The Hohner Special 20 O-Matic. It Slices, It Dices!

I've been considering calling Hohner and asking them if there is some sonic advantage specific to harmonicas with uber-sharp corners but I don't think I could dial down the sarcasm to a reasonable level in order to be taken seriously. Lately I've been using ergonomically designed Suzuki Bluesmasters with buttery smooth rounded edges so it hasn't been a concern. But last week I had to grudgingly admit that the SP 20 is just a better sounding and more user friendly harp, all superficial cuts and abrasions aside. So, what to do? Wear gloves? Maybe.

But Isontoners wouldn't work. Gardening gloves? No. Those see-through prostate exam gloves would give you that hospital chic look but wouldn't provide any padding. This idea, and it is a good one, would necessitate that I design, manufacture and successfully market a "BluesMan Glove". Such a glove would protect your hands from pretty much anything the sadists Hohner could dream up and make you look scary cool. They would be the new pork pie hat. I would need about $3 million in seed money, an out of work Italian Glovemaster and whoever makes those Bud Lite opera commercials. Or I could just go out to the driveway and furiously rub the corners of my harp against the concrete until I achieve the desired effect. Scraaaaape!

Product Review: Fender's Chicago Tool Box

The Chicago Tool Box (along with it's plaid cousin, The Mississippi Sax Case) is, supposedly, the Cadillac of off the shelf harmonica cases. It will hold 18 diatonic harps and one 16 hole chromatic along with a bullet style mic, some cables and maybe a petite sandwich w/dill sliver and chips. I got mine late last week from Harp Depot for $99. The suggested retail price is $149 and most online sellers that I have seen offer them at $119.

The CTB is made of black Tolex, which is a hard plastic/vinyl material used for everything from Fender amp covers and Coffin Cases to marine upolstery in Chris-Craft boats. The edges are wrapped in black leather with white stitching. The locking latches and hardware appear to be chromed brass. The interior is lined with red velvet but does not seem to have any added cushioning.

When I took mine out of the box I immediately noticed something rattling. The latch on the left hand side, although secured, was mounted in such a way that the lid and body of the case did not mate. There was a little more than an 1/8 inch of play between the two. Strike One.

When I opened the case up I found myself staring at visible staples securing the velvet lining. I was actually more disappointed in this than the latch at the time. This is the result off shoddy workmanship and lax quality control. When contrasted with the red velvet those bright silver staples were blinding. Or at least impossible to ignore. Strike Two.

The only other issue, a minor one, is that even with both harp trays filled to the brim with diatonics there is ample room for them move around as the case is carried. As this is not a custom case and diatonics come in varying lengths I can understand and accept this. I will use a thin layer of foam packing material to hold my gear in place and not give it a second thought.

So we've got two strikes on The Chicago Tool Box. Actually I'm going to go back and give the latch another strike. That's three. I'm either going to utilize the warranty or send it back for refund. I'll have to see what kind of a mood I'm tomorrow. The bottom line on this case is that if you can get it $99 or less with no defects you will probably be satisfied for years to come. And you will look very cool slinging it around. Not something to be ignored. But, on the Blues Harp Confidential proprietary "Sonny Boy" rating system (1 being the worst, 4 being the best) The Fender Chicago Tool Box gets 2 1/2 Sonny Boys.

PS I decided to investigate my options so I contacted the seller, Harp Depot. The "cool factor" weighs heavily with me. Kudos to them and to Richard who said he would send me a new case and handle the warranty with Fender himself. I paid for shipping back to HD but that's just the cost of doing business on the internet.

PSS Dateline 11/13/2007. I got my replacement CTB today from Harp Depot. It had exactly the same defect as the one that I returned. I thought that they had made a mistake and sent the same case back to me. I called Richard and he said that he had the first case by his desk. He also said that another customer had recently returned a CTB with the same complaint. Sounds like Fender has a manufacturing/QC problem. Richard said he would check his inventory for a good CTB and send it out immediately. If he can't find one I agreed that a Mississippi Sax case would do. He is also sending me a prepaid return lable for the faulty CTB. More later.....

I Play Harp, But I'm Not A Harp Player

It's not that I don't aspire, one day, to be a harp player. I do. But I'm not there yet. Not even close. And I have no idea when I'll be comfortable enough with my level of proficiency to allow myself to be referred to as a harp player. I've been surfing for 5 years. I have a working knowledge of tides, rips, onshore/offshore flow, swell direction, period and bathymetry as they pertain to my favorite spots. I can paddle for hours, catch, ride and maneuver on waves from knee high to slightly overhead and I can get through a significant hold-down without panicking. If, however, you said to me "Redondo buoy is 4 ft. @ 14 seconds from the SSW", I wouldn't be able to effectively use that information. It's just one of myriad things that real surfers understand like we understand "partly cloudy and 65".

