Re: [Harp-L] RE: William Clarke/George Smith Chromatic

["Bob Maglinte" <bbqbob917@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: <Marion.Spiers@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <emercier@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Cc: <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Monday, September 13, 2004 3:25 PM
Subject: [Harp-L] RE: William Clarke/George Smith Chromatic


> I will add to what the Iceman says. WC used C, F, and Bflat chromatics to
> play in D, G, and C, respectively (what you would call third position on
> diatonic). There is no doubt an exception to this, but for the most part
> this is what he used on his recordings. A lot of the ornamental sounds you
> hear are done using the tongue, and the slide is used even though people
> say you don't need to in 3rd position chro. Tabs and tricks aren't going
> to cut it here, you have to listen to the recordings until everyone around
> you is sick of them and firmly ingrain the swing of it on your brain.
> Also, it may seem like he's "Blowin' Like Hell" but you gotta learn to ,
> play softly, the right kind of softly- from way down there- and believe it
> or not it comes out the amp LOUDER. A couple other cats I dig deep into
> are Mark Hummel and Rod Piazza. It's all about the swing.....
> Good Luck,
> kcmojo

Hi,
Very true!!! Pay attention to the groove and feel, something too many 
musicians (INCLUDING harp players) often fail to do. This is an area that 
tabs are woefully inadequate at expressing, along with how to shape the 
sounds, and dynamics. Guys playing out of the George Smith school of 
chromatic definitely use the slide in 3rd position, as well as in 1st 
position. Most of the Little Walter school of chromatic playing seldom do. 
With chromatic harps, it's even more important that you UNLEARN the bad 
habit 99% of beginners have: playing excessively hard all the time, 
especially in bending, because chromatics will crap out vey quickly if you 
play them too hard all the time. Most players problems stems from playing 
too hard all the time, and the ones most guilty of this habit are almost 
ALWAYS the same people whining about how much harps costs, how quick they 
blow out, generally bitching and moaning about every little thing, and 
better than 90% of the time, they're the LAST people to own up to that very 
fact themselves.

Sincerely,
Barbeque Bob Maglinte
Boston, MA
http://www.barbequebob.com
MP3's: http://music.mp3lizard.com/barbequebob/