Walking with Rabby, the Lovely Dog Presented in the Koukin Geijutu No.147（1997/11） We have a dog in Cavalier species named Rabby in our home. He can't run fast because of disease in leg joint which might come from marriage among near relatives to keep the species pure. My practice time for harmonica is usually at the walking time for Rabby. There still remains rice fields in neighborhood and I go there with a harmonica in my pocket. The walking time is several times in Saturday and Sunday and twice in every other night. He asks me on Saturday and Sunday to go may be because I am wearing a casual suites on these days. He doesn't care in other days because i am wearing formal suites, instead he is waiting for me at my return then asks once after dinner and then sleeps, and asks again at 11:00 pm. If I came later, then he only asks once but it can be after midnight whether I am tired with job or I drank after some performance in concert. I pick up the harmonica and start playing it when nobody is around. Rabby doesn't run fast and usually stays around me without a chain, but when I'm hot playing harmonica, he sometimes disappears. It's very hard to find him because he does not cry at all. Sometimes I returned home after looking at him hard and giving up, then he was waiting for me in front of the house. I can't hate him, he is so lovely. My practice during walking time is the vibration and scaling. The story of mastering the belly vibration is to be announced in the Friend Town in December and I studied it from Claude Garden. However, having studied doesn't mean I can play like him with brilliant vibration. I could vibrate in triad easily, but I can't play in quadruple. Walking with Rabby, I tried many many times and the speed of the vibration is getting faster little by little. It took me more than two years to vibrate in quadruple beautifully. I still feel uncertain and I keep practicing it. I put a very cheap diatonic harmonica, 500yen one, in my pocket in earlier time. I am very excited when I could play "Annie Laurie" in quadruple vibration. But I felt its sound feeling is different from that of chromatic one. I noticed it one day, and I changed it to a 10 holes chromatic harmonica. This one is small and fit into the hands, thus suitable for putting into my pocket upon walking. But I steel felt difference between 10 holes chromatic and 16 holes one. 10 holes one's body is wood whereas 16 one's is plastic. There are apparent differences between these two. Sound, blessing, the touch of lever button, etc. Even when I felt good at walking time, I can't express the same at the lessons with trio and the performance on stages. Recently I keep bringing the 10 hoses one besides I'm still thinking I should bring the large 16 holes one Even if I get enough speed on vibration, there is still big difference from Claude Garden's sound. Changing vibration width, strength of blessing, and etc., I enjoy the walking time at every night. There are much differences among vibration of Larry Adler, Richard Hayman, Japanese famous players. I try them changing the shape of the mouth, using tong, and using the throat. My practice continues every night. Even playing a tremolo harmonica, the belly vibration changes the sound dramatically. I played recently a tremolo harmonica with piano accompaniment by Mr. Saito recently after party for the Friend Town Concert, and its reputation was very good. People who play tremolo harmonicas should try belly vibration. It really makes the sound different. I understand the importance of scaling since I was a student, but I never practiced it because it is so difficult. Someday upon walking time, I started the scaling. Probably because I heard from Mr. Saito that Claude Garden practices for long time at hotel to resolve the time difference problem. Without looking at music, although it is quite natural at walking in midnight, I practice the scaling starting with C until high octave C. There are other ways of changing scales. One is to increase flats like C, F, Bb, Eb or in reversal to increase sharps like C, G, D, A and another is to go half tone higher like C, Db, D, Eb. There are many other scales like seventh scale, minor scales, blues scales etc. These scaling was very difficult to me. At first only three major scaling made me finish the walking. Nowadays I can go through the one round of major scale in ten minutes. However there are three minor scales, that is, natural minor scale, harmonic minor scale, and melodic minor scale. They still confuse me. Further there are many other scales to practice such as pentatonic, blues, diminish augment scales. Walking reasons will never have expired, Rabby! I also try to play simple music like "Akatombo (Red Dragon Fly)" or "Furusato (My home)" in 12 scales. I still make mistouch in some scales. I sighed to listen to Mr. Tokunaga's playing "Les parapluies de Cherbourg" with improvisation in 12 scales at the attraction time of FIH contest.. I used to believe the flat scales are easier than sharp scales in chromatic harmonica.After scale practices, it is denied. If one practice the scaling, the difference of the difficulties will be small. the most difficult scale would be one sharp or two sharps I feel. These scales appear so often that I misunderstand sharps are difficult. Stivie Wonder plays musics in scale of many sharps. Many sharps seems to be easier than les sharps. I also found that it is not very easy to play C scale rapidly. More and more training to blow and draw evenly and rapidly would be necessary. Of course, playing rapidly in other scales is likely difficult, but practically musics in C scale are more frequently played and glissand like scaling as improvisation is very effective.l Mr. Ikeda told the importance of the scaling many times in the HARMONICA REVIEW. With scaling, he said, the mistouch of notes are reduced during performance. Certainly, although mistouch of note cannot be reduced by practicing a music many times, I feel I can reduce them after scaling practices. Now I can play music with reluctance. I used to hate D scale(two sharps) music. I worried about synchronization that blow and draw timing and the hand moving.in not adjusted correctly. I admire young girls in ATSUGI area plays in D scale easily. The youth might be very important in music performance. After practicing scales, I, over 50, can now synchronize them. I admire myself for my improving after getting old. My original motivation of the scaling is to improvise the music. I feel the big bound for age and may be talent. I might have been improved if I had started in my 20's. Looking at a young lady in ATSUGI area plays the second part in improvisation and 7 years old ( at the time) Taro improvise with chromatic harmonica, I feel I can not catch them up even I practice with Rabby for five more years. However, Rabby ask me even tonight to go walking. I would add as a menu the progression of II-V7-I which often appears in Jazz. I heard many times dogs and cats hate the sound of harmonica. Rabby doesn't dislike it. Once the Hummingbird practice in my home, then Rabby slept well with a big snore. I guess this must be because of the beautiful sound of my harmonica with vibration. |
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