Re: Practice Tips

[benmaj@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (Ben Majchrzak)]

>
Kurt Crandall wrote-
>
>A recent post asked harmonica players for some of their practice tips. One
>area
>I have spent a lot of time improving over the last year or so is my amplified
>harp playing. For the first two years that I played blues harp, I played
>acoustically. When I finally did make the switch to a bullet mic and a tube
>amp I was not satisfied with the sound - especially since my tone sounded
>allright when playing UNamplified.  To help with proper mic technique and
>expressing tonal nuances when playing amplified, I began practicing UNamplified
>while cupping my bullet mic (even though the bullet mic was not plugged in).
>It helps not to plug the microphone in because when practicing amplified,
>sometimes technique can be masked by special effects.
>Now, when I play out - not only is gripping the microphone more comfortable,
>but a lot less air is escaping and the overall sound is much better. Does
>anyone else practice this way?
>
>
I've got this nice little Aiwa tape recorder/player.  It cost me about 80
bucks, and is the same size as a normal Walkman.   It has some really nice
features:  comes with an exturnal stereo microphone about the size of a
peanut.   If you take it and wrap the cord around your ring finger of your
left hand (or whatever hand you hold the harp in) and cup all the sound
inside.  Granted, this does not make give you practice in holding a mic,
but if you then plug in the headphones and listen to what is going on
inside of your cupped hands, you can really hear EVERYTHING.  When I first
tried it, I was overwhelmed by the total feeling of connection with what
you play.  This technique is great if you want to really improve your tone,
and cut back on air loss.   Not only that, but it makes you record what you
practice, so if you come up with some wicked lick, you've got it for good
the first time.  And its in STEREO!   VERY Cool!    The recordings you get
are, as you can imagine, very FULL sounding.  Cool hand vibrato sounds too.
I think its one of the best ways to hear what's going on "from the
inside", and will help you in the long run. . . but what do I know.

Here's another idea for those long drives on open roads.   Tuck your harp
under your baseball hat tightly next to your ear and stick your head out
the window.  You are guaranteed inspiration.  But beware that this is very
dangerous at high speeds, and you may frighten anyone you pass.   But OOH
it sounds SOOO GOOOD!

Do not try this at home-

Ben Majchrzak
benmaj@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx