ridge
540 posts
Aug 28, 2014
10:42 AM
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Everything was going fine and then jumped ahead by mistake. I fall apart and try to regroup, but it takes a while and FELT like an eternity in a song that's a harmonica showcase.
How do you deal with mistakes in songs where mistakes are tough to hide?
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Ridge's YouTube
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1847
2095 posts
Aug 28, 2014
10:59 AM
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that was like hitting the ball clean out of the park
but just south of the foul line.
not even a big deal.
if i was in the audience, i would be buying you a beer.
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i get a lot of request when i play my harmonica
"but i play it anyway"
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The Iceman
1969 posts
Aug 28, 2014
11:41 AM
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You experienced one of the pitfalls of lick based harmonica playing.
Looks like you inherently did the right thing.
If it had happened to me, I would not have panicked. My "go to" note used to be 4 inhale sustained until I recovered my balance, knew where I was in the form, and wait for an opportune place to resume the song as practiced.
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The Iceman
Last Edited by The Iceman on Aug 28, 2014 11:51 AM
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Pistolcat
690 posts
Aug 28, 2014
11:51 AM
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Don't be hard on yourself. I barely noticed any stumble. It seem as the crowd was turned on, too.
@ The Iceman - Wow, four draw is your go to note? with a little bending, maybe? That is truly ground breaking note selection stuff. ;P
Another idea is to growl like Junior Wells into your harp mic for a couple of bars... "YeaH! Oh, Lord! Ummmm."
PS. Web thesaurus
The Emoticon ;P is meant as a "friendly tease" Depicting a sideways face with one eye winking and the tongue extending out of the corner of the mouth...
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Pistolkatt - Pistolkatts youtube
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smwoerner
263 posts
Aug 28, 2014
12:14 PM
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Like the golf folks say, look good going out and coming in. The thing is nobody knows if you messed up, if you just don't know the song, or if you intentionally changed it up just to be a little different.
I hear stuff like this quite a bit and tend to give the benefit of doubt to the player. As long as it sounds good and none of the really key and expected components are missing I say all is good. It's only when I'm dancing with someone and expect a stop that's not there or a bridge or something else that really determines direction that I get frustrated.
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Purveyor of Optimized New and Refurbished Harmonicas.
scott@scottwoerner.com
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Ted Burke
141 posts
Aug 28, 2014
12:55 PM
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It's a solid version of the tried and true classic until the misstep. As is, I thought you did well under the circumstances. You're a solid harp player with a solid tone and it's my guess that this is a mistake you won't again.
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ted-burke.com
tburke4@san.rr.com
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KingoBad
1524 posts
Aug 28, 2014
1:14 PM
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Woo hoo! Yeah, I can see why it bothered you, but only the die hard J. Geils fans would notice all that much. Also, screwing up towards the beginning allows plenty of time to recover - which you did beautifully.
I just assume there will be some kind of screw up at every performance. We have added and subtracted bass players and drummers and piano players over the past year. They can be very high quality musicians, but just not be prepared, or just plain screw up. For that matter, I sometimes drop the ball, as I enjoy listening to the new part being added and stop concentrating.
I think just playing through and not sweating it is the best course of action. If there is an Irreconcilable train wreck, I you could always start over and make a joke. However, I find that someone can usually hold the groove while others recover.
I remember starting a song which had me laying into the harp pretty quickly. One of our guitarists - the one singing the song- placed his capo in the wrong spot. When I started in - wow - let's just say I sounded like a musical moron. My harp for that key was in my guitar case across the room. So I stopped, picked up a tambourine and continued on trying not to look to sheepish.
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Danny
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Jim Rumbaugh
1014 posts
Aug 28, 2014
2:57 PM
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I think there's a lesson here.
I DIDN'T HEAR ANYTHING WRONG.
I've heard Jammer a time or two, but I don't have it memorized. I like everything I heard. I bet the crowd did too. I have NO IDEA what the "mistake" was, and I don't care if I ever know the "error".
That's why you don't make goofy faces when you flub up. Most people wont know. Just keep playing, and keep the beat. And that's what I heard.
