If you have a good unidirectional microphone you can put the backing track in Audacity and then just play along as you record. (Headphones will work too!) You may get a little bit of doubling of the backing track on your harp track, but not much.
The other option is zooming in and doing it by sight. Theoretically you can even adjust the tempo and get them to line up different takes.
That HTML code option isn't perfect. It seems to autoplay, which can be a pain if someone is playing something else when they open the thread.
You Have 42 Days to prove you can play something with structure :)
Walk the Walk i heard the Talk, you did say you like to have all the tools to get the job done right? and if the job don't get done it's not because of the tools, it's because of your efforts?
You can put in a big effort in 42 days get to it :) ---------- Honey sorry it didn't mean it i was Lauging so loud it came out all of a sudden :(
Well you can clean it up it bloody stinks!!!!
Ok Honey Sorry :(
Last Edited by on Oct 09, 2010 6:31 PM
After listening to NOD talking I always assumed I was missing something because of his accent. Now I realize it's schizophrenia.
"Honey sorry it didn't mean it i was Lauging so loud it came out all of a sudden :(
Well you can clean it up it bloody stinks!!!!
Ok Honey Sorry :("
Lol. It's like unfiltered stream of consciousness. :) And you worked a plug in for the harp contest. Well played, mate! (Sorry, that's the only Australian I know!)
I think you should slow your guns down a little here. Everyone here wants to encourage you to get better, but you can't keep sticking it in our face and expect to keep being treated well. We appreciate that you are trying hard.
If you want an honest opinion of your playing, you should ask for it. Don't just stick it out there and say you can play when you haven't even asked us to comment.
You have good energy. Perhaps you should ask where you should go next, or what you could improve upon. Not prove to us that you can play after a couple of weeks. There is only so far that a beginner's "ethusiasm" will go before you really start to annoy someone.
We want to help, just get the chip off your shoulder.
If you are up for a pissing contest, I think you will find your head squarely cut here.
Trying to justify your position with more crap. You didn't just attack the guitarist you DID comment on the harp playing, and you are coming from a position of ignorance.
You could probably make a lot of sounds that Big Walter Horton makes tooting around on your harp at home too. but you could not make it coherent music - which NOD did - regardless of your opinion of how well he did it.
I appreciate that you are a musician. Is this the way you would like to be treated from a new guitarist on a guitar forum with "years of listening to music?" Or perhaps you might think that they should listen to you, the experienced guitarist?
I'm not sure what you are trying to accomplish here....
Last Edited by on Oct 09, 2010 9:16 PM
I have to agree with KingoBad, and his original comment had nothing to do with your response to NOD. It was your original post that is likely to annoy some people. You've been playing a very short time and then you make a post essentially saying "Look at me, look at how good I can play already" and you don't even bother asking advice from people who have been doing this A LOT longer than you. It's like you posted it with the intent of everyone listening to it and expecting them to say "wow you're doing GREAT, I can't believe you've only been playing a short while, WOW". But the fact is that your playing is exactly what I'd expect from someone who's only been playing a few weeks like you. You're not doing badly, but you've also got a long way to go before you have any real competence on the instrument.
You've made a lot of posts in a very short period of time, and most of those posts seem to be you giving your opinion and running commentary. There's nothing wrong with giving your opinion on certain things, but when learning a new skill, the people who seem to progress the most are those that do A LOT of listening, and ask questions, and really listen to the advice of those who've mastered that skill (practicing a lot is also pretty important).
Imagine you've decided to teach guitar lessons, and you have a student who's only been playing guitar a couple weeks. And during these lessons this student spends way more time talking than you(the teacher). The student spends the entire lesson giving you his opinions on guitar playing and telling you what he thinks of all different models of guitars. When you try to tell him something he'll argue with you, as if his opinion(someone who's only played a couple weeks) is just as valid as yours(someone who's been playing well over a decade). And on the rare times he does ask you a question, he doesn't really listen to what you have to say, and may even argue with you. And then on one of your next lessons the student comes in and says "listen to this", and then proceeds to play something you'd expect to hear from someone who's only been playing the guitar a couple weeks, and then says to you "see, I really can play". And this student doesn't even bother to ask your opinion or ask what he needs to work on. I'm guessing you would start to get frustrated with this student quite quickly, and you might find it more and more difficult to be encouraging to this particular student.
