Bob Dylan

[pero]

You guys i posted a couple of weeks ago, but I`ve been
away, so i was wondering did you noticed my post?
I was and im still looking for Bob Dylan harmonica solos.

[Vortex]

Hello Pero!

I think you are going to find that on most harmonica forums Bob Dylan
doesn't get a lot of respect as a harmonica player. Since he doesn't
play the harp in the traditionall blues style, a lot of blues players
think he sounds pretty bad.

Personally, I have respect for the way Dylan used his harp to add a
certain flavor to the songs he played. I have experemented with trying
to imitate what he did on his early recordings and it isn't as easy as
it sounds. He is definately in his own zone when it comes to his music
in generall.

I didn't see your other post but I assume you are looking for tabs
for Dylan materiall. I cant help you out on that because I dont have
the time and also because I am somewhat "anti tab". I think a player
is better off to learn to develop thier ear and not get dependent on
tabs to learn songs.

Over time, if you develop your ear playing ability you will be able
to play Dylan or allmost any other song you might choose.Patience and
time spent on the harp will get you there.

-Vortex.

[Johnny]

I may have a firm grasp on the obvious here, but I think the main reason
Dylan sounds the way he does on harp is because he's using a cradle / harp
holder while playing guitar. I've dinked around with that setup--guitar and
harp simultaneously--and at my limited level of expertise, that setup limits
further what I can do with the harp compared to the greater control I have
when cupping the harp and concentrating (or not concentrating as the case
may be) on just the harp.

I hear / see the same sort of limiting effect when I see videos of Neil
Young playing piano or guitar and using a harp holder to play harmonica at
the same time. No bad, just different.

I don't dislike that "limited style" of playing. I think it fits for what
they're doing. But you can get more out of the instrument when you grab hold
of it and really get into it, IMHO. I guess I'd try to sound like Dylan if I
were using a cradle, but otherwise, why bother?

As far as how to learn it, limited on not, I agree with Vortex--skip the
search for Dylan harp tab, and play by ear. I think you'll wind up learning
more and probably develop elements of your own style thru the more trial and
error of approach of listening and then trying to imitate Dylan's, or anyone
else's, sound.

Of course, your mileage may vary.
--
Johnny

Post by Vortex
Hello Pero!
I think you are going to find that on most harmonica forums Bob Dylan
doesn't get a lot of respect as a harmonica player. Since he doesn't
play the harp in the traditionall blues style, a lot of blues players
think he sounds pretty bad.
Personally, I have respect for the way Dylan used his harp to add a
certain flavor to the songs he played. I have experemented with trying
to imitate what he did on his early recordings and it isn't as easy as
it sounds. He is definately in his own zone when it comes to his music
in generall.
I didn't see your other post but I assume you are looking for tabs
for Dylan materiall. I cant help you out on that because I dont have
the time and also because I am somewhat "anti tab". I think a player
is better off to learn to develop thier ear and not get dependent on
tabs to learn songs.
Over time, if you develop your ear playing ability you will be able
to play Dylan or allmost any other song you might choose.Patience and
time spent on the harp will get you there.
-Vortex.

[pero]

The problem that remains is in my harp playnig xp.
I usualy read tabs and listen the songs, and when it sounds right, my next
step is trying play it my way -meaning speed, key etc.

You say you are a an "anti - tab" , maybe you can play it by ear, but the
rest of us (meaning me) need something to start with. (when I was starting
to play a guitar I needed to read chords and tabs and I still do, I cant
play them just by ear.)

So the point is I need some kind of tabs, so if you could help me it would
be great, if not I`ll try it your way.

Post by Vortex
Hello Pero!
I think you are going to find that on most harmonica forums Bob Dylan
doesn't get a lot of respect as a harmonica player. Since he doesn't
play the harp in the traditionall blues style, a lot of blues players
think he sounds pretty bad.
Personally, I have respect for the way Dylan used his harp to add a
certain flavor to the songs he played. I have experemented with trying
to imitate what he did on his early recordings and it isn't as easy as
it sounds. He is definately in his own zone when it comes to his music
in generall.
I didn't see your other post but I assume you are looking for tabs
for Dylan materiall. I cant help you out on that because I dont have
the time and also because I am somewhat "anti tab". I think a player
is better off to learn to develop thier ear and not get dependent on
tabs to learn songs.
Over time, if you develop your ear playing ability you will be able
to play Dylan or allmost any other song you might choose.Patience and
time spent on the harp will get you there.
-Vortex.

[T-Bone Bruce]

Post by pero
The problem that remains is in my harp playnig xp.
I usualy read tabs and listen the songs, and when it sounds right, my next
step is trying play it my way -meaning speed, key etc.
You say you are a an "anti - tab" , maybe you can play it by ear, but the
rest of us (meaning me) need something to start with. (when I was starting
to play a guitar I needed to read chords and tabs and I still do, I cant
play them just by ear.)
So the point is I need some kind of tabs, so if you could help me it would
be great, if not I`ll try it your way.

