Fwd: [Harp-L] Suggestions for playing the occasional "rock" tune?

["John Kuzloski" <jkuzloski@xxxxxxxxx>]

--- In harp-l-archives@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, Michael Meehan 
<mikemeehan2002@...> wrote:

Hi all. My band plays pretty much all blues (new and old), but they 
occasionally like to work on something that falls more into 
the "rock" category, like the Stones "Honky Tonk Woman" or something 
like that. Now, I can pretty much hold my own and add value to 
anything in the usual blues format, but when it breaks out of the 
mold too much, I am not really good enough to just wing it, know what 
I mean? So, I guess what I am asking is, does anyone have any 
suggestions/direction on how to add value to a song like "Honky Tonk 
Woman"? Not looking for ultra-specifics (allthough, that would be 
cool!), just a general discussion of how one goes about it.
  Thanks for any input! Mike


Mike:  Interesting subject -- I do this pretty intuitively, so it is 
good to force me to think about what I might be doing!  One approach 
would be to play between the vocal lines, thinking what might a back-
up singer do here?  Of course, you need to be sensitive to what, for 
example, the lead guitar might be adding in that vein.  Or switch off 
with the lead guitarist on echoing the end of vocal lines.  There are 
about 6 sylables on "Honk" in each chorus, so I think a couple of 
well placed harp beats might work (maybe in this case you are doing 
what a horn might do) -- listen to the drummer and maybe add some 
emphasis to the drum beats.   Be sensitive to the dynamics --for 
example, are you trying to bring up the energy level at the end of a 
verse to kick into the chorus (each time? only at the end?).  A 
single "bop" after each "gimme" might sound cool.  If the lead 
guitarist is playing a lick and you know where it will resolve, you 
might resolve it together (or maybe you hold it a bit longer and 
warble or bend).  Anyway, those are just a few thoughts from trying 
to imagine what I might try in that situation -- I hope it helps a 
bit or leads to further discussion that helps.
--jk


       
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