Re: Ben Webster's phrasing - speech patterns

["Knapton" <sunday@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Well said Blu,

Everyone in our band gets a copy of the lyrics. That way we all understand
the meaning of the song and it tends to give the music a little more
cohesiveness.
I like what you said about "closely follow normal speech patterns". I think
this makes the difference between expressing something musically or just
playing a series of notes.
That said, a really good exercise is to closely observe a good (or bad)
public speaker. A good public speaker will have good phrasing, good use of
space, tonal qualities, dynamic range, audience interaction, will conclude
relative to the introduction  (head/riff), stir emotion, tell a story and so
on. Mmmmm, all the attributes of a good harp player.

Pete Knapton

- ----- Original Message -----
From: "Harmonica Blu" <BluXpres@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: "harp-l-digest" <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: 27 February 2004 8:49 PM
Subject: Re: Ben Webster's phrasing


>
> There's an old story about one of the classic big-toned saxists coming off
> stage at the old Newport Jazz Festival muttering unhappily to himself.
Might
> well have been Big Ben. Asked why he was unhappy because his solo was,
after
> all, as beautiful as usual, he replied, "Forgot the lyric."
> IMHO, if you keep the lyric in mind and think like a jazz vocalist,
phrasing
> across bar lines, falling (with control) behind the beat and then coming
> back to the downbeat, rephrasing the lyric to more closely follow normal
> speech patterns (I'm thinking here of show/movie "standard's more than
> straight blues), etc, etc. you will greatly enrich your solos.
> Blu
> Harmonica Blu
> BluXpres@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> www.HarmonicaBluXpress.com
>
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