[Harp-L] What to Practice?



Richard Hunter's advice sounds right on.

Also, You probably won't practice unless you have motivation.
So it's good to practice with a goal in mind.
Find stuff you really want to learn,
and practice that.
As far as rut-breakers go - All just suggestions
of course - it depends on where you want to go:
learn some exotic scales (I.e., middle-eastern) and
fool around with them.
Play some be-bop heads.  On diatonic you probably
won't be able to make all the notes, but songs like
Night in Tunisia and Hot House can teach you a lot
about rhythm.
These songs are based on blues/swing rhythms, but 
use rhythm in a very sophisticated way. And you
can substitute available notes, while keeping the rhythms,
to stuff you can play in a blues context (hope that makes sense).
Learn some fiddle tunes for speed and accuracy.
Slow down some John Popper riffs and play them
(I know, heresy).  He's not only fast,
he's inventive, and his rhythms aren't standard
blues rhythms.
I get in ruts too - especially in jam situations -
I tend to go for what I know, because it's
comfortable.  But when you're learning
new stuff, it may take a long time to assimilate
it to where you're comfortable rattling it off,
but hey, take your time - you've got your whole life
to get better. 

Advice for myself as well as anyone else,

Charles







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