Good call, Ice. That first 1:35 sealed the deal for me. I can be fastidious and say, "The vibrato is too fast for my taste," but this is the sort of excitement that our instrument needs to kick it into the next decade--and to compete for attention with everything else that's out there.
That`s a lot of notes going on,This reminds me of guitar shredders.Fun to listen-to,a roller coaster of notes...This shows me ,how good it is to know the silence between notes though,, if all you hear is-note on top of notes ,with no pause to change into a response,and it`s all call...Anyhow blow your face out, it`s a harp, Ya Ya.. nowmon
Does this tuning involve different size reed slots, or can a standard diatonic be re-tuned to this scheme by a novice such as myself? I'd like to try it, but would rather do it on an old harp than spend the $ right off the bat.
Philosofy, you could do this on your own. If the notes that Gnarly outlined are actually the notes on this harmonica, they all exist within a range that you could re-tune to, with a standard diatonic harmonica. I don't know why you would go to this trouble.
On the other hand, I once retuned my C harmonica to all C's on the blow and all G's on the draw. It was really only good for 2nd position and it sounded terrible once it started to go out of tune. ---------- Marc Graci YouTube Channel
Will is always coming up with something new, always raising the bar. Will is known throughout Europe, the UK and States. Does FREE TUTORIALS and puts in the work.
With such an eloquent, profound and detailed judgement jerome I've got to say I'm more than intrigued to hear more about your playing credentials?
Why the flaming John M G? I thought I was entitled to my opinion. I joined here less than 6 months ago. Take the thirty seconds reserved for your mate, and do it to yourself. Regards
I was looking for some tips on improvising and stumbled upon one of Will's videos on youtube. I had no idea who he was at the time, but I really liked the vid. So I like his teaching style as well. I'm glad he's getting some run in here.
Last Edited by Honkin On Bobo on Oct 29, 2019 12:49 PM
I'm impressed by the speed with which Will Wilde can manipulate the harmonica. I can't do that.
His phrases in the lower end of the harp are fairly standard, with the addition of speed and effects. His phrases in the upper end are more interesting. I don't think I could do them even at a lower speed.
My problem with this, as usual, is that I hear very little blues/soul/heart (pick your term) in the performance. I'd rather be moved by a soulfully played single note.
No, I am not flaming at all, it is just an honest serious question!
We can't all like the same stuff. We all have differing tastes. But if you're going to tell us what YOUR taste is, without anything constructive in your comment, I think it's fair to ask you what your playing or at least your listening credentials are?
I hate blues rock and don't care much for "soloing over a jam track" really but I don't think the intent was to make a lasting piece of music so much as to showcase the jam track and tuning. Gotta say the tuning is interesting being able to bend the root note in the 2nd octave like that. He has great chops but I'm mostly with Jerome on this one..
---------- 4' 4+ 3' 2~~~ -Mike Ziemba Harmonica is Life!
Will Wilde is a fine, often brilliant blues rock harmonica player, and this vid is indeed an example of Modern Blues Harmonica. There are many different varieties of MBH, though, and Wilde is an excellent example of a particular intense variety of contemporary playing.
Off topic, ....GRUMBLE, GRUMBLE, GRUNT, GRUMBLE. ---------- www.ted-burke.com
Last Edited by ted burke on Oct 30, 2019 2:08 PM
jerome, you are certainly entitled to your opinion. However, that comment came across as pretty gruff and arrogant. That's just how I interpreted it. It doesn't bother me (hey, its just the internet), but 'Does nothing for me!' can be taken many ways. Now, someone asking for you to clarify your opinion is fair game, but asking for your bona fides is a little out of bounds, imo. There are LOTS of musicians that most people love, that I don't care for. And I realize these musicians have more musical talent in their toenail clippings than I do in my whole body. But their music still doesn't move me.
