I've stumbled upon an instructional series on youtube by Paul Lassey which I find very well done.
Paul Lassey is a french player and, from what I've heard, a respected teacher.
he's got many videos on youtube, but I find his series "Le plan de la semaine" ("the lick of the week") just smart : every week he goes through a different lick, usually much more than a lick actually, most of them blues.
OK, that's in FRENCH. But if you can overcome that, it's just nicely done, with accurate tabs on the screen for every note he plays.
Here is a sample, taken from the Blues Brothers : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqbNNUZDnu8
I let you find your way on youtube search if you want more.
I've been checking is site (coursdharmonica.fr) lately it's really interesting. Been learning some easy tab. He's also has a harp forum (http://coursdharmonica.xooit.fr/index.php) which looks like the meething place for all the french speeking players.
If one of you guys wants something translated don't be affraid to ask, french's my native thong.
he has a very good rendition of stevie wonder's hit: superstition...real funky solo in the middle, so funky in fact that its stanks to high heaven. aww hell, ill go ahead n post it.
---------- Kyzer's Travels
Last Edited by on Apr 07, 2010 1:23 AM
@Kyser: I'm not terribly possessive when it comes to stuff I've put out on YouTube, but I think that Lassey has ripped off 2/3rds of my own harp adaptation of "Superstition." His video is dated January 2010. I worked up my adaptation last summer (2009) and uploaded a video in August. He's doing a "lite" version of my adaptation of the horn line. The giveaway--if my claim is to hold any weight--is the sequence at the end: 3d whole step bend; 3d half-step bend; 3d whole step bend. That's what I put out there; that's what he does. But if you go back to the original Stevie Wonder versions, any of them, you'll realize that this particular line on the harp is an abstraction. It's certainly ONE line that's going on inside the complex harmony, but it's not the only one and it's not an obvious one--until you've heard Gussow's version. Here's my version, followed by Stevie's original:
Kudzu, I do not post on youtube, but I fooled around Superstition some months ago, and that's the way I played it. Took that from me ? Joke apart, that tiny bit is a rather obvious move (check the horns on stevie's video at 2:21), and very harp friendly played that way.
I just discovered yours and Lassey's videos today, and what's interesting here, apart from the fact that you're doing a great job, is your impro parts. Different esthetics, different ways to unfold your line, different take on the instrument.
Although I prefer your version (well, second to Stevie, no need to say), I find that "confrontation" enlightning.
kudzurunner i think your vid got appropriated a bit, even if certain horn lines are super obviously harp friendly. great workout.(yours) always loved the kid in wonders vid at :39-:41.
Adam, the only thing I dont really care for in his version is the ending of the intro... the "dah dah dah!" its just not the same as the horns in the original song. it's off a bit, but i just thought it was his way of doing things, or the way he hears it. It isnt bad, just not how I would do it. Of course I heard your version first, and like it better in the key its supposed to be in. (although I dont own an Ab harp) What I really wanted to show, by posting the vid, was the solo. I hear a touch of brendan powers in there somewhere... ---------- Kyzer's Travels
