Tom585
58 posts
Jan 20, 2018
8:58 PM
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I'm interested in how good harp players improve their playing, i.e., how do they practice?
Can some of our more experienced players talk about their learning habits? How often and how long are obvious topics, but also what do you practice - scales, licks, playing along with recordings, applying theory, one thing at a time, etc?
How has your practicing changed over the years?
Any other insights?
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The Iceman
3457 posts
Jan 21, 2018
5:44 AM
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Do a search on this site for my concept called "Five minutes a day". Very effective. All you need is 5 minutes a day of practice - but there are caveats.
Also, I found it very useful to not think of practice as "practice" - I think of it as "performance", which means, any time I pick up the harmonica and play it, I go into "performance mode" where nothing is a throw away or done 1/2 a**ed.
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The Iceman
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boris_plotnikov
1150 posts
Jan 21, 2018
6:59 AM
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I practiced rather spontaneous from the very beginning. But I still try to play every spare minute: while walking, while driving, while waiting for a train, while waiting my wife from body shop etc.
When I practice I try to cycle the following blocks
1) I do some excercises (rhythm, scales, rudiments alternating tone, dynamics and articulation).
2) I play and transpose some familiar melodies
3) I learn some new melodies, usually when I fall in love with one and want to learn it.
4) I improvise over music I listen to or heard in the place I can practice, always trying to apply new tricks I learned doing excercises.
5) Playing some random to make me feel cool
Practice hardly work without applying. So you have to play gigs and do recordings if you want to be good.
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My website. My album with Mikhail Bashakov. Seydel endorser. LoneWolf Blues Co endorser. Harmonica teacher. My facebook.
Last Edited by boris_plotnikov on Jan 21, 2018 6:59 AM
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Littoral
1555 posts
Jan 21, 2018
7:14 AM
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I play out 2-3 nigh per week & do a lot of ambitious things that force me to find musical ways to contribute. Channeling lots of David Gilmore lately - and fiddle parts.
Favorite Strategy:
I use a phone app to record specific parts (often from YouTube) and then play them back repeatedly in the car.
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boris_plotnikov
1151 posts
Jan 21, 2018
10:24 AM
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I forget to mention important thing!
Ask for feedback from another harmonica players, another musicians and from regular listeners and get it carefully.
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My website. My album with Mikhail Bashakov. Seydel endorser. LoneWolf Blues Co endorser. Harmonica teacher. My facebook.
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Tom585
59 posts
Jan 23, 2018
8:21 PM
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Boris, I can see how practicing a variety of things makes you a versatile player.
Littoral: I'm curious what app you use to record from YouTube.
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Komuso
735 posts
Jan 23, 2018
8:31 PM
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I wrote a small timing app to help structure practice time more effectively, based on research from sports psychology and other performance training areas - including music.
Fopra about page explains the concept, with some useful practice links at the bottom (scroll down) that are worth checking out. It's a web app but you can save it to your home screen on a mobile device (it's called a Progressive Web Application) and it's free.
App is here @ Link to app
Once you have the system in place you can probably do away with the mechanical nature of a timer as you get a sense of when to shift into the next practice stage. That said, a timer can also help keep you focused.
Boris's spontaneous method is ideal for this as well. Small focused chunks spread throughout the day whenever you get the chance. They add up quickly.
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Paul Cohen aka Komuso Tokugawa
HarpNinja - Learn Harmonica Faster
Komuso's Music Website
Last Edited by Komuso on Jan 23, 2018 8:42 PM
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Littoral
1557 posts
Jan 24, 2018
7:32 AM
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Tom585
Any simple recording app will work. Mines called audio recorder. :)
I have good speakers on my computer and I just call up whatever piece of a tune or tutorial I need and record 5-20 seconds of it. I use a lot of guitar tutorials to sort out parts I can't hear well enough. Then I listen to it in the car -often plugged into my car stereo. Over and (freakin) Over till the muscle memory has it.
Yesterday it was Paint It Black. Weird but, eventually, perfect and very cool on harp. But I think a harmonica can do ANYTHING.
Last Edited by Littoral on Jan 24, 2018 7:33 AM
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RyanMortos
1661 posts
Jan 24, 2018
8:04 AM
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Very similar to what Boris said aside from the while driving part.