OT to jerome - lots of stuff flies around this site - the response that upset you may be a 2 or 3 on a scale of 1 to 10.....thicken that ol' skin a bit and stick around! you might actually have fun.... ---------- The Iceman
"Does nothing for me" is a perfectly legitimate reaction, and doesn't necessarily imply anything negative about the music being discussed. There is tons of fabulous music, some entire genres, that do nothing for me. Doesn't make them bad, doesn't mean I'm insulting them, just a statement of fact. And asking about my playing ability is irrelevant. You like what you like, I like what I like, doesn't matter how we play.
I happen to like the video, fwiw. I have just have an issue with "let's hear you play" as a rebuttal.
garry nails it, i think."does nothing for me" is no reason to ask anyone for their "credentials". we're supposed to be discusing harmonica matters, not challenging each other to a duel. ---------- www.ted-burke.com
Brilliant harp player his style is more like thrash metal using a Harmonica than a guitar. I prefer something with more melody to it. Won't take anything away from him though brilliant harp player, lets not knock him because we don't like his style of playing. Other wise there's no hope for me I'm only a beginner.
People please check and read exactly what I said, you will see that I specifically did NOT say "let's hear you play"
My exact words were these!
"With such an eloquent, profound and detailed judgement jerome I've got to say I'm more than intrigued to hear more about your playing credentials?
Was it sarcasm? absolutely, yep dead set it was. To me that 4 word response was and is in any language a put down with or without the "!"
Garry has said “DOES NOTHING FOR ME” is fine, so be it, I can live with that, he's the moderator. Personally I think it was a lazy post that added absolutely zero to the topic, where do you go from there? What’s the point of making a post like that? That was why I posted Will’s rendition of “Lazy”
I think my comments have been taken out of context. I said I was intrigued, i.e. aroused the curiosity or interest of; fascinate Maybe I should have been a bit more exact Along these lines, That’s a disappointingly short assessment of someone who clearly has a great harmonica playing skill sets and mastery not only in playing but also in setting up and tuning his harps to come up with an instrument that allows him to further expand his playing repertoire. Exactly what is it you find not to your taste, could you kindly elaborate, I would be very interested to hear what records you like? Etc. etc.
But I didn’t
I said “We can't all like the same stuff. We all have differing tastes. But if you're going to tell us what YOUR taste is, without anything constructive in your comment, I think it's fair to ask you what your playing or at least your listening credentials are?”
I’m just tired of lazy posts where someone will toss out a few words that add nothing constructive to a discussion and I totally disagree that “does nothing for me” is anything but an overt put down when there is no context and that’s the ONLY input into a discussion. That’s just my opinion. It amazes me that anyone could think just 4 words could qualify as adding anything to a topic?
Do I like everything these guys ever played?
Big Walter, Little Walter, Junior Wells, Dennis Gruenling, Gary Primich, Adam Gussow, Jason Ricci, Will Wilde, George Smith, Carey Bell, Mark Hummel, Dave Morris, James Cotton, Howlin’ Wolf, Rick Estrin, Rob Paprozzi, Ronnie Shellist, Paul DeLay, William Clarke, Lee Oskar, Alan Wilson, Paul Oscher, John Popper, Paul Jones, Kim Wilson, Chris Wilson, Sugar Blue, Jim Conway, Steve “West” Weston, Gus Herrera, Roly Platt, John Mayal, Johnny Marino, Johnny Mars, Johnny Woods, Little Sonny, Phil Wiggins, Marko Balland, Norton Buffalo, Sonny Boy’s 1 and 2, Paul Butterfield, Slim Harpo, Steve Guyger, Tsaj Mahal, Billy Branch, Bill Morganfield, Bobby Rush
No of course not! We’ve all got different taste. It’s a given.
In the years I've been here I have never ever made any derogatory comment about any harp player with the exception of Mick Jagger and Nicky Shane and they were probably on Facebook
I saw a post the other day on another forum headed “Please, No More Overblows” I bit on that one too!
