, mathematics, animals and my blues harp. I watch Adam gussow videos all the time and before this sounds any more like a singles add I will just stop.
I do have a quick question. I have been trying to basically teach myself to play through YouTube videos, listening to music and daily woodshed time, but I feel I keep hitting a wall. I need to play with other musicians, and get some feedback from more experienced players. I don't think I'm ready for the local blues jams, and I have played my harp for a karaoke crowd a couple times. But I want more, and need to push my limits a bit. Any suggestions how I can progress from here will be examined carefully and gratefully received.
Thanks,
Ben
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nacoran
6452 posts
Jan 31, 2013
10:45 PM
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Hi. Welcome aboard. :)
I have a couple suggestions in response to your question. I started out with open mics, but not just for the playing experience. They are also great for finding local musicians looking to jam. Some of those open mic people will also be going to jams, and one of the best things for your confidence in getting up to jam is someone who has heard you play extending the invitation. I still am not great at jamming. I personally like to practice a song a bunch of times before I go up and play something, but I do go up for jams sometimes. I never think I'm ready, and sometimes I'm not. When I'm not, I ask for feedback on what I did wrong.
Record yourself. It's useful for improving your playing, your confidence, and for getting feedback from other people. You can post recordings here. Let people know how long you've been playing, and what you are working on, and people are happy to give constructive criticism. (Try to embed the player or video. People don't mind giving critiques, but they are just more likely to do it if they don't have to cut and paste url's to do it. You'll get 3-4 times as many responses. The forum FAQ page has instructions for embedding sound and video.
There are also some people on the forum who offer Skype lessons. They aren't cheap, but one on one lessons are great. (I've never done a Skype lesson, but I've had lots of one on one lessons back when I played baritone.)
You are right, playing with other people ups your game a lot. See if there are any harp groups in your area and check around at local jams to see how they run. Some people are really strict and get upset if someone less experienced tries to get in. Most people remember that they were there too once, and are very encouraging.
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Baker
272 posts
Feb 01, 2013
3:28 AM
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Hi, Welcome RollingHarp.
Just to add a couple to nacoran's excellent suggestions.
I would also recommend getting some jam tracks, and spending some time with the blues scale working on improvisation. This will help you get used to understanding what notes work well and where, over the 12bar changes. This should give you some ammunition when it comes to getting up at a jam. – It means you don't have to know a song note for note and is the start of being able to play WITH other musicians.
If you can find a friend who plays a guitar or some other instrument. Try sitting down together and working out a few songs this will force you to make decisions and to learn things you aren't yet comfortable with.
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