Re: R.e practise

[Mark Crowley <Mark.Crowley@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

 been there, still there...

best gift i was presented with was a small portable minidisc recorder - record that 'classic' then go through that one track and you can chop it into lots of smaller tracks...then gradually work through each one bit by bit...and then remove the earlier divisions as a reward so am gradually lengthening yr memory and knowledge of the entire track. (the earlier sections you know you gradually "join" and play along to to knit the sections together more fluently)

it also teaches you that phrases you thought were repetitions of earlier sections... aren't  ....  ulp!

even if yr coming away with riffs and sections of riffs remaining in your memory it's got to be good.

another fun thing i like is imitating blues guitar riffs from book/cds like "1001 blues guitar riffs"...

some can end up very dudly but some you can really bring to life in a different way on harmonica- they seem to have more swing (but could be my bad hearing) - sometimes what you thought was the same damn riff ten times has subtle variations and yu will pick up more and more on the direction yu like and pursue it ...

maybe it is ordained in granite somewhere cosmic that you will never learn the entire "rollercoaster" - but you'll play and create a whole lot of memorable stuff of your own style.

i don't think anybody is keeping a report card to hand out at the end.

i hope not.

crowley


>>> sean stephens <thepriapist@xxxxxxxxxxx> 10/29/03 07:13am >>>
I appreciate that the harp is, at once ,one of the easiest instruments to play and one of the most difficult to play WELL.. That, to improve on it demands keen ears and attention whilst listening to greats coupled with time spent practising and developing ones own chops.My problem is and has been ,since I became hooked on Blues harp, concentrating probably too much on the former ,that is , obsessing about trying to play a tune rote .eg Rollercoaster by L.W(who else ?) stands for me amongst the myriad of sublime harmonica performances, as the hottest harp instrumental, period.So I figure, if I can get a handle on it I could probably deal with anything . Three years down the line I still cannot play RC fluently.Yes , I can pick out riffs and jump in but invariably I'll stumble and fall right back out again.
Can any of you guys out there give me a little advice/empathy on how long to go after a tune or when to let it go and realise your limits.
I am aware that there isn't much virtue in simply copying classics in this manner in a performing context but you do need a template to build upon.Any thoughts on this ,greatly appreciated.
obsessively. 


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