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Dirty-South Blues Harp forum: wail on! >
that old Stormy Monday again
that old Stormy Monday again
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harp-er
381 posts
Apr 18, 2013
3:45 PM
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http://sclk.co/s7b6om
Here's the soundclick link to my current rendition of the wonderful dead ahead soulful blues classic. As usual, please try to disregard the recording quality. It's actually an mp3 of a recording of a recording, etc.
I'm just working at it, exploring, testing, imagining, expressing. Hope you might enjoy.
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ridge
398 posts
Apr 19, 2013
6:17 AM
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Hey harp-er. I don't usually jump in to critique, but since you posted I'm assuming you want feedback.
The Good
You have a few brief moments of clarity where what you're playing lines up with the changes of the song; ie you know how to handle the turn arounds when they come up, resolve to 2 draw, 4 draw, 6 blow. You are willing to play the entire range of the harmonica which I think is important. Your tone on 5 draw, 2 draw and a few of your blow bends is pretty good. You use the 6 overblow appropriately.
The not as Good / To do list
It sounds like when you're not sure what to do you fill space with a flurry of notes. This in theory could work out, but you need better sense of what to play when filling. Right now it's not cohesive. While you're willing to play the full range of the harmonica, you're not comfortable doing so. This can change with time if you work on some of your basic scales. If you repeat a phrase it might give you some time to think of something else to do next.
Anyways, I don't want to go overboard. Story Monday isn't an easy tune and requires a little more work. Keep exploring and have fun!
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harp-er
383 posts
Apr 19, 2013
6:27 AM
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Thanks for the feedback. Yes, it's all a work in progress for me. And as far as I know, I intend to keep workin' on it.
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TheoBurke
374 posts
Apr 19, 2013
7:01 AM
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Hi harper-er! You know the progression of the song, which is good, since it indicates that you have played and practiced long enough to know intuitively where you need to be on the instrument as the song progresses. I can also tell that you have a good idea of the kind of licks you'd like to be playing over this song's chord changes. There are times when you play a perfectly formed lick at precisely the right moment and it sounds great.
What I would work on, though, is to get to know what the song's root notes are; that would be the "tone center" of each of the chords in the song, and to work on playing them comfortably, to get a good tone. Sometimes you sound unsure when to emphasize the progression and when to introduce a flurry of notes. I found in my learning that if I get the song down cold, get the right tone on the progression, the improvisation comes easier and makes more sense; it becomes less mysterious because then you will have a structure you know handily that will produce favorable results.
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Ted Burke
http://www.youtube.com/user/TheoBurke?feature=mhee
http://ted-burke.com
tburke4@san.rr.co,
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harp-er
384 posts
Apr 19, 2013
7:14 AM
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Many thanks to you Ted. I appreciate your listening and taking the time to give me the benefit of your long experience.
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TheoBurke
375 posts
Apr 19, 2013
7:22 AM
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The important thing is what ridge said, to keep exploring and have fun. It's a journey, not a destination.
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Ted Burke
http://www.youtube.com/user/TheoBurke?feature=mhee
http://ted-burke.com
tburke4@san.rr.co,
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