Rhumba for the Girls !

Posted Sat, 07/14/2012 - 14:18 by aphowel

Audio:

This is an acoustic rhumba recorded through a video camera, and converted from video to mp3 (sorry, not great quality).

Rhumba in D (played in 2nd position), downloaded jam track from Dennis Gruenling.

Comments

Very nice!

by totaljim - 08/01/2012 - 17:01

I enjoyed your song a bunch. Good work!

CH1 - Good bending control... I like the 3' on the IV... good use of Chorus Forms... well played
CH2 - Nice use of octaves here and good job playing the 3 slightly lowered to match the bluesy feel of the song
CH3 - The 3 unbent (major 3rd) doesn't match with the other bluesy notes you've played so far and the other notes you're playing in this passage... just sounds a little awkward
CH4 - Nice hand usage here and use of reoccurring theme
CH5 - Composition starts lose its drive in this chorus
CH6 - Nice licks here, but would like some more chord tone usage here (on IV mostly)... I also would have preferred to hear the head again for this last chorus... to reinforce that this is a song, not a jam.

Well done, fun to listen to!

Lee's comments

by Lee Sankey - 07/27/2012 - 14:51

HI there,

No issues with the recording quality. There's a nice 'room' sound, lot's of atmosphere.

Your draw 2 bends are excellent throughout the cut. They anchor the groove in the head. Good use of tongue slaps in places as well e.g. 0:35. You have a nice tone and some decent power there. You have some really solid building blocks as a harmonica player.

There's not much advice I can offer from a technical perspective. You've basically got it. It's just a case of improving what you do with your technique to go to the next level. So some things to think about....

My main observation is you're not really playing the changes. Try to think about playing out of the IV and V chords more. Your technique's there, just boost the musicality and you'll sky rocket.

Another example is the use of the draw 6 at 1.26, that note fits better over the 5 chord. Also the draw 3 at 0:53 is the major 3rd, it would sound way cooler if you hit the half step bend for the blue 3rd. You have the bending technique, just try to hear it more. Hear the music you want to make.

You could use your hands more in this kind of setting, you only make use of them at 2:17.

You're not holding notes quite long enough to really develop a sweet vibrato. The potential's there but it's not being allowed to come out.

Finally try to maintain your precision during key rapid phrases. For instance the resolution to the draw 2 on the sequence 0:48 to 0:51 is a little sloppy. You've got the chops to hit these sweeter. As I said try to 'hear it' more, you're technique will kick in and do the business for you.

Hope this helps,

Lee

Great track

by jodanchudan - 07/27/2012 - 03:22

Awesome track - this has a really strong identity because of the hook at the start, and I like the way you refer back to it between other ideas. Very cool!

Steve's comments

by Steve Baker - 07/24/2012 - 09:42

No need to worry about the sound, I really like this. It grooves well, nice head, simple but catchy. Good hand effects, nice soulful tone with good vibrato. I like your rhythmic approach, shows a nice awareness of moving around the beat and really helps the whole thing groove. You may want to explore the possibilities of sliding slowly upwards from a bend, for example the point around 2:15 where you stay on the 4-draw bend, that would add tension. A very solid and enjoyable entry.