Last Edited by on Oct 09, 2010 10:05 PM
TN, on draws on the end of phrases try uncovering about 1/2 of the whole above it. You'll get a nice dirty blues sound.
NOD, you need to bring yourself up in the mix. You are getting buried by the guitar on that particular recording. I didn't like the chugging part as much as the rest, but there was some darn perty playin' in there. :)
And TN, remember, if someone puts a smiley face at the end of their comment, read it as light hearted. :)
TNFrank let me tell you about how i become self aware of how little i knew about the harmonica,I been playing about 3 months and i went over to a drummer friend i know who has a band that gigs all the time,I jammed with them and they was hey we like your stuff,I got 3 paying gigs in befor they relised i was only a harp player of about 3 months;-) well i didnt understand i was like i feel like a natural this is easy,so i decided to check out some harp players on utube, to see where i was at,i see this kid that looks kinda like a tweaker with punk hair im like lets see how i compare.It was Jason Ricci,I got humble real quick after watching his fox trot utube,I was like dame tweaker can play.(Not to call Jason a tweaker i didnt know who he was ,like i said i just started playing;-) http://www.reverbnation.com/hobostubs
Last Edited by on Oct 09, 2010 10:43 PM
Yo Nacca I ment to post this vid I hear you on the getting Buryed by the Dobro Guitar thats why a sat forward on that clip it's only a Problem at Home :/
Yo Nacca let me Help with your Australian:)
Q1 Well played, mate!
Sorry, that's the only Australian I know!
Try this Good Old Aussie Term next time :)
Ripper Mate!!!!
Ripper Mater mate!!!! is used with your choice of expletives in front depending on the company at hand:)
ie Bloody Ripper mate!!!!, or Harsher expletives :)
Ok i was kind of imressed with TNFrank harp playing yea for a week hes not doing bad,I wasnt really impressed with the guitar,sorry FRANK After you screamin how good you were after 35 years i was exspecting some SRV or some really cool original work,Im sorry but im surrounded by people that play that good surrounded,Hey im not saying im better,dont get me wrong.I judge not cause you can play,but you sound like every other guitar player ive ever heard,that lives in my small town,but hey the harp was ok for a week of playing.And befor you go a tell me how bad my music sucks,remember i dont care,and im not bragging about how good i am, but peace anyways http://www.reverbnation.com/hobostubs
Q1 If you really want to get some opinions about your fist vid why not let me post it over at HC, I'll say it's someone that I know and they're looking for input on their slide guitar playing, You up for that?
Please leave my Brother out of this no you can't have permission to do that it would be a Perpetuated Lie:(
Frank Calm down I have never heard your guitar playing befor i made the comment how could you be offended:
i offerd the vids in response you asked for an example of my Harp Playing i offerd it to you in these vids Please refrain from insulting my Brother he knows nothing of me posting these vids hear :(
if you wish i could show him your comment and give him Adams email address so they can speak i think this would be a fair thing to do You Up for That?
Q2 I've still not heard NOD do anything other then a little Comping with a guitar. No disrespect but it is what it is :)
True it is what it is :)
it's ok Thanks mate :)
Hay no disrespect Bro it's cool you are allowed an Honest Opinion:)
hey to be honest i could hear some off stuff from the slide playing also,but he does better than i can and he's not bad,Im trying to learn some slide on a 3 string but i cant play any on a 6 string,i prefear acoustics,after pawning 2 strats and 1 nice les paul cause of drug addiction back in the 90s i went to acoustic's and thats what i play all the time now love em.
