jpmcbride
98 posts
Jun 28, 2015
3:58 PM
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Recent conversations here have made me start thinking that I need to learn the head or main riff to more common songs than I currently know. I'm talking songs with recognizable riffs that guitar and bass players all seem to know like Cissy Strut, Messin With the Kid, Crossroads, etc...
A lot of us harp players are sometimes (I'm certainly in this group) guilty of not learning these things and faking them, or just playing "our own thing" at jams and other playing situations.
It seems to me that playing the riff correctly (whatever that means) allows you to fit in with the band better, and helps to legitimize the harmonica to the other players. Of course its always great to do your own thing and solo away! But it seems to me that being able to throw in the signature riff to the song is a big plus.
I'm going to make an effort to learn more of these. Any suggestions? By the way, I'm talking mostly about guitar riffs that the bass and guitar generally play.
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Jim McBride
www.bottleoblues.com
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timeistight
1803 posts
Jun 28, 2015
4:44 PM
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Get Steve Cohen's "Classic Blues Riffs for Harmonica: 25 Famous Guitar & Bass Parts Adapted for Diatonic Harp". It's exactly what you're looking for.
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harpdaddy
7 posts
Jun 28, 2015
7:38 PM
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I don't know why anyone would not want to do this. Any cover song that the band I'm in does that has a signature riff; I learn that riff. Then I can either double up with a guitar player or do it myself.
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jpmcbride
99 posts
Jun 28, 2015
7:58 PM
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@harpdaddy
Same thing here ... when I played in a cover band and knew the set list and worked up my parts. But now I'm talking more about acquiring a larger repertoire of classic songs so that I know the head or riff when it comes up in a jam situation, For example I never bothered to learn the crossroads riff.
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Jim McBride
www.bottleoblues.com
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1847
2541 posts
Jun 28, 2015
8:44 PM
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The first step is to admit to your self
That you are faking it
There are a surprising number of harmonica players that can’t admit even to them self’s that they are
Faking their way thru a tune
The best way to learn riffs is by ear
It is music after all, use your ear.
A great way to do this is to bring a tape recorder when you play with other people.
You will find out at once, just how good you are at B.S.
Now that you have the tape you can go back and play the riff over and over till you get it.
This will help in two ways
It will absolutely guarantee no one will ever call that tune out again in the next ten years.
And when they do, it will guarantee you will have by then, completely forgotten it.
But…. Now that you have taken the time to learn the riff correctly by using your ears, you will be surprised how fast you can hear the riff being played, in real time on the bandstand
And you will no longer be B.S.ing
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The Iceman
2561 posts
Jun 29, 2015
5:23 AM
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pretty funny...
In learning to use your ear on playing correct lines, it's a good idea to run by your conclusions with a teacher. Sometimes in the early stages, the ear is not as accurate as one would think.
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The Iceman
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harpdude61
2299 posts
Jun 29, 2015
8:26 AM
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I'm 50/50. On "Ain't No Sunshine" I improve, but many do the main melody on harp or horns.
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www.facebook.com/catfishfryeband
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1847
2546 posts
Jun 29, 2015
11:00 AM
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ice. you young whipper snapper, you don't know how good you have it
i can remember back in the day, there was no such thing as a harmonica teacher
we were lucky to have a harmonica and a transistor radio.
when we heard something on the radio we would have to remember what the riff was
some of us did not have the recording, to play over and over. just the memory of what we heard .
i recall being shocked to find out the song, sweet virginia by the stones, was in the key A
finally once i could afford a tape recording usually, a cassette or eight track
we would wear that thing out playing the same track over and over
and in the case of the stones track" miss you" after getting what seemed like a note for note rendition
only to find out that there were bad notes that we copied.
now a days you young kids don't even have to leave the house
you have youtube skype, and even the school of blues located somewhere in northern california
amazing slodowners even songs tabbed out.
a good teacher will shave years off of the learning curve however that is not always
a viable option financially for everyone.
side note... i was hoping you could mention which note mr blue was hitting
on that track, was it a C# or f# or both ... i think that can provide a clue on which harp he was using definitively.
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1847
2547 posts
Jun 29, 2015
11:25 AM
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harpdude, i have butchered aint no sunshine, for the last time just this past Saturday
it is a deceptively simple melody. the trick is to sing the notes and find them on the harp.
this is easier said than done but it is a technique you need to master to grow.
you only need to learn one line at a time, it does not have to be on one day
but the better you get at playing melodies you hear in your head
the easier it becomes...... you can use the backing track from youtube, that is a awesome resource
one song that helped me out learning that way was the song by janice joplin
mercedes benz......
it has zero harmonica.... no instruments at all, strictly acapella
there is nothing to copy, you have to hear it in your head ,then find the notes
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The Iceman
2562 posts
Jun 29, 2015
11:43 AM
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1847: If I am a 63 year old whippersnapper, how old does that make you??
Kinda busy with my gourmet food business and haven't found time to get to that one note on Sugar's playing.
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The Iceman
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Dr.Hoy
68 posts
Jun 29, 2015
5:13 PM
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Playing specific melodies is part and parcel of being a musician, and it's one of the paths that lead to the mastery of the instrument. When I started to play I'd try to play every melody I heard, the frustration that caused being what made me decide to play the chromatic.
Playing a beautiful melody is one of life's great pleasures.
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florida-trader
723 posts
Jun 29, 2015
7:29 PM
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1847 & harpdude - Ain't no Sunshine lays out perfectly on a natural minor tuned harp.
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Tom Halchak
www.BlueMoonHarmonicas.com
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hvyj
2698 posts
Jun 29, 2015
8:02 PM
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Ain't No Sunshine lays out pretty well in 5th position.
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barbequebob
2962 posts
Jun 30, 2015
10:15 AM
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Learning to play melodies is something so many diatonic harp players have a tendency to suck at, mainly because too many of them just want to learn to play solos and nothing else, but learning melody, very basic theory (which includes scales, modes and harmony) and getting your time straight are EXTREMELY IMPORTANT parts of a musicians tool set.
Learning these parts and then from there, learning how to play them in all different positions also improves your listening skills, and basically, you have to learn to be much more anal about details because too often not paying to details you are inclined to think of as too boring, too small and/or too unimportant tends to ALWAYS be the very things that always comes back to bite you in the butt and almost always at the worst time possible.
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Sincerely,
Barbeque Bob Maglinte
Boston, MA
http://www.barbequebob.com
CD available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/bbmaglinte
Last Edited by barbequebob on Jun 30, 2015 12:25 PM
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hvyj
2701 posts
Jun 30, 2015
11:38 AM
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I agree with BBQ Bob, IMHO melodies are the most difficult thing to learn. It's usually much easier to solo or improvise around a melody than it is to play the melody itself accurately.
This, IMHO, is one of the differences between a harmonica player and a musician who plays harmonica. The harmonica player pays what he can play or what he is able to play. A musician plays what the tune requires. FWIW
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