tookatooka
3496 posts
Sep 14, 2013
6:07 AM
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I'm playing at a social evening next week as the entertainment in the break; there will be about 100 guests. I've lined up my playlist for the evening so I'm all prepared to go. The most irritating thing has happened. One of the people I'm playing for just happens to have a birthday and yes, you've guessed it, they want me to play F***ing Happy Birthday which is a tune I hate with a passion.
I've been thinking how I can accomodate their request with having to play that awful dirge.
I've been working on this and just thought I'd run it past you guys to see what you think. Do you think it will hit the spot?
The backing track is Swing in F from the Ultimate Jam Collection. It's only very rough at the moment and the first bit is very rough but it's a WIP which I'm hoping to work up to something quite reasonable. Hope this will embed OK.
Thanks for any responses.
Last Edited by tookatooka on Sep 14, 2013 6:08 AM
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Sarge
337 posts
Sep 14, 2013
7:14 AM
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That's good. I really like swing music, but if I had not read your post, I would never have guessed it had anything to do with happy birthday.
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Wisdom does not always come with old age. Sometimes old age arrives alone.
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6SN7
370 posts
Sep 14, 2013
8:19 AM
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Happy Birthday is our most requested song. Love it, hate it, more often than not, it gets a huge response. We play a bluesy version, with the piano or guitar providing the head, then sing a verse and then jam one or two more times through the song. It has a rollicking feel to it and everybody is happy when it ends. What's not to like?
Last Edited by 6SN7 on Sep 14, 2013 9:09 AM
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timeistight
1372 posts
Sep 14, 2013
8:30 AM
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I'm with Sarge: I wouldn't have recognized it. When people request "Happy Birthday," they want to sing along. I don't think they'd be able to sing along with this.
"Happy Birthday," purported to be the the most recognized song in English, is a four line song with an eight-bar chord progression, usually played in waltz time. Your backing track is a blues form: three lines over a twelve-bar chord progression in 4/4 time. On top of that, you've discarded most of the melody.
Here's Chris Michalek with a little advice:
Last Edited by timeistight on Sep 14, 2013 8:31 AM
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LSC
501 posts
Sep 14, 2013
8:40 AM
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Happy Birthday is a really easy song to transfer to another genre. I've played it as a rock and roll tune, a slow blues, funk, country waltz, whatever struck me at the time. I usually start it in the traditional fashion for the sing along then tear into whatever. Always goes down a treat, especially a really up tempo rock and roll they can dance to.
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LSC
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Greg Heumann
2363 posts
Sep 14, 2013
9:38 AM
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Thievin' Heathen
247 posts
Sep 14, 2013
9:55 AM
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Which birthday is it? The dirgey version might be totally appropriate. Maybe even dirgey it up a little.
Last Edited by Thievin' Heathen on Sep 14, 2013 9:56 AM
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Jim Rumbaugh
911 posts
Sep 14, 2013
10:54 AM
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Dear Tooka
My short answer:
It takes less than 20 seconds.
Play it once, simply in first position.
Then you can play the rest of the set as you want.
DO NOT play what you posted above.
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theharmonicaclub.com (of Huntington, WV)
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Honkin On Bobo
1151 posts
Sep 14, 2013
11:45 AM
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Took,
Played in a cover band years ago. Whenever someone would ask the front man to play happy birthday, he would dutifully say sure. When the time came, after introducing the song with the appropriate "This is for ____ cause it's their birthday", we'd promptly launch into the Beatles Birthday Song (not sure of the title but you know it ' today is your birthday' ).
Never had an upset patron and the place just rocked out and sang along.
Not sure if that's doable with your set up (harp to backing tracks), but I agree with the comment that what you've got now?.......wouldn't know it's a birthday song.
Good Luck
HOB
EDITED TO ADD: after rereading your post Took, sounds like the event is more mellow than a good rockin tune would work at....so ignore the beatle tune advice.
Last Edited by Honkin On Bobo on Sep 14, 2013 12:02 PM
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tookatooka
3497 posts
Sep 14, 2013
1:41 PM
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Hmmmm! What to do? My problem is I don't have any accompaniment, only backing tracks and I think that Happy Birthday as a harp solo really sucks. I'm gonna have to re-think this and see if I can do something else. I'm inclined to suggest that the person who wants me to play it should sing it and I'll just quietly play in the background. I think he may change his mind. Need to give this one further thought, but thanks for the comments and suggestions.
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didjcripey
617 posts
Sep 14, 2013
3:49 PM
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Give the people what they want.
Its good not to take yourself too seriously.
You can play it, can't you ? (Adams got a lesson on it if not)
I think generally the idea is that you'd just start it off, and everyone would sing along.
Don't sweat it, just do it, unless it offends your artistic integrity so bad, in which case refuse the gig.
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Lucky Lester
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rogonzab
379 posts
Sep 14, 2013
4:32 PM
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tookatooka,
"I think that Happy Birthday as a harp solo really sucks"
are you shure? I think that if you play it something like this everyone is going to be happy:
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Jim Rumbaugh
912 posts
Sep 14, 2013
6:06 PM
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@rogonzab
I'm jealous
That's about as good as it gets.
That's a HAPPY Birthday.
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theharmonicaclub.com (of Huntington, WV)
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nacoran
7136 posts
Sep 14, 2013
6:41 PM
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rogonzab, wow.
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Nate
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tookatooka
3499 posts
Sep 15, 2013
2:42 AM
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OK OK OK. I bow to your superior wisdom guys. Maybe I was starting to take myself too seriously. It is after all a social evening which is meant to be fun.
I just felt a bit peeved. After spending the last six years struggling to play harp to an acceptable level by learning all the techniques as well as I can and getting a good set list together, I felt Happy Birthday was below me.
I'll work on something. I have a week to get something together.
Yes @rogonzab, that video is great. If only I could play that well. We'll see.
Thanks guys for keeping my feet on the ground.
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