Re: [Harp-L] Chromatic technique



It's from West Side Story. OR, you could use Promises Promises ( by Dionne Warwick). Looks like around 112 bpm. :)

On Feb 2, 2011, at 2:42 AM, sheltraw@xxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:

Thanks Smo-joe

Could you give me the tempo at which you are playing those 8th note
triplets? Here's a metronome: http://www.metronomeonline.com/ .
I have never heard of the tune "We love to live in Amer-ee-ca".

Cheers,
Daniel

So I did the exercise and it is relatively easy

you denote C B# C   F E# F.  But you could also substitute  B# C B#
E# F E#. The only difference I could find was that the transition in
YOUR series made the jump from C to F easier. At least for me. But
that may be because I am more comfortable in draw keys. I found that
I could play it at about the speed of the tune "We love to live in
Amer-ee-ca" (which this reminded me OF). Maybe a couple more tries
and I can speed it up. :)

What you're doing here is making use of the ENharmonics built into
the solo tuning. Something I have preached for years. The slide is
your friend. Use it. Always study a piece before playing it and
decide what is the most beneficial approach for what you intend as an
end result. Perhaps you want legato. But maybe you want staccato.
Btw, I have no knowledge of augmented. THAT may hunt.

smo-joe


On Feb 2, 2011, at 12:57 AM, sheltraw@xxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:


Hi David

Multidimensional!! Careful. You could put an eye out with that.

Kid'n aside. I'm trying to get a sense of what is possible with
respect
to this type of note transition on the chrom. Could I convince you, or
any other chrom player here, to try this phrase and tell me how
well you
think you handled it at fast tempos? Here it is:


   -----3-----    -----3-----   repeat 5 times
  5Bo  4Di  5Bo  6Do  6Bi  6Do

The numbers indicate the hole, D = draw, B = blow, o = slide out and
i = slide in. The 3 above indicates that these are to played as 8th
note triplets. At what tempo does it start falling apart for you?

BTW the phrase may sound un-musical on a solo tuned chrom. I am not
playing a solo-tuned harp. Augmented tuning for me.

Cheers!

Daniel


Hi Daniel,

I was busy formulating a set of second-order partial differential
equations describing the multidimensional dynamics of a system of
freely
vibrating harmonica reeds when this other question of yours arrived.
(Just kidding; even figuring out restaurant bills is too taxing
for me.)
Afraid my advice is just practice, practice, practice. The
problem, of
course, is timing. Transitioning from one note to the next might
involve a change of holes, a blow/draw change, and a slide-in/out
change. All need to be precisely synchronized to produce a clean
sounding note change.


Unlike old-timey music and Irish music where folks often play in
unison,
music such as bluegrass allow the soloist some freedom to
embellish the
melody and do some improvising. Really difficult melody lines
might be
replaced by similar lines that are easier to play and as pleasing
to the
ear. One advantage of playing a C chromatic in all keys (as I do) is
that it is easier to avoid getting stuck playing the same riffs
over and
over again. A riff in one key might be extremely difficult, but
easy in
another key.


Glad you and Tony enjoy my new bluegrass CD,
David Naiditch
www.davidnaiditch.com



On Tue, Feb 1, 2011 at 2:04 PM, sheltraw@xxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:

Hi Tony

David's the man. I have his new CD. Totally dig'n it!

Actually the question is not bluegrass-centric. I would like to here
from
anybody that can play this type of action rapidly and cleanly.


Cheers!


A previous post wrote

"I have been playing chromatic harmonica since April 2010. As I
continue
my
efforts to develop the speed and accuracy that I will need to
play at
bluegrass jams I find that there is one particular type of action
that
seems to be a speed development bottleneck for me. "

David Naiditch is the man to help you with this. While you're at
it,
check out his great new CD, "Bluegrass Harmonica, available at
http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/davidnaiditch

Tony Eyers
Australia
www.HarmonicaAcademy.com
...everyone plays












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