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DATE: Wed, 22 Sep 1993 22:09:40 CDT
From:
Subject: Re: Practice exercises...?

At 20:24 9/22/93 -0500, Chris Pierce wrote:

>Even though I've been at the harp thing for a while now, I still
>classify myself as a "Beginner." So, keeping this in mind, can anyone
>suggest some good exercises for the novice player to get better at
>playing the harp? Also, please be specific, I'm a slow learner so
>you've got to use little words and talk slow.... =:)

Well it's hard to describe exercises over email but you might pick up Steve
Baker's Harp Handbook, he has a bunch of good exercises/riffs in there.

For bending just take some simple tunes and play them with the bends. Below
a X is blow X, (x) is draw X and [x] is bend X (half-step, [[x]] is whole
step, &c)

Howlin Wolf's Spoonful, from the chorus:

A spoonful, spoonful, spoooooonfull
(2) [3] (2) [3] (2) [3] (2)


Ma ry had a little lamb...
(3) [[3]] (2) [[3]] (3)(3) (3)


Etc. Or play "Amazing Grace" in cross-harp (start on the (1) hole)

Also play rhythms, do simple 4-4s and work up, ahead and behind the beat
and so on, that's been the best thing for me and it makes your harp sound
great if you can do your solos with a rhythmic underpinning.


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Ken Ficara fica~emus.rutgers.edu
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