It's the same with harp. I can play some riffs, achieve bends that I'm not ashamed of and split a few octaves. The other day I filled 12 bars in the middle of "I'm Ready" with a solo that seemd to make musical sense and had decent tone. But I have a very narrow understanding of musical progression and structure and I can't play without consciously thinking about what comes next.

I surf and I play harp. But I'm not a surfer or a harp player. I have too much respect for those who have put in the years of effort required to become proficient at these disciplines to appropriate either title for myself. Yet.

Jam Camp: The Movie

One of the guys at Jam Camp had the foresight (along with the technical skills and possibly a slight sadistic streak) to record the Sunday Jam. If you've read the previous post you know what occurred at said event. At least you know my interpretation of the event based on the memory fragments available to me. People think that poor recall is both a blessing and a curse. But it's almost always a blessing. In this case I'd convinced myself that the high points of my "performance" were fact and that everything else (staring at the mic in rapt horror while the band played on) was a trick of a spradically paranoid imagination accentuated by a temporary inability to sense the passage of time. Well, shortly after my wife and I sat down to watch the show on our new big screen, HiDef TV I was disabused of this very comforting mental construct. It all happened exactly the way that I remembered it!

This lead me to several questions. What on God's Green Earth possessed this person to record the event in the first place? Why did he offer to provide free copies to all involved? (If he'd charged even a token amount to cover shipping I may have been able to convince the wife that it wasn't worth it). How did he get my email address? Why did I tell my wife about his offer? Why did he use a "nose xpander lense" on my part, but a regular lense for everyone else's? As with most of life's really important questions I fear none of these will ever be properly addressed or adequately answered.

And where does that leave me? With a durable document to my ineptitude as a wannabe musician that will surely be played for all of my friends and realitives repeatedly until the day I die. And if my brother has any say, at my funeral too. Or maybe it's just a snapshot of a guy who's trying, finally in middle age, to grow. A guy who's pushing himself to do those things that make him most uncomfortable and is exulting in the successes and swallowing the failures and moving forward. And maybe if you try there's really no way that you can fail. Yeah, we'll go with that.

Gindick Jam Camp - Terror In The O.C.

Just did Jon Gindick's Harmonica Jam Camp in Irvine, Ca. last weekend. A very memorable,  frightening and ultimately enlightening experience.

I've only been playing for 6 months and to be honest I kind of hit a wall several weeks ago and haven't done much harping. I knew in advance that the culmination of Jam Camp is the Sunday, "get up on stage with a real blues band in the bar and wail away in front of about a hundred people". I wanted to spend the weekend in an intensive, hands on, harp in mouth seminar with some of the best players in the world, but "the jam" was the main reason that I signed up in the first place. I've always had a paralyzing strain of stage fright and I decided that, at 47, it was either now or be a slave to my fears forever. I figured that by the time Sunday rolled around I would be somewhat prepared, after about 25 hours of instruction, to honk out something that might resemble music.

What I was not prepared for was an impromptu solo the first thing Saturday morning. The only thing in my head was the riff sequence that I was saving for Sunday and that's what came out. It actually didn't sound too bad but, um, now what? I'd just shot my bolt waaay before the gig. The rest of the day I wandered around in a semi-fugue state covered in a light patina of sweat with at least a 500 yard stare. By the next morning I'd calmed down quite a bit because I'd remembered that my only goal was to get up on stage and, even if the only sound that I could coax out of that harp was a series of squeaks, well I was going to squeak until the band stopped.

THE FATEFUL DAY

I'd planned, to the best of my ability, for success. I would play through the vocal mic and if I got lost I'd run like a scalded dog back to the old 2 draw. I made that walk to the stage thinking about Monster's Ball and Puffy Combs making his "last walk" with Billy Bob Thornton and Heath Ledger at his elbows. Except it was me (Puffy) that was going to chuck his lunch instead of HL.

I asked bandleader Bernie Pearl for a slow blues in G. I leaned into the vocal mic and hit a 2 draw double bend with some righteous vibrato and.......nothing. The mic was dead. It had worked for the previous song but, alas, it worked no more. Two things then happened in rapid succession. I found out that real bands don't stop just because there's a glitch, and one of the guys handed me Superlux bullet mic. I'd never held one before and I stared at like it was a steaming turd. I glanced over at the guy who had handed it to me with a bewildered "what did I ever do to you" look.

