Harp Surgery

Joe Filisko Special : Tue 24.Feb, 7.00pm (UK)

The Good Doctor

DISCOVER THE SECRETS OF THE SOUTH LOUISIANA HARP STYLES WITH JOE FILISKO
We are delighted to welcome Joe Filisko to our Tuesday night Zoom sessions and hope you can join us too! Joe will be teaching us how to add some Cajun and South Louisiana spice to our playing.

HOW TO JOIN US…
Schedule : Tuesday 24th Feb 7.00-8.30pm (UK)
Platform : Zoom
How to sign up : To receive our unique Zoom link please transfer £8.00 in advance by clicking here paypal.me/harpsurgery. Please ensure you include your name, email address and mobile number in the ‘What’s this payment for?’ window. UK attendees can also bank transfer their session to Richard Taylor / 04-00-75 / 18169821 / Revolut. When making a bank transfer please be sure to follow up with an email containing your mobile number too. You can reach the Harp Surgery through our website Contact page.

What to bring
You’ll need Richter diatonic harmonicas in the key of C, D and G major. 

Technical advice
Please activate ‘Background Sound for Musicians’ if you want us to hear your harmonica. You will find this in Zoom’s Audio Settings. Once activated you can then turn the feature on and off from your home screen. 

While on Zoom
Please remain muted while our session is in progress, but feel free to raise questions in the chat facility. Please also observe civil social protocols and note that the Harp Surgery has a policy of inclusion, diversity and equality. Written or verbal obscenity, and discriminatory, disparaging or demeaning remarks will not be tolerated. Infringement of this policy will result in dismissal from the session. Political comment should also be avoided. Thank you for your co-operation and understanding.

Can I record our workshop?
Owing to intellectual copyright, personal audio and video recording of our workshop is not permitted. We do however reserve the right to record our own session for use by absentee subscribers, in which case you have the option to mute your video screen.

Enquiries
Please contact Richard Taylor using the details on our website Contact page.

Harmonica Lessons Available Online

The Good Doctor

Online harmonica lessons are available to fit your timeframe, musical learning needs and budget. We’ll run some initial checks to assess your current skills and ability level, then map out a pathway of exercises and study pieces to expand your capabilities and repertoire.

Your learning pathway can incorporate a range of styles from blues, country and Americana, to folk, rock, pop and jazz.

Why not take the plunge? Just visit the Contact page and let me know your thoughts. I look forward to helping you achieve your goals.

Isolating Single Notes

The Good Doctor

This information is given from a lip-pursed embouchure perspective, but may be useful for other embouchures. Audio files are based on a 10 hole diatonic harmonica in C major.

Newcomers to the harmonica can often find it difficult to play accurate single notes. Which is perfectly understandable. Let’s be honest, there really isn’t much to aim at. Plus the concepts of embouchure for accurate intonation and diaphragmatic breathing for tone have yet to be fully explored. Everyone has their own approach to gathering single note skills and some will find success sooner than others. If you are finding this skill elusive and frustrating however, don’t give up. It’s not that you can’t do it, just that you can’t do it yet. Give it time and you will get it. If this is your experience, welcome to the harmonica! Let’s run through a few ideas that may help you in your quest for isolating single notes.

Airtight
For the best tone and accuracy, first we need to eliminate any leakiness. This means placing your lips right round the mouth piece, with the corners of your mouth supportive but not rigid, and lips pushed slightly forward but not stiff. And drop that jaw. Remember also that each hole has dividers either side, so your target area is nearly twice as wide as your eyes might tell you. There is a margin around each hole. Pushing the harmonica into your lips will actually improve your accuracy, airtightness and tone.


Posture
Next you should remember to relax your posture. This includes your shoulders, neck, jaw and tongue. Make sure you’re not slumped or leaning on elbows either, as this compromises deep breathing from your diaphragm. If your cheeks are puffing in and out as you play, this probably means you are not moving warm air from deep down in your abdomen and your tone will suffer as a consequence. Read more

Introduction to Sonny Boy II Harmonica Technique

The Good Doctor

Rice MillerDon’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 to tab one number, young Elwood, we’ll do them ALL he replied. But how is that possible? quizzed Elwood.

The Doc raised a sagely eyebrow. Once you’ve mastered his trademark cross-harp licks and timing, my boy, you can tackle much of his material. Then it’s a case of studying the first position harp work, timing and tone. But always remember you will never sound exactly like the master, nor should you . Elwood started warming his favourite blues burger. So where do we begin? he asked. From the turn around, answered the Doc, it’s his signature lick. It goes like this…


Read more

Which Keys Do I Need?

The Good Doctor

The keys to success
Different players and tutors will give different answers depending on their experience and personal preference. The choice is subjective and may also be steered by budget. From a practical perspective however, there are keys that are used a lot and others that tend to gather dust. Here’s our take.

A complete set of regular tuned harps will have twelve keys : A  Bb  B  C  Db  D  Eb  E   F   F# G  Ab

Most players start with a C harmonica. This is mid-range tonally and most tutorial information is published in this key. Next up are  A  D  G  F  and Bb. These keys are used most often on the band stand, when jamming and when learning from recordings by the greats.

We then recommend a Low F. A regular F is very high tonally. A Low F lends itself to blow bending in holes 8-10. It’s also good for familiarising with the feel of Low tunings. Then we’d recommend Eb and Ab, and finally B, Db, E and F#. From experience, these last four are used least frequently.

You might also like to supplement your spread with a High G. Tonally a normal G is the lowest of the regular tunings. There may be the odd occasion when you want to work in a higher pocket. Pencil Full of Lead by Paolo Nutini is an example.

How low can you go?
From here, and if you’re willing to splash out, you can add your choice of Low tunings. These are an octave below regular tuned harps. They are not only ideal for creating a darker mood, but also for occupying a lower pocket when accompanying, for example, slide guitar. Listen to recordings by Son of Dave for an idea of how great these sound, and also Mr Lucky by Gary Primich.

In Memorium – Mark Hughes of Split Rivvit

The Good Doctor
Mark Hughes (right)

Dear Harp Surgery, I’m Mark Hughes’ sister Isobel. It’s been over 20 years since he died, and there is still rarely a day that passes without me thinking of him. Today would have been his 65th birthday. It’s heartwarming to read about Mark and the rest of the the band, bringing back the happier memories.

My siblings and I have only a couple of photos of Split Rivitt, so I was excited to read that Charlie has lots (hi Charlie!) – it would be wonderful to have some copies. I hope all is well with you, Dave W, Chris and Dave L. It would be lovely to hear from you. Isobel x

Thanks for your message Isobel – here’s some footage from the BBC’s Nationwide programme back in the day, featuring Mark in the studio with Johnny Mars, Mark Feltham and Skid Stuart. Sending you love and best wishes from everyone at the Harp Surgery.

If anyone has any memorabilia we can add to our Split Rivitt archive, please message us through our contact page. Harp Surgery visitors can enjoy the Split Rivitt archive here.

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