Determine key and notes of a song - Sound of 'rolling r' on harmonica
Hello David,I have 2 questions:Is there a method to easily determine the key and notes of a song? For example: a video on youtube by a harmonica player who plays a nice solo, but of which there are no notes/tabs/key available. How can you reconstruct that solo to play it yourself? Just by listening and trying to imitate? Or does there exist other options or tools?How can you get the sound of a 'rolling r' on the harmonica? For example in the song 'Love Me Do' from The Beatles on 0:08 and 0:32: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pGOFX1D_jgThanks for your answers and advice!Kind Regards
Ok, thanks for the explanation and tips!
Because I learned to play harmonica by tongue blocking, I wasn't used to playing something by puckering. When I try it now, I find it easier to bend with that method. It happens more naturally and intuitively. Do you recommend switching from tongue blocking to puckering (possibly just for bending)? Or does it then become more complicated? Or is it more like a habit and can you do it easily (with a few tips)?
Stay with tongue blocking for your bending. Even though it's a little more challenging right now, it will save you time, and be less complicated down the road. The goal is to primarily use one embouchure (99.99% of the time), and tongue blocking is the embouchure you want that to be.
Hello bacilpili.
For a method to figure out the key of a song, go to Ryan Walker's Lesson 5 (https://www.bluesharmonica.com/contributor/ryan_walker)
Yes, it is listening and trying to imitate. Here are a couple of tips...
1) Use a program like The Amazing Slow Downer... it's very helpful in this process.
2) Set a loop for a lick/phrase so you don't have to use an imprecise slider and hope it gets back to the part of the phrase you're trying to transcribe.
3) Slow it down... this makes it much easier
4) Notate the first note you hear, then listen if the next note goes up or down. Find the available options and experiment until what you're playing matches the recording.
5) If it's a fast passage, notate the notes you can hear. For a lick like 3 4 5+ 5 5+ 4 3 3+, say that you can figure out the first 3, and the 5, and 3 3+ at end. You can't easily hear the 4 5+, but you know the notes go up from the 3, and the 5 is the highest note. You experiment with the available notes 4+, 4', 4, and 5+ until you find a match. Same goes for the notes between the 5 and 3 3+. You can hear that there are two note, and they descend from the 5. You try 5+, 4. 4' and match the best you can.
6) It's smart to come back to a transcription with fresh ears another day... you'll hear stuff you missed
7) When you're done, slow it down to 50% to proofread... you'll hear things that you missed.
8) Play it the way you wrote it. It's a common newbie error to write down something, but not actually play what they wrote (wrong holes in some areas). Play what you actually wrote to proof read.
9) Don't be hard on yourself, it's a challenging (and slow) process. It is the best exercise you can do to train your ear though... it's pretty much an essential task for a player. The more you do it, the faster you get at it. The eventual goal is that when you hear a lick, you don't have to figure it out, you can just play it. Also, and this is the ultimate goal... you hear a lick in your head, and it comes out of your harmonica (improvisation).
10) If it's a person on YouTube playing with no backing... you can have a program like Harp Ninja open and (if your computer is fast enough... has fast processing), the program will highlight what single notes they're playing as they play (only works for single notes). Make sure to select the correct key of harmonica they're playing.
In regards to "Love Me Do." The notes you hear with the Spanish R are blow notes. This is done by puckering (not tongue blocking) and performing the same movement as the Spanish R as you play your blow note.
He's not doing this, but this can also be done in a tongue block (both inhale and exhale) by using the top-back of the tongue, vibrating near the roof of the mouth (near the soft palate in the back of the mouth) to create the rough, somewhat gurgling sound, of the CH in Hebrew (here is an example of the sound https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PlmbiM_ASIE). The pucker Spanish R is better (more smooth and pronounced in my experience), but this is an option if you want to stay in a tongue block.