I want to throw in my two cents worth on your question about bending,
but I also want to make it part of a general philosophy of playing and
sounding good.
I believe that the two most important elements of sounding like a good
musician are rhythm and good tone. More specifically, rhythm is first,
then good tone. I figured this out by listening to great musicians who
can stir the soul by playing only a few notes, or by playing the same
note several times. Even if you play the wrong note, it still sounds
good if the rhythm is on target. If you screw up the rhythm you sound
like an idiot.
Your rhythm sounds pretty good, but just remember that rule because some
day you'll be jamming with other musicians and your mind will go blank.
At that point you'll have to remember that instead of playing a super
cool lick you should try to stay in time.
The other main thing is good tone, and as far as I can tell the number
one element of good tone is vibrato, which makes the note sound as if
it's alive. Playing a note shouldn't just sound like a note. It should
sound like a voice. The blues solo you picked out is a great way to
develop your playing, but developing a good voice to your playing is
just as important.
Back to your question about bending a note on target... Somebody else
already suggested that you should make sure your harp is in good playing
condition, which is another whole subject. This is good advice, but I
think the most important thing is to practice hitting the note and
adding vibrato to change it from a sick note to a soulful voice. If you
ever get a chance, listen to Cristo Redemptor by Charlie Musselwhite.
(played in C on a Bb harp) The harp part has a line that goes up, then
it comes back down and holds on a long note with rich vibrato. This is
a bent note, and so far I'm just not a good enough musician to duplicate
it, held out for several counts, with soul. I'll know I'm a good
musician when I can hold out a note and it sounds like it's alive. So
far I sound good only when I'm playing fast and I get to move on to the
next note quickly.
The point of all of this is that I think your best bet is to practice
playing just that one note that gives you trouble. While the original
song is playing on your computer you just play that one note, bent to
the proper tone. You'll be able to tell if it's in tune or not because
it will sound either good or bad with the recording. Try playing it
once every other beat or so. Then try holding it out longer. When you
finally get to where you can hit it, try adding some character to it.
If you can do that, you'll be a better player than I am.
Post by Mike_in_SDOk .. im the guy that really wanted to play this
www.mikeamick.com/good_solo.mp3
the problem is .. (besides having trbl finding the right key)
was .. this is the first song that required me to hit a
double bend note and make it sound like a clean note.
here is what I am talking about .. listen to my opening of
this song .. the LAST note I play which is a double bend
3 hole and it sounds like someones dying groan ..
btw .. I am assuming that is the note the original player is playing
(3 hole bent big time)
www.mikeamick.com/sick_double_bend.mp3
I think this is a skill I obviously have to learn to
really play the harp and would appreciate any advice
(besides quit playing .. ahahah )
thanks
mike