What I thought happened next and what actually happened are about as far apart as reality and a disassociative fugue state can be. I thought that I stood stonelike and stared at the mic until the song ended. My wife, who was in the audience, says that I seemlessly melded mic to harp and started what was a really, really long 4 draw wail. In a place deep, deep inside my brain I heard through a wall of cotton that a 4 draw was being played ad naseum but it didn't occur to me that I was doing it. Regardless, I made it to the end of the song. I knew it was the end of the song not because the music stopped, I hadn't heard any music anyway, but because people were clapping and Bernie Pearl was telling me "good job". Bernie Pearl! Bernie learned guitar from Brownie McGhee who played with Sonny Terry! I was 2 degrees from Sonny Terry, I hadn't vomited in public and I was free to find a comfortable chair and oh so casually witness the psycho-emotional disintegration of a dozen other poor bastards as they struggled with an inner dialogue that goes something like, "I'm walking but I can't feel my legs. Nah, I'm not walking, the room is moving. Is that normal? What is that giant dry thing in my mouth that's blocking my airway? Didn't I have lips just a moment ago?" But hey, when it's your time, it's your time. Oh, the humanity!

Musicians In Motion

At a stoplight yesterday I noticed that the guy in the truck next to me was playing drums, with glossy ebony drumsticks, on his steering wheel. Kind of funny because I was playing my harmonica. He sensed he was being scrutinized and glanced over at me. When he saw the harp he started laughing. As the light changed he gave me two sticks up as a form of acknowledgement and farewell. I gave him the harp salute and we went our separate ways. As the manner and methods of gesticulation between drivers in SoCal are generally less cordial I saw this as significant. We, he and I, were just a couple of guys with no overt connection. Different wants, needs, fears and psychological abnormalities. But there was something after all. We both liked to play musical instruments while operating potentially dangerous motorized equipment. And in that moment, careening through space on this Big Blue Marble, it was enough. Rat-a-tat-tat.

Got Little Walter, If You Need Him

I finally hit the classic Little Walter riff today. Just picked up the harp and tore right into it. It was flawless and nuanced, with fat tone, perfect spacing and soulful bends. Strange, because that's the antithisis of my style. It was performed with a level of insouciance that was mildly startling. I mean, I was startled. Nobody actually witnessed it but the ghost of Little Walter, God and me. (If you're an atheist, subtract God). The lack of a temporal audience may be an an issue to some, but not to me. I figure that essentially we're all just here to entertain ourselves anyway. And don't insult me by demanding proof. It happened. I was there and I'm a blogger. You can trust me.

The riff itself is not the most technically difficult to play if you just want to hit the notes. If you want to say something with it you have to dig a little deeper. Sharp articulation on the first two notes, a little softer on the third and sustain the 2d bent for and extra half count and finish it with a little fading vibrato. Any decent harp player can do it but I'm far from decent. In fact, I see this as something of a right of passage. And after yesterday's nihilism-fest I feel like I'm facing in the right direction again.

Little Walter Riff
2d 3d 2d 2d** 2d 3d** 2d
2d 3d 2d 2d** 2d 2d**
2d 3d 2d 2d**
2d 3d 2d 2d**
2d 3d 2d 2d** 2d 2d**

Horse Latitudes, Or Hitting The Harp Wall

Horse Latitudes - The subtropical latitudes between 30 and 35 degrees both north and south. Under a ridge of high pressure, the region is infamous for muggy heat, rolling waves and often, no wind. Many sailing vessels were stranded in these regions for weeks because of lack of propulsion. Named for ancient Persian navigator Sataspes who mapped the regions and whose name is translated as "horse". Or, much more lyrical, gruesome and to the point: The region where sailing crews were forced to dump horses and livestock in the ocean in order to reduce weight and increase speed. Also referred to as the "doldrums".

And that's where I find myself today. No motivation or momentum. A feeling of general malaise or ennui most often associated with those in western cultures who are generations removed from having to worry about ordinary subsistence and use 99% of their energy contemplating their entertainment options. Basically I'm feeling sorry for myself for some undefined reason. In situations such as this I've found it's imperative to either focus on something other than yourself in order to break free of the narcissistic cycle or to watch several John Wayne flicks in succession. Guess I'm off to Blockbuster.

Harmonica Genius - Big Walter & The Economy Of Notes

They're out there and you know who they are. I carry around a pulsating neon image with a list of names. Guys who play so fast for so long that previously healthy and vibrant neural pathways are scorched to micro-cinders. I'm about a season and a half behind on my Grey's Anatomy episodes but I don't think those grow back. And that skinny chick is the most morally flexible lead character in a TV series ever! Regardless, when I hear the phrase "John Popper solo", or any fragment thereof, I frantically search for something soft and acoustically impermeable to jam into my ear canals.

For the record, I appreciate the talent it takes to play a seemingly endless series of clear notes at lightning speed. I'd just like to be allowed to appreciate it from afar. It's the harmonica version of the Eddie Van Halen Syndrome. I know you can play fast. Can you play with any feeling? Even if you want to take the cure you can't. Once you've gone public with your affliction your fan base will insist that you display it in public, repeatedly and forever. There are no winners in this scenario.

