RE: [Harp-L] Playing in the groove...

["John Balding" <John.Balding@xxxxxxxxx>]

Mike Fugazzi wrote:

>>>"What harp players play "in the groove"?"

In my opinion the master of groove in the Blues harp arena was/is Junior
Wells; the Hoodoo Man Blues album being the shining example. 

>>>"...I posted comments comparing two guitar players. I described one
as playing in the groove and the other on top of it."

Playing in the groove can be characterized a zillion different ways. I
like to think of it from an emotional standpoint, not necessarily a
rhythmic one, per se. Here is how I would explain it, using your example
of the two guitars:

There are two ways to approach playing: (1) evocative - the player is
trying to elicit a response from the listener. (2) reactive - the player
is playing in response to his/her emotional interpretation of the piece.

In this explanation, the reactive player is "in the groove", and the
evocative player is "on top of it". i.e. - Playing in an evocative
manner, to me, means "playing the prescribed notes" and letting the
listener draw meaning from their own inferences. Playing in a reactive
way means that the player has dissociated him/herself from the listener,
and is playing as a direct result of what he/she feels as the music is
being played. This is the reason that some players play "behind the
beat", provided they otherwise have a good sense of rhythm.

"In the groove" is basically playing with reactive, impulsive emotion,
while respecting the song's rhythmic and thematic constraints.

>>>" How does one achieve this?"

In my opinion, this can only be done when the player fully embraces
his/her OWN interpretation of the song. For example, I couldn't stand
"Brown Eyed Girl". Hated it! Sick and tired of it! Everybody played it
everywhere you went. You couldn't escape it. One day, the band I was in
at the time asked me to sing it. Over a period of a few weeks, I tried
to find personal relevance to the song, so that I could present it in a
realistic way. When I actually sat and READ the song, instead of
listening to it, I immediately thought of an old girlfriend of mine. She
had the most beautiful big brown eyes, and was a fun-loving girl like
the one in the song. That was my connection. I could now sing the song
from MY heart. Makes a huge difference. 
Music can be played using the same philosophy. When a player reaches the
point where the song has a personal meaning, he/she cannot help but be
in the groove. When a song is merely a string of coordinated notes put
to a rhythm, there is no spark, no groove. It is the personal connection
that the player/singer must make in order for the song to have a true
groove. That is why a lot of cover songs still sound the best by the
original performer. Technically speaking, the music may be better on the
covered versions, but the emotion is something which is rarely
duplicated or surpassed.

The meaning of "in the groove" refers to a record, meaning you are "deep
in the music" or letting the music take control of you, as a needle in
the groove of a record has no choice but to follow the path set before
it.

John Balding