the strut
G'day David,
i am stuck in mid stride with the The Strut. Actually 2 places...just 2 notes. its definitely my technique but i cant quite work out what i am doing. its been going on for months. i can play the whole song at full speed and pretty comfortable...except for these 2 notes
in the 9th measure of the 6th chorus, i just miss the 6draw bend 9 times out of ten, when i play in context. i have no trouble with the bend in isolation, or even playing the whole lick in isolation, coming from 4, 6, 6'...all good, but playing the song...doesn't happen. i get it more often at the slower speed, so maybe i just need to keep practicing at the slower speed?
but maybe there is a clue in the next bit...
in the 7th chorus, in measure 8 i dont get a sound out of the 1+. i cant figure out what i am doing...again, no problem with the note usually....(actually there is also a tendency for the 3+ in the next lick to show a little reluctance also.)
this is kind of the opposite of something i noticed when i was learning Gary's Blues, where in the 4th chorus i could only get the 5 blow slap in measure 5 if i played in context...if i tried to isolate the lick it didnt play.
it feels like maybe i am putting too much air into the hole, but i dunno
appreciate any insight you may be able to offer,
Thanks, Dave
thank you very much. shall do.
Dave
thanks David, the 6' advice was immediately effective.
the +1 was strange though. while i could move my tongue and get it to play, it didnt seem to react consistently. in fact, as i became comfortable with positioning my tongue, the problem would come back...i was finding tongue positions which seemed a bit on the extreme side. i probably dont play +1 in many songs, but it seemed weird i haven't ever had this problem.
then the +1 wouldnt play at all...untill i gave it a good whack!
i have had a break from this lesson and in the meantime i bought a new D harp. when i gapped the reeds i closed up the blow reeds because the gaps looked huge. Closed up too much i think. i took it apart again and opened up the 1 blow...problem largely went away.
you may hear on the recording i submitted that the 2 blow chokes in chorus 2...i think this is a legacy of that initial re-gapping also.
(i am conscious my attack is on the aggressive side and really focussing on playing more softly and with a lighter touch. when the music speeds up or gets louder i find it very difficult to not play with more gusto, but finding more awareness. its very interesting)
thanks again
Thanks for followup. Yes, a gap too close (to make draw bends easier) will make the reed more prone to stalling... it really is a trade-off.
Sounds like a pain! ;-)... good man for keepin' at it! It's 100% tongue location. Think about playing a 6 draw... move your mouth and tongue to the right spot... play the 6 draw and then bend it. Go to play the 6 draw again, but stop short of playing it... note your tongue position. Every time you go to play that 6 draw make sure your tongue is in that position before playing the note. Play the 4 and then the 6... make sure the tongue is in the right place before playing that 6. Do the same process for the 1+. Start slowly and then build up speed... loop the lick. Let me know how it goes.