You got a good groove going! - love Shake (especially because the original E. James & Butterfield's version have no harp so you get to invent it!!) - sounds a bit chordy try hitting some clean single notes in your riffs for variety. ---------- ~Banned in Boston!
Big improvement. you are changing with the chord changes. A couple of times you play stuff on the IV chord that doesn't fit the IV chord, but you are consistently changing with the changes which is real progress (and in a very short time). And your riffs are working off the melody, so for the most part they fit well.
Now you need to tighten up your time. You are loose and a little sloppy. Also, if this were a real jam with real musicians in a live performance setting, you would be criticized for stepping on (playing over) the vocals. But you are just jamming with a recording, so what the hell. BUT, in general, it is important to leave some space when you play.
You know, I agree with what Barry C. is saying about single notes. The cure: Learn and practice scales.
Blues scale, 2d position: D2/B3 (same note) D3* B4 D4* D4 D5 B6. * = half step bend. Practice this scale up and down, hitting all of the notes clean and GETTING ALL THE BENDS IN THE RIGHT ORDER.
This may be very difficult at first and you may have to go slow to start. But if you put in 20 minutes a day practicing this scale up and down accurately, muscle memory will take over and you will start to surprise yourself. Improvement will not necessarily be linear--it may happen all of a sudden after you put in the time so you have to stick with it even if it seems frustrating.
It may be easier to start with the blues scale in 3d position because it's easier to play: D4 D5 B6 D6* D6 B7 D8.
Any musician who can play any instrument competently has spent time practicing scales. Must do.
Last Edited by on Jan 04, 2011 9:18 AM
Thanks again for the feedback. I realize my timing is way off in spots. I could have done better on that. I really have not made any improvement from one piece to the next. If I went back and played "Henry" again it would likely be the same. I'm pretty much stuck. Not to mention that my off the shelf harps are pretty lousy and I am weary of trying to gap reeds and whatnot on the only ones I've got. I have been stuck at the same level for a good while now. How does the overall tone sound. It's amped through a Dual outdoor speaker. I thought it sounded pretty decent considering how it was recorded. Thanks Again. ============= ============= Maybe I can't play that good but I'm a lot better than people who can't play at all.
Overall tone sounds fine. I like it. What appeared to me to have been an improvement may actually be due this Elmore James tune being easier to play along with than Love in Vain and whatever the other one was.
Don't worry about your off the shelf harps. I played OOB harps for almost 30 years without even knowing how to gap them. I learned how to gap about 2 or 3 years ago and acquired a set of custom harps about a year ago.
Now, I think some OOB harps are definitely better than others. But at your stage of development, frankly, the instrument is not a significant limiting factor. For example, i don't hear you playing the different 2 hole and 3 hole draw bends which is where the precision of the harp you are playing may make a difference in how easy it is to hit those bent notes accurately on pitch.
Harmonica players in general tend to be very gear oriented. Harps you like to play and a good high quality mic are important. After that, technique is what one should be concerned about. If you've got decent technique and a good mic you'll sound decent no matter what the rest of the set up is. Frankly, I think some players obsess over gear that generates distortion in order to artificially create tone because they don't have good enough technique to get decent tone on their own. I like your set up because it's relatively clean, but also sounds fat. I can hear YOU, not a lot of distortion and I think that's good.
If you are stuck in a rut, structured practice may help. Learn scales. If you click on my user name i have tab for minor pentatonic scales in my profile that I think are worth learning. practicing pentatonic scales will improve your playing and ability to improvise.
Last Edited by on Jan 04, 2011 11:43 AM