It's all grist for the mill.
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~Ryan
See My Profile for contact info, etc.
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snowman
310 posts
Jan 24, 2018
9:07 AM
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Jimi had an album entitled "experiance"--
I do what boris does as well --Anywhere Im not bothering anyone---I live in the mountains and traffic is light ---so I practice in my car a lot---I did it at the fancy car wash, way out back--as not to bother anyone -anywhere I can
Right now Im trying to learn "lowdown" by Kim Wilson-
--I have the first 4-5 go arounds, of the 12 bar go arounds, fairly close-- when I first learn something its sounds mechanical and not that good--But i usually take a break, a week or more and when I come back to it, I start to feel it, rathur than just play it
The reason I chose the song is because, I became to busy when i played. I wanted to get back to roots of blues harp, not so much high end stuff.
Years ago I realized how weak I was on the ENTIRE HARP--meaning I didn't play much high end. When I did there was a NOTICABLE break, when going from holes 1=6 to holes 7-10
With singing lessons I learned and was forced to to sing phonetic sounds with vibrato from low to high notes WITHOUT a break or point at which I switched to my “head voice” ---Head voice is sorta pinching the vocal chords tighter and using the roof of yr mouth for higher notes----some people go into head voice sooner than others
So for the last few years [4-8 years I lost track]—I have practiced playing the entire harp—I learned peoples licks, I varied them and switched around—
-I did what Jason R suggested-learn yr low end licks on the high end- this also forces u to slowly learn what notes are on the harp and where they are
I learned and made up ascending and descending licks-to get away from the “audible break”
I BECAME TO BUSY—Im trying to go for more sweet notes and silence again
When I want a break on whatever it is Im working on, I work on david barrets stuff –his classes to become a teacher—great for tongue blocking—as I have a hard time staying indoors to record stuff—“AND IT HAS TO BE CLOSE TO PERFECT FOR HIM” I’ve only passed the first level
A little Hollywood humour
“ Im so self centered and pseudo intellectual, ---Im tired of talking about me----------------------------------what do u think about me?"
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WinslowYerxa
1510 posts
Jan 24, 2018
12:33 PM
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Find a book called "The Little Book of Talent," by Daniel Coyle. Short, to the point, and based on both neurological research and direct observation of "talent hotbeds" of sports and music training in several countries. (Its companion volume, "The Talent Code," fills in the backstory).
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Winslow
Harmonica lessons with one of the world's foremost experts
Check out my blog and other goodies at winslowyerxa.com
Harmonica For Dummies, Second Edition with tons of new stuff
Last Edited by WinslowYerxa on Jan 24, 2018 12:33 PM
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Tom585
60 posts
Jan 24, 2018
7:58 PM
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I found Kenny Werner's book "Effortless Mastery" to be insightful into both practicing and performing.
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BnT
134 posts
Jan 25, 2018
12:49 PM
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I seldom feel that I "practiced" but I usually play over two hours each week. A friend of mine sits down and practices an hour a day. I admire him. But I can't handle the structure of a schedule.
When I started out I used to practice doing songs note for note. I'd do it for hours a day at home and for years, whenever I drove. Playing 50+ years has given me the time to play so many classic Chicago blues songs over and over (and over) that they're internalized.
Now when I "practice" it might be 1 day a month (or 2 or 3) trying to play along with or over classic RnB or jazz tracks by artists like Louis Jordan, Charlie Parker, Ellington, Chuck Brown, T-Bone Walker, or Basie - looking for horn and piano ideas; seeing where and how harp will fit in a song like "Tenor Madness"; or working on Paul Desmond's solo from "Take Five" - stuff I may never play in public but that keeps me fresh. But there is no structure so I may start with a riff I want to practice for 10 minutes, and end up tacking on two hours of listening to and trying to play along or around a variety of songs and backing tracks. To paraphrase Muddy, "I don't know where I'm goin', I don't know where I been, it start a conversation, that don't have no end."
Or I manage 10 minutes a day for four days in a row on one song... then I go to the jam and don't play it because it's beyond people I'm playing with.
Next time it's playing with blues recordings driving in the car for an hour. So I seldom feel like I've practiced because there was no goal, no endpoint. But I do play on my own quite a bit.
