Tag: improvise

BEGINNER'S HARMONICA – Lesson 2 – BAJAN PIEDPIPER

Learn to play harmonica. MUSIC 097 OK ~ BENDING NOTES ~ What makes a note bend? Normally, when you play a note on your harp, the air passes over the reed more or less parallel with it. If you cause the air to pass over the reed at an angle … it makes the reed vibrate at a different rate, so the note changes its pitch and we say the note has “bent.” IT’S BY CHANGING THE SHAPE OF THE CAVERN OF YOUR MOUTH THAT THE AIR IS DEFLECTED AND THIS AFFECTS THE TONE AND PITCH OF THE REED. Some trivia ~ when you bend a note on a harmonica, the note flattens . . . when you bend a note on a stringed instrument, ie a guitar, the note sharpens. ! Now isn’t this great information? ! ! ! There are several ‘bending’ methods in addition to what’s on the video, here are two others ~ 1) Place your harp in your lips at hole 1 … inhale while DRAWING FROM YOUR ABDOMEN … drop your jaw. The note will bend. Try it on holes 2, 3 and 4. (These are the holes that are the easiest to bend.) See it demonstrated here – this is an EXCELLENT presentation – www.youtube.com 2) This method is a bit more advanced. ~ Choose one of the holes 1 to 4 … USING THE MUSCLES DEEP IN YOUR THROAT/NECK draw the air through the reed. ie DRAW FROM YOUR THROAT. Your tongue goes back a bit and your jaw drops a little … it’s dinky to explain, however by experimenting you’ll soon get it. See it demonstrated by Adam Gussow on this video – watch his throat closely and you’ll understand. www.wonderhowto.com Bending notes …

HOW TO PLAY BLUES HARMONICA – Lesson# 6 – BAJAN PIEDPIPER

Learn to play harmonica. MUSIC 102 Put this video on pause and read these side-bar notes first! The way most music is played when you perform it is – you play the song (the melody) or perhaps you sing it – or vice versa – then you improvise – then you close off in whatever way you wish – by playing the melody or singing it again .. or some variation of this formula. It’s when it’s time to improvise that befuddles newbies. This need not be! There is a practical way to go about composing a song and improvising. It’s known as “call & response.” ‘Call and response’ – refers to an exchange of phrases. The phrase may be 2 bars long, – or 4, – or 8. It’s a structure that’s rooted in the folk traditions of choral singing of many peoples – and was used by African slaves and their descendants in the USA, when it became the backbone prescription for the blues. It’s heard in almost every 12 bar blues song! And you hear it, if you listen, in much rock and roll, gospel, jazz , etc.. Let’s examine how the 12-bar blues is structured and see how the call & response principle is employed – The 12 bar blues consists of THREE PHRASES. Each PHRASE is four bars long. The first phrase makes a statement {makes a call} ~ The second phrase {is a response} ~ it repeats the statement exactly (or with a variation) ~ The third phrase resolves or completes the statement. HOW TO GO ABOUT COMPOSING A SONG. One way is to compose the lyrics and then put a melody to it. Because of space constraints I’ll …

LEARN TO PLAY BLUES HARMONICA – Lesson# 5 – BAJAN PIEDPIPER

Learn to play harmonica. MUSIC 100 Put the video on pause and read these side-bar notes before you watch. There are two aspects of music that particularly interest us – melody and harmony. In blues, the melody will be played by a lead instrument (for us on a harp) and the harmony (chords) will be played -usually – by a guitar or a keyboard such as a piano or organ. Playing blues has to do with improvising. What you want to avoid when improvising are ‘sour notes’ –ie notes that sound discordant! THE FACT IS you can play ANY note ANY TIME! ~ But there is a ‘trick’ to it! There are notes that sound right and some that definitely sound ‘wrong’ ! YOUR EAR TELLS YOU WHICH NOTES ARE HARMONIOUS AND WHICH ARE INHARMONIOUS! HOW TO DEAL WITH SOUR NOTES ~ DAMAGE CONTROL – Trick #1 -ooo- HOW TO PLAY RIFFS THAT ‘FIT’ EACH TIME ~ Trick#2. One of the skills you have to learn ~ is how to cover a mistake. Whenever you play a discordant note, what some call a ‘wrong note’ – you get off it right away! You certainly may use them as stepping stones, meaning when you play it (or them) you just touch them and quickly move to the next note. Another way of saying this is ~ you can use discordant notes as links to bridge one harmonious note to the other. Again, let it be clear: the trick is to not dwell long or linger on the discordant note. In real terms ~ you may use all notes when you play, but discordant notes you use as passing tones. Yes! DO use ‘discordant notes’ – they give your music …