Re: Yet Another Juke Question[long reply]

[Joel Fritz <jfritz666@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Howard Chandler wrote:

> 
> 
> 
> Alright, now I'm a bit curious and this applies pretty much to blues 
> harp guys.  How many of you folks are playing these songs note for note 
> and how many are keeping it loose.  Myself, I never play the same thing 
> twice.  Years ago I learned a few songs like this, but by now it's just 
> part of the stew.  A lot has to do with interacting with the other 
> players, especially the singer.  We might work out intro's or endings, 
> but for the most part it's spontanious.  If I play the same thing for a 
> long time with the same folks, I might sort of lock into some "stock" 
> phrases or such.
> Anyway, I can't imagine LW playing a charted arrangement.  Was he even 
> known to read music?  I personally never learned to read harp tabs, but 
> by now I can pick up most stuff by ear which works out pretty good for me.
> 
> What do you prefer hearing when you go out to hear bands.  "The" harp 
> part, or the harp player?
> 
> Howard Chandler
> 
> 
> 

Some people tend to stick with a solo or an entire piece once they're 
happy with it.  Louis Armstrong played a lot of "highly evolved" solos. 
   I would guess most of the blues recordings from the golden age were 
head arrangements.

It's probably a mistake to rule out formal training.  Jelly Roll Morton 
would hire only musicians who could read well.  I just heard a recording 
where Ransom Knowling, one of my idols, played tuba instead of washtub 
bass.  Don't know if he could read music or not, but how many people 
play tuba by ear? <g>

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