RE: [Harp-L] When to Lay Out
- To: wolfkristiansen@xxxxxxxx, harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx, bradford.trainham@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Subject: RE: [Harp-L] When to Lay Out
- From: Michael Meehan <mikemeehan2002@xxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 30 Apr 2009 13:32:05 -0700 (PDT)
- Cc:
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- In-reply-to: <200904292102.n3TL2Gfl018269@harp-l.com>
- Reply-to: mikemeehan2002@xxxxxxxxx
This thread has mentioned rhythm harmonica a couple times, so I thought I would hijack the thread a little and ask about that. I would love to be able to add some rhythm to the tune a every now and then, some tunes just BEG for it. Can anyone suggest a particular player I should start with? To check out how its supposed to be done? Just looking for a starting point, Thanks, all! Mike
--- On Wed, 4/29/09, Bradford Trainham <bradford.trainham@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
From: Bradford Trainham <bradford.trainham@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: RE: [Harp-L] When to Lay Out
To: wolfkristiansen@xxxxxxxx, harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx
Date: Wednesday, April 29, 2009, 5:42 PM
Those examples you cited all have in common that the players could reduce
their volume enough to let the singer be out front but not so much that you
couldn't hear the harp.
I have little to no experience playing amplified harp but it seems to me
that would be even more of a challenge than with playing acoustically.
Brad Trainham
-----Original Message-----
From: harp-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxx [mailto:harp-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf
Of Wolf Kristiansen
Sent: Wednesday, April 29, 2009 1:27 PM
To: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: [Harp-L] When to Lay Out
"ONLY PLAY WHEN THE SINGER TAKES A BREATH"
Thought I'd chime in on this.
Like many rules, this one is made to be broken. From my blues loving
perspective, I can't help thinking of Little Walter, Walter Horton and
Sonny
Terry, to give familiar examples. They played over, under, around, (insert
any other preposition you can think of) the vocals. But it worked!
They had the chops and deep musicianship to pull it off. Muddy Waters'
"Forty Days and Forty Nights" would not be the arresting song it is
without
Little Walter's harmonica, which can be heard throughout. Although it is
present during the vocal, it does not detract, at least to my ears.
In my playing, if I'm inspired, I do play while the singer's singing;
weaving in and out of and sometimes over the vocals. If we're all on the
same blues page, it works; the singer's happy, I'm happy and the
audience is
happy. I do concede sometimes it doesn't work.
Other times I play a rhythm riff on the harp. Rhythm harmonica is an
under-appreciated art, but that's best kept as a subject for another
thread.
Other times I shut up until it's time for a 12 or 24 bar solo, and that
works too, in the right song.
In all vocal songs, blues or not, the singer is the most important performer
in that song. The role of the other musicians, all of them, is to play in a
way that supports the message the singer is trying to convey. That involves
listening to and appreciating the lyrics, and understanding the inherent
mood-- emotional, spiritual, even intellectual-- of the song. It might
involve playing during the vocals.
This brings to mind a rule I subscribe to-- "When in doubt, lay out".
If
you're not sure you can add to the vocal, then, yes, you'd best be
quiet
while the singer's singing.
I'm ignoring instrumental showcases for the time being, where the rules are
different. Even in that case, there's usually an instrument taking the
lead, and the other instruments' role is to support that lead. I'm
ignoring
jazz scat singing, where the singer is really another improvising jazz
instrumentalist.
Having said all this, I do acknowledge the risk of playing over vocals.
I've attended too many jam sessions where the harmonica player absolutely
murdered the singer's efforts by playing over the vocals, in a fashion that
did not even come close to complementing those vocals.
Cheers,
wolf kristiansen
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