Enter Big Walter Horton via the magic of YouTube. In a performance from an unknown TV show in 1965 Horton plays Shakey's Blues. You expect the tone, articulation and phrasing to be pretty much perfect with Horton, and to my ear they are. What struck me was the number of notes he played. Or, more to the point, didn't play. I was conscious of hearing every single note. Horton was able to infuse his playing with feeling and a sense of musical tension without breaking a sweat or the sound barrier.

I think this is the way it's supposed to be but my aural chops have been dulled by too much YouTube of late. You've got some great players on YT giving free lessons and it is greatly appreciated. But (almost) all of these guys feel the need to do the smoking lips routine ad nauseum to establish their bona fides. Or maybe that's just what they do. Either way my cilia are a little frayed.

Here's a concept worth considering: In a short bio of slide guitarist Darryl Hance he was asked to describe his process. He said that he played a tune, and if it didn't sound right he pared it down. He kept paring it down until it did sound right. Less, when properly articulated, is more. I'm going to leave it at that. And listen to more Big Walter. It'll change your life.



Big Walter vid link below.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=0LF-DSSuY84

Long Distance Call - Telelesson With Jon Gindick

I signed up for the October Jam Camp in Irvine, Ca. last week. Part of the package is a 30 minute phone lesson with Master Teacher Jon Gindick. I had mine yesterday at roughly 1600. By 1601 I realized that I was totally unprepared. Which in hindsight I should have expected. The nature of being a student is to be more or less unprepared all of the time. I thought we'd spend a significant part of the time chewing the fat. Hohner or Lee Oskar? Little or Big Walter? Is John Popper a harp genius or just a guy who plays scales at supersonic speed? Is Karl Rove the devil or just a really smart guy with flexible morals?

I was ready to tackle those issues in some depth but Jon, after a brief salutation, played a note and said, "alright, play that". That's pretty much the way it went for next half an hour. Jon playing a riff and me trying to keep up. I was impressed that Jon could tell immediately what I was doing wrong. I guess that's why he's in charge. We spent a majority of the time on the 2 draw, which Jon said was not "a tool" that I could use properly. Yet!

He told me that I was trying to manipulate the reed with my lips instead of my throat. This made my bends a little anemic. I needed to open my mouth, relax my jaw and insert the harp to a degree that showed I meant business. Once in position I was to articulate Keee & Kooo sounds respectively. Keee gives you the unbent 2, Kooo alters the flow of air and bends it down. When you do this with a sense of resolve, using your throat and not your lips, it sounds pretty fat. Not quite Paul Butterfield fat, but the first time I got it right it shocked me. I didn't know my little C harp could do that.

By the time we finished I was sweating freely and my tonsils were sore. Which brings up an interesting question. Do tonsils help or hinder the process? I'm going to ask Jon. I'm not above getting elective surgery if there is some discernible sonic benefit.

PS Today I was able to get a nice thick 2 draw bend almost at will. Whatever Jon's teaching, it works. Can't wait for October.

Ricci Hammers Hohner Harps II - A Primer On Junkie-ism & What It Means To The Average Guy

In a previous post I critiqued a YouTube vid by Harpmaster Jason Ricci in which he referred to out of the box Hohner harmonicas as "terrible" and a "waste of money." Based the Ricci's subsequent demonstration I found his assessment to be accurate. But a question from a reader convinced me that I had addressed the issue in a narrow and, for our purposes, wholly insufficient manner.

Here's what I neglected to mention: Accomplished harp players are like junkies. In the beginning just about anything will give you that buzz. After that it gets increasingly complicated. In fact, anyone that pursues a discipline to the point of obsession is by definition a junkie of sorts. This group includes anybody that has risen to the pinnacle of their prospective fields of endeavor. Robert De Niro, junkie. Bill Gates, junkie. Kelly Slater, junkie. And, yes, Jason Ricci, junkie.

You want proof? I've read that Slater can tell if one of his custom made surfboards is 1/16 inch out of spec. merely by holding it. In an apocryphal tale Ted Williams, while testing a new shipment of bats, announced that one of them was a half an ounce light. When weighed it turned out to be a half an ounce light. The point is that Slater, Williams and Ricci evaluate product quality with a level of precision that I can't even begin to comprehend. This is another case where something is true but not necessarily relevant. I'm going to continue to buy Hohner harmonicas with the confidence that they will serve my purposes admirably. And if I get one with a flatted 6 hole draw I'll learn how to fix it myself.

Whammer Jammer - Gussow & The Casual 9 Blow Bent

When I saw that Adam Gussow was doing a YouTube series on Magic Dick's Whammer Jammer I've got to admit that I had a Pavlovian response. I don't drool very often while awake but this was the Reese's Peanut Butter Cup of harp instructional vids. You mean I can have Adam Gussow and Whammer Jammer? No way! Gussow is not only a world class harp player but a singularly effective teacher. As a Professor of English at the University of Mississippi, Gussow knows how to distill complex material into something that's easily digestible. He is that rarest of humans: A guy that can do and teach! Whammer Jammer, from The J. Geils Band's first album, is arguably the best known, and maybe the best loved, harp tune ever. Even people who hate harmonica love Whammer Jammer. And Adam Gussow was going to teach me how to play it. Yes, there is a God!

