RE: [Harp-L] But when it comes right down to it,,

["Bill Hines" <billhines4@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

BOY am I glad you said that! This stuff all has me rightly confused.
Play. Don't play. I always felt the same as you Tom, from a music
LISTENER's perspective I like hearing that color and richness that the
various instruments bring when "in their place" in the mix. 

Now that I'm trying to be a musician it's all very confusing. One week
at the jam I did what was explained here (solo then stand by or
cheerlead) and after the first song the guy leading the set and singing
(a very well known local musician with plenty of experience and very
respected) said "Bill, I want to HEAR that harp on those vocal breaks".
So I did that on the next songs and he was happy (I was then doing fills
during vocal breaks, maybe *some* light/low accompaniment such as
chording/vamping on other parts) and the guy loved it. He said "THAT's
what I'm talking about". I felt good. Then I came back next week,
another guy leading the set, again a well respected musician, and I did
this and he called me outside after the set for overplaying, haha. I was
like WTF, I'm SO confused. 

I too had problems with the Little Red Rooster clip but it was mainly
that the harp player (who was very good) was playing amplified Chicago
type blues standing whereas the other two guys were more acoustic and
that contrast just was a little weird for me, but I still dug the song
and listened to it all. I'd like to have heard it with the harp player
going acoustic into the vocal mic.

So after much thought, I think the key is to NOT just stand there most
of the set and wait for your solo and do just minimal other fills as a
hard and fast rule. It's to just LISTEN and JUDGE the best you can where
you can add something, not matter where it is. Use DISCRETION about
things - if you think you can add some color/backing when someone else
is playing, it should be at LOWERED VOLUME so you are in the background
and they remain in the foreground. It's when you approach their soloing
volume and start stepping on them that people get upset. Maybe talk to
the set leader before the set if it's a jam, if you get asked to sit in
on any other situation I'd err on the conservative side for sure. Talk
to the sound man too, it's bad when you turn your volume low and if you
are going through the board he then thinks you are too low and cranks
you right back up :^)

Anyway, what the hell do I know. I'm interested in hearing the different
perspectives from the experts here. Once again, it may all just come
down to a matter of preference, like so many other issues that we
discuss here on the 'L'.

Bill Hines
Hershey, PA

-----Original Message-----
From: harp-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxx [mailto:harp-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxx] On
Behalf Of Tom Muck
Sent: Tuesday, March 13, 2007 10:54 AM
To: 'Harp L'
Subject: Re: [Harp-L] But when it comes right down to it,,


> Yesterday, someone posted a clip with Big Walter accompanying a  
> "star" singer. The poster commented on the tastefulness of his backing

> licks.  I agree, but herein lies the rub of backing licks. How many of

> us have heard players in a "backing" role - i.e. when someone else is

> soloing or singing -
> and they just keep wailing away.

I see the exact opposite these days. In Muddy's band and other great old

music, if there was a piano solo or guitar solo you would still hear
Little 
Walter throwing down some tasteful licks -- everything is intertwined. 
These days it seems when someone takes a solo every other instrument
just 
drops out and the musicians just stand there. It becomes less musical
and 
more of an instrumental showcase. I think all the instruments should fit

together and work off each other.

Tom 

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