Slowing Down

Technique
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I remember taking some guitar lessons when I was a teenager in the 80’s.

Things were different we paid 120$ a month for one 1 hour lesson per week

After a lesson you had specifics to work on for the week. The teacher would not give you more until you got the previous lessons dialed in.

It was a process and mastering the basics was key.

Like in sports, art, or even business… mastery comes through the basics and it is most often a slow process. You’ve probably heard of the 10,000 hour theory.

Stopped guitar in 1988 and didn’t play any instruments until 2022

Fast forward that 40 yrs ± and we have at our finger tips for a fraction of the cost or even complimentary access to thousands and thousands of lessons and a plethora of teachers.

Also in that forty years we’ve become a microwave society who want results yesterday.

All that said I have bounced around programs, one off lessons, songs, techniques and on and on.

The result of all that is available so fast and absorbing quantity is this…. I’m good at a lot of things in my music journey but had mastered nothing.

I am changing my approach
Picking one teacher for harmonica @Luke and one for guitar Marty Schwartz and I’m learning in smaller more focused chucks. I am seeking quality of lessons and results vs quantity.

As far as songs - I’m reducing that as well - personally I’d prefer to be great at 4 songs than good at 40.

This is a self assessment and personal experience only. But I figured I’d share because I suspect I’m not the only one.

We live in amazing times in terms of information availability and access - which is a great thing when harnessed with discipline - otherwise it can be too much for some, like myself, leading to overload and mediocre results.

Hope this is helpful for some.

:v:

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Hi @cloves-fibs0f
“As far as songs - I’m reducing that as well - personally I’d prefer to be great at 4 songs than good at 40”.
Yeah, I’m inclined to agree and yet I find myself doing the opposite. I have more than 20 tunes on my list, comprising whole melodies, parts of melodies, song intros and funky mess around tunes such as dueling banjos. From Canned heat to John Denver. Before I’ve learned a song well, I’m attracted to another one and want to learn that as well. Too many to practice them all properly. I’m a hopeless case. Please help!
Yours Truly
Out of control

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Funny how that works brother, finding ourselves doing exactly what we don’t want… I feel ya tho man… so many good songs. Honestly tho my “4 great vs 40 good” was just an example. I’m with you I have a pool of about 20 to 25 when considering riffs and common things like happy birthday. But songs that move me is where I want more mastery and less mediocracy.

I’m working on a little montage in G mashing up 4 songs (battle hymn of the republic, hallelujah, amazing grace and how great though art) I can play each one proficiently. I’d love to master them so people I play it for aren’t listening to the music rather they are feeling and experiencing it. Luke versions of amazing Grace and hallelujah are amazing - mine are very simple, recognizable but no feel no shine or pizzazz. I’ll get there tho if I stop bouncing around like a pinball in the musical arcade of the World Wide Web.

Make it a great day @PapaCurly

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I’ve only been playing for about a year, with no musical experience prior to that, and no lessons other than the free stuff, mostly on this forum. So, our journey has been a bit different, but it seems we are on the same page at the moment. 20 something (and growing) mess about tunes and a desire to play 4 or 5 melodies really well. I’m still experimenting to decide which ones they will be. Hallelujah is a lovely song, but I find it difficult to play well because of all the repeated notes. 6 -6 -6 -6 -6 -6 6 6 -5 6 6. It sounds beautiful when Luke plays it, but he has the experience and skill (and candles). Currently I’m working on ‘Wonderful tonight’ by Eric Clapton. Much easier for me, and all the notes are in the middle of the harp. Girls will love you if you can play that tune well. I learned ‘Fields of Gold’ pretty much by ear so that’s the one I play best. Almost everything else is by tabs. The other problem I find with melodies, is that they can be a bit monotonous. It’s OK when the song is sung because there’s different lyrics, but with a harp it just repeats. So, I tend to prune them down a bit. Let’s hope we can both find the pizzazz that we’re looking for. I’m a way off just yet
Peace, love and healing @cloves-fibs0f

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Great stuff guys! :100: Slowing down and focusing on fundamentals is great.

The harmonica players we will be a year from now is a result of what we choose to practice every day between now and then.

In the final analysis, staying inspired to play and continuing to always work at improving at something is the key.

