Re: [Harp-L] Harmonica + Vibraphone; Please let me know what you think!

[Sam Friedman <sammyasher@xxxxxxxxx>]

I appreciate the comments and criticisms. there is certainly difficulty in
playing in tune in a far removed key. However, I don't think it is
impossible (Howard Levy, for example). Part of it is that the harmonica I
used was I believe tuned for just intonation, so that the chords are smooth,
but it has the effect of making notes not in the basic given scale very out
of tune. I will try something like this with my Golden Melody which
eliminates a lot of these issues. Also, I obviously need to really work on
it! I've only been playing harmonica for about 1 1/2  years, so I am still
not very experienced in the grand scheme of things. I certainly will be
working on my intonation and tone as you suggest.

Thanks,
    Sam




On Tue, Feb 8, 2011 at 12:12 PM, Richard Hunter <turtlehill@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>wrote:

> "Sam Friedman" wrote:
> > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THJm77yQo8k
> >
> > Playing in Eb on a C diatonic. Let me know what you guys think!
>
> A few comments:
>
> First, the musicianship on display here is terrific.  Most people would be
> proud to play either one of the instruments you're playing here at this
> level. The melodic ideas are solid, and the whole thing swings hard.  You
> are obviously very talented and very, very skilled.
>
> Second, I like the video within the video thing.  Put a different colored
> sheet behind you for each of the video windows and it's ready for prime
> time.
>
> Okay, now for the more difficult stuff. I've been listening to chromatic
> playing on the diatonic via overblowing for decades now, and there are very
> few players who can overcome some of the inherent limitations.  I quote
> Brendan Power from his book "Introduction to the Powerbender:"
>
> "While many can pop out a rough overblow or two, only a handful of players
> around the world (probably fewer than 50 by 2010) have mastered all the
> overblows and overdraws to the extent that they sound seamlessly fluent
> (indistinguishable from other notes, consistently in tune & musically
> pleasing)."
>
> Brendan, of course, does not do a lot of overblowing, if any, so his bias
> is evident (as is mine).  His comments were echoed on this list by the late
> Chris Michalek a few years ago, in a post in which he said that after years
> of overblowing, he'd come to the conclusion that a lot of overblown notes
> were "weak" and to be avoided.
>
> Anyway, I hear a lot of out of tune notes in this performance, and it's
> especially noticeable on the head choruses.  It's a problem that I've heard
> over and over again, for more than two decades, from overblowers, and it's
> most noticeable when a piece is performed in a key that's pretty far removed
> from the key of the harmonica (as you do here).  This isn't the worst I've
> heard in that respect by a long shot--a certain performance of "Sunny" by a
> recently well-known player comes to mind--but it's noticeable.
>
> My guess is that this problem would simply go away if you used a harmonica
> that was closer to the key of the performance. As an exercise in extreme
> harmonica playing, playing a piece in Eb with a C harmonica is impressive.
>  But my bet is that the musicality would increase dramatically if you were
> using a harp in Eb, Ab, or Bb, to take a few examples.  That would allow you
> to use the overblows more sparingly, and to greater emotional effect, while
> avoiding the inherent limitations of the technique.
>
> Like I said earlier, my bias is evident.  I hope these comments are helpful
> in any case, even if they only serve to inspire you to prove me wrong.
>
> And I repeat that this performance is obviously the work of a very talented
> and skilled musician.  I look forward to hearing much more from you.  Keep
> those videos coming.
>
> Regards, Richard Hunter
>
>
>
>
> author, "Jazz Harp"
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>