If books are part of practice or music mind expansion, I recommend Dan Levitan's "This Is Your Brain on Music" which helps you understand many things including the use and importance of musical or lyric hooks to grab the audience.
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BnT
Last Edited by BnT on Jan 25, 2018 2:23 PM
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Tom585
61 posts
Jan 25, 2018
7:47 PM
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I try to play every day although I miss a day here or there. But I never go too many days without playing.
I don't think of it as practice. It is my time to improve and try new things, learn a lick by thinking it through and go over it as many times as I can handle, go over new tunes for my bands, or just groove over some recordings. A tune I'm working on now is Robin Ford's version of "help the poor." One of my all time favorites.
Having some time to myself to play the harp is like therapy. After more than 40 years of playing I'm still excited to learn and get better. It's a great feeling.
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Mirco
571 posts
Jan 26, 2018
1:20 PM
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I’m fairly consistent and fastidious in my practice. I practice music at least an hour a day, 6-7 days per week. I need a structured schedule.
Over the past few months, I’ve started incorporating singing into my practice, so the breakdown is like this:
20 minutes harmonica study song (I’ll learn/transcribe/practice 12 bars from a song. Right now, I’m doing all 3rd position stuff. Yesterday, it was chorus 4 from Highway 59.)
20 minutes improvisation (I’ll put on an appropriate jam track and improvise using the licks from the day’s study song.)
20 minutes singing (usually, 10 minutes of scales and then 10 minutes of a song)
Back before I was singing, my time was broken down like this:
10 minutes harmonica warmup/technique focus (I’d play scales, or practice some technique like blow bends or tongue switching.)
30 minutes harmonica study song
20 minutes improvisation
On a day where I have band practice or performance, I don’t follow the above routine. I count band time as my practice time.
This is my minimum, 6-7 days a week. I play a lot more than this, in my recaptured time (walking the dog, stopped at lights, etc.)
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Marc Graci
YouTube Channel
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hot4blues
95 posts
Jan 26, 2018
2:22 PM
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My training consists of at least an hour per session. I primarily focus on scales using my metronome. Afterwards, I'd practice on some sheet music I'd pickup at the local music store. Artists include Nat King Cole, Thelonius Monk, Herbie Hancock, or Kenny G. If I wanna rock out, it can be The Rolling Stones, Billy Joel, or even some Blues (nobody in particular. If it sounds cool, I dive in).
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wolfkristiansen
408 posts
Jan 27, 2018
12:20 AM
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I'm an experienced player. I've played in concert halls or night clubs every year since 1974, and continue to play, though not regularly.
My next gig is on Valentine's Day at a small restaurant/night club.
I do not practice.
I did a lot of wood-shedding in the 1970s, mostly learning songs note for note and improving my technique as I did. I've been coasting ever since.
Nobody's called me on it. Muscle memory applies as much to harmonica playing as it does to bike riding, so I've gotten by. I'm not proud of this. Perhaps I'm simply lazy.
So, to answer the question, "How do experienced players practice?" know that at least one experienced player does not. I'm not suggesting you should follow my lead, Tom585.
I retired on December 31, 2017. One of my New Year's resolutions is to finally take some time to practice.
My first goal is to learn all 100 of Steve Cohen's "100 Authentic Blues Harmonica Licks" [He said, ambitiously].
Cheers,
wolf kristiansen
p.s. Tom585-- is the 585 a reference to my favorite microphone, Shure PE585?
Last Edited by wolfkristiansen on Jan 27, 2018 12:22 AM
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waltertore
3029 posts
Jan 27, 2018
11:22 AM
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I never have never practiced/rehearsed. I found it made me think too much and thinking while playing is of no interest to me. I live in an isolated world but that is ok because I dig my music as it keeps me sane and happy. That is what it is all about and that means there are no rules IMO
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walter tore's spontobeat - a real one man band and over 1 million spontaneously created songs and growing. I record about 300 full length cds a year in the Tunnel of Dreams Studio.
" life is a daring adventure or nothing at all" - helen keller
Smiling With Hope Pizza-pizza with a social cause
my videos
Last Edited by waltertore on Jan 27, 2018 11:22 AM
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Tom585
62 posts
Jan 27, 2018
12:15 PM
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Thanks, Wolf.
585 is actually my area code in western New York.
Tom
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