Re: [Harp-L] Motown in 12th position

["Rick Dempster" <rick.dempster@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Ice;
       Here's a brief list of devices I use as the main soloist in the
blues combo. We play about three hours every Thursday night (same gig
for the last fifteen months) and whatever else comes our way. The guitar
man/vocalist mainly holds down the feel, and if he solos, it's usually a
collective effort with the two of us chasing each other. 
      Positions:1st,2nd,3rd,4th,5th & (sometimes) 12th
      Single note obligato with pucker.
      Tongue block/pull-offs/Lost John licks
      Tongue splits, 6ths etc.
      Tongue block trills (Gwen Foster inspired)
      Tongue (corner) switching -similar to above but different
       Bent-note trills, especially in top octave (Foster's influence
again)
      
I might add that I know my harmonic theory reasonably well (play more
steel guitar gigs than harp) and so I know what notes I'm playing, which
causes me to come up with a few ideas of my own that I'm sure plenty of
others have tried, but which I've arrived at independently. 
I discovered overblows for myself in the late seventies, for example.
Never heard anyone else's except Blues Birdhead's and I didn't know what
he was doing until I'd found it myself.
Some of these ideas are: playing 2&3 blow through a blues progressions
(a rhythm back-up, or kick-off for a solo) in 2nd position, so that you
get a 6th chord over the I, becoming the 3rd and 5th of the IV. Sounds
like a swing horn section (well, kind of); playing blow 1&2 over a blues
in 3rd position,for similar effect thus playing 7th and a 9th over the
minor I. 
I like using a tongue split over 6-9 draw/blow to imply an augmented
A7th (on a C harp, 1st pos.) and similarly blow 2-4 alternating with
draw 1-3 to give an augmented E7th.
I like to superimpose the diminished chord when moving from the IV back
to the I, and when I think I can get away with it, following that by
playing through a VI, II, V, I progression, hopefully pulling the rest
of the guys with me into something sounding like jazz.
I'm also trying to emulate those T-Bone Walker licks on returning to
the I after the IV (- in key of G: GM7,Am7,Bm7, Bbm7, Am/D7.If you play
the sevenths you have to add the odd overblow, which sits in there
pretty well. This works well in 2nd pos. and 3rd - major that it; now is
that really 3rd as we know it? You have to OB 5 to make it work.
I like to use a solo/rhythm style drawing on a mash of calypso, ska and
New Orleans jazz and R'n'B, which I've found works well over simple
tunes like Chuck Berry's 'You Never Can Tell' , gospel things like 'Down
by the Riverside' and even mixes in nicely with my Cajun inspired
style.
Some of these ideas are just coming out of the woodshed after years of
work. Sometimes they work, sometimes not.
I have to have the co-operation of the band to get away with some of
it. We talk a lot.
I might also mention that I've played what's locally known as
'bush-band' gigs, doing a largely Irish repertoire for set-dancing.
I play solo pieces like De Ford Baileys 'Ice Water Blues', Palmer
McAbees 'Lost Boy Blues' and my own pices of a similar nature etc. etc.
too.
I have routinely practiced in tunes in 12 keys on the diatonic, using
overblows, but after twenty-odd years, I do not love the sound (I don't
care who's doing it - sorry!) though I find it wierdly fascinating.
I play chrom too, and some time soon, I'll find a way to use it more
(thus getting better at it I hope)
Why am I bothering to tell you all this?
Because I would think that a lot of people who follow the discourse on
harp-l would probably find a lot of these things difficult to do, and
possibly not been playing for as long as some of us, or done as many
gigs. I've been playing for 37 years and gigging for thirty.
We all have our differing abilities, some of us are perhaps more
musically curious than others, but I hear some very simple straight
ahead palyers sometimes that move me more than the guy with all the hot
licks or far-out technique.
I think it's a mistake to make it sound like playing in 12th, for
example, is an easy thing to pull off. It ain't so bad in a bigger band
of course; then you can be atmospheric or hot-dog around like a surfer
on a big wave; but with a small outfit, you really have a job to do.
What if I said 'chonk' instead of 'chug'? ('Chonk Charlie Chonk' - if
it's good enough for Charlie Christian, it's good enough for me) or
perhaps 'comp' sounds a little more sophisticated. What the hell, on the
harp, I call it 'chugging', and yes, I do the 'train' when pressed.
Lastly, unlike the singer/harp lplayer, if you are pretty much just
playing harp, particularly in a small combo,you have to justify your
existence with more than just good solos. I think of the harp as a
keyboard (maybe a Hammond!) and a horn section (yeah..in my dreams) and
try to lock in with the rhythm as much as I can.
Using 'interesting' positions can make some chord playing very
awkward.
Do you think I'm exploring enough landscape? I'd like to cover more,
but I'm slow. Let's just see how long I can stay alive for......
Regards,
Rick Dempster
Melbourne
Australia




>>> <icemanle@xxxxxxx> 10/08/2006 22:36:40 >>>
Yes, you have to be in a position to do that - try 12th position.
 
Seriously, limitations may be self imposed. In a 4 piece blues act,
what is wrong with starting the set with a solo piece on the harmonica
that is not 'chuggeroo'? Try playing just a melody. (Everyone seems to
love "Amazing Grace"). Joe Filisko does a wonderful version. So does
Howard Levy. They are at two ends of the spectrum, but that leaves
everything in between fair game.
 
The question you may ask yourself is "Can I play anything on the
harmonica that isn't chug based?" If the answer is "No", than who's
responsible for the limitation?
 
You don't have to switch over to a new style, but why not at least
explore that landscape a little? It may just broaden your musical
experience and educate the audience at the same time.
 
The Iceman
 
 
-----Original Message-----
From: rick.dempster@xxxxxxxxxxx 


Fine. But you have to be in a position (read 'band') that allows you
to
do that. In a four piece blues act, there's not a lot of room to
move.I
have heard a lot of clever harp players over the years, but most of it
amounts to what Toots calls 'look Ma, no hands' (quoting from
R.Hunter's
interview in his book 'Jazz Harp') I can be pretty 'clever' too, but
not
at the expense of the music, or the bands performance, I hope.
RD


>>> <icemanle@xxxxxxx> 9/08/2006 22:08:20 >>>
Think beyond the "usual role of the harp". Move past the 'chugging'
mindset. There is a whole world out there to discover.
 
The "AH" in SPAH is ADVANCEMENT of the Harmonica. You don't have to be
a member of SPAH to do it, though.
 
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