Post by Vortex
Hello Pero!
I think you are going to find that on most harmonica forums Bob Dylan
doesn't get a lot of respect as a harmonica player. Since he doesn't
play the harp in the traditionall blues style, a lot of blues players
think he sounds pretty bad.
Personally, I have respect for the way Dylan used his harp to add a
certain flavor to the songs he played. I have experemented with trying
to imitate what he did on his early recordings and it isn't as easy as
it sounds. He is definately in his own zone when it comes to his music
in generall.
I didn't see your other post but I assume you are looking for tabs
for Dylan materiall. I cant help you out on that because I dont have
the time and also because I am somewhat "anti tab". I think a player
is better off to learn to develop thier ear and not get dependent on
tabs to learn songs.
Over time, if you develop your ear playing ability you will be able
to play Dylan or allmost any other song you might choose.Patience and
time spent on the harp will get you there.
-Vortex.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Pero,
If we don't have any suggestions then it's probably because there
isn't much Bob Dylan tab for harmonica, and most of us as blues
players aren't really "into" his style of playing.
There is a book you might try, called "The Harp Styles of Bob Dylan"-
written by Bob himself. I've seen it on Amazon for about $15. Beyond
that I don't know of any Dylan harp tab.
Regards,
Bruce

[Vortex]

When I say I am "anti tab" Pero, it is no negative reflection on harp
players who use tabs. Its just that it runs at odds with the way I
teach beginners to play harp.

My personall theory is to get a beginning player to learn first
position first and also do it all by ear. Then, when we go on to the
next phase, the player is not conditioned to tabs and will be able to
get the idea of improvisation much easier.

At this point, the player can now study music theory, sight reading
or use tab without those things being a stumbleing block that would
impede learning improvisation by ear because the player learned that
first and has "intimate lip locateing knowlege" of where all the tones
lie upon the harmonica mouthpiece.

The things is Pero...... its a different world than the one folks
like Silk and myself learned to play harmonica in. People today expect
everything to be instant....instant food, instant
entertainment.....instant message etc.

If you have the patience, you can master playing by ear. It wont be
perfected in a day or a week or a month...... it takes years to get
really good at anything.

-Vortex.

[Mikel Lee]

Hi Pero,

I started when I was 16 playing to Bob Dylan. I guess it's different
for everyone as it was easy for me to pick Dylan up by ear. Yeah, it's
not note for note but I do my own interpretation of Dylan and actually
it sounds pretty damn good. The thing about Dylan's playing is that he
usually blew more of an open harp. Not much bending/single notes in
his playing....and he's pretty much always played in the major key of
the song. Although I play cross on several songs, I still consider
myself an Americana/folk-rock harmonica player. I've always liked the
sweeter stuff. Never seen any tabs for Dylan though. But then again,
how does one get to Carnegie Hall?

Regards,
Mikel Lee
www.myspace.com/mikel_lee

[Fat Sam]

Post by pero
You guys i posted a couple of weeks ago, but I`ve been
away, so i was wondering did you noticed my post?
I was and im still looking for Bob Dylan harmonica solos.

Bob Dylan solo's are easy.
Make your mouth big enough to cover 3 or more holes, then just suck and blow
in time to the music.
Don't worry about finesse, melody, or technique. Just suck and blow, and
you'll sound exactly like Bob.

Can you tell I think Bob Dylan is greatly over-rated asa performer?
He's a genius of the highest order when it comes to songwriting, but he's
just not a very good performer in my opinion. When he sings, he sounds like
someone revving up a moped.

[jimbo]

I think that's a bit unfair and there's more to his playing than that.

Sometimes he blows and THEN sucks - oh and you forgot the bit about
repeating rapidly until he finds the right note and then holds it until
the end of the phrase, just in case that note gets away again.

Love his lyrics and music and the overall package is still wonderful
though. Dylan has knocked around with enough well respected harp
players in his time to know his technique is primitive; I guess if he'd
really wanted the blues sound he's had 40 odd years to practice. The
simplicity of his playing must be a deliberate choice.

I saw him in concert a couple of years ago - the band was awesome, his
presence and aura was Godlike, but he sang every song the same - not
even in the same rough edged lilting voice of his recordings, but just
this dreary monotone. I came away feeling pleased I had seen this
legend in the flesh (the tickets were a freebie), but I felt he'd given
up vocally.

Post by Fat Sam

Post by pero
You guys i posted a couple of weeks ago, but I`ve been
away, so i was wondering did you noticed my post?
I was and im still looking for Bob Dylan harmonica solos.

Bob Dylan solo's are easy.
Make your mouth big enough to cover 3 or more holes, then just suck and blow
in time to the music.
Don't worry about finesse, melody, or technique. Just suck and blow, and
you'll sound exactly like Bob.
Can you tell I think Bob Dylan is greatly over-rated asa performer?
He's a genius of the highest order when it comes to songwriting, but he's
just not a very good performer in my opinion. When he sings, he sounds like
someone revving up a moped.

[djlactose]

Here is a link to the search page on my website, you will find a nice number of Bob Dylan tabs there

http://www.harptabs.com/searchsong.php?SearchAuthor=bob+dylan&Range=0&HarpType=0

[j***@hotmail.com]

Post by djlactose
Here is a link to the search page on my website, you will find a nice number of Bob Dylan tabs there
http://www.harptabs.com/searchsong.php?SearchAuthor=bob+dylan&Range=0...

i've been working on a few dylan songs on harp. not as easy as one
might think to do some of what he did! he wrote for his own self on
some songs and i have had a real challenge doing what he did. i
suspect he played some songs in a different position than most of us
have messed with, like 4th. i do either first or second position on
his material that we cover and i do something close.

bob studied the whole cross harp thing and didn't want to be mistaken
for yet another folk guy trying to be a bluesman, so he learned to
basically do the opposite of what the blues guys were doing.

one of my early realizations was, if he could sound that loose and
wild on harp and mak a living at it, i could sound better and at least
break even! sort of a reverse inspiration. but in recent adventures
i have dug a little deeper into his style and there's more than meets
the ear.

btw, i am an ear/gut player, never learned tab, and though i wish i'd
picked up on that at some point, after 35 years of struggling with
harp- the last 10 pretty successfully- i don't worry about reading
tabs these days. i just listen and go for it.