So, “does nothing for me”, well, does nothing for me!
Jerome, I'm 67 in a couple of weeks. Our 14 year old dog was diagnosed with renal failure Tuesday night, luckily it's acute and could be due to an infection, we hope this is the case. I wouldn't normally be this public, but hey, toughen up some. Try and post something that can add to a discussion and I'll promise to play nicely if I'm still around to play!
I don't know how Jerome's comment originally read. But the comment "Does nothing for me" is absolutely unobjectionable. It's perfectly civil. We're all allowed to weigh in on what we're seeing and hearing. That's sort of the point. In any case, Jerome's comment, as edited, is well within the rules. (Of course it might have been radically different before the edit.)
John M G's comment, on the other hand, which expresses "curiosity" about Jerome's own playing ability, violates the rules, albeit slyly. Here's the relevant rule, entitled civility:
"Civility is the governing virtue of this forum. Please contribute in a spirit of civility. Vigorous, passionate conversation is fine. Disagree emphatically, if you wish, with the opinions others express here. But do not flame, insult, or otherwise impugn the looks, parentage, intelligence, or talents of your fellow board members, and do not start threads that seek to encourage that sort of behavior. You are not required to like everybody here. But you are required to remain civil towards them if you wish to remain a member of this forum."
What John M G's comment does is impugn Jerome's talent. It's basically a slightly softer way of saying, "Who are YOU to offer your opinion on somebody else's playing abilities, you can'-even-bend-a-note wanker?"
Please reread the rules, everybody. And please don't get personal. Thanks
--the majordomo
P.S.: For the record, Garry and ted burke are exactly right in their responses. If the comment, "Does nothing for me" pisses you off, btw, the proper response is to say, "Please be more specific." Or "Please post an example of modern blues harmonica playing that you like, so I can get a sense of where you're coming from."
"jerome" is one of my favorite blues harp player/vocalists. I have one of his cds which I have almost worn out. He can play and he can sing! ---------- Wisdom does not always come with old age. Sometimes old age arrives alone.
Iceman thanks very much for posting that vid, I've listened to some of Wills stuff before but never really listened. So I put the headphones on and listened to that and I'm glad I did, went on to listen to a few you tube vids and have just finished listening to his version of Gary Moores "Parisienne walkways", he plays using two harps a "A" and a "C" I think, absolutely brilliant, to me anyway. thanks again.
@John MG: I'm sorry if I misconstrued your comment. The "show me what you got" thing is a pet peeve of mine, and I guess I missed the sarcasm. I didn't mean to cast aspersions.
Well I need to make my one annual post to MBH so as to not lose full voting privileges and my reserved parking space down at the cross roads, so this thread is as good as any—
It’s always fun to read a thread like this before listening to the original posting, and I was sure that Will’s video was not going to do anything for me. I thought it was great! It moved me and had soul. I was expecting the Jason Ricci “too many notes played too fast” effect (I love much of Jason’s music but not all) but what I heard was the spirit of Paul Butterfield who, if he heard this, would roll over in his grave, sit up and applaud.
We've always got to play a balancing game here between the new and the old, both with the music and with the members. Everyone has to make their first few notes on the harmonica and the same goes for forum posts. It's fine to disagree with the note choices and the comment choices, but this place has a culture of its own. It's something that has developed over a decade and part of that has to be being welcoming to newcomers.
John, instead of thinking 'what does this guy with 3 posts have to offer?' how about thinking about it like 'this guy has 3 posts, what do we have to offer to him?'
I think 'It does nothing for me?' is a valid response. I've spent countless hours trying to figure the answer out for certain musicians who obviously have huge talent. Stevie Wonder? Does nothing for me. Why? Probably deep seated psychological issues. When I was a kid the kids listening to Stevie were the kids who went to the dance, popular kids, the cheerleaders and A students, not my clique. I can recognize that he is brilliant but he does nothing for me.