Alright, press play. Got my A harp, cool. 4 draw bent to 4 draw , my best move, very cool. Accentuate with a rapid side to side to tongue whip, pretty good at that too. At this point I sounded just like Magic Dick. 9 blow bent to 9 blow, 10 blow to 10 blow bent. Whoa, dude! What? Press Stop. I sat staring at the frozen visage of Gussow for the next several minutes feeling like I'd been betrayed. Kind of like your best bud giving you a wedgie in front the cheerleading squad. I thought AG and I were tight.

I know Gussow has made it clear that his vids aren't tailored for beginners but the casual air with which he delivered "9 blow bent" left me dazed. I've been purposely avoiding anything above the 6 hole like it was the aural equivalent of genital warts. On the other hand, maybe it's time to face my fears. It's 10:30 pm, my wife has a bit of a headache, so let's feverishly work the high end of the scale for next 20 minutes or so. SCREEEEEEEEAH! SCREE-EEE-EE-AAH!

Um, yes dear. Um, no this probably isn't the best time to be doing this. Right you are. Maybe when you're far away, certainly, dear. Whammer Jammer might have to wait.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=qz5pDMav6yI

Ricci Hammers Hohner Harps

In a YouTube vidlette (link below) harp impresario Jason Ricci capped off an interesting and informative segment on custom v. out of the box harps with a scathing critique of Hohner's product quality. As Ricci is a Hohner player I was initially shocked, although in hindsight, I should have seen it coming.

Ricci had an OOTB Marine Band, a significantly modified Joe Spiers Marine Band and a self-customized Golden Melody, which is his harp of choice. During a roughly six minute span Ricci played similar riff sequences on each. It was obvious that the custom MB was far superior to the OOTB MB. Louder, with a noticeably richer and even tone across the entire spectrum. The results on the OOTB MB were wildly disparate. Some notes sounded fine while others seemed pinched and thin. This is indicative of air leaks and improperly gapped reeds as well other pseudo-esoteric issues that are beyond my understanding. Poor quality sums it up nicely though. Ricci's GM was loud, with a clear tone and an oddly, although mysteriously seductive, egyptian flute-like quality to it.

Ricci then went on to say that out of the box Hohner harps are "terrible, almost a waste of money". He said that giving Hohner credit for the MB and GM would be akin to crediting the guys who delivered the 2x4s for constructing the building he was in. Hohner harps are raw material for craftsmen to modify into playable instruments. Pretty harsh, but his demo speaks for itself. Also, this guy is one of the best harp players in the world. I'm going to take his word for it.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=_g_Mi1R0vsM

Bend It Like.........

Alright, there really are 4 notes to be found on the 3 draw. I'm not saying that I didn't believe it, just that I wasn't sure that I would ever be able to play them. I did it today, accidentally, at just under 80 mph while passing a semi on Route 14 heading north out of L.A. It was exactly 0927 under mostly sunny skies with the barometric pressure holding steady at 30.57 millibars. As I was hitting the triple and quad bends I even actuated the turn signal with my left (non-playing) pinkie to let the truck know that I was moving back into the right lane. I was so shocked that for several seconds I drove transfixed, replaying the sequence in my head and counting the notes. Yep, definitely 4 distinct "wahs". At this point the truck driver, who was close enough to tap my bumper, gave me a couple foghorn blasts at about 130 db which broke my reverie and nearly broke my water. But as any guy with a passable 3 hole draw would do I sucked it up and very coolly sped away. Wah, wah, wah, wah!

Embouchure Emergency: The Bone Is Dry

Embouchure: "The use of lips, tongue, teeth and facial muscles in playing a wind instrument".

I've noticed that lately after about twenty minutes of practice I'm having difficulty hitting single notes with any regularity. I figured that it was obviously fatigue of the facial muscles but it got me thinking about my embouchure and embouchures in general. After a short period of research I discovered that were more than a few types. I also realized that I was using many of them including the Farkas, Stevens, Maggio and even a modified Costello which is now known as either the Farkas, Stevens or Maggio, I forget which.

As an experiment I began to monitor the type of embouchure I was using at any given time and came up with a sequence during a short Little Walter riff that looked something like this: Farkas, Farkas, Stevens, Maggio, Maggio, modified Costello, Farkas, Farkas. Farkas. Tabbed out it goes: F F S M M mC F F F. It gets worse. I think at one point I also utilized the Reinhardt Pivot which I don't even think is possible unless you're playing a French horn or an oboe. My mouth was a mess.

