Putting double-barreled blues harp into your playing As a journeyman blues harp player listening to the experts, there were moments when those guys hit what I call the tickle spot and I shuddered with pleasure. For years I just couldn’t work out how they did it. It just sounded like they were producing harmonics and [...]
Read more..Last Wednesday Elwood the Apprentice attended a year-end performance with London Harmonicas, the informal collective that meets every other Tuesday at The Torriano Pub (7.15pm for beginners, 8pm for intermediates). What he saw was a glorious vision for the socialist future of harmonica. What he heard was a little less glorious… I’ve attended the London [...]
Read more..Not Now, Arthur! Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without a little bit of Morecambe and Wise, so here’s a tribute to classic comedy.. and a forgotten harmonica hero. Arthur Tolcher was born in Staffordshire in 1922, and his family theatrical history meant he was destined to tread the boards of music hall. He had an encyclopaedic [...]
Read more..Holy Diatonic Batman! Elwood The Apprentice had just finished wrapping his last set of replacement reed plates for Christmas when from somewhere downstairs… Zap! Wh@ck, Whåp, B#ff, Biƒf, P*w, Zôwie, Spl@tt, Tºot.. He ran to the Good Doctor’s study.. Holy Diatonic Batman! What in the world is this? Revolving walls, hidden rooms, disguises? What is the Good Doctor’s [...]
Read more..Christmas Carols on the diatonic harmonica Well we enjoyed an excellent harp workshop today at the Sussex Academy of Music (SAM). James Aldcroft taught us everything we ever wanted to know about overblows and reed gapping, we had the chance to play Chicago blues through a bullet mic and valve amp rig, and we also [...]
Read more..[Note: competition now closed.] Harps down, heads up! Our lovely friends at Seydel Söhne are offering you the chance to win an e-voucher to the tune of €30.00 (US residents $40.00). If you submit three correct answers to our quiz before midnight (GMT) Jan.10 2010 and are one of three lucky names drawn at random [...]
Read more..Se, på vår tröskel står, vitklädd med ljus i hår, Sankta Lucia, Sankta Lucia. This sentimental melody originated in 19th Century Naples as a barcarolle or ‘boatman’s song’ and was popularised in the 20th Century by the great Neapolitan Tenor, Caruso. For our Scandinavian, Baltic and Mediterranean neighbours (as well as Scandinavian communities around the [...]
Read more..The Hoodoo Man would be 75 today. Harmonica great Junior Wells was born December 9th 1934. It’s remarkable to think that someone who played with Muddy Waters in the early days would have been so young today (he was 19 in 1952 when he joined Muddy’s band, and died in 1998, aged 63). I like [...]
Read more..Don’t start me talking, I’ll tell you everything I know Elwood reminded folks at the Harp Surgery it’s the anniversary of Sonny Boy II’s birthday this week. How about we tab out one of his monster tracks? he suggested. The Doc stroked his goatee and lifted his bowler down from the coat stand. No need [...]
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