Re: Why lay out?

[danallen <danallen@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

This is a meaty discussion: how to fit the harp into the overall sound.
I struggle with this regularly.  At one point I was just trying to be
wherever the lead guitar player wasn't.  If he was down low, I'd hit a
high trill,  he high...me low, and so on.  Playing in unison can be nice
at times.  Sustained notes, staccato, counterpoint, call/response; 
different techniques used with sensitivity, a savory stew makes.  
Restraint is perhaps another word for timing.  From listening to the
Walters, Sonny Boy II, Cotton and all those great bluesmen, you start to 
see how they use their harps, their moans, shouts, whistles, grunts to
contribute a solo here, some rhythm there, percussion, horn section, etc.
The thing is to make it interesting.  I listen to what's going on with the
band and try to add some sauce, spice, flavor...  The hardest technique
for me to tackle is "laying out".  All too rarely, I'll suddenly realize
that the drums, bass and rhythm guitar are cooking in a sweet groove, and
I'll just stop and enjoy it, then, hopefully, come back in at just the
right moment.  Unfortunately, I can talk about it better than I do it.  Hell
I'm just a novice/lurker spouting off here.  But it's one subject I give
a lot of thought too.     -Dan Allen

On Fri, 2 Sep 1994, Norbert Brunhuber wrote:

> 
>   This topic is a tangent to the one that has been very big recently on 
> this list.  I agree that the harp does need restraint to sound well in a 
> band situation.  However, the bass guitar is playing throughout the 
> song.  The rhythm guitar plays throughout the song.  Even during the 
> vocal parts.  Why is this so?  I mean, what is it about these instruments 
> that they play all the time whereas the harp does not seem suited to this.
> 
>   Have people try to tackle this problem?  I hate being told the harp 
> must only be a "call and response" or solo instrument.  I've been 
> experimenting with ways to integrate the harp into the music more 
> completely.  Some people love the punch a harp solo can provide a song, 
> but doesn't that just degenerate the instrument to the equivolent of 
> being put on a pedestal?
> 
> --Norbert
> 
> 
> 
>