Last Edited by on Oct 10, 2010 8:46 AM
On facebook i saw this and hit liked it kind of fits here(I've learned that pleasing everyone is impossible. But, pissing everyone off is a piece of cake! .
http://www.reverbnation.com/hobostubs
Last Edited by on Oct 10, 2010 9:20 AM
"I don't come to these forums to criticize people's music or say that they suck but just like Simon Cowell or Piers Morgan, when something sounds "off" I'm going to say something about it. You've got to call a spade a spade, you can't sugar coat things even if it doesn't make me the most popular forum member or if it gets me criticized by other forum members in retaliation. I'm just callin' it as I see(or hear) it, that's all."
You're going to have to play a whole lot better than that to get away with a Chris Michalek routine. ;-)
Last Edited by on Oct 10, 2010 9:36 AM
Enjoyed the vid's Nasty (sorry, you'll always be Nasty to me my friend). :)
Also, for the record, mine is bigger than all of yours.... of course you don't have a clue as to what the hell I'm talking about but I'm sure I know where your minds went :), :)
I dont care what they say about you frank i like you youve brought a kind of humerous/ serious ness to the forum,your a chareter,I like the ribs i can eat at your table but im just funnin ya,I think your probelly a sock puppet of some bad ass harp player and just seeing who you can get to show there butt;-) but if not your topics do bring some fun to the forum.so keep up the good work
Hey TNFrank, quit fishing for compliments and get back to practicing, man! It's all good to post some playing here for some input, but don't flip when someone tells you something you might not have wanted to hear. Take it or leave it. That's the whole point of a forum. Everyone can put in their 2 cents. So here's my 2 cents: Chill out, man:)
Last Edited by on Oct 10, 2010 11:55 AM
"well, that's where I draw the line. I know my abilities on guitar, I've sat in on jam sessions, been in a fairly decent band and have played for a very long time so don't tell me what guitar playing is, I KNOW what it is because I can do it."
Seriously, are you listening even to yourself? Or do you just vomit words to keep up with you bad manners?
I can not put it more plainly than your own words.
Sometimes it is better to ask a question and actually listen to the answer. The old guys would have kicked your ass off the front porch a long time ago.
You DO NOT HAVE TO DEFEND YOURSELF! Just play, get better, and enjoy yourself. You are living in a world of self created struggle. Get over yourself, be a little humble, and listen to people who have been on the road of "harmonica" playing a little longer than you. If you don't want the help - shut yer trap.
But you got to admit bag of beef jerkey for manji's that was golden.:-)professional comics couldnt get any better material, written;-)
Last Edited by on Oct 10, 2010 11:53 AM
J@TNFrank --- Just remember this --- If you're gonna put anything online, just like if you're a pro, you ARE going to leave yourself WIDE OPEN for criticism whether you like it or not and so you need to prepare for it, listen to both the compliments as well as the critique, even if you hate it like hell, stop whining, and start hard listening and learning.
From a pro standpint, that's what you have to do and you have to realize not everybody is gonna dig what you're doing, like it or not, and you need ASAP to start growing some THICK SKIN.
For someone who is, from my vantage point, extremely opinionated and don't mind saying it, you come off as totally unprepared and unwilling to listen to much of anything and seem to have either have insecurities about yourself you're totally unwilling to deal with or just want 24/7 ego stroking and trust me, if you ever worked with a lot of the old school pros I've worked with, they'd have your butt for lunch and i do NOT exaggerate this for a NY minute.
Every player, pro or not, has been where you are at some point, but part of being a real good musician is also the ability to be a good listener and the listening skills of the average fan is far below that of how pro musicians, record producers, or recording engineers hear things and they're paying attention to stuff you've yet to learn how to REALLY learn how to listen for things.
There was a guy that got bounced out of the Delta Frost forum with an attitude that comes across much like the way you do and constantly rubbed people the wrong way and people there were only trying to help him, but his own hard headedness really did him in.
