Hey Sonic Junction, I'm back with the 8th and final verse of this thing we're calling "Half Steppin". This last verse is another "riff" type verse and this one really reminds me of the kind of thing a big band horn section might do. It's mostly working with the three hole draw, going between the natural major 3rd and the flat 3rd. By this being the last verse of the song, we wrap it up differently than the other verses - We've got to let people know that it's the end, so we don't use that recurring, resolving lick - Instead we're announcing the finish with an ending lick that leaves the listener no room for confusion. Above all, I hope you've had some fun and made friends with these bends while we've been Half Steppin' - at the very least, I bet you've improved your relationship with those bends on holes two and three!
See you next time!
Rick Estrin
Topics and/or subjects covered in this lesson:
key of E
Chicago Blues
A Harp
Rick Estrin
Print Chords & Tab
A Harp in the Key of E.
Loop 1:27 Verse 8 Acoustically
Loop 2:12 Breakdown of First 4 Bars
Loop 3:38 Breakdown of IV Chord and Back to I (Bars 5 and 8)
Loop 8:05 Practice Loop of Verse 8
Loop 9:00 Review and More Practice
Loop 14:20 Breakdown of V and Ending
Loop 18:33 Practice Loop of Verse 8
Loop 20:32 Closing Thoughts
Comments
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Hi Rick !! thank you for the advice , right now on the bends , i think is the best that I can do, I will continue to focus to be more precise on them , I ll get there maybe soon ?!! thank you for James Cotton, Big Jay McNeelay and Joe Houston CDs , I received them a week ago and really I have a "ball" listening to them , I did t know that Cotton was "that" Good !! intentional Slops ; that s my next Goal !! these Sax players are so Good !! Right now I m "working" on Mr Lee s Manbo and to be honest I m sure that I do a better job than 2 years ago because Half Stepping song already made a big difference in my playing !! I will put it on the site soon ... and Yeah I will see you soon !!
Andre
👍🏽!!! See you real soon
Hi Rick !! I did another attempt , on the first Chorus on the V , I missed the bend , and on the 3 rd Chorus on the I , I m not in the pocket like it would ... overall , to me it s Ok ... what do you think ??
André
Hey Andre! Sorry I took so long to get back to you on this. Overall, you're doing a great job! There're just a couple spots where the bends could be more precise, but you're making good progress on your groove - You've really got the 2 draw/3 blow working for you - You're attacking the chords with a little less volume, which is good - Overall, real good job! Great seeing you in Shirley, and I hope to see you again soon.
Hi Rick,
So I'm taking you up on your invitation to make suggestions. Guitar players do this thing where they play in the minor pentatonic blues scale, which corresponds to certain fingering patterns. They then drop the pattern, I think three frets (I'm not a guitar player) and then they are playing the major pentatonic scale. Then they have to change again when they get to the four-chord because that doesn't work. Dennis has been focusing on the minor blues scale in second and now third position. That's really helpful, but I'm really interested in how to play with that major pentatonic because it has a very different feel. You've identified, for example, that the 3-hole draw natural fits over the 1-chord and 5-chord but not the 4-chord. So maybe that's related to all this. I don't really get all the theory but working inside and outside of the minor blues scale, knowing how to fit into a jam session or a tune in these two different flavors seems like something I should know better. I know it's still about hearing it and feeling it, but it's also good to be concious of what you're hearing and feeling so you can make decisions when you're playing with others, especially those damned guitar players.
I don't know if this made any sense, but maybe it will figure in some future lesson. Or maybe you'll straighten me out and tell me not to worry about it. Either way, I'm looking forward to the next lesson.
Bill
Hi Bill - You've lost me. I'm just a blues player. I'm really not even sure what the official "blues scale" is. I suppose it must contain the flat VII, flat third, the V, the I and I guess maybe the IV, but I just try and go with whatever notes that are on the harmonica and also seem to work with the particular thing I'm trying to do. I have opinions, but Dennis definitely knows a lot more actual theory than I do.
For all these extracts, I looked my visual metronom while I was playing, and you can hear my foot. Another thing is I know I've "simplified" the reccuring lick, because I was upset with the rest.
Hey Tom - Real good job on learning all theses verses. You're right, your 2nd attempt at verse 7 is better - more in the groove! And if I can hear your foot, it's a good thing!
Hello Rick,
I worked with a metronom to understand and respect the rhythm after you said me I was running the groove, thanks for the advice. I use a metronom with 4 visual squares simulating the 4 beats of one bar. My work was to listen your acoustically lesson with the metronom behind in order to understand how it is built, then to play it with the metronom on, then to play it with the metronom out while I record and then to listen my attempt addind the metronom behind to catch any mistake and understand how to correct it. This takes time, but I understand a little better the mecanic, the articulations of the notes and their rhythm, and I know better what moments I do have to pay attention.
I send you tryings for choruses 4 to 7, I'd be pleased (and proud) if you hear them and help me to correct some bad points.
Thank you very much for this serie, I worked on many parts of my (non) competences, you helped me a lot.
My wife said to me last day: Since how many weeks do you play this single piece of music? 7 weeks? Huuu you're mad...
Ps: You like beautiful words... so sorry for my english, I'm still learning for that too.
Musical majesty and sartorial splendor!
Rick,
You really hit a sweet spot for my playing on this one. It's challenging but within reach. In edu-speak, we call that the zone of proximal development (since you are a man who loves words I know you'll appreciate how that trips off the tongue :). As I was saying in a previous post, I'm trying to understand the theory of why certain notes work or don't work on certain chords, but you have reaffirmed for me that you have to hear it first, at least I do. And of course, it don't mean a thing if ain't got that groove. I may have some more questions before I'm through, but know that this was a great series and I for one am looking forward to the next one.
Bill
Hi Bill - I'm a fan of language but I'm also a high school dropout so I'm gonna have to look up proximal. I suspect it's somehow related to proximity - I guess I'll find out. And, I'm real glad you enjoyed this series. If you have any suggestions for general focus points for future lessons, I'd love to hear them. (That goes for all my SJ people) ...I can't promise I'll implement any of the suggestions, but I'm curious about what they might be and open to hearing everyone's ideas.
Thanks Rick!
Thank you, Jim! I'm real glad if you enjoyed this series and maybe even learned some stuff.