Re: Subject: RE: [Harp-L] Practice and the mind

[IcemanLE@xxxxxxx]

Excellent comments - 
 
If you consider that a musical line, lick, idea, whatever, is nothing more  
than one note leading to the next one, and you understand what "present moment" 
 means, it is not as difficult to follow the music in your head and play it 
on an  instrument, as long as you don't get to far ahead of yourself.
 
In the present moment, only one note exists in a linear form, so you only  
have to be concerned with one note at a time. It's easy to do, but hard to  
finally grasp this concept and let go of the insecurities that get in the  way.
 
 
In a message dated 3/3/2009 10:25:34 A.M. Eastern Standard Time,  
John.Balding@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx writes:

On  Monday March 02, 2009, Elizabeth wrote:



>>>Of course  one has to 'know' the song (in my case)...and that takes
having an ear for  it, to my mind...something I don't know if pure
readers do in quite the  same way. I imagine for them it's an entirely
different 'working out'  process. <<<



One technique which I acquired in chorus  class way back when, which I
have tried to carry over into my harp playing  is the concept of
"hearing" the note in your head before you release it  from your mouth.
When we had to come in all of a sudden with a bold note,  our chorus
instructor would make us "hear and form" the note in our  forehead area
(completely silent - this was a "mind thing") and then  release it
audibly through the normal means. It was scary how good this  worked.
Think of the intro to the traditional song This Is...MY  Country...land
of my birth... You have to nail the octave jump on the word  My, or the
whole song went down the drain. Sort of like "...and the rockets  red
glare...)



I try to bring this into the harmonica realm  by trusting that if I
listen to the song enough and have an understanding  of various
techniques, I will be able to reproduce the tune without ruining  two
harps in the process. By having a grasp on mouth, lip, throat and  tongue
techniques, it is then easier to "visualize" a sequence of notes  before
you actually play them. As I listen to a section of a solo, I try  to
follow along with my mouth; forming all of the techniques I imagine  it
will take to produce the sequence. Sometimes I do this with no harp,  but
still cupping my hands and using all the breathing that I would if I  was
actually playing. I know, I know, but it works for me. I believe that  if
the technique is there, the note will inherently follow. As you  said
above, the more you "know" the song and have an ear for it. I  would
guess that this is how Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder pick up a tune  they
have just heard. They already know the techniques. Once they hear  the
notes, it's just a matter of applying the proper technique to get  the
sequence.



Another practice method that works for me is  the idea that I don't have
to get each note or phrase before I move on to  the next. Most Blues
solos, even standards performed by the original  artists, tend to be
fluid in that they may change slightly each time they  are played. Rod
Piazza once told me "I never play the same solo twice. I  try to capture
the essence of the song, but I don't like being limited by a  specific
set of notes. I play what fits the situation." 



It  is easy to become obsessed with regurgitating a solo note-for-note.
That, I  believe, is where the frustration sets in. What I try to do is
follow  along, capturing the feel of the music, the mood, the tone, etc.
until the  notes "find" their way into the equation. Along the way, even
if I haven't  got the tune down note-for-note, I still come away from it
with a workable  alternative.



John Balding

Tallahassee,  FL

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