You can rip me apart all you want but you need to be a lot more mature about things. It's time to lose the attitude that everyone is trying to dog you and attack you when none of that is the truth and you know it!!!!!!! ---------- Sincerely, Barbeque Bob Maglinte Boston, MA http://www.barbequebob.com CD available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/bbmaglinte
In Frank's defence he was challenged to post some of his playing in another thread, so it wasn't completely out of the blue.
It's a competent effort for a beginner and shows potential.
Frank, Kingobad and BBQBob's last posts are spot on. Just listen a while. You got off to a bad start here. You are very fortunate that there are people here who will still offer constructive criticism (as opposed to those who just want to drag you into pissing contests). Listen to what those guys are saying. Here's my 2p:
1. Work on your tone; particularly putting some dynamics in your attack. In your clip every note started the same way: overly mechanical. The harp is like a human voice in the sheer variety of ways it produce sounds - learn to exploit that expressiveness.
2. Work on your single notes - I didn't hear any.
3. Work on your note bends. They were there, but they were shallow and passing. They need to be deep, controlled and you need to be able to sustain them, at pitch.
4. Get more comfortable in the full range of the harmonica. Dare yourself to go past draw 5!
Some of us here have been playing harmonica for a comparable time to your guitar playing. We have endured jibes by other musicians about our instrument being a toy and assumptions about our musical capabilities based on that anti-harmonica prejudice. That attitude has arisen from a number of factors, amongst them:
(A) Harmonica players who pick up a harp, learn to chug a few chords and bend a few notes and then think they have mastered the instrument and never try to push themselves further. (B) A general lack of music theory knowledge and application. (C) The perception of the harp as a toy, not an instrument - perpetuated by the cheap junk coming out of China
Whether they have been playing several decades, several years or several months, all the regular posters on this forum are serious about harmonica. They see it as serious instrument, worthy of investment and by no means a toy. They are people who are determined to develop themselves as players and musicians: there are the acknowledged experts in theory and there are those like me who are making an active effort to learn it to improve our overall musicianship. Not everyone wants to be or is in a band; we still play for fun as much as we play for work.
You have stated many times that you play by ear, that you do not know any theory and are not familiar with concepts like modes and the circle of fifths. All you want to do, you tell us, is blow a bit of harmonica to accompany yourself on guitar and theory is overkill. You joined the forum, claiming that it wasn't worth investing in a good instrument.
I hope you can see what I'm getting at here; I hope you can show us that you are very serious about becoming a better player, otherwise people will dismiss you as one of those guys that give harmonica players a bad name.
I think a few people have made their minds up already. Stick around and prove them wrong.
I'm trying not to violate the forum creed in a thousand different ways....
This last post is suck a freaking joke.
IF YOU HAD ASKED, IT WOULD HAVE BEEN GIVEN. We have been waiting for you to ask our honest opinion - we will give it and pointers galore. Instead - you post a little - see how I can play - and we all bite our tongues to be civil. Then you get defensive. You can't use the sympathies of this forum both ways. It shows either a highly manipulative person, or someone who is mentally unstable - either we won't put up with.
With the last post you have thumbed your nose at everyone who was patiently waiting to figure you out during your onslaught of 409 posts in the last few weeks. There is plenty of info here - you just keep your head tucked down, plow ahead, and don't pay attention to anyone but yourself.
I give up. I will just ignore your threads from now on. Not that I would have much valuable to add in your book. I am not here for a pissing contest, I am here to learn, and humbly at that.
NOD attacked him which was uncalled for and Frank jumped on him. Temper issues? Possibly, but maybe NOD should get some scolding for starting the issue.
NOD would have also helped him tremendously if TNFrank hadn't been so disrespectful in his approach to sticking it out there. An utter novice telling people that he can play "see I can prove it." When that falls a little short, you are not sure whether to encourage or cut him down - as he has proven to be completely obtuse to advice.
Sometimes a little tough love is needed when the skull is too thick.
