My band plays San Ho Zay fairly often (song in C, harp in second F). I normally play fills on harp, but they usually want me to throw in a solo in the middle of the song. For the most part, I try to play something similar to the guitar riff, but I wouldn't mind coming up with a little more variety without going overboard and taking away from the guitars. Are any of you aware of a good example of someone playing harp on this song? Thanks.
I've played around a little with third position on a Bb. I might have to explore that further, although I do like playing it on an F in second. Good suggestion. Thanks.
Get yourself a Low F and play with more of a sax like approach like what Eddie Shaw does on Magic Sam's cover of this tune. ---------- Sincerely, Barbeque Bob Maglinte Boston, MA http://www.barbequebob.com CD available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/bbmaglinte
Thanks again Bob. I do have that album and listen to it often. Now I will pay more attention to what Eddie Shaw is doing. It's pretty subtle and really adds to the feel of the song.
Thought I'd mention that I followed Barbeque Bob's advice and got a low F (Seydel Pro Soloist) and spent some time listening to the Magic Sam version with Eddie Shaw. Today at our gig I used the low F and approached the song that way. Our band does give a solo, and at that point I switched to a regular F, but went back to the Low F when I was done. The people I talked to afterwards liked that approach, as did the band. Thanks Bob.
I'd personally stay with the Low F throughout the entire tune because the standard F, if you want to play with a decidedly more horn like approach for the solo, just ain't gonna cut the mustard one bit and can sound, if not played resonantly, really harsh and screechy, and with the standard F, a somewhat more guitar like approach will tend to work better. However, if you want get a real mastery of playing more horn like, you DO have to pay a lot more attention and do a lot more woodshedding with horns or recording with horns in grooves like this. ---------- Sincerely, Barbeque Bob Maglinte Boston, MA http://www.barbequebob.com CD available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/bbmaglinte
Thanks Bob, I really value your advice, particularly with regard to really listening to each instrument in the band. I certainly have a long way to go, but a lot of my progress the past few years comes in large part from really paying attention to what is going on around me - especially the drums and bass. (And lots of focused practice) I did spend some time with the Magic Sam/Eddie Shaw version listening through some good earphones which helped me pick out the horn lines better. I'll keep at it, as I love what Shaw does. I have pointed my band toward a number of tunes that were done with horns, and tried to replicate that style. My impulse to use the regular F for my solo was that we were playing at an outdoor venue (farmers' market at a Marina that asks us to keep the volume down for the vendors), and I didn't think the Low F would cut through enough. Also, while I wouldn't claim to be really proficient on the regular F, I do use it enough that I think I sound resonant and not screechy. Anyway, I do like Shaw's approach and will keep working on this. It's a cool tune that our lead guitar really nails and our audience always likes. Thanks again for the advice. Rich
Just thought I'd mention that one of the best harp players in Seattle (which has plenty of great harp guys) is Jeff Mason. Jeff is also a great trombone player - like on harp, he's played with top notch musicians since the 70s. Anyway, I always notice something a bit different about his harp approach, and I am pretty sure that it comes in part from his trombone playing (and vice versa). Not only does he understand playing the type of horn lines that Eddie Shaw is playing on the Magic Sam version of San Ho Zay, but the way he constructs solos and how spare he is with his notes seems to be influenced by the bone as well. I am lucky to be able to listen to Jeff every week at a terrific jam. Of course, I then have to go up and follow him. Oh yeah, it's also cool that the jam band always has a great trombone/harp player in it (also a world class bass player - Hank Yanda).
Last Edited by Rgsccr on Jul 07, 2016 12:15 PM
I accidently stumbled into this old post when looking for advice on Zan-Ho-Zay. I’d like to play in unison with the guitar riff, but can’t find the right tones when changing to F (song in C) neither in 2nd nor in 3rd position. Any good ideas will be highly appreciated.
Last Edited by jjblues on Jul 13, 2021 3:49 AM