Re: [Harp-L] Re: Rockabilly Harmonica

["Bob Maglinte" <bbqbob917@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Clayton Goldstein" <clay@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx>
Cc: <rainbowjimmy@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Friday, August 05, 2005 3:50 PM
Subject: [Harp-L] Re: Rockabilly Harmonica


> I was ALWAYS wondering why there wasn't more Harmonica on Rockabilly 
> Music...so
> now I play in a band, ToST, with a blazing Rockabilly guitarist.  We're 
> about
> 50% Rockabilly, and fortunately, get to play mostly what we want, when we 
> want,
> which is often.  What harmonica player that enjoys swing & Blues wouldn't 
> want
> to Jam with Brian Setzer's (Stray Cat) bands?
>
> I have a hidden agenda to get rid of the hard distinctions in musical 
> genres.
> They only seperate people and musicians.  What's the difference between
> Rockabilly, Swing, Country, Jump Blues, Blues, Delta Blues, Rock and Roll, 
> etc?
> Not much to my ears and soul.  Sure there's sometimes a bit of a twang 
> here, a
> growl there, more distortion, less distortion, one may have a taste for 
> more
> acoustic instruments, others like quicker more agressive arrangements, 
> Lyrics
> may be lighter or heavier; but the venom some have for Merle Haggard or 
> Johnny
> Cash, when they love Johnny Winters, John Lee Hooker, or Muddy Waters...I 
> never
> understood.
>
> Enjoy,
>
> Clay
>
> PS -  I don't write much but love all the contributions y'all 
> make...except
> arguing about arguing.  Happy Harping...
>
> PSS -  My Vote:  Both Bob Dylan and John Popper "ROCK", and are valid 
> musical
> stylists and Harmonica players.  They have advanced harmonica's 
> uses,technique,
> tone, songwriting, atmosphere, identity and overall awareness to the 
> public.

Hi,
Differences are the grooves and how you play them, be it on top (which means 
right on the beat), ahead or behind and how far either way, and whether you 
phrase more off the 2 and the 4, and not so much the tempos, as playing 
ahead of the beat gives the illussion of being faster than the groove really 
is and playing behind the beat does the exact opposite, and blues is usually 
played more behind than ahead of the beat, and the further behind, the 
darker the overall sound. This is an area many musicians don't pay enough 
attention to because they're often too concerned about soloing and not 
enough about the groove, and understanding how the groove works IS important 
so that the proper feel comes through. Rockabilly is often times played 
ahead of the beat, as is rock and country at times are. These are VERY 
subtle things but they can be extremely difficult for most people to learn, 
and ALL of the very best studio pros understand this stuff VERY well and 
most people at a jam won't and because it's so subtle, that's why it's hard 
to really hear but it is an ESSENTIAL ingredient to learn.

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