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Today's Topics:
1. dry mouth update (Winslow Yerxa)
2. Subject: Re: [Harp-L] G. Maret..... (and Cassandra Wilson)
(EGS1217@xxxxxxx)
3. Delta Frost vs. Soul's Voice (Captron100@xxxxxxx)
4. Re: dry mouth update (rdg)
5. Re : G. Maret... (Planet Harmonica)
6. Wrist mounted mic update (Winslow Yerxa)
7. Re: Harp-L Digest, Vol 20, Issue 59 (Richard Hunter)
8. Re: Delta Frost vs. Soul's Voice (Clifton McIntosh)
9. Re: Re : G. Maret... (Joe and Cass Leone)
10. Re: Cover Songs (Fernando Toral)
11. Re: Jackie (jazmaan@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Message: 1
Date: Mon, 18 Apr 2005 09:16:11 -0700 (PDT)
From: Winslow Yerxa <winslowyerxa@xxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [Harp-L] dry mouth update
To: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx
Message-ID: <20050418161611.92826.qmail@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
I want to thank everyone who offered advice on dealing with dry mouth a
couple of weeks ago.
The two bits of advice I liked best were the one about fresh fruit a
couple of hours before the performance and the one about moving your
tongue around to different edge positions.
I had already tried the Biotène saliva stimluating mouthwash without
much success. Drinking water is something I have to be careful about
when going onstage - it passes through quickly and getting up from the
middle of a seated group (with fiddle bows flying) in the middle of a
set) is not a good thing (Neither are urgent and painful messages from
the bladder region).
So during this weekend's series of San Francisco Scottish Fiddlers
concerts, I made sure to avail myself of whatever fresh fruit was in
the buffet and to do some of Rupert's tongue exercises.
I also received help from an unorthodox source. The first evening, I
thought I had set a decent tempo for my feature set, only to discover
almost immediately that I had been duped by that trickster adrenaline
and we were running away out of control. The mouth dried up and it was
sledding on gravel for the next four minutes.
So the next day I pulled my little group together early and rehearsed
the set at a super-slow tempo that would allow us to groove and play
around with the subdivisions of the beat. A few times through and this
was imprinted.
Time for the feature set came up and I was halfway through schmoozing
the audience when there was a disturbance in my pocket. I pulled out
the offending device, glanced at it, and shared with the audience,
"It's a text message. It's from my spirit guide. He says . . . .'slow
down and take it easy, eh?'" and I proceeded to count off the tune. I
didn't bother to explain how the spirit guide could send text messages
through a metronome.
Oh, and there was snow under the sled.
Winslow
__________________________________
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------------------------------
Message: 2
Date: Mon, 18 Apr 2005 12:25:29 EDT
From: EGS1217@xxxxxxx
Subject: Subject: Re: [Harp-L] G. Maret..... (and Cassandra Wilson)
To: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx
Message-ID: <82.264a6f1a.2f953979@xxxxxxx>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"
the Iceman writes: By the way, Cassandra Wilson is an original artist
worthy of a listen in a world when not too many new artists seem to have a
unique
voice. (Too many "Tribute to.." projects out there.) Her CD "Belly of the
Sun" is actually pretty steeped in traditional blues.
The Iceman"
......I have just "discovered" Cassandra Wilson -- specifically her
Harvest
Moon (by Neil Young) from a Compilation Album I bought -- it's from her
New
Moon Daughter Album - which I now absolutely have to have. What an
amazing and
unique voice. On the same album is: Strange Fruit, Skylark, I'm so
Lonesome I could Cry and a jazzed, incredible version of, oddly enough:
Last Train
to Clarksville - you'll never listen to the "cheesy" Monkees version
again >G>
Elizabeth
------------------------------
Message: 3
Date: Mon, 18 Apr 2005 12:38:27 EDT
From: Captron100@xxxxxxx
Subject: [Harp-L] Delta Frost vs. Soul's Voice
To: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx
Message-ID: <1c9.26d7381a.2f953c83@xxxxxxx>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"
In a message dated 4/18/2005 11:00:28 AM Eastern Standard Time,
harp-l-request@xxxxxxxxxx writes:
The Soul's Voice is still a very responsive harp (not as responsive as
the Delta Frost in the lower end but more in the top end). .
All Bushman Delta Front harps are more responsive than all Soul's Voice
harps as written above? It seems to me that responsiveness is due to
gapping.
Does Bushman gap their SV's differently than their SF's?
