Re: [Harp-L] Ode Challenge Revisited (was Augmented)

[Joe and Cass Leone <leone@xxxxxxxx>]

> On Mar 20, 2009, at 12:29 AM, Rick Dempster wrote:
>
> > This supposed to be about consistency of tone isn't it? Surely, to  
> > use one example, the 'side' keys on a sax produce a different tone  
> > to the 'front' (? sorry I don't know the correct terminology)  
> > keys. Is this not a feature of any wind instrument? Why do I think  
> > Winslow is going to answer this.......? or Joe... or.......
> > RD
Often going unnoticed is timing. As far as harmonicas go, when  
attempting bends, some people will adjust the timing when approaching  
a difficult bend. Like, they will change the structure and the rests  
so that the difficult note is almost a 'passing' note.

Example: Rocky Top is played at a brisk enough speed to where the  
couple tricky parts can be slurred over enough, and emphasis can be  
placed on OTHER (easier) notes, to where the passing notes, even if  
not expertly hit, are close enough to satisfy most ears.

Hard to do on a ballad. Example: Crazy. There are a couple tricky  
parts where the bends are hard to get into the mixture in a seamless  
fashion. Sooo some players will change the structure to gloss over  
the tricky notes. For instance, instead of:

1/4 note, 1/4 note, rest  1/4 note, 1/4 note, 1/4 note, 1/4 note, 1/4  
note, 1/8-1/8 (barred), 1/4 note....they will play
1/4 note, 1/4 note, rest  dotted 1/4 note, 1/8-1/8-1/8 barred, 1/4  
note, rest, 1/4 note, 1/8-1/8 barred.

This way, the couple tricky 1/4 notes are converted into 'passing'  
1/8 notes, and it is 'snowjoberalled' into a more seamless run.

What I have always done was to take a tune and envision the singer  
(or instrumentalist) who did this tune the BEST. By best, I mean the  
person whom was most successful with the tune. In other words, THEY  
made the tune popular OR did it better than anyone else. Why? Well,  
think about it. IF it were the most popular version, that must mean  
that it appealed to more people than previous versions.

Ergo: If it WAS more popular, that means more people liked it, Thus  
you will have a better chance of success with it as it is already  
shown (maybe not proven) to be a success.

LeOne