[Harp-L] "A-Train"

[Jonathan Ross <jross38@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

WVa Bob writes:

"Several months ago there was a thread concerning the difficulty of  
playing the head of "Take the A Train"...I think J.R. Ross may have  
initiated it?"


I don't recall who started it, but I was certainly involved.  The  
head is all-but impossible to play on the harmonica, IMO.  You can  
hit the notes, but it doesn't sound good.  I practiced this for a few  
months straight, and couldn't get it anywhere I was happy with.   
Fortunately, I'm in good company.  Les Thompson is a fantastic  
chromatic player (blows me away) but if you listen to just the head  
on his recording of "A-Train" I think you'd have to agree that he is  
struggling mightily and is either just barely pulling it off or just  
can't quite get there, depending on one's reaction.  He is able to  
hide behind the sax pretty well, and so it doesn't end up detracting  
all that much from the song's opening.  Interestingly, he is able to  
get it better at the end of the song than the beginning--I'd say the  
opening he's just missing it, and at the end he's barely hitting it-- 
barely.  This is the best version I've heard by far, and it's still  
obviously difficult--it sounds just out of the instrument's range,  
like he's fighting against his axe.

But, all that aside, it's a truly excellent practice piece, if you  
don't get too discouraged (and don't abuse listeners with it).  The  
very difficulty of the leaps and jumps and trying to both play at  
speed and swing will help you improve on other less difficult songs.   
I often find practicing something nigh-impossible ends up making the  
stuff that was just damn hard feel so much easier.  Also, it's useful  
to try it in other positions than the key it's in.  I think I decided  
that Bb on a C chromatic (12th position) was a bit better.  But not  
by much.

Hope this helps--and I'd suggest trying to find the original thread  
in the archives, as I seem to recall other versions were mentioned.



 ()()    JR "Bulldogge" Ross
()  ()
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