Hallelujah

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I thoroughly enjoyed the “Beginner to Boss” course and didn’t want to post this on Lesson 30 in case it threw others off. I have been trying a few techniques with vibrato and wah-wah at the end of a line, to try and get the song a bit more inspiring but am failing. Any thoughts or ideas PLEASE :rofl: Thank you !!! Also tried using a G Harmonica that improved the tone.

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Hello @craiginker,
I’ve been thinking about your post since yesterday afternoon :thinking:.
I don’t really understand what you’re trying to say other than that you can’t play the song to your satisfaction?

How long do you learn the song with patience, full of RELAXATION and WITHOUT time pressure?
Can you play the song cleanly on a C harp without your additions of vibrato and wah-wah?
Can you hit single tones well and have no problems with increasing tempo, for example? B. play the C major up and down?
Can you also play channels 8 - 10 as draw and blow?

If you can answer all questions with yes, you should be able to play “Hallelujah” cleanly on a G harp.

Another little tip from me: If I don’t make any progress with a song after a few days, there are the following options. The song is still too difficult for my progress and I’ll come back to it in a few months.
In the meantime, I’ll continue to learn my basics (theory and practice) and look for other songs.

Regards from Astrid :woman_in_lotus_position:

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thanks Astrid all good comments. Yes I have learnt the song and can play all single notes including the blow/ draw on the higher register but that is it. Its just a plain old song, what I am trying to say I guess is that it doesn’t stand out. i have been playing the song with muscle memory for the past roughly 3 months. so, even though its a ballad, trying to keep the intent of the ballad but with more passion and meaning.

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craiginker

I learned it by listening to it on U Tube. I turn the volume down to the point a mistake will be noticed. Tabs are provided. If you have the same experience I did you will play it too fast. Once you can play the tune see if you play but never hear anything from the tv. This will help with rhythm and how long to hold a note. here are the steps I have experienced

1 You can play the notes but rhythm needs to be cleaned up.

2 You get the timing down and hold notes.

3 You keep playing it and clean up the notes to the point you are replicating the song.
It takes a while but this is a great way to learn. No tabs. The first time I got it right fatigue was setting in and relaxed with no goal other than playing on time. It was then it really set in the trying to play faster will slow your progress.

Hope this helps…

Scott4

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I couldn’t agree more. Like all good things timing is the key. If the timing is wrong its a different tune. Not the one your aiming for.
I think its better to skip a note than play it late. If you use backing thats the best way. I believe you can get APPS that slow tunes down but keep the correct timing.

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Hey @craiginker great to see ya on the forum again my friend! I believe part of what I think you’re bumping up against is that it’s tough to be really expressive with the song in 1st position.

If you can do the -3" whole-step bend, playing it in 2nd position on a country-tuned harmonica will offer you a lot more expressiveness as I demonstrate here:

The -3" is not for the faint of heart tho! I’m guessing if you’re like I was for the first couple decades of playing harmonica, that’s a bit too intimidating. In that case, you might consider a Lee Oskar Melody Maker harmonica, which I demonstrate here:

Otherwise, maybe this post on vibrato is helpful?

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I am sold Luke. Think I will try the country tuned and master my -3’ and other flats. It seems (maybe its just Canada) that one cannot commonly buy a country tuned Harmonica or perhaps I am looking in the wrong place. I guess it requires specialized tuning? To get the “F” and if reeds can be bought seperately I might try tuning myself :scream::+1: being retired its all good fun.
Back up plan to get the C Melody Maker but lacks the challenge of -3".
Anyways, great videos as usual. Many Thanks.

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Goddamit Luke! I have too many songs on my practice list already. Now I want to play this one as well. AGGGGHHH!

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@craiginker you can order country tuned harmonicas from Rockin Rons. What brand do you like?

You can do it yourself too. Plenty of tutorials online. Not rocket science.

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Fantastic. When comparing the Country Tuned and Melody maker tones against the “C” Single note prior video you mentioned is a lot richer and sexier. I am trying to figure out such playing for single note “Desperado” and “Always on my mind” . Any suggestions even if its just pointing me in the right direction is much appreciated. Hopefully I can get to this level of playing in 20 years :rofl::rofl: .

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I think getting the rhythm is the most important part of this song. I use the throat and diaphragm but very little on this one. Its the first one I learned and playing it over the U Tube with the t v very low will tell you if your getting ahead of it. playing a bit fast is a bad habit I am in the middle of breaking. One late night I decided to play the song slowly as I was fading fast. I focused on hitting the notes right and care nothing about keeping up. I could not hear the song on U Tube as for the first time I played right over each note. I play a song every day that I am trying to learn. In about four days it starts coming together and by the end of the second week I am trying to use tabs as little as possible. It seems some lines come together quicker than others but reputation is the key as well as knowing the song. I listen to a song several times to get an idea of timing.

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