Re: [Harp-L] Dylan (and positions)

[Richard Hunter <turtlehill@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

"drori hammer" wrote:

> So , I decided to take it as a challenge and a learning experience: to try 
>to 
> play "Dylan-style" but actually do it well.

I'm not sure Dylan is really trying to make it sound like he's doing it well, and maybe he's not actually trying to do it well most of the time.  So if you try to do Dylan-style but do it well, you're not playing Dylan-style.

I will explain what I mean by "do it well."  Dylan's playing on his records through the 1980s is very limited.  (I'm not familiar with his latest few releases.)  He plays in different positions, but his basic sound and technique are very much the same from song to song.  His sound isn't always the right sound for the song, either.  His basic tone shaping techniques are few--he doesn't use a lot of different vibratos, he doesn't use his hands much to shape the tone (which seems obvious given that he's usually playing the harp from a rack), and he doesn't seem to be capable of producing a full tone from his gut.  In terms of his note choices, he stays in the middle register a lot of the time, so he's usually missing the most expressive parts of the harmonica.  This also is due in large part to the rack; when you're playing on a rack, you pretty much have to play the notes that are right in front of you, because the tone changes dramatically when you twist your head to play notes to either side.  (You can hear that happening on a lot of John Mayall's records when he plays above the 5th hole; it's a completely different sound from his work in the low register, which is what he had positioned in front of his mouth on the rack.)  

Partly because of the lack of variety in his technique, Dylan's harmonica sound is consistent, and I don't think he sounds like anyone else, though a number of people try to sound like him. In other words, the harmonica is part of what defines his sound.  I think that's an achievement of sorts, but I tend to think that a lot more could have been made of the harmonica in his music. But maybe it wouldn't have sounded so individual if it had.  Mere virtuosity isn't always as distinctive as something direct, personal, and even crude.

All that said, Dylan doesn't play the harp very well.  I think a lot of players out there now could add something to Dylan's music with more expressive harp playing, and I think his audience would accept it as a deepening of the role of the instrument in his music.  I doubt it'll ever happen, but who knows.  He's certainly hired hot guitar players to back him up.

Regards, Richard Hunter
http:/hunterharp.com
harmonica blog at myspace.com/richardhunterharp
latest mp3s always at http://broadjam.com/rhunter