[Harp-L] Nashville Notation

["samblancato" <samblancato@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Vern Smith writes: "It is a help to chord-harmonica and other chord
instruments such as guitar
and keyboard but is not much help to harmonica soloists. It deals with the
chord names and not with the notes of the melody."

 

Well, I see your point here, Vern, but where I think it would be really
useful is in charting a song for practice or rehearsals but this is only if
the other guys you're practicing with are able (and willing) to work out a
song on paper and discuss the song by referencing to the chart.  

 

I just got a band started here and the guys I'm playing with don't seem too
interested in doing this much work for one song whereas I'm all for it. Both
the bass player and the guitarist said they're used to playing with a lead
vocalist who also played rhythm guitar and all they had to do what glance at
the guy's left hand to see where the song was headed.  Well, I play harp-
how are they going to see what I'm doing there?  

 

Anyone who plays blues can see right away the myriad variations there can be
on the I-IV-V progression for any given song.  Thus far, my buddies don't
seem to want to do this kind of work.  I charted 19 songs by showing where
the changes fall on the song verses and I laid it out on staff paper for a
couple of songs as well but they're not into this.  These guys (bass player,
drummer and guitarist) are all way more experienced than I am and I think
this stuff tries their patience.  But I don't see how we're going to work
out any real dynamics or counterpoint on a song if we can't take it apart.
Right now what we're doing is only a step above what I've been doing for
years now at jams; every song has this generic sound to it.  To my, albeit
inexperienced, sensibility it's the dynamics, the counterpoint, and drum
accents and pick-ups that give a song it's character. I've never been in a
band before so I have no idea where this is headed - probably to a dead end
I'm afraid. 

 

Anyway, it's in this situation, where you decide how you want to play song,
where I'm the kind of person that wants some kind of song chart.  The
individual notes aren't an issue here; each of us can do that individually -
- if we all know where we're headed. The staffs can just have slashes on
them and the changes and maybe some notes here and there.  The analogy that
works for me here is a street.  You can say, for example, that main drag on
in this town is 10 blocks long (10 12 bar choruses). The first 2 are
residential, the next two are small shops, the next two are big shops,
followed my two more residential and then 2 blocks of park then you've left
the town. Maybe I'm too intellectual about it all.

 

Sam Blancato, Pittsburgh