I don’t know the song, but this version sounds much more fluid than the last one which at the beginning didn’t sound quite right.
You’ve come a long way!
Nice to see your progress.
Keep harping 
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Chillin on a rainy day. trying to get over the recordaphobia
Blues Backing Track - Ice B. -Acoustic blues in E (harmonica in A)
@davidkachalon can you hear that. ATTY
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Nice sound! I like how it feels natural. Also, when I first heard the “windows error” sound in the beginning it reminded me of a experimental/parody song which was made entirely of windows sounds, so I almost hoped that that sound would rhythmically repeat throughout
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Yes, a good way to spend a rainy day. Very well done as always Toog.
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I really like it!!
Very nice, thanks for sharing.
By the way. The sharing method you used, works well. It asks me if I want to sign into dropbox, but doesn’t require it for me to listen to the file 
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Well, here we go…
One Small Step for Mankind, One Huge Step for Me
After fighting the metronome for years, I’ve made it my new practice buddy. Here is my first attempt at playing my Basic Major Scale Song called UP 
AND DOWN 
on C harp with the metronome clicking away @96 bpms…
Little off on a cupla bends and o cheat up top, but it seemed to be the closest I could get to keeping time the metronome.
You can download PDF of sheet music as I understand it here
What’s your experience been with Metronome?
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Finally “Morrison’s Jig” is where I want it to be - this is one of the first tunes I started learning and have never had the second part just right - I had to re-write some of the tabs by ear and experimentation since those didn’t sound right.
harmonica used: Easttop T008K - Paddy G
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@toogdog Chee hooo! Love it. Sounds super-sweet. I love that you’re leaving plenty of space and really be musical in your approach. It makes it so fun and easy to listen to. The piece of feedback I have to make it even better is to experiment with doing more draws. Around 3:20 you did a little draw shake. More of that! You’re doing a lot of draw-blow-draw-blow kinda think. As an exercise, try playing ONLY draws 1-5 and blow 6. Watch what kinda stuff you can do with that.
@HarpinBobbyMcB sound great. Rushing at :52, but the rest you’re doing great my man! Keep it up! 
@yuriythebest So cool how far you’ve come recently man. Congrats! Please slow it down and do record it with the metronome for meaningful feedback!
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Thanks for taking the time to listen and yes, now I definitely hear how I speed up at about 52’, and it is a place where I often do.
I gotta tell you @Luke starting to use the metronome has been an amazing thing for me. I’m usually an all-in, or all-out type of guy, and while before I was all-out with the “Little Clicker”, I’ve now come to be ALL IN. I love and enjoy her company now!
Here’s a few random thoughts on now using the metronome for about a month:
- What at first seemed to be a strait-jacket, has now become a welcome friend.
- The clicking sound at first drove me crazy, but now, I see it as a natural part of how life moves, very similar to the ever-present tick-tock of the second hand on a clock.
- Using the metronome is virtually impossible for me unless I know the notes I am playing. If I don’t, using it will lead to sure frustration.
- If I do not know the notes, slowing down the beat, as @Luke and others suggest, is of great help.
- I still have a very difficult time figuring out the beat when I see it on written music or on music I have written, but it seems to come fairly naturally when playing along with the “song in my head”, though I now realize, my timing is pretty much depending on my mood.
- Playing with myself at whatever tempo my heart desire is fun, playing with a metronome tapping along in time, makes me feel like I am one of the band.
- The metronome is always there to get us back on track. No matter where we get lost, we are only a few beats away from the next hard down beat, and she is always on-time.
- I prefer the sound of wood blocks to clicking and like to have the first note of each bar emphasized.
- It is still very difficult for me to look at the metronome, and play at the same time, though I really like seeing the swinging pendulum, and the dots on the metronome program I use. Once I don’t have to see my hands, on the piano, or think about the notes, on the harp, it makes looking at the metronome easier.
- Now I almost always practice my piano songs with metronome, and am starting to be able to coordinate with harp on some of my Basic Songs. During the day, I usually just grab my harp and start playing as I hear a tune in my head, without any thought of the rhythm. I think it would be cool to look up the beat and key of the original song to see how close I can come to it, rather than just playing whatever harp I have at hand.