If you’re daily getting your lips on the harmonica, consciously working at improving, and having fun, then you’re on the right path! :sunglasses:

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That’s actually a good approach learning one song at a time get good at it move on to the next but keep practicing the first

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I find song tunes on U Tube that I am familiar with. I turn the volume down very low and play the tabs. I am bad about fast play. When I can play the song and not hear anything I am playing over what comes out of the t v. It sure is easier when I slow down and getting the correct timing down seems easier.

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Oh man! I just can’t do tabs everything I play is by ear. The reason being I’m autistic, I’m very high functioning with Asperger’s but along side that I have problems with numbers, this has only occurred as I’ve aged as when I was younger I was extremely good with numbers. I’m the same with guitar tab too, can’t read music either. I play everything by learning it by wrote then adding my own bits to it.

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Andy2

How about turning the t v volume up and playing a tune. Forget about tabs and see if you can play and not hear yourself getting ahead of the rhythm or falling behind. I am ahead usually a bit fast but this helps me to slow down. I can play Country Road but when I listen to the song played I can tell what part of the song I am still not playing correctly. Playing a song fairly well is a sign you are getting close but replicating the song exactly right is the last and for me the hardest part. I am getting away from tabs now and it helps with timing for me.

Scott

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I don’t really replicate songs, I pinch better harp players licks and and horn players, sax players etc, playing blues you don’t really have to copy stuff 100% accurate all the time, it’s more a little bit mix and match 50% me, 25% other harp players 25% horn and sax players, I pretty much have my own sound and approach I have learned a few new things on here which are more technique based. I’m lucky enough to have been playing long enough to be able to pretty much hear a tune and to be able to play it. I have helped a few people on here by spotting how the song is played etc. the most important thing that I find is Identifying the key of the song then the key of the harp and then I play along doing a sort of thumbnail sketch after a few goes I can fill everything in, it’s just writing the TAB numbers down with the little dots and dashes etc I can’t do very well.

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Its the help with rhythm, especially when trying to slow down or speed up. I am not to the point I can play a song unless I am very familiar with it. I focus on getting single note play down and then I’ll go to step two. That being said play what you enjoy and enjoy what you play.

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I like songs that require moving around the harp. It helps get single note play improve. I hope I can get to the point I can replicate songs that I know but its going to be awhile. I like the slower stuff and without single note play I would be wasting my time without good single note play and rhythm. I have played a musical instrument and once hooked I realized how important these are and difficult they can be.

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Hi @scott4 the errors I mostly see when I watch other less experienced players play, is absolutely their rhythm they don’t tap their feet or move to the music. This serves two purposes it allows you to keep time and it entertains the audience the side effect of this is the audience sees you having a good time so they also get into it. The other thing I’ve noticed is the inability to relax when playing this is probably the most common thing I see, being tense affects your posture your breathing your timing, everything really. But the odd thing is the former tends to cancel out the latter if your stomping your feet and moving around to the rhythm you instantly relax. It also gives your playing personality too. I’m currently biting the bullet and learning Harpoon Man by Paul Delay I’ve got me an app that slows down everything without losing sound quality I’m going to give it a go.

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Unfortunately the app did not work​:disappointed::disappointed: and it’s way too fast to learn by ear, I’ve got bits of it but not all of it

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I use this free software to slow stuff down

image

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Thanks, I’ll give that a look

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Unfortunately they don’t do it for my phone

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Oh, I have it on my laptop. It’s pretty serious stuff I don’t know half of what it’s capable of. Got to be something out somewhere-!

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Audacity is a great sound file toolkit. I mostly use it as a handy way for converting .wav to .mp3, with the opportunity to boost the sound level along the way if the recording was a bit quiet.
I just scratch the surface of its capabilities…

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I need something for my phone really as it’s portable, I use my computer as a media player connected to my drives I have about 5 or 6 I store my movie Library on some over 30’000 movies, and I have one for music, I’ll probably never be able to listen to all the music on that. My Wife uses the Living room to paint, I use the bedroom to practice, play, experiment, hence it would be better on my phone. I do have a pad but it’s only an Amazon Fire on which I store my books. I don’t use it for much else as most of the apps on Amazon you pay for. So if you know of anything out there that’s either free or just a very small payment up front for a phone it would be greatly appreciated