Tuesday, March 15, 2016

What Did You Miss This Week? (Week 438 #484)

Sharp Harp!!!
 
David Barrett checked in with us regarding our study song, Sharp Harp. He points that if you listen carefully to the end of the second chorus, you'll hear a piano fill that leads nowhere. And if you are in doubt, notice that you hear that same dead end fill at the end of the fifth chorus. This makes it pretty obvious that the two repeated choruses, one and two, are not things George repeated over four and five but rather are patched in during post-production..and that the original third chorus is probably lost to us. Why this happened and what the rest of the recording may have been like remains a mystery, but Joe points out that nevertheless, REPETITION is powerful...and most often lacking in peoples' playing. Learn to err on the side of repetition.

Joe made a few other remarks about the strengths of this song - for one, George's throat tremolo is simply beautiful. And secondly, the rhythmic precision is not to be underestimated. If you look at the transcription and listen to the repetition and decide this is an easy tune, you're probably underestimating how critical it is that George places notes in just the right places for that magical, swinging quality.

Class Notes

  • Level III students - if you want to be working on your hand or hand/mic technique, Joe recommends you begin bringing a small tin can or jar to class. It should be about the diameter of a bullet mic. Bring it next week and he'll fill you in! 
- Grant Kessler, B1 Blues Crew