- I find myself, especially on piano, going up and down scales, or particular problem riffs repeatedly. I especially like the sound of the Blues Scale. Hitting the beats at exactly the right time and hearing the sound as it should be is very satisfying and mesmerizing.
- Now as I listen to music, I can’t help trying to find the beat and count along with it…1, 2, 3, 4…
- Still find myself sometimes counting along with the notes I play, rather than the beat of my metronome.
- My legs still go crazy every now and again, and I’m not too sure what rhythm they are playing to, but they seem to have a mind of their own.
- I have a newfound respect for Drummers and Bass Players. You guys kick ass and keep everyone in line.
I heard someone say something the other day that has been ringing in my brain. He said, Always Be Counting, while playing music. I’m sure this is not a novel concept, and he is not the first to say it, but my mind went, like… DUH… OF COURSE!!
Everything is based on rhythm. Whether we like it or not, our lives are filled with notes of a melody as we go along our day. Some of them are happy and up-beat, others sad and down-beat. There are pauses, crescendos, and stops. Each bar of life is filled with something, even if that something, is nothing. Too often, I find it filled with mindless activities which mean little or nothing at all.
I’m so glad I found music and the magic of all the knowledge on this website to keep my mind occupied otherwise.
If you don’t already, USE A METRONOME
Thanks @Luke for taking the time to see where I was rushing, I hadn’t caught it.
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@HarpinBobbyMcB, you’ve been seduced by the dark side. I still haven’t used a metronome.
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I love how in the harmonica world “being able to read sheet music” and “use a metronome” equals “dark side”
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@HarpinBobbyMcB - great post my friend! So cool how things change along our journey!
I like that you don’t like looking at the metronome. I recommend not looking at it honestly. I don’t like looking at it either. We play music with our EARS. Eyes are really irrelevant imo (except for connecting with the audience!)
I have mixed feelings about “always be counting” taken literally, but figuratively I’m 
! Meaning, always know where you are in the form, in the bar, in the beat, and feel beat 1 like it’s 10 tons of dynamite going off in your chest every time it rolls around.
Have you read The Music Lesson by Victor Wooten? I suspect you might love it.
Final thought: the Jedi level with the metronome is setting it so you only hear it on beats 2 & 4.
This is where “jamming” with the metronome really feels like JAMMING. Like, “whoah that metronome is playing right in the POCKET man!” It’s a lot of fun. I describe it at the end of this post:
Keep up the good work BobbyB! 
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@PapaCurly @yuriythebest , all I can say my harpin’ friends is that sometimes it’s GOOD TO BE BAD…
Come on over to the dark side!
I thought I was pretty happy playing at my own pace and rhythm, mistakes and all, while learning songs by hit and miss. Unfortunately, it kind of worked… Gotta tell you though that when I use the metronome now, it is sooooo much more incredible!!
Definitely there is a learning curve and a lot of stopping and going back to pick up the beat at the right place, but well worth it. I don’t know what it is but now I just find the steady beat such an incredible thing to play along to, and the best thing, it’s always in time, unless you are using your phone and battery runs out. Fortunately, it doesn’t take much juice to power that magical clicking sound. And, if all else fails, listen to the sound of ticking clock and you are right at 60 bpm’s, obviously.
As for reading music, from the very beginning I did not like it at all, in fact I hated it. Got super confused with the numbers and the holes and how it all came together. Then I came to realize that while learning songs by ear is cool, it takes a while sometimes to figure out the notes, while with written music, it’s all there for you! I’m not a big fan of the normal written harp tabs because it gives little idea of the rhythm, so unless you know the song, it’s hit and miss until you hear the song played well.
Standard sheet music still seems to be the best way to get the idea across. I’ve mentioned before that my practice daily consists pretty much of going over 11 Basic Songs I’ve written in my head which cover several scales and positions. I do them mostly on the piano if I’m drinking coffee, quite a bit of the time, or on the harp if my mouth is fresh. I’m working on getting the songs into sheet music form and published my first one UP AND DOWN, which is perfect for practicing all three octaves of the major scale on standard tuned diatonic harps. You should be able to download it here:
I’ve added the harp tabs over the music notes which helps me to figure out the notes better since I’m not so used to recognizing them on the staff.
