phrasing

How do you tell the listener that what you're playing is important?... you repeat it.

If you're not using repetition, you're telling the listener that what you're playing is not worth remembering.

If it's not worth remembering, then it's forgettable.

Who wants to play music that's forgettable?

The only way to tell the listener that something musical is worth remembering is by repeating it. If you don't use repetition, then you're telling the listener that what you're playing is not worth remembering. If it's not worth remembering, then it's forgettable. Who wants to play a solo or instrumentalist that's forgettable?

The listener wants more repetition than the player is usually willing to give

If the 3 draw B (or 3 draw quarter tone bend as discusses yesterday) is an emphasized note in your first lick of the 12 Bar Blues progression, and you wish to continue the chorus with that lick as a theme (think Chorus Forms as taught in the Improvising Studies), then when the lick is repeated over the IV7 Chord you should bend the 3 draw down to 3' Bb and 3" A over the V Chord.

Here's the basic theory...

I7 = G B D F (referencing C Harmonica in 2nd Position, Key of G) and 3 B is the 3rd of the chord. continue reading...

At a Chicago Harmonica Masterclass Workshop (I believe in 2005) David Waldman shared a cool tip in regards to phrasing like Little Walter. He said, "If you want to emulate Little Walter's phrasing, start your licks on beat 2." He then played with the guitarist and improvised with this in mind, and sure enough, all of us instructors (Joe Filisko, Dennis Gruenling and Scott Dirks) nodded our heads in agreement... it sounded like what Walter would do. I experimented with this concept after the workshop and it's now a tool I use in my improvising from time to time. continue reading...

Listening to Chorus 2 of George Harmonica Smith's "Juicy Harmonica" notice that the first and second line use the same rhythm. Though the notes are different, the rhythm remains the same. This is a rhythm sequence. He changes on the last line (last four bars). Focusing on pitches only, you would call this an A B C Chorus Form. Taking into account the rhythm, it's clearly an A A1 B Chorus Form (A, A variation 1, B Chorus Form).

Here's what he plays using TAB. I placed the pickup to each line in parenthesis so that you can see the main meat of the line he's playing. continue reading...

Taking a listen to George Harmonica Smith's famous cut "Juicy Harmonica" (West Coast Down Home Harmonica CD on Elsegundo Records) you can easily hear that he's using the AAA Chorus Form in the first chorus. What is the second chorus? If you focus on pitches only you won't get it.

Have a great weekend everyone!

John Lee Hooker's "Boom Boom" uses the same device as Slim Harpo's "Baby Scratch My Back"... the main lick happens before the bar, with the final note landing on the downbeat of the bar. There are two more cool elements in "Boom Boom"...

1) The main lick only changes it's resolution note, to match the chord change.

2) There's a call-and-response happening. In the opening, the band responds to the main lick on the guitar. When the vocals enter, the band and guitar play the main lick and they go back and forth. continue reading...

Now take a listen to John Lee Hooker's famous "Boom Boom." A harmonica approximation of what he plays is 4-dip 5 4' 3 2 2" 2 and the band follows with 3 4+ 3 2 2" 2 (Bb harmonica). Using yesterday's information, see if you can figure out what's going on, especially where each of John Lee's licks start in time.

In most songs we're used to hearing the harmonica and band start together, with maybe a little pickup from the harmonica. The licks fit nicely within the 12 Bar Blues and are generally intuitive to play... to feel where they belong in the form. continue reading...