I'm going to call this malady Random Spastic Embouchure Syndrome. If this is already taken please let know and I'll change it immediately. I've got several backups that are almost as good.

If anyone has a cure for this condition pass it along asap if you please. This is not one of those "cool" afflictions like ADD or Sex Addiction that affords you a measure of cultural gravitas. This is embarrassing.

PS Further research has convinced me that my problem can attributed to, um, dry lips. Without moist lips you can't slide the harp easily. The dry harp sticks to your dry lips and twists your mouth into myriad shapes that resemble classic embouchures but are not conducive to good tone. Squeals and squinks, yes. Time for some Chap Stick!

Freeway Jam II

I'm not going to do an entensive breakdown of Rock N Blues Harmonica and the Jamming Buddy cd. It would take about thirty posts to do it justice and your time would be better spent just working the program. Mine too, for that matter. Suffice it to say that I've listened to the cd at least 50 times and each time I've learned something new. This isn't to say that I hear something new each time. It's just that as I learn more about the harmonica and as I become more comfortable with it the lessons take on new meaning. I've also found that each time, almost invariably, I'm able to perform a riff or sequence that I was unable to the previous session. I just successfully performed a classic Little Walter riff while tooling down the I-14 at a cool 75 mph. The previous 49 times through I was lost.

Every time you listen to the Jamming Buddy cd, or any aural instructional for that matter, your subconscious mind is quietly storing information, unbeknownst to you. The next time you listen, your conscious mind receives subliminal messages from the subconscious like, "got that part, yeah that too, um yeah,....wait!, that's the one bit of info we needed to put the whole jigsaw puzzle together. If you've ever had an epiphany, a feeling that a concept that has been inexplicably complex is suddenly clear, this is why. So when you (and this is inevitable) have the feeling that you learned absolutely nothing from a session, you're wrong! The brain is always working. Keep listening and keep playing.

An Homage To Those Who Have Served

One of the harmonica mavens at Harp Depot's members forum shared an historical anecdote about the genesis of Taps. His version, although it was a beautiful story, was later disputed. But just the mention of Taps provoked an onrush of memories and patriotic (although not necessarily pro-war) feelings that fueled a thread that as of this writing is still active. One of the senior members suggested it would be a nice gesture to those who are in harm's way to play taps every night on the harp at 2200. That's 10 pm for you civilians. I figured out how to do it in 1st position. One of the forum guys has the 2nd position tabs posted on the forum.

Taps 1st Position

3b 3b 4b / 3b 4b 5b / 3b 4b 5b / 3b 4b 5b / 3b 4b 5b / 4b 5b 6b 5b 4b 3b / 3b 3b 4b

Playing Taps every night won't overtly change anything. The war won't suddenly end. We won't miraculously gain insight and empathy for our enemies and countries won't, as the bumper sticker says, start waging peace. But the effect of sending out positive vibes to the universe, in whatever form you choose, should not be underestimated. At the very least, in that moment, you're feeling pretty good. Try it on a C harp and see if you don't get chills.

http://www.bushmanmusic.com/forums/forum_topics.asp?FID=1&PN=1

Freeway Jam

I do 90% of my practicing on the SoCal freeways. As a field service telecom tech I have a lot of windshield time and a diminishing tolerance for talk radio. Now, playing harmonica while driving is much more dangerous than having your hands at 10 & 2 and checking your rear view mirror every 5 seconds while thinking only of guiding that vehicle down the road in a continual state of optimal safety. But it's much less dangerous than applying make-up, reading a book, eating a bowl of raman noodles or, god forbid, pleasuring yourself. All of which I have unfortunately witnessed. So I think we can all agree that mobile harp practice results in a net gain in safety. It's a public service of sorts.

I drive with my left and hold the harp with my right. Unless I have to wail on a 3 draw then I check to see that I am safely clear of other vehicles, activate the cruise control and drive with my knees while I tear up the sonic landscape. In a company vehicle this is a calculated risk. But I've got the harp perfectly cupped and out of sight so if I am spotted I can feign a coughing attack while hand-signing that I suffer from chronic bronchitis. This has worked so far as everyone sympathizes with a deaf guy who also has a severe respiratory ailment. It also makes me feel slightly guilty, which gives me the blues and helps me get that fat tone that we're all searching for. So try it out.

Slide the Jammin' Buddy in your CD player and be prepared for Jon to shred, both acoustically and amped, for next several seconds. After that the fun begins.........

Goin' To The Woodshed: Rock n' Blues Harmonica Part II

Woodshedding is, from what I've been able to discern from copious reading in the "everything harmonica related" genre, harp talk for practicing. It probably shouldn't be used without ironic intent unless you're a real musician or you can trace your lineage back to Little Walter, Big Walter, or the lesser known Medium Walter. Come to think of it, indiscreet use of irony can result in some pretty painful consequences too. So, let's be careful out there.