@Luke I love what you say about putting some dynamite on the first click of the measure… While it doesn’t happen all the time, when I hit my songs exactly in the right places, that big click feels so good. It’s an incredible feeling to get to the end of the song, or the end of a certain section and be exactly on the right beat.
And also, I agree with what you say on the counting. Rather than counting 1 to 8, or 1 to 4, ad infinitum, I find it more helpful to know how many beats there are in the rests, so I come back in on time. If I would have been using the metronome when I wrote my songs, it would have been better, but slowly I’m figuring out how to represent the sounds and get them down on sheet music.
Like you say, the metronome, or backing track, is always on time, so we just need to figure out when to jump into the party and sway along with the beat, and playing along with it makes me feel like I’m part of the band, albeit a one man band 
Happy Weekend to All
Harp on 
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@HarpinBobbyMcB, you sure know how to craft a reply. Do you write professionally?
My harmonica playing is nearly all about enjoyment, with very little theory or hard work. Theres always some work to learn a new song, but that’s about it for me. A bit of bend practice and a couple of scales. It always was and remains a tool to facilitate some happiness and a peaceful mind. In that way it has been a beautiful success, and I’m grateful to the people on the forum for all the help and guidance that I have received. As you alluded to, the success in achieving my objective also dissuades me from changing direction and doing anything much different. Of course, I want to improve, and I recognise that my resistance to change up, slows my progress. By all definitions that I’ve read, I’m still a beginner hack, but I’m a happy and grateful beginner hack, and there’s much to be said for that.
Ticking clocks have always annoyed me, so that whole metronome thing doesn’t thrill me, but never say never; I’m glad it’s working for you. Maybe it’s just going to take me a bit longer to come around. You said it took you a while also; you may yet convert me.
To stay true to your thread title. a snippet from ‘Legends of the fall’ is my latest challenge.
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Busted!! 
I actually am an author. You can see more about what I do “On the Other Side” here:
With that being said, I’m all with you @PapaCurly , if it ain’t fun best not to do it! And I admit, I didn’t have fun the first times I tried using a metronome and ticking clocks also USED to annoy me. Now I find myself wanting to give it a beat! hahhaa
It took me four years though, so I guess, yeah it did take a while. It’s just a cool feeling now when I feel I am in sync with the click, and as @Luke says above, it’s kinda like the first click just starts to take on a new significance.
I was just jamming to some Creed, while I was doing some writing, and it’s incredible to listen now to the beat of music I’ve listened to my entire life. I was always focused on the vocals and the melodies. The incredible guitar solos, but wow, now I have a different opinion. As I listen to my playlist now of music I’ve had since I was a teenager, I am blown away at the drums and bass, which I never really paid much attention to, but yet, I always did. We all do. Without the beat, a lot of music loses much of its charm.
Take for example a singer whose voice is singled out in a song a played back. Even an incredible singer sounds much different when they are not backed by some kind of back beat. It’s like they are singing, and there are these weird pauses, which are exactly what the beat fills in.
Anyway, just my experience. I think that if we aren’t having fun, we’re not doing it right. I’m just glad the metronome became fun for me. Seems like such a little thing, but what helped me a lot was at first just putting one ear bud in and listening to it that way, and then changing the sound to a Block from the Click.
Thanks for your reply @PapaCurly
Have fun
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I like it, but volume of the backing track (piano) could be higher - what I usually do is I point the speakers directly at the camera/microphone
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Thanks. I just use my phone.
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I like it and think the volume of both your playing and the backing track are about right. I can feel your emotion as you play
Harp on
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I had not read this 
book , but just started. I love his writing style and the his GRACE NOTE and PRELUDE promise lots of great things to come. Thanks for your suggestion @Luke.
I went back again to to your video on DEVELOPING A REAL Groove.
Now it makes so much more sense, after practicing with the metronome for awhile, particularly the counting part.
As I was playing pickel ball the other day, each of our “hits” was a beat in my head. Then, I started saying to myself:
1 e and a, 2 e and a, 3 e and a, 4 e and a…
I could imagine splitting up the flight of the ball as it went from racket to racket with the counting 
I’m starting to feel the beat 
Life is music, and music is indeed life 
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