How do prices compare to my usual fav, the Hohner Special 20's?
ron
------------------------------
Message: 4
Date: Mon, 18 Apr 2005 09:42:26 -0400
From: rdg <rdg@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: Re: [Harp-L] dry mouth update
To: Harp-L@xxxxxxxxxx
Message-ID: <1881145034.20050418094226@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Monday, April 18, 2005, 12:16:11 PM, Winslow wrote:
WY> It's from my spirit guide. He says . . . .'slow down and take
WY> it easy, eh?'" and I proceeded to count off the tune.
Let the reeds ring out and the banners fly! Winslow has a Canadian
spirit guide!! Good beer, inventive bacon and now this...I don't know
if I've ever been prouder. Can the all-harp version of the Trailer
Park Boys theme be _any_ closer to becoming a glorious reality?
I am proud of my home...like my mind boggles, eh?
Ron mailto:rdg@xxxxxxxxxxx
------------------------------
Message: 5
Date: Mon, 18 Apr 2005 19:15:49 +0200
From: "Planet Harmonica" <lists@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [Harp-L] Re : G. Maret...
To: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx
Message-ID: <20050418171549.4554.qmail@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="iso-8859-1"
Just my general comments on Grégoire Maret, a global answer to all the
previous messages.
As Ludo pointed out, he's Swiss, not French. However, I reckon Chris'
"French" was me, not him. Joe, if you think the French can't be schmaltzy,
try Michel Herblin. Romantic to the core.
Anyway, I also think that Gregoire's playing on The Way Up was good but
not
mindblowing. However, I felt that such a piece as The Way Up does not make
sense due to the individual flair of the soloists but rather should be
listened to as a whole. So, while I agree with the fact that his playing
doesn't make my hair rise, I would posit that that wasn't the idea. I'm
planning to go see 'em live in Paris in June and I'll decide then what I
think of Gregoire's live playing.
Meanwhile, I got hold of Dapp Theory and one half listen is enough to make
me want to hear more, although, again, I feel a little frustrated by the
role played by the harmonica (so far). On the first three tracks it sounds
more like a faire valoir than an integral part of the band. I will comment
further upon further listening.
So, to some extent, I can understand Chris' comments on the 'lack of
personality', something, incidentally, that wasn't part of my criticism of
Chris' record ;)
In general, though, I feel that there has been a lot less pushing of
boundaries in the chromatic world as there has been in the diatonic world.
I
can't explain it, but brilliant though players like Gallison or Turk are,
I
think that there playing is very conventional nonetheless. I don't hear
much
more "personality" there... The only players that really fire up my ears
for
playing different are Bill Barrett and Olivier Ker Ourio, for very
different
reasons.
I'm hoping to find more of Gregoire's contributions and forging a more
global opinion. So far, I find his work on Dapp Theory more interesting
than
his work on The Way Up from a strict harmonica point of view (and despite
utterly loving The Way Up), but I obviously need more listens to form a
better opinion.
Ben
------------------------------
Message: 6
Date: Mon, 18 Apr 2005 10:16:52 -0700 (PDT)
From: Winslow Yerxa <winslowyerxa@xxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [Harp-L] Wrist mounted mic update
To: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx
Message-ID: <20050418171652.91227.qmail@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
A few weeks back I asked for ideas about a mic that could give me an
acoustic sound while moving around with me instead of being on a stand.
I bought a condensor mic on a gooseneck attached to a spring-loaded
clip. Several manufacturers make mics like this, usually for attaching
to drums or to the bells of saxophones. The one I chose, largely
because I could actually determine how long the gooseneck was and
because it could plug directly into an AKG body pack transmitter
without needing a preamp/phantom power supply, was an Audix ADX-20i. I
clipped it to a strip of brass (could have been plastic or even wood,
but I had the strip of brass lying around) that is embedded in a Velcro
wrist strap.
The setup overall works fine, with a couple of glitches.
Plugging the mic into my computer at home, the sound was fairly full if
a little compressed and condensor-y and I even found I could drive the
sound of the mic with the harp. But during sound check and even
performance in a concert hall I had no idea what the mic sounded like.
The first night went without incident, though when I later asked the
sound man what he thought of the sound of the mic he said it sounded
thin -this compared to his familiarity with Charlie Mussewhite's cupped
setup and the acoustic mic on a stand Charlie uses.
The second day, they had a problem during sound check with wind noise
every time I breathed not through the harp. They tried deflecting the
aim of the mic (it's cardioid, not omnidirectional) so it didn't point
directly ant the back of my hands. Later I re-aimed it directly at my
hand opening but from farther away, which turned out to work better.
The sound man later told me that he had also used a high-pass filter to
cut off anything under 250 Hz but that he could still detect the breath
noise. He seemed to think the breath noise was occurring when I exhaled
over the top of the harp. If that's correct, then aiming from below
might help.
