MindTheGap
411 posts
Apr 01, 2014
3:52 AM
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Because of SuperBee's post of his Ah'w Baby, I went off to listen to that great song. I've been listening mostly to more modern players recently and what stuck me right away was how gentle LW's vibrato is, hardly there in places.
I've been diligently trying to include almost constant vibrato as the 'right' way to make notes sound pleasing, but shouldn't we be unafraid to play a straight note or chord and enjoy that sound?
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mtg
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SuperBee
1879 posts
Apr 01, 2014
4:16 AM
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My guest on the radio tonight was Justin Johnson. Justin is a guitarist from North Carolina, who specialises in playing heritage folk instruments...by which i mean, cigar box guitars, diddley bows...one of the things we spoke about was the ability of these instruments to be played with vibrato, and how important that is in terms of similiarity to the human voice...and i think thats the important thing about vibrato when playing the harp. a case could be made to say the voice is the great instrument and the others are imitators...
easy to say things like this...but to me i think those are the harp pieces i find most affecting, where the harp is played like a singer would sing...and the vibrato is used in that kind of context. of course, if you do it all the time, the impact is diminished.
one of the first things jimi lee said to me was...dont underestimate the power of one note. it took me a while to understand what he meant...ive spent time trying to string notes together in pleasing ways, but there is a lot to be said at times for playing less notes and really listening to how they sound...
its good to practice applying vibrato...so you can use it when you want
the soft vibrato applied as the note decays is a very pleasing sound imho
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MindTheGap
412 posts
Apr 01, 2014
4:34 AM
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'My guest on the radio show...' Please could you explain, even if everyone else knows this already?
I agree, it's a pleasing sound and the human voice must be the mother lode. I spent my first approx 18 months of learning harp mistakenly thinking it was about playing lots of notes, and now I think it's about how you play each note. Well, and rhythm. And all the other things :-)
But anyway, my question is around 'how much'? LW often doesn't use very much it seems. I've just recently learned that crazy 10B vib thing. Happy to deploy that at any opportunity! I bet that singles me out as rank amateur. Is deep vibrato a phase we have to go through on the The Path?
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mtg
Last Edited by MindTheGap on Apr 01, 2014 4:35 AM
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SuperBee
1881 posts
Apr 01, 2014
4:53 AM
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i probably dont have it. i'm really a novice on the top octave.
radio is just a community station, i present a folk show, 2 hours once a month. i try to keep it reasonably contemporary and relevant to the local live music scene. a balance really, of local, international, new and my favourite stuff i play just because i like it. i like it because it makes me pull my head out of just the blues harmonica world and check out whats happening around the world in homemade music...i actually cant really pin 'folk' down...my definition shifts all the time...its not just amateur music, its not just 'ethnic' or 'traditional'. it is those things, but its broader...occupational...cultural...can be...
anyway, Justin was a highlight...his album 'smoke & mirrors'.two albums really...the first recorded at sun studios, and the other recorded at Hopson Plantation, at the crossroads...all on traditional, homemade instruments
he had a resonator built using a (alabama) licence plate with a box around it...played a duet with a local player who was using a national...to highlight the comparison of the instruments
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MindTheGap
413 posts
Apr 01, 2014
4:59 AM
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That sounds great - is it available on internet radio too? Yes, 'folk music' is a broad church these days. So was the conclusion that you can build you own resonator-guitar as good as a bought one?
I just listened to your LW fragment again, there is definitely that trailing away vibrato. It's all those details isn't it.
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mtg
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The Iceman
1569 posts
Apr 01, 2014
6:05 AM
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Constant vibrato is a bit annoying to me.
I prefer a solid note w/vibrato, if used, added towards the end of the note.
Don't be afraid to experiment with LONG TONES - w/out vibrato.
Listen to what Miles Davis does with his notes.
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The Iceman
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MindTheGap
414 posts
Apr 01, 2014
6:20 AM
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...just listening to bits and bobs of Miles Davis and I'm hearing plenty of longer notes without any or much vibrato. Interesting.
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mtg
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Hondo
290 posts
Apr 01, 2014
7:13 AM
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SuperBee, would you tell me about this radio gig and does it stream so that I may tune in?
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SuperBee
1887 posts
Apr 01, 2014
10:50 PM
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Radio etc.
I can usually stream it through ‘tunein radio’. Its call sign is Hobart FM 96.1 ‘Hobart’s Sound of the City’
I do 'Mostly Folk' on Tuesdays, 7-9 pm local time, roughly 4 weekly intervals (there are 3 other presenters, we take turns). I'm on again on 29 April
It’s just a small community station in Hobart, Tasmania.
Regarding whether it’s possible to build your own resonator which is just as good as a factory built guitar…I think the conclusion was that if you approach an instrument with an attitude whereby you want to find the peculiar quality of that instrument…these instruments all have something to provide which is unique. And that changes the question I think. It may be a little like harp customisation, the way brendan power does it. It’s not for everybody but if you are prepared to mess with the possibilities and experiment sometimes you can find some cool things.
That particular guitar is demonstrated in this interview (edit: link works now) ABCNorthTas, but the rattle has since been fixed so it could be tuned up to play with a standard guitar.
Last Edited by SuperBee on Apr 02, 2014 2:38 AM
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MindTheGap
420 posts
Apr 03, 2014
2:20 AM
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Back to the OP (little vibrato) I just heard Dennis Gruenling's Lovin Man on the radio, and he holds a solid note for a full three, slow, bars with no vibrato and hardly any other modulation. Sounds great.
Unfortunately I couldn't find it on YT to show you.
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mtg
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The Iceman
1575 posts
Apr 03, 2014
6:16 AM
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Am surprised that more are not aware of the power of solid notes (w/out vibrato).
At first, it seems scary and you feel naked. However, it is well worth exploring, as it makes the note itself more important than how you tweak it w/effects.
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The Iceman
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STME58
728 posts
Apr 03, 2014
8:26 AM
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Based in part on Iceman's recurring advise about long tones, the last time I got to play with a group I chose some notes that worked across the cord changes and held them for a few measures. The overall performance seemed to be well received and I was asked back. I love to focus on the changes occurring around a long "anchor" note.
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The Iceman
1576 posts
Apr 03, 2014
9:15 AM
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What is fun about long tones as STME58 mentions above is, hang one in the air, give yourself time to listen to it, and eventually it may suggest to you what note to play next...in other words, no "canned/memorized" solos here, just in the moment improv.
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The Iceman
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