Afon - Ben Walker

[tdlwhite]

Hey all,

[edit: newer recording attempt in post #9]

Inspired by listening to Wrighty's version of Ben Walker's Afon in this thread, I decided to give it a go. First tune I've learned on my Larrivee OM-40. The score/tab from Ben was great, I really appreciated the fingering that he's added for the tricky bits.

Excuse the sloppiness (nowhere near Wrighty's clarity -- especially on the annoying harmonics), but I had fun playing/recording!



DADGAD through pair of super-cheap Behringer C-2 mics plugged into a Focusrite Scarlet 4i4.

my notes: Can't get over how big my hands look - they don't feel big when I'm stretching over the frets.
like: the sympathetic movements of my right hand pinkie following along with the ring finger in the opening section.
dislike: that bum note when my thumb hits the A string right near the end. Ah well.

[Wrighty]

Pretty good!!

That's a good effort on a very tough piece - if you are not done with it yet then it's worth practising those harmonics some more to get them to ring under pressure - move your right hand closer to the left as you approach that bar so you are within reach of the false harmonic.

I would also focus on getting those melody notes to ring out a little more - you faded as the piece wore on - which I get as it's exhausting to play!

Nice to hear someone else playing Ben's stuff.

[SprintBob]

Well done and welcome to the AGF! I really enjoyed that. Your Larivee sounds fantastic.

[tdlwhite]

Thanks for the feedback!

I am not finished with it yet - especially those harmonics. You are definitely right, I should get prepared for them better, so need to embed the hand-move into the previous bar.

I felt I was faded before I hit record! Took a lot of hours to get all the parts into my head, so I'm not surprised fatigue entered the second half.

And an extra thanks for your other shared videos - they inspired me both to give this a go, and to record it too.

Tom

Originally Posted by Wrighty

Pretty good!!

That's a good effort on a very tough piece - if you are not done with it yet then it's worth practising those harmonics some more to get them to ring under pressure - move your right hand closer to the left as you approach that bar so you are within reach of the false harmonic.

I would also focus on getting those melody notes to ring out a little more - you faded as the piece wore on - which I get as it's exhausting to play!

Nice to hear someone else playing Ben's stuff.

[tdlwhite]

Originally Posted by SprintBob

Well done and welcome to the AGF! I really enjoyed that. Your Larivee sounds fantastic.

Thanks!

I'm really loving the Larrivee sound. Might have to keep it in DADGAD and learn a few more tunes.

Tom

[Wrighty]

Originally Posted by tdlwhite

Thanks for the feedback!



I am not finished with it yet - especially those harmonics. You are definitely right, I should get prepared for them better, so need to embed the hand-move into the previous bar.



I felt I was faded before I hit record! Took a lot of hours to get all the parts into my head, so I'm not surprised fatigue entered the second half.



And an extra thanks for your other shared videos - they inspired me both to give this a go, and to record it too.



Tom

Great - looking forward to hearing more from you.

[mesa]

Very nice!

[tdlwhite]

Originally Posted by mesa

Very nice!

thanks!

Tom

[tdlwhite]

Tried recording it again, slightly different mic placement, and slightly fewer mistakes:



Did five or six 'takes', and this was cleanest. Still struggling with those harmonics. Not sure I have the patience to either learn the piece better so I get it right, or to record it more times until I get a perfect one.

Other than the different hair, I also opted for softer shorts for less rustling noise.

[TBman]

That was good!

You inspired me to order the tab/notation book and I bought the entire Echo downloaded mp3 files too. I doubt I'll play it as fast as you young guys, but it will be fun learning.

[tdlwhite]

Originally Posted by TBman

That was good!

You inspired me to order the tab/notation book and I bought the entire Echo downloaded mp3 files too. I doubt I'll play it as fast as you young guys, but it will be fun learning.

Thanks!

To be honest, I enjoy playing this one slowly as much as I do fast.

Tom

[Wrighty]

Originally Posted by TBman

That was good!

You inspired me to order the tab/notation book and I bought the entire Echo downloaded mp3 files too. I doubt I'll play it as fast as you young guys, but it will be fun learning.

It’s such a great album Barry, but also worth listening to some of his other work with Josienne;

https://youtu.be/_AEvV7nITQE

[Wrighty]

Originally Posted by tdlwhite

Tried recording it again, slightly different mic placement, and slightly fewer mistakes:







Did five or six 'takes', and this was cleanest. Still struggling with those harmonics. Not sure I have the patience to either learn the piece better so I get it right, or to record it more times until I get a perfect one.



Other than the different hair, I also opted for softer shorts for less rustling noise.

Top class - sounds great, harmonics pretty fair too!

[tdlwhite]

Originally Posted by Wrighty

Top class - sounds great, harmonics pretty fair too!

Thanks Wrighty!

Feel like I'm improving on the harmonics. Thanks for the support.

Tom