Last Edited by on Oct 10, 2010 3:57 PM
Uh, he said that that it shows he can play even if a little bit. He did NOT go HAHAHA I CAN PLAY SEE?! IM GREAT. NOD goes and challenges him. I think you have malice towards someone who doesn't deserve it.
I don't see it that way Zack. Frank kept saying that we were wrong to assume that he was a n00b on harp because he has only played for a few weeks. His argument was that he had a whole lot of guitar and music experience to draw from. When challenged on another tread to put his $ where his mouth was he did. (and I admire him for that) but in doing so he proved what is really going on, HE IS A N00B weather he wants to be labeled that or not. Nasty just called him out on it and Kingobd is right he cant have it both ways.
I imagine that over at his guitar forum he has earned respect by showing that he has learned quite a bit in 35 years and become a competent guitar player. He likes that respect there and has become accustomed to it. He comes here and doesn't get that kind of respect because he has only played harp for a month and see us as disrespectful.
We are not disrespectful to you Frank, you just have to earn it. Guys like Nasty, BBQBOB and Buddha have been playing a lot more than a month. When they speak people listen. If you want to be respected like those guys, you are going to have to put in the work. 35 years of guitar works wonders at a guitar forum, unfortunately for you, we are a harmonica forum, and any way you cut it, you only have a month of harp under your belt. ---------- The Art Teacher Formally Known As scstrickland
Last Edited by on Oct 10, 2010 4:35 PM
well they played hard but not good enough even though they thought they were good enough,they hopefully relise even though they have a moment or 2 in the past, the Now is whole new ballgame.And as any player with any sand can tell you, sometimes you got to go back to the basics and woodshed some more,cause no matter how good you think you are theres still work to be done cause its a long season with ups and downs,but you practice like theres no tomorow,and listen to your coaches and keep a open mind then on game day you play the best you can,and no one will say you didnt at least give it your all.What you need to do is go to a blues open mic,Jam some harp to a crowed.But when you feel ready.GO COWBOYS woodshed some more be back to play next week.
@BBQBob - that was an interesting observation from the Bushman forum. I had made that observation a few weeks ago, but I thought I was the only person to come to that conclusion.
Bad temper, unwillingness to listen, constantly buying new harps... Very similar indeed.
Criticism in and of itself is neither "nice" or "mean", only in how it is delivered or how it is received. If you don't want it, don't ask for it. If you want it, don't complain when you receive it but try to understand where the critiquer (is that a word?) is coming from.
A truly wise man knows how much he doesn't know and realizes that the more he learns the more he knows how much he doesn't know. The unwise man holds on to what he thinks he knows without the realization that there is a whole universe waiting to be discovered.
Most of the world thinks of the harmonica as a toy without understanding that the harmonica is a fiendishly-difficult instrument to master. My first song was Dixie - easy to learn and play. But that doesn't mean I could play the harmonica (well, it may have to the "unenlightened") even though, at the time, I thought i could. Now I know that to get the harp to do more than straight blow and draw chords takes a tremendous amount of effort and practice. I'm just finishing up my 1st year of harmonica and feel I'm just beginning to learn.
OK, I'm not a psychic, but what I gathered reading this thread was TN was posting something after someone in another thread told him to start posting clips. That's great!
NOD posted a response, that depending on how you read it could be a light hearted tug encouraging Frank to have something ready in time for the Blow Off or as a slam. It had smiley faces so I took it as at least semi-lighthearted.
Frank responded.
NOD posted a clip.
Frank (still angry from NOD's first remark) went off on NOD and NOD's guitar player.
Frank posted a clip.
Just when it seemed like things were calming down other people decided to weigh in hostilely on one side or another.
So I'd just like to remind everyone of this little piece of the forum creed,
"Please assume that your fellow board members, including me, are well-intentioned."
People are complaining that Frank didn't take their advice on harps. He explained that it was a bit of an OCD thing. Fine. You can learn from advice, even if you don't take it, and trust me, when OCD gets involved sometimes that's the end of the discussion. (Trust me, I know. I've suffered from OCD since I was a little kid.)
