Re: [Harp-L] singing ability



John,
I am not a great singer, but like harp worked on singing and it
certainly helped.  But six months, to be gentle, is just the beginning
of learning how to play.  I think you are going through an important
an useful tool studying tabs.  Improvisation is the creation  of
melody.  You are studying melody.  It is going to pay off.  I would
next begin by playing along with harp records.  Emulate the feeling of
the player, how hard or soft is he playing, how fast and slow.  You
may surprise yourself by hearing and imitating a lick or two.  Then I
would get some theory basics.  Knowing which notes sound good when can
really help you make good improvisational choices.
Michael Rubin
Michaelrubinharmonica.com

On Fri, Nov 26, 2010 at 3:39 PM, John Dekker <jdekker@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> It has been my observation that most good instrumentalists are at least decent singers. That is, they can carry a tune and voice what is in their heads. I suspect that this ability is directly related to being able to play by ear, that is, to play a song after hearing it a few times, without reference to written music or tabs.
>
> In my case, I can't sing a lick, and cannot play anything by ear to save my life. I can play melodies by reading the tabs, but have great difficulty in remembering or memorizing the tabs, and so cannot play the melody of a given song without reading the tabs.
>
> My question is this: is the ability to play by ear a natural talent that you either have or you don't, or can the ability be learned, and if so, how? After six months of serious effort, I can play single notes well, and bend them fairly well, but I am getting frustrated by my lack of ability to play anything without having the tabs in front of me.
>
> Any help or suggestions will be greatly appreciated.
>
> John
>




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