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Dirty-South Blues Harp forum: wail on! >
How we really learn to play!
How we really learn to play!
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Mangy
1 post
Sep 23, 2010
5:35 AM
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In my experience, learning to play takes years. Going to jam camps ,Hill Country's etc. is more of a social experience with a chance to rub elbows with some of those players that you would like to emulate.Most people don't need more harps,amps,mics,gizmos or lessons. They need more practice time.It takes time for the connections to build in your brain and the older you are the longer it will take.If you don't give up you WILL learn to play.Instead of buying more gear,lessons etc., I give my money to a charity that performs surgery on children with cleft palates.Stop looking for the Holy Grail and practice,practice,practice.
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KingoBad
400 posts
Sep 23, 2010
5:40 AM
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On behalf of children with cleft palates. Thank you for your generous support.
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toddlgreene
1818 posts
Sep 23, 2010
5:54 AM
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First off, welcome to the forum, Mangy. I'm sure we have a member here somewhere who is a veterinarian, and can get you on a regimen of Ivermectin immediately. Just kidding.
To call jam camps and HCH events, etc. a 'Holy Grail' that replace practice, practice,practice isn't exactly on target. If you're trying to learn anything new, be it harmonica, archery, basketweaving-whatever, the best way to learn how is to be among peers. Folks that have already figured out what you're trying to do, or are on the same journey. You may very well learn more from an attendee than the host-but you'll gain nothing unless you're there.
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Crescent City Harmonica Club
Todd L Greene, Co-Founder
Last Edited by on Sep 23, 2010 6:27 AM
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aka
20 posts
Sep 23, 2010
5:58 AM
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My thanks too for all that is done for children.
Cash won't make you a good harp player, only practice, and sadly in my case, talent.
I play every chance I get. I figure playing is like sharpening a knife. Each time I play, I get a little better.
I consider camps and get togethers as entertainment, and if I get some good rifs to steal, or a tip or two...double bonus.
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TNFrank
208 posts
Sep 23, 2010
6:20 AM
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A musical instrument, ANY musical instrument is simply a tool that is used to express what is on the inside of the person playing it. If you already play an instrument then it tends to be easier to cross over to another one, most of the time.
Also, there is a price point where you'll get out of the "junk" category and get into a real instrument, above that you get more refinement for the extra cash you spend but for a beginner(and even some Pros) is wont' necessarily be better.
I've seen equipment wars break out on Archery Forums where I've hung out. A guy will already have a pretty decent $500 compound bow and it'll not be cutting groups as tight as he'd like so he'll throw up a thread about "Do you think my groups would improve if I bought "X" bow?" I'd always tell him No, that what he really needs is to make sure the bow that he already has is properly tunned and then practice more.
With practice a person can take something that's "good enough" and do some pretty great things. Without practice you can buy top of the line and still not do anything worthwhile.
I also feel that there has to be something inside of you, something that you're born with that makes you what you are. I've always had a natural talent for playing the guitar and for music in general. My mom and dad couldn't play a lick on anything. I later found out that I was adopted and that my birth father had played guitar in a local band and I had a brother(killed in a car accident in '83, never got to know him :( who could also play it all sort of clicked into place.
For me playing music is just something I do naturally, like breathing. The main challenge for me when taking up a new instrument is learning what sounds are made and where. Once I figure that out then it's all a matter of bring out the music that's inside my head through the instrument be it guitar, bass, mandolin, banjo or now harmonica.
I also find that I learn more and have more fun playing with others then I do sitting and playing with the radio or CD's. It's like with other people you can feed off of each other and you have instant feed back about things that you're doing, both good and bad, so you can correct mistakes and work on things when you're playing around others.
In closing I also want to say that I appreciate what you're doing for the kids. At the end of the day it's not what equipment we own or how well we play but what we can do for others that really counts. Welcome to the forum.
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Harmonicas:
Hohner Big River in Low F,G,A,Bb
Suzuki HarpMaster in C
Suzuki FolkMaster in D,E,F
Hohner Hot Metal harps in G,A,C,D,E
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N.O.D.
224 posts
Sep 23, 2010
7:05 AM
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http://www.modernbluesharmonica.com/board/board_topic/5560960/702137.htm
Mangy you say
Stop looking for the Holy Grail and practice,practice,practice :(
Some advise from a drop in :(
go to the woodshed unlock the above puzzel :)
TNFrank
I've always had a natural talent for playing the guitar and for music in general:)
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Put ya money where ya mouth is :)
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HarmonicaMick
148 posts
Sep 23, 2010
7:13 AM
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Hi Mangy,
Broadly speaking, I agree with what you said. But, when Todd says:
"Folks that have already figured out what you're trying to do, or are on the same journey. You may very well learn more from an attendee than the host-but you'll gain nothing unless you're there."
he does make a good point. It is very difficult to learn an instrument in complete isolation.