Posts always lose a lot of inflection compared to face to face comments. You learn people's personalities over time but when someone joins the forum and starts making posts they are the new kid. We, per the forum creed, give them the benefit of the doubt. We take their comments in the best possible light, and we keep in mind that posting on a new forum means you aren't surrounded by people you've been posting back and forth with for a decade. They haven't been indoctrinated with 'give everyone the benefit of the doubt' like we should have been by now. Shake their hand, ask them how they are, and if they say something that you don't think adds to the conversation take a step back from it and try to figure out how you might gain information from their post without going on the offensive.
'Does nothing for me' is a good jumping off point. Asking them what does do it for them is a good start, but you have to remember that you lose any of the inflections you would face to face and that they are the stranger in the room who is putting themselves out there by showing up to a party where everyone else already knows each other.
I know some people in this thread have used 'does nothing for me' before, and some people have had it used on them when they post their stuff. It doesn't add a lot of information to the thread but we've been here for 10 years learning the language of the harp and learning each other's tics and tocs. It took me a decade to articulate why I don't listen to Stevie Wonder. There are a couple people on the forum whose playing I've spent countless hours trying to figure out- why it does or work they way I think they want it to work. Howard Levy's playing is a technical wonder but even when he plays the blues it does nothing for me. He seems like a really nice guy and a technical wonder but we just seem to be listening to different scales. I don't have the skill to explain better than that. Maybe in another 10 years I'll know enough to be able to tackle that one. Bass player Adam Neely is a font of musical wisdom, but I don't like the music he plays. I'd love to sit down and pick his brain. Listening to guys like that is how you learn the words you need to know to explain why you do and don't like something.
Jerome, please don't leave. John, I get it, but you have to remember that text is a flat format. I think you overreacted. It's not the end of the world though. It's not going on your permanent record or anything. Lets all just take a few deep breaths in and out. That's how we make music after all.
Happy New Years, in case I don't get a chance to post tomorrow.
Side note- smileys... I know I post a lot of them. I never post them sarcastically. It's a decision I made to make it clear that whenever I use one it's clear that I'm cool with things and that I'm not trying to stir the pot. It's my effort, in a format that begets uncertainty to be as clear as I can.
Hi Everyone! This is my second post. (First was on blues jams in New York.)
People may be interested to know that the harmonica Will is playing in both the videos, is the "Seydel: Wilde Rock Tuning," which as Martin and Gnarly noted has been re-tuned.
Wilde writes about his signature harmonica, "I designed the Wilde tuning specifically for playing hard rock and blues-rock on the harmonica. As much as I love the standard Richter tuning, I have always found it frustrating when it comes to playing 'rock guitar' style licks, particularly in the upper octave. The Wilde tuning addresses all of the problems I had with Richter, whilst still retaining the bluesy feel of classic second position harmonica that we all know and love."
I am a big fan of Wilde's YouTube lessons. I also love his reworking of Deep Purple's "Easy." Perhaps it's all those memories of the Cow Palace concerts and Ritchie Blackmore using a bottle of Jack Daniels as a slide. Boy were Deep Purple a loud band.
A little more about me as an introduction, I started playing in 1975 and grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area. I now live in Brooklyn and I am studying with the amazing Trip Henderson.(kudzurunner recommends Trip as a teacher on this site!)
While I have played all those years, I started getting serious and trying to improve a couple of years ago. Finding this website is helpful!
I am a huge fan of all things Gussow, music, movies, books, on-line lessons and attended the Summer Harmonica Camp in 2018.
Todd Parrot's lessons and playing at the Summer Harmonica Camp were a highlight for me. (Todd, how cool you have Wilde at your upcoming Carolina Harp Fest!)
I value all the discussions here, even as I mostly just read.
For a player to get Seydel to issue a signature harmonica with a creative tuning, seems like a good example of Modern Blues Harmonica. Last, "Wilde Rock Tuning," is a pretty cool name.