I've already told you that the $17 you spend on Jon Gindick's RNBH will be well spent. It will give you a basic understanding of musical theory in about 30 minutes. You'll learn straight harp,
cross harp, slant harp and if you want to play Amazing Grace in twelfth position you can do that too. You'll learn to bend, warble, trill, gliss, vibrato, attack, decay, articulate and dozens of other things that I don't have the time to chronicle. It contains enough easily understandable riffs that you'll be able to accompany your guitar playing buddy within a few weeks and you won't have to repeat a riff before you get exhausted. It's 223 pages and has everything you need to know for at least the first year. But as much as I love the book, the real genius of RNBH is the Jamming Buddy. This is where you really learn to play!

The JB is a 74 minute CD that has Gindick (in his Dr. John soul voice) talk you through the lessons in the book to the backing of his band. The band plays a constant I-IV-V blues progression in the key of G (for your C harp) in 4/4 time. I don't understand exactly what 4/4 time is but for our purposes it means that the music is slow enough that we can play along. An that's just what we're going to do. Next.....

Harp Alert: Watch Out For That Key!

A short detour to address an issue that only those in the anti-authoritarian, "I'm smarter than you", rules are meant to be broken crowd will probably encounter. I'm an unapologetic member of this society. Benjamin Franklin, Eli Whitney, Thomas Edison and Albert Einstein are a few of it's most august alums. Unlike me, however, they were really, really smart and had drive, dedication and a preternatural ability to envision a greater future for mankind. Me, I like to watch baseball until my eyes bleed. Dedication or pathological avoidance? It's all semantics. Either way, my discovery will rank below the invention of the light bulb and cotton gin but may save you a few minutes of frustration and a few million cilia in your inner ear.

To the point. Do not use a harp to accompany that doesn't match or compliment the key of the music! Ever! For 1st position A to A. For 2nd, count up four keys (including the key that the tune is being played in). In this case, music in the key of A calls for a D harp (A1, B2. C3, D4). I thought I'd practice with my new A harp on a roughly 200 mile drive today. The music was in the key of G. I knew this. I also knew it called for a C harp. But I wanted to get some time in on my A because I've been asked to bring it along on a surf trip next week. I didn't think it would make much difference. It did and my practice session lasted about 45 seconds. It was the aural equivalent of someone beating on a trashcan with a 2 X 4 a few bars into the Moonlight Sonata. Apparently the rules of musical accompaniment exist for reason. But that's why I'm here. I make the mistakes so you don't have to.

Harmonica Basics - Let's Play

You've got your C harp. It's rests gleaming and full of promise in your palm. The engraved silhouette of M. Hohner is staring you down from the cover plate, telepathically daring you to wail away. Right? Go ahead, I'll wait. If you just heard a sound that resembled a wolverine choking on a chicken bone you got an A harp by mistake. If it sounded like a sack full of alleycats at least you've got the right harp.

At this point we need the assistance of an actual harmonica player/instructor. You can opt for personal instruction if you have a qualified teacher in your area. I'm one of those people that likes to attain a degree of proficiency at a discipline before actually performing in front of another human. That leaves written and recorded lessons. In my usual obsessive manner I spent roughly 12 hours doing online research before finally deciding to order Jon Gindick's Rock-N-Blues Harmonica. RNBH offered by far the best quality to price ratio of anything I found. It turned out to be a very good choice.

The first thing you'll notice about RNBH is the cavemen. Yep, that's what I said. Gindick uses a fictitious band of troglodytes going through a series of musical progressions as a teaching device in the 200+ page workbook. Some people, who otherwise loved the book, were put off by this. A few felt patronized. If you have an adverse emotional reaction to Gindick's method then you're missing the point. We're here to learn something that is relatively difficult in the simplest manner possible. And anyway, I defy anyone to create an easily digestible explanation of basic music theory without the use of cartoon cavemen. In short, cavemen, good.

In the few weeks that I've had this book I've experienced what I would call a pretty miraculous degree of success. Next up I'll break it down by sections and also discuss the hidden gem included at the back of the book: The Jamming Buddy.

Choosing Your First Harp Part IV - Time To Buy

Finally! I'm going to distill this down to something easy to assimilate. Then, for those who choose not to choose, I'm just going to tell you what to buy. So, to racap:

We've decided that we need a 10 hole diatonic harmonica in the key of C. Further, we want an instrument that will fit comfortably in our hands and mouths. We want a clear but bluesy tone out of the box and a neutral palette. (If you desire a harp that tastes like a handful of pennies see Part II.)

We want quality construction at a reasonable price point. Traumatic ingestion of reed fragments and rivets during a wailing 2 hole draw spells the end of the gig, my friend. Within the harp community there are tales of poor bastards wandering the earth with shredded trachea's because they thought they'd save a little coin by getting the $5 dollar harp. Spend an extra couple of bucks and get a good harmonica. You're worth it. Probably.

