Re: [Harp-L] singing ability

[MARK BURNESS <markwjburness@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

John,

If learning a piece of music, learn to hum it as well as play it...playing it on 
an instrument in the early stages is more about mastering the mechanics of 
playing, you don't necssarily see the whole picture. Being able to hum the piece 
will help you balance that with phrasing & help develop your ear.

Don't get frustrated, EVERYONE has been where you are now. There is a theory 
that mastering anything takes about 10,000 hours...if that helps put it in 
perspective. But many players will be competant after 18 months to 2 
years...real fluency (playing as naturally as you speak your native language) 
can take years, even decades...in fact, many never achieve it!



________________________________
From: michael rubin <michaelrubinharmonica@xxxxxxxxx>
To: John Dekker <jdekker@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Cc: harp-l <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Friday, 26 November, 2010 21:50:57
Subject: Re: [Harp-L] singing ability

John,
I am not a great singer, but like harp worked on singing and it
certainly helped.  But six months, to be gentle, is just the beginning
of learning how to play.  I think you are going through an important
an useful tool studying tabs.  Improvisation is the creation  of
melody.  You are studying melody.  It is going to pay off.  I would
next begin by playing along with harp records.  Emulate the feeling of
the player, how hard or soft is he playing, how fast and slow.  You
may surprise yourself by hearing and imitating a lick or two.  Then I
would get some theory basics.  Knowing which notes sound good when can
really help you make good improvisational choices.
Michael Rubin
Michaelrubinharmonica.com

On Fri, Nov 26, 2010 at 3:39 PM, John Dekker <jdekker@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> It has been my observation that most good instrumentalists are at least decent 
>singers. That is, they can carry a tune and voice what is in their heads. I 
>suspect that this ability is directly related to being able to play by ear, that 
>is, to play a song after hearing it a few times, without reference to written 
>music or tabs.
>
> In my case, I can't sing a lick, and cannot play anything by ear to save my 
>life. I can play melodies by reading the tabs, but have great difficulty in 
>remembering or memorizing the tabs, and so cannot play the melody of a given 
>song without reading the tabs.
>
> My question is this: is the ability to play by ear a natural talent that you 
>either have or you don't, or can the ability be learned, and if so, how? After 
>six months of serious effort, I can play single notes well, and bend them fairly 
>well, but I am getting frustrated by my lack of ability to play anything without 
>having the tabs in front of me.
>
> Any help or suggestions will be greatly appreciated.
>
> John
>