The wireless part is great. I can give cues and make eye contact with
people behind and beside me, crouch, aim my head at the ceiling for
high notes and big cues, roam around. I ended up biting the bullet and
getting a really good unit, an AKG 4000. I was able to find a price
well under $800 from Full Compass in Wisconsin (it retails around
$1200). They were running a special on a related model; they didn't
have my model (body pack with no mic) in stock but were able to drop
ship it quickly from the mfr's warehouse in Tennessee.
Further observations after road testing on our Pacific Northwest tour
during the next couple of weeks.
Info on the tour dates:
http://sfscottishfiddlers.org/gigs.html
Winslow
__________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
Plan great trips with Yahoo! Travel: Now over 17,000 guides!
http://travel.yahoo.com/p-travelguide
------------------------------
Message: 7
Date: Mon, 18 Apr 2005 10:15:54 -0700 (GMT-07:00)
From: Richard Hunter <turtlehill@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [Harp-L] Re: Harp-L Digest, Vol 20, Issue 59
To: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx
Cc: jazmaan@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Message-ID:
<22972566.1113844554622.JavaMail.root@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
jazmaan@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:
My latest XB-Melody project is a rendition of Wardell Gray's bebop blues
"Jackie". I wish that
Harp-L had an upload space, but since it doesn't, I'm using this flaky
server out of Slovakia (its
free). Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Anyway, try visiting
http://www.bebopradio.com and scroll down to the bottom of the page where
you'll see a link for
"Jackie"...
I await your criticism and comments!
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
------------------------------
Message: 8
Date: Mon, 18 Apr 2005 13:05:57 -0500
From: Clifton McIntosh <cliff.mcintosh@xxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [Harp-L] Re: Delta Frost vs. Soul's Voice
To: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx
Message-ID: <a590ccca05041811054be64638@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
I had heard somewhere that the Delta Frost was manufactured in the same
factory as the Suzuki Bluesmaster. I don't remember where I picked that
up,
and it may not be true. Does anyone know if I can buy Bushman's
replacement
reed plates for the Delta Frost and place them in a Bluesmaster?
------------------------------
Message: 9
Date: Mon, 18 Apr 2005 14:22:44 -0400
From: Joe and Cass Leone <leone@xxxxxxxx>
Subject: Re: [Harp-L] Re : G. Maret...
To: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx
Message-ID: <DB884234-B036-11D9-98FF-000A95DE5A16@xxxxxxxx>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
On Apr 18, 2005, at 1:15 PM, Planet Harmonica wrote:
Just my general comments on Grégoire Maret, a global answer to all the
previous messages.
As Ludo pointed out, he's Swiss, not French.
OK, bad judgement on my part. I guess I assumed (and you KNOW what
happens when you do that) Points to ponder, though:
a) Gregoire is basically a French (type) name. (with an ire in it)
b) Maret (pronounced Maar-ray) is definitely a French name
c) When I saw him in Dallas, he looked like he was from Martinique
d) Switzerland had no islands in the Carribean
Funny, here in the U.S. people don't think as much about being from
one state or another. Whereas over in Europe (where most countries are
SMALLER than most states), I guess it really matters. From what I DO
know about living in Europe, I would NOW suppose that Gregoire's father
is from a French canton in WEST Switzerland. OR could it possibly be
that Gregoire's FATHER is the American half of the equation AND his
FATHER's family is originally from the Carribean, AND it's his MOTHER
who is Swiss?. Don't really know....it's a mystery to me....
Let's use ME as an example: I was born on the island of Malta. My
father was American (Italian decent), my mother was American (Polish
decent). My mother's mother was Jewish. My father's father was
Sicillian. In 1282 my family moved to Sicily from Aragon Spain. In 1134
my family moved from Malta to Spain. In 900 my family lived in Venice.
Before that Constantinople. What does that make me?.........a mutt
However, I reckon Chris' "French" was me, not him. Joe, if you think
the French can't be schmaltzy, try Michel Herblin. Romantic to the
core.
Having lived in France I can tell you that the French are THE Kings of
Schmaltz. But I didn't expect that from a YOUNG French player (oh
excuse me, Swiss). They are usually more Avant Garde. I found it
refreshing AND I liked it.
Anyway, I also think that Gregoire's playing on The Way Up was good
but not mindblowing.
Hey, that's all I'm saying. It's not like I'm 'capping' on the guy.
However, I felt that such a piece as The Way Up does not make sense
due to the individual flair of the soloists but rather should be
listened to as a whole. So, while I agree with the fact that his
playing doesn't make my hair rise, I would posit that that wasn't the
idea.
