blowin my horn
Audacity software was used for recording. The amp is a small old PA amp w/ a 6in speaker, the mic is controlled magnetic. Different positions are used to give the effect of horn type qualities.
Playing the harp has been a hobby for 15 years; I’ve been a student of Dave’s from the get - go.
David’s lessons on "improvising" reveal the brainpower needed to create great instrumentals. You Pros make it seem so easy - for me improvising is often a wing and a pray, but these lessons are helping me to think about essential elements of the process.
Mark Hummel and Rick Estrin are Idols of mine, just massive talents - you got to love them! Thank you for listening.
Thank you Dave for an incredible array of insightful knowledge on how to play the harmonica.
Frank
Comments
Swing it!
Frank,
Outstanding sound. Original lines. Well done!
Seamless Switching!
If I tried switching that many times in one song you can bet I'd drop a harp on the floor at least once!
Also, thanks for the props, but the influence that jumped out at me from the very first bend was Dennis Gruenling...
Big time!
You can really play, no doubt about it.
Next time you might think about employing more strategic simplicity in spots and putting a little more focus on coming up with a memorable theme. A riff verse or two would also help give the song definition.
Don't get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoyed it, but at times it seemed more like a skill demonstration than a song.
Harp switching is easy with
Harp switching is easy with audacity Rick, it's all smoke and mirrors,lol...First let me say that you are a bonifide mother f*^%#ing harp blowin trip...
The first time I ever heard of you and "little Charlie and the NightCats" was back when cassettes were in and I was like this shit is good. BUT I did not know just how GREAT your were until I saw you in person, I swear to God you are a reincarnated Little Walter and Sonny 2 in one. I guess what I'm trying to say is you are one of the few white guys that give me the chills like the black blues guys do I see perform live.
Dennis is an influence simply because he is a player on the scene that simply can't be ignored and what he plays is so powerful it just gets all up in you! And as a student I was really re-motivated to get better at playing harp after hearing the freshness that Dennis brought and brings into the harp world.
I Definitely need to focus more on seeing the whole picture of the song and employing the proper things that you pointed out. I will continue to work on how to bring any skill I've acquired to sound more like an actual song
Thanks a lot Rick for your suggestions and guidance, your music is top shelf and the teaching DVD you have out is a great learning tool.
Big Fan Brother,
Frank
a suprise!
The intro sounded like Sonny Boy warming up, then goes into third postition land. the first three verse give a real element of surprise the way you work it into a LATHER! Plus u get high marks for liking me & RIck! I like the slow beginning and then working into a wild groove of 1st,2nd &3rd position changes! Feels pretty loose-I dig it. Almost like Papa Lightfoot playing with a Trad N.O. band! Shit-you can play!!
Hi Mark thank you for taking
Hi Mark thank you for taking time to listen, I'm really honored. I learned a lot from your kickass music CD'S and the SUPERB teaching video put out years ago. And of course have seen you do your thing live many times and it is a great, fun time.
I do use the first 12 bars to introduce the Actual (main) head- which starts on the 2nd chorus. I imagined it as a trombone opening the first 8 bars of the song and then a clarinet coming in to take over on the last 4 bars announcing the head of the instrumental for the 2nd chorus.
I do like to build solos that have that vibe of pressure slowly building an hopefully give the listener the feeling of being awoken from their slumber as the song ebbs and flows.
The position changes help me focus on creating the tone of another instrument at least that's the way I think about them. I am an Amateur player, it is only a hobby for me I will get roughly an hour of practice in a day , I do not perform - I have done the jam things at bars and a few guest sit ins for local friends. I am not even close at being a REAL DEAL PRO, though I do fantacize about it quite frequently, hahahahahahahahaha!!!
I'm a backyard farmer and front yard for that matter, lets just say all the property that surrounds my house is eatable. I grow grapes, strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, figs, gooseberries, mulberries, rhubarb, asparagus, lettuce, chard, collards, tomatoes, beans, okra, cantaloupe and zucchini.
My main gig is a Social Worker, - I want to thank all the other players and participants who listened and gave such kind reviews for the tune.
Regards,
Frank
man oh man!
Just been listening again and I have to say you are MIGHTY! Shades of B Clarke in parts, well well played my man!
Such a pleasure to listen in to your sound
Impressive!
Impressive! The riffs starting @ 1:03 and 1:46 are murder and the chorus starting @ 2:00 raises a riot as it sounds like a chro.... Swings like hell, stays fresh 'til the end, Maestro Franck...
Wow! This recording really
Wow! This recording really impressed me! Very professional :)
Wow!
Very classy & impressive! Loved the swing this had! Will have to listen to this one a few times.
Nicely Done
Great tone and flowing riffs. You definitely get different tone effects with your approach. Well done!!
Great!!!
Some great playing going on, cool swinging licks combined with clever use of different position. Enjoyed every second of your song. Keep blowin' your horn!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Swinging!
You know your way around the harp there Frank! Fine tone and great technique throughout. Sounds like you could have gone on all day blowin' your horn!
Great track!
Sweet playing! It's fast, but always accurate and played with good tone. Very cool use of different positions too.
Comment
Understood... a pleasure to have you on the site.
Hi Dave, Thank you very much
Hi Dave,
Thank you very much for your excellent advice and encouragement, I know I’m crazy for not acting on it to increase my scores but one of the main reasons I put it up now was to be done with it. I need to tend to the garden, lol.
I’ve spent to much time working on it., my wife can attest to that, btw she is not a fan of the opening of the song, said it sounded like a sick animal – hahahahaha….
The track itself for me is very challenging and I did try more memorable “less cluttered” head ideals but for some reason always came back to the jazzier noodling to open the song with.
I feel like there is an implied head starting on the 2nd chorus and repeating with changes in the 3rd, then moving away more and more starting on the 5th chorus.
I truly wanted to bring back the 2nd and 3rd chorus ideals to close the song with, but I felt it didn’t jell with the jam track were I wanted to fade out around the 3 min mark of that 5 min jam track.
Okay, enough excuses... – ABSOLUTELY love your teaching site Dave YOU DA MAN and the caliber of musicians sharing information on bluesharmonica.com is mind blowing, I love it!!!
Sincerely
Frank
Judging
VERY fine playing Frank... impressive... can I steel some of those licks! :-) Now that I said that...your playing is fantastic and how you develop the song is great... no changes there. The big area that's missing is the HEAD... I don't hear one. I think you meant the opening to be the head, but it's not repetitive enough to tell me, the listener, that it's THE theme of the song (at this speed AAA is the most commonly used). It also doesn't help that you don't come back to it at the end. Little Walter also did it this way, but he used a lot of repetition in the opening chorus though in EVERY case.
Some thoughts...
CH1 - You play A B C, but I can tell you wanted to play A B/A C - After your 1+ on the IV Chord, play the 2+ 2 3 2-2" ending of the A lick... ad no fill... so that you're A comes back for the A B/A C Chorus Form
CH2 - Af Af B - Change this to A A B... NO FILLS... don't cloud your melodic themes too early with fills... be confident... get rid of the noodling
END - Come back to the Head
With these changes your soloing over a jam track will turn into a SONG with definable elements. These are slight changes, but will make all the difference. The instrumental will be judged low since it doesn't use one of the two most important elements of songwriting, a HEAD or a HOOK. So, the goal is to get that head in there.
Again, wonderful ideas and no doubt great playing, thanks for submitting!