I've been playing diatonic harmonica for exactly a year now (I bought my first golden melody this time last year). My 5k project started in August when I really started going crazy, but I figured I'd post a video cause it's exciting and amazing that a year has flown by and it seems like I just opened the package yesterday!
After a long 12 hour shift, but I had to put something out there for this date!
Listen to your phrases, they are all the same shape/block/form/length etc... and it get very boring very quickly.
Don't be afraid to use a lot more space.
Try to create a melody while you are playing. Set up motiffs and repeat more of your lines and phrases.
Blindfold yourself when you play. You assimilate most information through your eyes. I can see thinking and hear it in your music. Disable your eyes for the next year and learn to connect your ears to your environment.
---------- "The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are." - Joseph Campbell
That's awesome man. Keep it going! I'll tell you a story. I was playing at the bar one night, the bass player says to me (once he knew I was classically trained): "Man, you are going about this all backwards. Most harmonica players never learn what all the notes do, and you knew before you started!"
Now if your skills in uploading videos matched your playing ability you'd have something. The audio and video was about 3 seconds out of synch when I viewed it.
JUST KIDDING MAL! (though the A/V was out of synch)
NICE PLAYING! And i'll take the opportunity to add that you're one of a handful of posters whose threads I ALWAYS read...always something interesting to say. Weren't you the guy posting the link on the art of learning a musical instrument? Not a technical treatise but the psychology of practice or some such thing?
Anyway whatever you're doing it's working. And lastly, i'll say for me you're every bit the inspiration as the super advanced guys are. I've been into it longer than you and I'm nowhere near the player you are.
Thanks everybody! I just woke up and listened to what I recorded and I must say Buddha I agree with everything you say. + those are excellent tips to improve on. I am curious though, if one is tired and reverts back to "home plate" many times, how do you make it the natural inclination to simply play new and exciting things everytime? I don't know how to change that habit yet..
And yes, I've been having out of synching problems and don't know how to fix it. It must be this new computer I got. Well, at least the sound can be heard and you can imagine what it might look like! + or minus 3 seconds!
Last Edited by on Apr 23, 2010 6:58 AM
You impressed me, I think that you sound a lot cleaner and more in control than a lot of other people at 1 year out. Not as sloppy compared to where I'm at right now to be sure.
I get a solid charge out of listening to other people like this who are trying to put it together out there. This video will probably motivate me to practice hard today more than anything else I run across.
Very cool mini-lesson from Buddha--and very cool playing as well.
You should show some respect to your elders by making it look a lot harder to master this little toy instrument. You're not supposed to post stuff that is actually enjoyable to hear after only a year of playing. . .
Congrats, MAL. Your posts here and on your 5kproject page have inspired me and influenced my own harp playing trajectory quite a few times. Thanks and keep it up.
Out of sync here too. So i blindfolded myself, thanx Buddha, and i really enjoyed the listening! 1st anniversary? Forgot the zero behind the one?! i have to totally agree with oldwailer...
Bhudda's assessment I have to agree with and the use of space is something many players tend to lack, anbd younger players regardless of the instrument, especially newer to the game tend to have this problem quite a lot because they're trying to force the groove rather than ride the groove and let the groove do the pushing.
The idea of playing blindfolded reminds me of what Cham-Ber Huang, the great classical harp virtuoso says in his old instructional set of learning how to play blind folded and feel where you are without having to look at the hole numbers ---------- Sincerely, Barbeque Bob Maglinte Boston, MA http://www.barbequebob.com CD available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/bbmaglinte
sorry buddha, couldn't resist. all jokes aside-blindfolding is used in certain martial arts-kenpo comes to mind. a student is blindfolded,assumes a stance, and is required to move forward,back...you get the picture. if you play blindfolded, you can't instantly get distracted by visual input. if you close your eyes you can, and probably will. i have the utmost respect for cham-ber huang. what buddha and huang prescribe do indeed have merit.
