learn harmonica

Reviews - Harps 

Hohner Blues Bender

The Good Doctor 23 Comments , , , ,

Bright light city gonna set my soul

If you are ever in Las Vegas and have time on your hands, I strongly recommend you make your way to the Guitar Center at Town Square. This would-be European Altstadt has plenty of shops and restaurants where loved ones can relax while you lose yourself in an underworld of instruments and sound equipment. You will find everything from percussion, guitars and keyboards to amplifiers, DJ decks and PA systems. Walking into the Guitar Center is the musical equivalent of a trip to Willy Wonka’s.

(more…)

Reviews - Shows 

Rick Estrin & The Nightcats – Biscuits & Blues, San Francisco, 29.Mar 2009

The Good Doctor 10 Comments , , , , , , , , ,

Get in the soup and slide

This was one of the most entertaining nights I have ever experienced at Biscuits & Blues. In fact anywhere. The Nightcats took the stage with the sole aim of knocking the audience clean off their feet. And that’s exactly what they did. I defy anyone to sample this band live and walk away not feeling utterly satisfied.

It was a joy to see Rick Estrin in full flight and appreciate first hand why he has made such a name for himself not only as a harmonica ace, but also as an engaging raconteur and convincing song writer. Jerry Portnoy rightly describes him as a modern day Lieber & Stoller.

Sadly I never got to see the original line up with Little Charlie Baty on strings, although I am certainly aware of his strong reputation as a performer and studio artist. “All that meat, and them potatoes too!”Indeed his recordings with the Nightcats are quite sensational. Charlie is still around, but he’s taking five. Something they call ‘soft retirement’ in the trade. We can expect to see him again for band reunion gigs and special festivals, but in the meantime his slot is anchored by guitarist elect, Kid Andersen, whose playing is simply astonishing. (more…)

Harp Tips 

What Does ‘Cupped Harp’ Mean?

The Good Doctor , , , , , , , , ,

‘Work your hands from day to day, The winds will blow the profit.’ Louis MacNiece

Introduction

It all boils down to what you do with your hands. When playing acoustically, there are two principal hand positions – open and closed. Harp players also call the closed position ‘cupped’. The term ‘cupped’ probably derives from the way we would naturally use our hands to scoop and hold drinking water.

When playing amplified harmonica there are three further scenarios that need consideration; the way we use our hands changes in each case. The first scenario is playing semi-acoustically through a vocal microphone (mic). The second is playing with an open hand position through a hand held mic. The third is playing with cupped hands through a hand held mic. (The hand held mic can be either the vocal mic or a separate harp mic). Let’s look at all the options in greater depth. (more…)

Harp Tab How Do They Do That? 

The Mighty Ship – The Housemartins [..with tab]

The Good Doctor 0 Comments , , , , , , , ,

The Mighty Ship seems to crop up on a regular basis on TV, Radio, at training seminars and on line, the same way that Groovin’ With Mr. Bloe does. It is a rare ‘good time’ harmonica instrumental. As a resident Brightonian, nay Hovite, the fact that The Housemartins‘ bassman (Norman Cook alias Fat Boy Slim) is an extremely close neighbour geographically, and former sponsor of The Albion through Skint Records, makes this tune all the more poignant.

At the Harp Surgery, we will forever remain convinced that The Mighty Ship is a secret Groovin’ With Mr. Bloe derivative, principally because of the common ‘sweet notes’ produced in the scooped 4 draw bend and straight 4 blow. The decision, as they say, is yours…. (more…)

Harp Tips 

Tuning Up The Band

The Good Doctor 0 Comments , , ,

Thanks to Jim Faulkner for raising this point at today’s workshop. As it is such a handy point, I thought it would be better posted under Hints and Tips than Lesson Feedback…

‘Did you know The Who used a harp to tune up with before their gigs? And as a classically trained musician, this never sat comfortably with John Entwhistle… what is the advantage of using a harp for tuning up?’

We’re talking about tuning up guitars here. ln lieu of an electronic tuner, keyboard, piano in concert pitch, or tuning fork, a bog standard diatonic harp is an excellent alternative. Of course you can also find pitch pipes, but what are they if not a redesigned harmonica by any other name, with some or all of the notes in the chromatic scale. A standard 10 hole diatonic in A will do the trick just as well (or any key if used wisely).

The 6 strings on a standard guitar are tuned E B G D A E, moving from the lowest to the highest string respectively.

Traditionally an A major diatonic is the best bet as it relates readily with three of the six open strings on a standard guitar and every harp player carries one! For the bottom and top strings you need to find an E. Draw 2 is the obvious option, but much better to use blow 3 as this is less likely to be off pitch from frequent bending. (You can also check that your blow 3 is in tune itself by octaving with blow 6. If they are in unison – there’s no tremelo effect – you’re safe). You can then move to the A string by blowing holes 1 or 4….or octaving both. (more…)

Harp Tips 

1st Position Blues – Crossing The Canyon

The Good Doctor 0 Comments , , , , , ,

‘…Who shall tempt with wandering feet, The dark unbottomed infinite abyss, And through the palpable obscure find out, His uncouth way.’ Paradise Lost (Milton)

As a journeyman blues harp player, there comes a point when we start to explore blues in different positions. We learn that in theory the number of positions available on any one harp is exponential. In reality however, most of the top guys we listen to use only 1st, 2nd or 3rd position – straight, cross and slant harp respectively. Put simply, they can get the most effective results from these positions. We will look at 3rd position playing another time, but for now I want to focus on 1st position or straight harp.

I would bet any money that you learnt to play Amazing Grace, Camptown Races, When The Saints or Oh Susanna when you first picked up the harp! These are folk tunes we all know. They can be readily navigated in the key of the harmonica – normally starting from, or ending on, blow 4. That’s traditional straight harp. It’s what the diatonic harmonica was built for.

I’ll put another wager on the fact that, having cracked these pedestrian folk melodies, you then hurried off to cross harp blues playing on a mission to find all the funky bends necessary to sound like Little Walter, Big Walter, James (more…)

Sign up for news and exclusive offers