So let's all take a deep breath and stick our harps in our mouth and play nice. Don't make me get my mod hat out.
Nacca mate you should be scared :/ semi-lighthearted :) Keep ya Bobby on :)
Bro's it Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and as light hearted as some may think the Disorder is, if uncontrolled it becomes very complicated to a point persons may Harm others
There are 2 types
Examples of common physical OCD compulsions
Washing hands to relieve a fear of contamination by germs or poisons.
Repetitively checking locks, power switches, etc to relieve fears that they have not been locked, switched off etc.
Performing activities in a set order for fear that otherwise some negative event may occur.
Type 2 OCD Mental Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
Examples of common mental OCD compulsions
Suppressing thoughts of harming others suppressing or neutralising thoughts of engaging in bizarre behaviour
Now Bro's saying that Please let me State i didn't post this information to insult any persons or Members on MBH Forum a Question was asked
i thought it was only fair to give a full detailed discription of OCD :) Take from it what you will :) ---------- Im not From Parbury Hill:)
@ NOD: I just need to clear something up in what you said above. Understand, I'm not saying this in order to prolong any 'Jerry Springer' style discourse, which all too frequently lowers the standard on this forum; I'm not saying this in order to get one over on you or anyone else; I'm just saying it because one of your remarks - at least to those who read it - may undo all the hard work that has been done over many years by healthcare professionals to remove the stigma attached to, and prejudice against, many types of mental illness.
In your post above, you said:
"...if uncontrolled it becomes very complicated to a point persons may Harm others"
That is simply not the case. Like Nate, I've suffered with the damned thing since I was a kid, so I know a thing or two about it. I've had the shrink, read the books, and know about the statistics.
The truth is that you are far more likely to be harmed by someone with no diagnosed mental illness than you are by a person suffering with OCD. The instances of people acting on the type of impulse you mentioned are vanishingly small. Most of the cases of people with a mental illness who end up harming others involve someone who is suffering from one of the more severe forms of psychotic disorder, schizophrenia being the most publicised. [EDIT: even with schizophrenia, the number of sufferers who harm other people is absolutely tiny.]
It is true that OCD can bring about, as you put it, 'Suppressing thoughts of harming others,' but those thoughts are just common place mental garbage that most people have randomly and dismiss as just plain silly. With OCD, a huge degree of guilt at having the thought kicks in, and that helps to reinforce the 'supression rituals'.
I'm not just saying this stuff, NOD. I have lived it. I have read the studies. I do know what I'm talking about.
Just one other thing, which is not really that important; it's a bit more like splitting hairs on my part.
There is really only one type of OCD, and that is how it begins as a purely cognitive process. You are right in a manner of speaking, but in truth, the rituals, e.g. hand washing, are just an extension of the thoughts; they are just a visible manifestation of an otherwise invisible process. ---------- YouTube SlimHarpMick
Last Edited by on Oct 11, 2010 4:29 AM
@ Frank: I presume you understand that I wasn't offering that explanation with regard to you. If you thought I was then please re-read my post and observe its relevance to NOD's. ---------- YouTube SlimHarpMick
I can laugh about it now, but to give you an idea just how bad it can get, when I was in high school it used to take me up to 45 minutes AFTER I'd gone to the bathroom (not counting the actual time of going to the bathroom) to get out of the bathroom with clean hands. I couldn't touch the sink with my hands, or the light switch, or the doorknob, or the latch lock on the door. I could go into my acrobatics routine to pull that off but it's really not harp related. :) (Maybe another time though, like many things looked back on many years later, it's pretty funny, especially because we only had one bathroom and the line to get in was pretty long by the time I was done!
I'm medicated now. I still have problems but their are a drop in the bucket compared to what it use to be. I have a couple friends with OCD too. I had one friend who couldn't stand to have lint on her shirt. If you told her she had lint, she'd rip off her shirt and search for it! Most of my symptoms are germ related, although I had a real bad time with symmetry issues when I was a kid.
