[Harp-L] Figuring out what you're hearing in your head
John F. Potts
began to perceive the relationship of scales to chords (or scale
tones to chord tones). This provided me with a sort of structure for
improvisation. So, I practiced scales.
Now, not being formally trained and not having the best ear for
pitch to begin with, scales became really useful to me for
translating what i'd hear in my head into notes that i could play on
the harmonica. I'd get an idea in my head of something i wanted to
use in a solo, but i wouldn't know how to play it, even if i had
adequate technique. Knowing the scale would give me a vocabulary to
figure out what i was hearing in my head in order to express it on
the harmonica. And knowing the relationship of scale tones to chord
tones helped me know when to express what part of it during a
performance. A frame of reference.
Those of you who are good musicians can probably identify the pitches
of the notes you hear in your head. But I'm still impressed with a
musician who can look at a piece of sheet music and hum it. I'm much
more limited, although I'm a lot better than i used to be.
But, since we've been talking about improvisation, imitation and
learning to play what you feel, the point i wanted to share with
those, like myself, who operate without formal musical training is
that learning scales can be the key to unlocking the ability to know
what you are hearing in your head well enough to be able to play it
on the harmonica. And this is especially true if you don't have a
well developed an ear for pitch. Anyway, it certainly helped me a lot.
My next project is to learn more arpeggios.
JP
_______________________________________________
Harp-L is sponsored by SPAH, http://www.spah.org
Har...@harp-l.org
http://harp-l.org/mailman/listinfo/harp-l
Rick Dempster
RD
>>> "John F. Potts" <hv...@bex.net> 5/03/2009 11:33 >>>
Splash
I'm still impressed with a musician who can look at a piece of sheet music
and hum it.
Go to church and get in the choir.
You will learn how.
Practice... is an interesting word.
Used to describe them who do medicine and surgery. That's their work.
Also them who plead at the bar of justice. same.
But music, is not only practice, but play. Playing is more fun than
practice, but as a musician, you can do both at the same time. And in the
choir, you will learn how to look at a piece of music, and with the pianist
(or organist) doing the primary run-thru as you look at the music, you will
hear/see your part in your head. Humming, if you like.
Sight reading isn't that hard. It just takes practice, and play.
Go play!
That's what my mother told me when I was in the house making myself a
nuissance.
And so it is!
PEACE
Scott
Believe in Magic!
Icem...@aol.com
Instead of "playing a scale" "playing an arpeggio", begin to perceive them
less as entities unto themselves and more as Note Choices. Call it "exploring
the note choices stepwise" "exploring the note choices interval wise".
The goal, as I see it, it to have a solid grasp of all the note choices you
have at any time based on your level of knowledge of chordal
structure/harmonies. The choices should dance at the front of your imagination and your
ability to pick out the ones you "hear" in your mind's ear immediately directly
affects your flow of ideas.
Playing a scale usually results in running up and down from bottom to top
and back without sinking into how each note sounds and their relationships with
each other. It becomes habitual without much depth - in other words, it takes
longer to GET IT when you approach the endeavor as playing a scale, playing
an arpeggio (not to say that it doesn't have value in teaching where the
notes live, just that there is a shorter path to deeper understanding by changing
how you approach the procedure).
In a message dated 3/4/2009 8:02:39 P.M. Eastern Standard Time,
rick.d...@rmit.edu.au writes:
playing the scale
**************A Good Credit Score is 700 or Above. See yours in just 2 easy
steps!
(http://pr.atwola.com/promoclk/100126575x1219957551x1201325337/aol?redir=http:%2F%2Fwww.freecreditreport.com%2Fpm%2Fdefault.aspx%3Fsc%3D668072%26hmpgID
%3D62%26bcd%3DfebemailfooterNO62)