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

[Richard Hunter <turtlehill@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

You've only been playing harp for 1.5 years?

Wow.

Forget everything I said.

Regards, Richard Hunter

-----Original Message-----
>From: Sam Friedman <sammyasher@xxxxxxxxx>
>Sent: Feb 8, 2011 12:38 PM
>To: Richard Hunter <turtlehill@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>Cc: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx
>Subject: Re: [Harp-L] Harmonica + Vibraphone; Please let me know what you think!
>
>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"
>> latest mp3s and harmonica blog at http://hunterharp.com
>> Myspace http://myspace.com/richardhunterharp
>> Vids at http://www.youtube.com/user/lightninrick
>> more mp3s at http://taxi.com/rhunter
>> Twitter: lightninrick
>>


author, "Jazz Harp" 
latest mp3s and harmonica blog at http://hunterharp.com
Myspace http://myspace.com/richardhunterharp
Vids at http://www.youtube.com/user/lightninrick
more mp3s at http://taxi.com/rhunter
Twitter: lightninrick