And that's EXACTLY what I said. I said he was constrained by the
material, (since it wasn't his).
I'm planning to go see 'em live in Paris in June and I'll decide then
what I think of Gregoire's live playing.
Meanwhile, I got hold of Dapp Theory and one half listen is enough to
make me want to hear more, although, again, I feel a little frustrated
by the role played by the harmonica (so far). On the first three
tracks it sounds more like a faire valoir than an integral part of the
band. I will comment further upon further listening.
Well, I took the aggravation of listening to ALL of Dapp Theory and
since I'm on dial-up, it tied up the phone all afternoon. Lucky it was
Sunday. I didn't want to shrug it all off too soon, so that's why I
gave the WHOLE deal a fair chance. As charitable as I can be is to
blather "Not my cup of tea".
So, to some extent, I can understand Chris' comments on the 'lack of
personality'
In general, though, I feel that there has been a lot less pushing of
boundaries in the chromatic world as there has been in the diatonic
world.
Which I said last week when we were talking about why it's easier to
start with a chromatic (as opposed to diatonic).
I can't explain it, but brilliant though players like Gallison or
Turk are, I think that there playing is very conventional nonetheless.
I don't hear much more "personality" there... The only players that
really fire up my ears for playing different are Bill Barrett and
Olivier Ker Ourio, for very different reasons.
Well. mentioning Bill Barrett around me will get you a blank stare and
for once in my life I would go 'mute'. I consider him THE best in his
field.
I'm hoping to find more of Gregoire's contributions and forging a more
global opinion. So far, I find his work on Dapp Theory more
interesting than his work on The Way Up from a strict harmonica point
of view (and despite utterly loving The Way Up), but I obviously need
more listens to form a better opinion.
I'm STILL open to input. I'll listen to
ANYTHING........once..........smo-joe :0)
Ben
_______________________________________________
Harp-L is sponsored by SPAH, http://www.spah.org
Harp-L@xxxxxxxxxx
http://harp-l.org/mailman/listinfo/harp-l
------------------------------
Message: 10
Date: Mon, 18 Apr 2005 15:21:51 -0300
From: Fernando Toral <ftoral@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: Re: [Harp-L] Cover Songs
To: Harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx
Message-ID: <4263FABF.CE291C1E@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
>Subject: Re: [Harp-L] Cover Songs
>Chris Michalek wrote:
>>
>>>What are the "cheesiest" or not so cheesy cover songs you guys play?
>>>
>>>Lately we've been doing:
>>>
>>>(...)
I asked
>>I like this thread, but -sorry for my ignorance- why are these songs so
>>called "cheesy"?
>>Fer from Argentina
Chris answered:
Cheesy because they are part of American Pop culture.How many
instrumentalists cover Michael Jackson tunes? Some would say where
the soul in that? We do it because it's a hot topic right now. Last
night we played Billie Jean into Messing with the Kid. Only a couple
of people got the joke but we thought it was funny.
Rooty added
American pop culture does not translate to cheesy and cheesy does not
translate to American Pop Culture (tm). George Gershwin, Bruce
Springsteen, and The Ramones (just to name 3 examples) do not deliver the
cheese and yet they are quintessential American Pop Culture
(tm). Conversely, Aqua, Nena and Freddie and the Dreamers are little but
fromage, yet they are not American Pop Cultural artifacts.
Cheese is a quality that transcends borders, cultures and genres. In
other
words: The cheese stands alone!!!
What defines cheese is the unmistakable whiff of kitsch, camp, or
irony ---
or all three at once.
Sorry, but I still can't get the concept of "cheesy".
From what I read here, I can approach to what we call in Argentina as
"greasy"
("grasa")
a term used when something sucks or smells awful,
but also for some music tunes that are very popular but repetitive,
quite familiar but unbearable when listened more that twice. Am I close to
understand?
Fer from Argentina --where a lot of music is greasy nowadays--
------------------------------
Message: 11
Date: Mon, 18 Apr 2005 11:37:07 -0700 (PDT)
From: "jazmaan@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx" <dmf273@xxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [Harp-L] Re: Jackie
To: Richard Hunter <turtlehill@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Harp-L@xxxxxxxxxx
Message-ID: <20050418183707.98975.qmail@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
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
------------------------------
_______________________________________________
Harp-L is sponsored by SPAH, http://www.spah.org
Harp-L mailing list
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http://harp-l.org/mailman/listinfo/harp-l
End of Harp-L Digest, Vol 20, Issue 60
**************************************