kudzurunner
1940 posts
Oct 16, 2010
11:45 AM
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I'm sure many here have seen this, but some surely haven't and it's good to be reminded of what really nice UNamplified, on-the-vocal-mic harp Little Walter could play. One thing this video is NOT about is the mic and amp. There's no audible overdrive contributed by either element here:
http://www.tudou.com/programs/view/KfKjM28N3wQ/
I hear three things when I listen to this clip.
First, exemplary tone. Perfect intonation on all the blues pitches, and a kind of cry that is the essence of the instrument for me.
Second, effortless mastery of syncopation. He's actually driving the band with his harp--with the way he surges slightly ahead of the beat. Sometimes he and the band drift slightly apart, but he always locks 'em back in. He starts pushing the beat, speeding up a little, around 2:30, and the band goes with him.
Third, a plenitude of ideas combined with a sense of how to make all those ideas cohere into an instrumental with its own distinctive character. His solo goes on for a couple of minutes. He USES repetition, but he never merely repeats himself. He keeps expanding the circle of the improvisation, and yet somehow he never once makes you think, "Well, he just put that in because he couldn't think of something else to play," or "He played that just to show off." Every note he plays is alive and works in context. Nothing feels prefab. This is partly because he uses pauses, space, so well. Sometimes he drops out in the latter half of bar 12 and allows a rest on the first beat of bar 1, then hits the second beat of bar 1 hard--with a 25 draw, for example. Nice trick. He does this at one point as a way of re-anchoring himself in the beat.
One result of all this is that he can do most of a twelve bar chorus on JUST the 2 draw and make it sound fresh. I'd encourage players who feel as though they've gone a little stale to listen to that part of the video. How's he doing so much with so little?
Last Edited by on Oct 16, 2010 11:54 AM
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kudzurunner
1941 posts
Oct 16, 2010
12:01 PM
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I should mention that I came across this clip thanks to Will Greener. Thanks, Will! It is indeed a brilliant piece of playing.
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bluesnut
193 posts
Oct 16, 2010
12:52 PM
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The greats make it look effortless, and Houndogs guitar work. The band was cookin'.
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mlefree
13 posts
Oct 16, 2010
2:00 PM
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Endlessly fascinating! I marvel at all of the musicality that Adam mentions. A blues musician clinic in a single video, fer sure. I can't stop watchng it...
I like to take the opportunity this rare video provides to dissect the video to glean anything I can about his harmonica technique. For example, based on the position of his mouth relative to that of the harp and the particular notes being played I think I see Walter playing both tongue block and lip purse embouchures and moving back and forth between them seamlessly. I also think I see him playing both left and right-tongue block with equal ease and fluidity.
Like Adam I also love the way he so tastefully uses his tongue-slap syncopation, applying it sparingly to increase its presence and value to the song. To me it adds a whole other dimension to his playing and as Adam says help to drive the band as well as the listener. Amazing.
Adam and others, in addition to his musicality I'd be interested in y'all's analysis of his playing technique in this rare look at him playing up close and without a mic' obscuring his face like that.
Thanks,
Michelle
Last Edited by on Oct 16, 2010 2:01 PM
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nicewrk
14 posts
Oct 16, 2010
7:20 PM
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Little Walter a master . If harp is about tone then he was tone. technique ? He was technique . Feel. he felt each note. Someday baby someday!
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MP
930 posts
Oct 17, 2010
12:34 PM
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so, what is so wrong about 2nd pos. again?
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MP
hibachi cook for the yakuza
doctor of semiotics
superhero emeritus
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The Gloth
484 posts
Oct 17, 2010
4:03 PM
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That "tudou" website is full of gems, I found this beautiful footage of Butterfield in '67 at Monterey :
http://www.tudou.com/programs/view/tYgu5MIJO0c/
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Sam Pai Kenpo
55 posts
Oct 18, 2010
9:35 AM
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That is an outstanding video and a great analysis by Adam, IMO.
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MIKE C.
39 posts
Oct 19, 2010
8:41 AM
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That's what it's all about.
Last Edited by on Oct 19, 2010 8:42 AM
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DirtyDeck
144 posts
Oct 19, 2010
5:28 PM
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What a talent! His musical-mind is something to behold, my jaw drops similarly when I listen to BB King, the phrasing is just something else. The sort've talent that we'll probably never see again any time too soon.
@mlefree didn't pay so much attention to the embouchure there, was too absorbed in the music lol...but you reckon he's doing some lip-pursing?
I did see that he was shronking quite loudly most of the time, I've been having some throat trouble lately since I've started %100 tongue-blocking and tried playing quiet more to help, sometimes at the cost of losing some energy and intonation in my playing, makes me wonder...
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