RE: [Harp-L] Re: Jackie

["Eric Neumann" <eneumann@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I only have to ask that one tries to sit down and duplicate note for
note - beat for beat, what you did on this piece. As with other XB
tunes, like Winslow's "Windmere" - I go away with the tune stuck in my
head after having heard it just once or twice. This piece you did was
complex, especially when I consider that you did it on an XB. Sure the
ability to bend the range of notes, perhaps the tonality of the
instrument was designed for ... designed for what? "enhanced expressive
capibilities" - which means what? Oh that you can belt out a kick ass
bebop tune and make is sound convincing, and tough to copy. The XB
requires that a player trying to achieve certain notes dead on must
maintain exacting mechanics. That's my opinion. It ain't a chromatic, it
ain't really a true diatonic.

I must say that these XB jockies are in fact up against two different
fronts: the chromatic camp, and the diatonic camp. Until there are more
harp players pushing themselves to be convincing on these "new" XB
critters, I would say y'all have a real tough row to hoe trying to get
good feed back from the general harmonica lists at large.

Ah well... nice job man. I enjoyed the tune. Whistled it on my way to
work... 

>-----Original Message-----
>From: harp-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxx 
>[mailto:harp-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of jazmaan@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>Sent: Monday, April 18, 2005 1:37 PM
>To: Richard Hunter; Harp-L@xxxxxxxxxx
>Subject: [Harp-L] Re: Jackie
>
>
>You guys are a tough crowd!  I don't disagree with any of your 
>criticisms.  But if I wanted to
>learn "Jackie" on a chromatic harp, that's what I would have 
>done.   And if I cared about every
>note sounding just like every other note, then I would have 
>learned it on a piano.   
>
>For me, the joy and excitement that comes from being able to 
>play a piece like that on a diatonic harp matters much more 
>than whether some of the bent notes sound bent. I've been 
>playing the XB for less than one year.  I know I still have a 
>long long way to go.  But as long as I can hear
>steady progress, I don't mind a few "tonal differences" in the 
>bent notes.   The tonal differences
>may even out a little with a few more years of experience.  If 
>I waited another year or even just another couple of months 
>before uploading, you might hear a better rendition.  But I'd 
>rather just get some stuff out there warts and all to show 
>people what I'm working on.
>
>My own criticism of "Jackie" has more to do with the flow of 
>the notes than with the tonal quality of the bent notes.  The 
>style requires long strings of 8th notes interspersed with 
>triplets.  Some
>of those 8th note strings flow very smoothly when they're 
>hitting on adjacent unbent notes.   Some
>of the triplets flow really well when they involve bending and 
>releasing on the same hole.  But those easy passages only 
>serve to highlight the problems of more difficult passages 
>requiring awkward breath changes or other difficult maneuvers.
>
>Of course you run into the same issue with chromatic harps and 
>much has been written about the fake "legato" that might be 
>obtained by intentionally chopping up the easy passages so 
>that they sound more like the difficult ones.  Personally I 
>don't believe in that.  Its too much fun to play a smooth 
>Fmaj7 run on the XB-Melody.  I'm not going to chop it up just 
>so that it doesn't stand out. But I do recognize the issue.
>
>I'm still struggling a bit with my 1 and 2 hole blow bends, 
>but they're improving with practice. 
>The longer reeds down there are still a little sluggish though.
>
>There's a #10 hole 1/2 step blow bend near the end of the solo 
>that I blew.  Not only did I hit the Bb instead of the A, but 
>you can hear the hint of fearful hesistation just before I 
>attempt it. That's the most difficult note on the harp.  Maybe 
>next year I'll be able to nail it.
>
>
>Thanks for listening!
>
>
>
>
>> 
>> My comments are the usual:
>> 1)  Some of the bent notes stick out very noticeably, especially in 
>> the head choruses, where the listener's expectations are 
>shaped by the 
>> melody.
>> 2)  The improvised sections work better.  This listener, at 
>least, was able to concentrate more
>> on the flow of the lines, and let the very different sound 
>of certain bent notes ride, most of
>> the time.
>> 
>> The XB-40 can certainly be used for chromatic playing, but 
>that's not 
>> the primary design goal.
>> The design goal was to produce an instrument with enhanced 
>expressive capabilities, which is why
>> every note on the XB-40 bends a whole step (as opposed to a 
>half-step, which is better for
>> chromatic playing).  That design goal was achieved.  But the 
>ability to control the sound of
>> chromatic pitches is important, especially if you want a 
>fluid line in a style like bebop (or
>> baroque, etc.), and that's not what the XB-40 was designed for. 
>> 
>> I appreciate that this is an example of a work in progress, and that 
>> the ultimate goal is a fully convincing bebop performance on XB-40.  
>> It appears to me that it's going to take a while to get there.  I 
>> continue to think that a chromatic harp is a better solution 
>for fully 
>> chromatic material like bebop, especially given that 
>instruments like 
>> the CX12 can produce strong, expressive bends up and down 
>the 3-octave 
>> range of the harp.  I note that Gregoire Maret plays 
>chromatic on most 
>> of his jazz material, and I suspect it's for that very reason.
>> 
>> But either way, it takes years of work to play great bebop.  So as 
>> Tony Glover said in "Blues Harp," it's your bread, man,  
>blow as thou 
>> pleaseth.
>> 
>> Regards, Richard Hunter
>> 
>> 
>> 
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