Re: [Harp-L] The Harmonica Player-by David Guion

[Winslow Yerxa <winslowyerxa@xxxxxxxxx>]

Robert - 

Perhaps the difference bwteen our approaches has to do with my looking
at it from an arranger/composer/inproviser standpoint.

Rather than thinking, "I need to produce this result, so I'll apply
this technique and let the details be dictated by whether I get the
result or not," I'm thinking things like, "Gee, if I block out two
holes between B and A, then switch to puckering the two holes I blocked
and press in the slide, I'll get D# and F#. Then I can create rhythmic
figures on a B7 chord by alternating between the B-A split and the
D#/F# interval. Along with all this puzzling out of possibilities goes
figuring out where they are in relation to one another.

Too, I find that at least initially I (and I suspect many others) like
to know exactly what I'm doing in concrete terms. "Why am I geting an
octave on C but not on D? Oh, I need to consistently cover three holes,
not two." Once I get the hang of it I can let go of those details, but
at first I don't want to be groping in the dark (at least not in the
mind's eye. The mouth is in fact doing exactly that).

True story about details. I was once driving Toots to a radio interview
and he started playing along with a jazz tune on the radio. From the
things he was doing, I deduced the tune was in Bb minor (my limited
access to absolute pitch does not always favor me with this sort of
information). When he finished, I asked him if it was Bb minor. For a
moment he looked totally blank and kind of nonplussed. Then he
confirmed that it was. While he was playing, he evidently wasn't
thinking - or even aware - of the key, basic as that was; he was just
making music within the structure that he had joined and had
internalized that sort of detail to the point where he did't need to
think about it. It took him a moment to turn his mind around to
thinking about what he had just done in terms of keys.

Good luck with the Grand Canyon seminar.

Winslow

--- Robert Bonfiglio <bon@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> Dear Winslow,
> 
> I hope you this finds you well!!!!
> 
> It's not important how many holes you cover; only the ones you don't 
> cover play.  So if I play a third out of one side of my mouth, I have
> 
> no idea how many holes my tongue is covering on the other side.  By
> the 
> time it comes to having and octave and a third, I don't think, gee, I
> 
> must cover two holes in the center.
> 
> 
> I do think, I must play an octave and add the third on one side of my
> 
> mouth or the other.
> 
> If I were writing a book,  I would have to have some kind of notation
> 
> just because there is no teacher right there to explain the process. 
> 
> This is why everyone should study with a teacher.
> 
> Harmonically yours,
> 
> Robert
> 
> 
> On Apr 21, 2006, at 12:32 PM, Winslow Yerxa wrote:
> 
> > Robert -
> >
> > Why not make each of the "-" representing the tongue equal one hole
> > blocked?
> >
> > As in:
> >
> > D-A
> > D--BD
> > D---D
> >
> > etc.
> >
> > I have a tab font, Chromatic Sans Dot, that does a similar thing
> > vertically (has to be vertical as it's for placing under notation;
> > the version you use below is more literal in its alignment if not
> its
> > spacing).
> >
> > By the way, I'm overing a similar subject in a series of articles
> at
> > harmonicasessions.com.
> >
> > Winslow
> >> Bb-----Gb,Bb
> >> A--------F,A
> >> Ab-------F,Ab
> >> G--------E,G
> >> Gb------Eb,Gb
> >> F--------D,F
> >> E,G-------E
> >> Eb,Gb-----Eb
> >> D,F--------D
> >> Db,F------Db
> >> C,E--------C
> >> B,D--------B
> >>          to
> >> Bb------Gb,Bb
> >


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