Hi Everyone, I started on a chromatic harp in 1964, right out of college, because a man I worked with, who was much older then I at the time ,was the New York City Harmonica champion at the age of 16 and got me started.I stopped playing shortly after one yr. and 30 yrs. later took up blues harp. I have gigged in a number of places and have had people come up to me and tell me how great I and the band I was with sounded. So, now the man, who has been a very close life long friend, visits me and brings his chromatic. He plays classically and can run circles around most harmonica players.Here is my dilemma:when he heard me play blues he had a comment something like this"but you only play the same 4 notes over and over" I couldn't quite come up with a good explaination for him how first position differs from second position and blues and classical harp playing are so different. I looked on the internet to see if i could find something to send him to explain the difference, but to no avail. Any simple explaination I could forward to him would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance. Allen
> no avail. Any simple explaination I could forward to him would be > greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance. Allen
Hi Allen,
I think that you can´t explain the Blues to him. If he doesn´t feel it there will be no explanation for him. English is not my native language. So I hope that I could made my point of view clear.
It doesn't matter how many notes you play, it's how you play them. You can play just one note, and if you do it with soul it's like magic. Listen to the guitar solo on King Bee by Slim Harpo. It's just one note, and it works.
I don't know if your friend will ever get it, because some people don't. My mother never understood rock and roll, but she was a huge fan of swing. Those are two paths to the same place as far as I'm concerned, but she never got it. She thought the Beatles were a bunch of idiots.
Harpman wrote: > Hi Everyone, I started on a chromatic harp in 1964, right out of > college, because a man I worked with, who was much older then I at the > time ,was > the New York City Harmonica champion at the age of 16 and got me > started.I stopped playing shortly after one yr. and 30 yrs. later took > up blues harp. I have gigged in a number of places and have had people > come up to me and tell me how great I and the band I was with sounded. > So, now the man, who has been a very close life long friend, visits me > and brings his chromatic. He plays classically and can run circles > around most harmonica players.Here is my dilemma:when he heard me play > blues he had a comment something like this"but you only play the same 4 > notes over and over" I couldn't quite come up with a good explaination > for him how first position differs from second position and blues and > classical harp playing are so different. I looked on the internet to see > if i could find something to send him to explain the difference, but to > no avail. Any simple explaination I could forward to him would be > greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance. Allen
Robert Reynolds wrote: > It doesn't matter how many notes you play, it's how you play them. You > can play just one note, and if you do it with soul it's like magic. > Listen to the guitar solo on King Bee by Slim Harpo. It's just one > note, and it works.
> I don't know if your friend will ever get it, because some people don't. > My mother never understood rock and roll, but she was a huge fan of > swing. Those are two paths to the same place as far as I'm concerned, > but she never got it. She thought the Beatles were a bunch of idiots.
> Robbie
> Harpman wrote: >> Hi Everyone, I started on a chromatic harp in 1964, right out of >> college, because a man I worked with, who was much older then I at the >> time ,was >> the New York City Harmonica champion at the age of 16 and got me >> started.I stopped playing shortly after one yr. and 30 yrs. later took >> up blues harp. I have gigged in a number of places and have had people >> come up to me and tell me how great I and the band I was with sounded. >> So, now the man, who has been a very close life long friend, visits me >> and brings his chromatic. He plays classically and can run circles >> around most harmonica players.Here is my dilemma:when he heard me >> play blues he had a comment something like this"but you only play the >> same 4 notes over and over" I couldn't quite come up with a good >> explaination for him how first position differs from second position >> and blues and classical harp playing are so different. I looked on the >> internet to see if i could find something to send him to explain the >> difference, but to no avail. Any simple explaination I could forward >> to him would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance. Allen
Robbi and Ulrich, Good responses. I think I will just let him think what he wants. Allen
Thanks Ulli. I guessed Germany, so I was correct. I am 66 yrs. old and in both high school and college I studied German. Haven't spoke it for over 40 yrs. However a yr. ago I was walking in my mother's neighborhood and two women were behind me, speaking German to each other. I turned around and in German, told them this was the first time since college I spoke German. I remembered enough to tell them this and they were shocked as they said I did a good job with it. Thanks . Allen
On Jul 27, 10:59 pm, Polarhound <udf98322834...@comcast.net> wrote:
> For those that understand, no explanation is necessary.
> For those that do not understand, no explanation is possible.
I don't agree. I used to hate opera until I dated an opera singer and she took the time one evening to teach me a little about opera - singing key parts as she explained them. I was blown away. For those that don't understand, explanation may be difficult, but is never impossible. You just have to decide if it is worth the investment of your time or not. Finding common ground is a way to start. There are several examples of great, profound and moving music that doesn't use a lot of notes. My favorite, and it sounds great on a Chromatic, is George Gershwin's Summertime - which consists of only six notes. If you're playing it in the key of A minor, it uses just E, C, D, B, G and A. It's an incredibly pure and simple melody — but there is nothing else like it. It is a classic, not because of how many notes it has but because of how those notes are conceived, arranged, played and, of course, felt. Here is one of many examples you can find with a search on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5jTsAarihw&feature=related
I used to play a lot of notes myself years ago (diatonic) until a played some gigs with an old time delta blues singer and guitar player who taught me to be more economical with my notes - he called it playing the spaces. I learned, when the time is right, to play one note more powerfully than the whole strings of notes I used to put together. More recently I became friends with a harp legend in South Florida. I didn't know who he was, but he was invited up to jam with a band I was watching one night and he played two notes - the most amazing two notes I ever heard. Those two notes blew away the room. Then he stepped back and played in the background. I went up to introduce myself and we have since become great friends.
Though I can appreciate the skill and talent of harp players like Sugar Blue or John Popper, who are famous for playing blues with a whole lot of notes - even using chromatics (you can tell your friend about them if he wants to see that it is possible), I can't even play that way now if I want to. Sometime one note is all I can play.
> Thanks Ulli. I guessed Germany, so I was correct. I am 66 yrs. old and > in both high school and college I studied German. Haven't spoke it for > over 40 yrs. > However a yr. ago I was walking in my mother's neighborhood and two > women were behind me, speaking German to each other. I turned around and > in German, told them this was the first time since college I spoke > German. I remembered enough to tell them this and they were shocked as > they said I did a good job with it. Thanks . Allen
Hi Allen,
I´m 47 years old. It´s strange that is possible to remember a language for such a long time. I studied English and French in school. I liked English but French was hard for me. Some years ago I had to talk some French and suddenly I could remember some words and phrases. Not perfect and I guess it sounded funny but it worked.