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YouTube SlimHarpMick
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TNFrank
209 posts
Sep 23, 2010
7:24 AM
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I also suggest that you listen to a lot of music. I noticed that the times when I'd not touch my guitar for a month or more were times when I wasn't listening to any music at all. It's like I have a "Music Tank" inside of me, I fill it by listening to music then empty it by playing. You need to fill your tank. Also, if things start to get boring switch up what you're listening too. Been a Classic Rock and Metal guy all of my life but I do like Bluegrass a lot but never really listened to it much. Then a couple years ago when I got an acoustic guitar I started to listen to a lot of Bluegrass and it was like music was all new to me again, I had a renewed interest in it. I think sometimes we get stuck in a rut because we don't get out there and explore other types of music. Even if you're only playing the Blues it never hurts to check out some Country or Rock n' Roll from time to time. You never know what you'll learn that you can bring over into your style of music.
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Harmonicas:
Hohner Big River in Low F,G,A,Bb
Suzuki HarpMaster in C
Suzuki FolkMaster in D,E,F
Hohner Hot Metal harps in G,A,C,D,E
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RyanMortos
808 posts
Sep 23, 2010
8:14 AM
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It is true that most learning happens over time with lots of practice & without that you'll probably get nowhere but to say that nothing is learned from taking lessons (free or paid), being part of a harmonica club, spending time with other musicians, and going to workshops & festivals that involve teaching is nonsense. Not only that but different people have different aptitudes for learning different ways & any experience even if it's bad will teach you something.
I do agree however, that whatever mic, amp, & even make/model harps you're using really dont matter as long as what your using works for you & the music it's applied to (and is in tune!).
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~Ryan
"I play the harmonica. The only way I can play is if I get my car going really fast, and stick it out the window." - Stephen Wright
Pennsylvania - H.A.R.P. (Harmonica Association 'Round Philly)
Contact:
My youtube account
Last Edited by on Sep 23, 2010 8:18 AM
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toddlgreene
1819 posts
Sep 23, 2010
8:32 AM
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Another benefit from being in a group setting, be it a club, clinic, jam camp or one-on-one, is not just what you absorb, but what the teacher/mentor/more experienced player notices that YOU do that might not be right, and they can easily point it out and give you a solution. You might be having trouble doing draw bends, for instance. You can watch someone do it all day long and quite possibly never figure it out. But if someone can see your attempts at the technique and cater to your specific needs to achieve it, it's worth being in the group.
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Crescent City Harmonica Club
Todd L Greene, Co-Founder
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Jim Rumbaugh
309 posts
Sep 23, 2010
9:34 AM
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I will only agree with Mangy's main point if you are talking about PRACTICE and not PLAYING. I define PRACTICE as taking some NEW and mastering it. Just PLAYING re-inforces old habits and can keep you in the same rut.
I am an advocate of lessons and for harmonica camps, etc. Augusta Blues Week at Elkins, WV went a long way to taking me out of a rut, and pointing me in a new direction. If you only surround yourself with the same old stuff, you will only sound like the same old stuff.
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intermediate level (+) player per the Adam Gussow Scale, Started playing 2001
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Greyowlphotoart
41 posts
Sep 23, 2010
10:17 AM
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@Jim Rumbaugh. I agree. To put it another way:
'If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you always got'
"Inside every old person there is a young person wondering....What the fu*k happened"
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oldwailer
1348 posts
Sep 23, 2010
10:35 AM
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Every time you get the urge to post a long reply on the forum--practice instead.
Don't even call it practice--it sounds arduous--call it "playing."
You can learn more new stuff to play with in a couple of days with the masters and your peers than you could learn in a year on your own--you don't really learn that much--but you go home energized and ready to do more time in the woodshed.
Of course, a good master level lesson can do the same thing on a far more regular basis, if you can afford it. . .
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hvyj
632 posts
Sep 23, 2010
10:41 AM
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IMHO, structured practice is extremely important. But you also learn a lot playing with other musicians. Being on stage, live, in public with a band is a whole different experience from which a player learns different things than are learned from practice alone. i think both are important to musical development. Of course, lessons are great, too.
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blueswannabe
63 posts
Sep 23, 2010
6:02 PM
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You have to listen....listen...and listen to good blues music and develop an ear as well.. It's a slow process for a middle age guy but it does work and it begins to come together but through constant practice (or playing, whatever you want to call it) and trial and error.
Last Edited by on Sep 23, 2010 6:03 PM
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