Learning to Work the Licks in Chorus Forms
I don't know where to begin. I got papers all over the place, trying to start somewhere, so I feel like practice time gets wasted. Here's some of the issues I can see:
1. Work the "licks"? I just wrote down a question asking where the "lick" was in the beginning of Gary's Blues: Is the "lick" the first two measures or the first three measures? Then I figure, let me go back to the video and I'm reminded that you used (basically) only the second measure. Then I'm floored. Ah, you even left out the first measure and I was only wondering about the last two notes of the third measure because it sounds like and an answer to the first two, not a fill. So now I don't where to start with licks.
2. Fills....Work the licks in chorus forms. I need to work the fills and there's more of those that I've learned or heard, and if I try to use focus notes, I feel like I'll just blow nonsense, like between the notes and a mish mash. So I start to read the beginning of your improvising book, and it starts by pointing out working the licks, so that takes me back to question 1, which then leads me back to question 2. Loop.
Then I remember something Dennis C said about starting on the root note, so I look up my sheet on accompaniment, which points out where the root notes but I don't know what to do with them (because I'm wondering more about fills than licks, and I think he was talking about making up licks maybe, don't know).
So by now, I have a three pages full of one lick with 9 or 10 fills added on each, Gary's blues open, Accompaniment chords, your improv book open, and just looked back at your site. Don't know which way to go.
I'll try again tomorrow.
Thanks for any comments to make some meaningful use of my practice time for improvising.
Anne Marie
Thanks. I tried one more time after I wrote you by playing along with your video, and a few licks burped out. Woke up and put LW on. I'll try to keep it simple as you suggest in your answer. It's just like learning to bend: nothing happens or weird stuff happens at first. I realize that if you told us EXACTLY what to do, it wouldn't be improvising.
P.S. Thanks. Playing with a live, experienced band is like dancing with a great leader to Little Walter. What you can really do comes out. Gotta earn being able to do that more.
I just read the beginning of David's book Improvising Blues Harmonica, and I feel better. I know there's only so much I can put to good use at my level, but I knew I was hearing more in the relationships between the licks: the question and answers, tension and resolution, phrasing--which is what I dance to. Knowing that it will continue to unfold as I progress and that what I'm hearing is really there and can and will be explained is useful. "Cool group of notes" will do for now. But I look forward to the mysteries revealed or bringing them into better focus.
6 months later. Some promising moments and insights. If ;you've been reading Victor Wooten's book, The Music Lesson, this insight is obvious: I have both The Ultimate Jam for Harmonica and Every Groove a Bluesman Needs to Know---Instead of wracking my brain with, "Which of these grooves will inspire me and work with the licks I know?" How about thinking, "Put on the first groove and see where it takes me!" Start with the groove! That was fun.
Anne Marie, I hope you don't mind me making a comment. I was reading your comment from summer and for me it is often easier to improvise with simple fills being used instead of space. While that can be overdone, I find don't have as much trouble with timing when doing fills. I know what you mean when you talk about how difficult it can be to get focused - we want to be doing everything "right" and assume we are missing "the right" thing when there is often several "right things".
Thanks, Bob. Sounds like you're saying, "relax, keep it simple," yes? The timing is everything, isn't it? That's where the groove shows up.
Ann Marie,
I can't speak for anyone but myself. For me, it seems that I actually lose progress when I get bogged down agonizing over something that is to advanced for me and then I will often realize at some point that I was doing it, but didn't know it on a technical level. While I could be wrong, (often the case) my guess is that some of the early greats would not recognize their techniques in writing, but they heard them in their playing. I am not saying don't learn these things - I am still trying, but don't let them discourage you because chances are good you will have it before you realize that you do.
In my case I am lucky enough to play out with some talented guys and find it much easier to play our original material than to try to learn a study song. You seem to be so enthusiastic that I have no doubt you are going to get way past me in this process.
1. A lick is a cool sounding combination of notes... so it can be any length. In the case of the first line of "Gary's Blues" you could play all four measures... or up to the end of the 4 draw (leaving off 4+ 3)... or measure two, like I did. Experimentation is the idea.
2A. When there's room at the end of a line (measures 1-4 or measures 5-8) "fill" the space if you feel it's too baren without it.
2B. Focus notes give you a place to start when you don't know what you're going to play as you main idea (your "A"). This is how we all improvise... we don't usually know what we're going to play. For example: if you start with the 4 draw... you've played many licks starting on the 4 draw... have faith that one of those licks will burp out. The more you do this the better you get... the more licks you study, the higher the probability that a lick will be waiting for you.
3. A root note matches better than any note you could play. Think of this like a focus note... it gives you somewhere to start, once you play that root note you rely on your memorized lick vocabulary to take it from there. The more songs you study, which have individual licks that they're made from, the more vocabulary to work from... the more you do the chorus form process the more you're comfortable working with licks dynamically in the 12 bar blues.
With all this said... here's where to start. Take a lick, or phrase, whatever sounds good to YOU... then go through that lick with the chorus forms. Improvise the fills. Start with playing with me on all the videos for "Gary's Blues" where I apply the chorus forms... this will give you a start.
P.S., you sounded great on the bandstand Saturday night!