Re: [Harp-L] re: was Juke, now is rhythm section

["Bob Maglinte" <bbqbob917@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: <rainbowjimmy@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Sunday, August 08, 2004 9:55 AM
Subject: [Harp-L] re: was Juke, now is rhythm section


>
> Some people think of the old Chciago blues as primative because the
harmonic
> content is limited. They miss the power and beauty of the beat. Although
there
> are many very good harp players now, it's hard to find a whole band as
good as
> the old blues bands. This was a generation of talented, hard working
musicians
> that soaked up the old Delta and gospel, the New Orleans jazz, pop music,
even
> ocuntry western.
>
> The next time you've got a harp CD playing, stop listening to the harp and
> listen to the drums and the bass. Listen to lots of music, not just blues.
The
> next time you play live, listen to the drummer. Listen to all the little
subtle
> cues they give, letting you know there's a turn around, a chrous, whatever
> coming up.Then you'll start to understand how Little Walter could repeat
the
> same riff eight times in a row and make it rock.
>
> Rainbow Jimmy
> http://www.spaceanimals.com
> http://www.soundclick.com/theelectricstarlightspaceanimals.htm

Hi,
What Jimmy is referring to as "the beat," what he really is referring to is
THE GROOVE, and too many harp players (and people who play other instruments
for that matter) mindlessly playing their few licks they know all the time
without paying enough attention to the groove and too often what they're
playing, rather than working WITH it, which is what you want to do, often
are (often unaware of the fact that they're doing it) FIGHTING the groove,
which is NOT what to do. You need to listen to music with "BIGGER EARS,"
meaning that you listen to each and EVERY minute detail in a VERY
concentrated, careful way, which is MUCH different than the way the average
music fan listens to music, which usually is the solo, then the vocals, and
really not much more than that. Like much of African American musics from
Jazz, Dixieland, thru hiphop, etc., Blues is played BEHIND the beat and off
the 2, which allows for fewer notes needed to be played, having more space
happening, and it allows the rhythm section to carry everything, giving the
vocalist or the soloist a rock solid foundation to work with, and developing
an understanding of rhythm and groove is IMPORTANT, and players who have
this together, even if you erase the rhythm section, you can feel an
underlying sense of groove happening in what they're playing. Overall,
Jimmy's post is on the money.

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