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theharmonicaclub.com (of Huntington, WV)
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JustFuya
411 posts
Aug 28, 2014
3:40 PM
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I don't listen to music to find flubs. If they don't slap me in the face (ie off key) I'm good with it. I had to listen a second time with a critical ear to find fault. If your band mates noticed they were probably the only ones. Private jokes are as good as any other. You gotta laugh and move on. For me, at times, the screw-ups are the highlights.
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kudzurunner
4907 posts
Aug 28, 2014
4:17 PM
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I understand why you're bugged by the mistake, but I think it's a pretty easy one to let slide. The performance itself, apart from that, was just terrific--maybe the best I've heard after Jimi Lee and Mr. Dick himself. Yes, it does seem as though you dialed into the sixth instead of the seventh chorus (whatever it was) and then quickly dialed it back to where you were supposed to be. So there's a jump-cut element to how it actually came off: a bad edit, so to speak. We harp guys can all hear that. But I suspect a number of people here are thinking what I'm thinking: get rid of that one big clam and this is a kick-ass performance. I didn't know you had it in you. I'm envious! I hope I can do as well when I get the chance. I may ask you for some help on a few of those warbles.
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ridge
541 posts
Aug 28, 2014
6:18 PM
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Yes, we are our own worst critics. I wasn't happy at the time; you can audibly hear the grunts to confirm that.
In hindsight, I'm not beating myself up over it. I was happy with the tone (Thanks, Ted) and having a clip to hear the performance so I could review what happened.
@1847 - Thanks and I would have taken the drink at that point!
@Iceman - I agree. This is a product of lick based playing. This is an instance where I'm really trying to be like a recording... for better or worse.
@Pistolcat - Do you have any growling scale exercises I can work on? K thx!
@JustFuya - Thank you.
@Ted - I won't make THAT mistake, but am still prone to others :)
@Kudzurunner - I'm flattered. I recently spent some quality time with your series dedicated to breaking this piece down. It helped me "fix" more than a few parts. So really, THANK YOU!
As for the warbles, my take is to play it sloppier than you think you should be playing it. 12gagedan does them better than any other I have heard personally.
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Ridge's YouTube
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Harp2swing
152 posts
Aug 28, 2014
6:45 PM
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Sorry, but that unforgivable mistake you made is going to put me in a bad mood all day. I'm off to kick the dog!
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CarlA
579 posts
Aug 29, 2014
7:40 AM
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@harp2swing
"Hello"
"Yes"'
"Is Abtar home"?
"Who"?
"Abtar"!
"Can I ask who's calling"?
"It's Kerpal"
"Who"?
"Kerpal"! "YOU KICKED MY DOG"
Last Edited by CarlA on Aug 29, 2014 7:41 AM
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12gagedan
308 posts
Aug 29, 2014
8:32 PM
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Anybody else notice Danny Klein standing next to Ridge! DR is the best at coping solos I've ever met. We're in Boston and we're creating a J Geils tribute-paying community!
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12gagedan's YouTube Channel
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eharp
2211 posts
Aug 29, 2014
9:17 PM
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The crowd didn't care.
The band played on.
Pretty girl took your photo.
You could have stopped the song and been honest with the crowd.
"I flubbed it. If it was most any other song, I would have played thru it. BUT THIS IS WHAMMER JAMMER!!!" and start it again.
But you gotta have some showmanship for that. You played it as if you didn't feel the energy in the room.
(This follows with a current thread about feeling the music.)
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ridge
543 posts
Aug 30, 2014
4:39 AM
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@eharp - You're right. I wasn't very loose or animated when playing this. I'm still concerned with "getting it right" and that ruins connecting with the audience. I don't have the whole showmanship thing down by any stretch of the imagination.
I'm playing as a sub for Danny Klein's Full House which, as 12gagedan points out, is a J. Geils tribute band. They are very focused on entertaining, so I'm hoping some of their showmanship rubs off on me with time.
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Ridge's YouTube
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blueswannabe
491 posts
Aug 30, 2014
5:40 AM
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I have messed it up a few times as well. Some will know...others won't. Keep going...improvise if you have to and get back on track. I used to care if i screwed it up the first few times I played it because I wanted it exact but what's more important is the groove and the crowd was into it. You sounded great. And how did you get the yell part. Are you playing any notes on the harp? I usually play 6 draw.
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