From Blues to country
My dream is to someday play with a band again... I was a former sax player not focused on the harp. Im three years in at Level 4.
The pathway to play with band again had not seemed clear until I found out a fellow in my community who has a part time band. Ive heard them play and they are pretty credible. Then I find out this guys has made a few professional recordings and still draws royalties on them, so he's solid.
I spoke with this guy he is going to give me a chance to sit in on a practice session later this year but he plays hot country. Im learning all my chords and scales focused on blues.
All I would have to do with this guy is play some fills, rhythems and such. How do I appropach this after spending all my time on Blues? Get his charts? Ask about the Chords he plays?
im only going to get one chance to make a first impression.
Thoughts?
Yes, get his charts and learn the changes.
Also, listen to his recorded work.
Country and blues have a lot in common. You often hear the wildly inaccurate statement that country is all about major pentatonic. Yeah, major pentatonic scales are useful in country - in blues as well, if you know where to use them - but country also has a pretty strong blues thread running through it.
That said, there's a lot of stuff that blues harp players do that won't go down well in a country setting. You don't have quite the same level of "Anything goes over any chord" forgiveness.
Very specifically, learn what to play over the V chord - in both first and second positions. All those one-semitone Draw 2 and two-semitone Draw 3 bends will become your very good friends (Hey, LW and SBWII both used them very well over the V chord).
Also, get your ears tuned to playing the IV chord without flatting the 7th (Draw 3 in second position). Paying the IV chord over a pure major scale is another sound you hear in coountry that you almost never hear in blues.
Learn to be a bit more melodic. More of that and less raw wailing will, again, serve you well.
To hear a bit of the bluesy side of country, listen to Merle Haggard, Hank Williams, and Willie Nelson (with Mickey Raphael). Patsy Cline, too.
Other country singers with harp in the band include Johnny Paycheck with PT Gazell on harp. Or Waylon Jennings with Don Brooks.
Also, for older examples of country harmonica, listen to Wayne Raney, on his own and with the Delmore Brothers. Check out Jimmy Riddle on his own and with Roy Acuff. Ditto for One Wheeler. And, of course, Charlie McCoy and Terry McMillan.