MindTheGap
226 posts
Feb 06, 2014
1:45 PM
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Following on from my question about wanting to be able to move about the harp, please could I get your critical appraisal of this short exercise? It's just one round of 12 bars, moving from bottom to top, then top to middle, then bottom to middle. It's not supposed to be especially exciting, but it is supposed to be rhythmic (unlike the cadenza thing) and sound musical. I just would like to know if it sounds convincing to you. Does it carry the pulse, that kind of stuff.
It's been a lot of work to get to anything that I think is acceptable so, you know, go easy. If it is ok, then I can work out other useful scale patterns, if not then I need to strengthen things first. If that makes sense.
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Last Edited by MindTheGap on Feb 06, 2014 1:45 PM
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tookatooka
3619 posts
Feb 06, 2014
2:06 PM
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Yup, sounds convincing to me MTG.
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Seven.Oh.Three.
275 posts
Feb 06, 2014
3:02 PM
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Very nice! I think you nailed it!
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The Iceman
1443 posts
Feb 06, 2014
4:30 PM
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See? It's not that difficult.
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The Iceman
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MindTheGap
228 posts
Feb 07, 2014
8:08 AM
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Very good, thank you.
Iceman- 'Splutter'. That's the sound of me spraying coffee into the keyboard. Thank you for that :-)
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The Iceman
1444 posts
Feb 07, 2014
8:14 AM
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Careful, MindTheGap...don't get any on your scone or in your clotted cream.
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The Iceman
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MindTheGap
230 posts
Feb 07, 2014
8:21 AM
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Yes, it is about that time of day, thanks for reminding me.
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MindTheGap
233 posts
Feb 08, 2014
5:18 AM
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Thank you Frank. Unpicking that a bit - too insipid currently?
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Frank
3796 posts
Feb 08, 2014
6:36 AM
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Goodmorning MTG...As you begin to get something going that is coherent and feel your getting a grasp of the situation at hand...You will want to live with the phrasing long enough to where you can embellish it at will...In other words, get it so ingrained into your being, that you are free to express it many different ways - naturally, effortlessly and without thinking - it is just there, apart of you!
What this discipline creates is an experience of what it feels like to own music so that when you go to the next riff or phrase you will instinctively know how to deliver it with the necessary emotion to give it legs to stand on or wings to fly.
A good relatively easy and solid exercise to practice this with and get under your belt is the famous 1 4 5 boogie bassline...A blues player should be able to rip through that while standing on their head watching TV with one arm tied behind thier back and someone is tickling them.
What I mean by "how they bring their music to life" is...the closer you can get to uncovering the small details a Master puts into their playing...the more feeling, passion, emotion, life force, will be revealed to you so that - you as an amateur, can begin to actually feel and experiece what its like to play like a professional.
This in turn will guide your desire to pursue and attack all the notes you play with more purpose, conviction and meaning. And your improvisations will have much more of a personal impact on the listener.
From what I'm hearing you are definitely on the right track and aimed in the direction of becoming a very good harmonica player :)
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Last Edited by Frank on Feb 08, 2014 7:03 AM
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MindTheGap
234 posts
Feb 08, 2014
8:09 AM
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Frank, well good morning too. I see it's 6:30am on your post, but maybe that's a timezone anomaly. I can tell you it's time for tea and scones again here.
Thank you for these thoughts - always appreciated that you take the time. If I understand you correctly then it chimes with something I was going to write about, so I'll do it here. I mentioned my young son is learning the drums, and I've been envious of how he gets to practice because...
1. They get drum rudiments - the agreed set of moves you need.
2. They get repetition built in - so he can practice paradiddles or paradiddle-diddles or flams or whatever it might be and play them for ages. So much so that whenever there is a surface to drum on he's now doing it with fingers, cutlery, pencils etc. So those moves are fully internalised and natural like walking, running, eating.
I want some of that. Quite how to do it is a question but I'll work it out.
Well, maybe that's not what you meant but... :-)
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MindTheGap
235 posts
Feb 08, 2014
8:15 AM
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Oh, that was just the first point. As for the second, yes, attacking notes with conviction. Small details. Yes indeed.
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Frank
3798 posts
Feb 08, 2014
8:47 AM
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Precisely, we put in the practice of repetition of phrases and such so that we can develop such a strong embedded internal grasp- that we'll have the capacity to deliver them or spit them out in dynamically different ways, convincingly.
So, we practice musical discipline in order to reap the pleasure of improvising music as daringly as possible...
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MindTheGap
237 posts
Feb 08, 2014
9:38 AM
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Ah good - understanding.
What I've found very useful over the last little while is using the metronome and a recorder all the time for practice, as a routine rather than special thing. So repeating phrases over and over, and listening back critically. There is nowhere to hide and it exposes in a brutal way my basic errors of timing, intonation etc. as well as more subtle things like dodgy phrasing and lack of conviction. And also shows of the good bits when that is the case. So I have a feedback loop, rather than just practice mistakes over and over. Soul destroying it is :-) no, I mean it's good.
Hence the little snippets I've been posting - partly to try to encourage other beginners to get posting too. Actually I'm also paying for lessons where we go over them. That's fun.
I've still got to find my equivalent of paradiddles though - - something to play round and round.
Last Edited by MindTheGap on Feb 08, 2014 9:40 AM
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Frank
3805 posts
Feb 09, 2014
3:55 AM
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Yes Sir - these things you are doing will pay large musical dividends and the compound interest you'll receive is icing on the cake... You are going to be a very foundationally rich musician - which will give you the pleasure and peace of mind to live a long and happy musical life :)
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MindTheGap
240 posts
Feb 09, 2014
5:37 AM
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The difficulty in this teacher-less setup is around developing a self-critical ear. No one wants to kid themselves. Or do they?
Good grief - the Harmonica Boogie site! How on earth did I miss that? D'oh! That's looks ideal. Off to find out what to do...
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Frank
3806 posts
Feb 09, 2014
6:45 AM
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The deception seems to run rampant when a player believes the lie that musical competence can be attained without quality time spent on serious, disciplined, intelligent effort focused on the fundamentals of music...
I'm an amateur like most on this site... that doesn't mean we can't pursue and practice things that will help develop us into sounding more and more professional.
Pros have the "Fundamentals" required to make a musician seem and sound competent down packed...
Just accomplishing that (mastering the fundamentals) is a tall order and many players try to get to second base prematurely...
It is the Mastery of the fundamentals - that ultimately separates the Professional from an Amateur -
We amateurs more often then not have sloppy fundamental technique as well as inferior fundamental musical knowledge...
Strengthen those fundamental things and it's all up hill from there :)
I spent 3 years on the Harmonica Boogie . com site and put up hundreds of songs - it was a very rewarding learning experience :)
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Frank
3816 posts
Feb 10, 2014
8:00 PM
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Practicing some improv to a drum track..."note to self" need to work hard on my funnymentals :)
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MindTheGap
248 posts
Feb 11, 2014
1:00 AM
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Very good. You've got your low end groove thing, high end groove thing, traverses (or transverses as I will always think of them now) shakes, double-stops, single note wails, percussive effects.
Based on this, I think I'll develop a rudiment/fundament work-out, to play all day long.
Thanks!
I do think you need to do something about the lighting in your cellar, it looks a bit odd.
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MTG
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