I do have two items to discuss before I offer my recommendations. Price and Cool Factor/Playability.

Price - You can get a good, professional quality harp for about $13. Several pros use the Hohner Big River exclusively. It sounds great but, according the everything that I've read it's not one of the easiest harps to play. On the other end of the spectrum you can pay $250 plus for specially modified Marine Bands. We're going to stay in $20 range. You can buy a top quality gig-worthy harp for less than you'd pay for a meal for two at a decent burger place.

Cool Factor/Playability - WE'RE NOT COOL! We're beginners. Flashing a custom harp that you can't play will make you look worse, not better. Get something easy to play. Something that will allow you to make a palatable sound as soon as possible. This will encourage you to practice more which in turn will accelerate your proficiency arc and will ultimately lead to that elusive coolness that we all seek.

THE WINNERS

Lee Oskar Major Diatonic

Great construction and a bright, clear sound. Easy to bend. Feels good and solid in your hands. Some call this the Cadillac of Harps!

Hohner Special 20 Marine Band
My favorite. A little more crunchy and bluesy sounding than the Oskar. May be a notch below in construction quality but that's more a factor of the Oskar's exquisite workmanship than a slight on the Spec 20. About an 1/8 of an inch shorter with a marginally thinner bite than the Oskar which makes it easier to cup for those with smaller hands. You can't go wrong with the Special 20!

Next: Yeah, But Now What?

Junior Wells & Blues Epiphany

Part IV of Choosing Your First Harp is on hold so I can wax semi-poetic about 1965's HooDoo Man Blues by Junior Wells and The Chicago Blues Band with Buddy Guy. Upon first listen I had a series of very personal transcendent moments which were both beautiful and somewhat unfortunate.

I was at the gym on the bike. Sennheisers were jammed into my ears and my Shuffle was pumping out Snatch It Back And Hold It. Junior channeling The Godfather of Soul. Next up was Good Morning School Girl. The visual imagery this song evokes might be a little too suggestive for the sensibilities of some. But you can dance to it.

By the time Hey Lawdy Mama started I was swaying and moaning to the wail of Junior's Marine Band....waaaa, waaa, waaa, aah, aah ,ah! I was also doing something with my shoulders that white people shouldn't do unless they're being weened off of anti-convulsents.

It was about this time that I noticed the gym patrons were staring at me with looks that combined equal parts pity, fear and contempt. Not the first time this has happened and I've started using it as my cue to wrap up the ol' workout.

Safely back within the friendly confines I listened to the disk five more times. Each time I discovered new sonic gems. I don't know the names of the bassist or the drummer but they were good enough that I didn't really think about them. That is, they laid down a perfect, seamless and flowing foundation for Wells and Guy. And this is a restrained Buddy Guy. Not the player whose riff library has been pillaged, admittedly, by Clapton, Beck, Page, and Vaughan, et al., and who was shredding behind his head before Hendrix could play a solid G chord.

Here he plays mostly picked rhythm. Unlike the archetypal modern guitarist, who will for our purposes be represented by the avatar of Eddie Van Halen, he has the confidence to play slowly enough to invite the listener to examine every nuance of every note. A novel concept indeed. As for riff pilfering, listen to In the Wee Hours and if you don't hear big chunks of Little Wing (1967), listen again.

As for Junior Wells, his vocals and harp playing were a visceral revelation. James Cotton might be more technically proficient but I think I'd rather listen to Junior. Listening to him strangling notes to the point of near inaudibility, letting them catch their breath and tamping them back down for an extended unter-wail was dizzying. Is there a musical equivalent to autoerotic asphyxiation? Can a sound be muted and uninhibited at the same time? I caught myself holding my breath on several occasions. His singing was, in a word, organic. Real and from the streets. Periodically vocalizing grunts and groans through the harp it reminded me of a wolf surreptitiously baring it's teeth.

This album won't change your life but for $11.99 it will cleanse the sludge of American Idol from your soul.

Harmonica Basics - Addendum To Part III

Addendum: It occurred to me after posting that a reader (I only have one) might conclude that by using the star ratings exclusively you could insure that you're buying a quality product and also save time slogging through customer reviews. This is a case of "just because something is true doesn't mean that it is relevant to you or your situation". Example: The Hohner Golden Melody. This is, depending on which website you check, a 4.5 to 5 star harmonica. Noted pros use it and amateurs love it. However, after perusing (this means "to examine in great detail", not "to skim over") dozen of customer reviews, I kept coming across variations of this comment: "It's great for tongue blocking". This sounded significant but I didn't know why. I kept surfing and reading reviews until I found one that said it was great for tonguers because of the smaller blow/draw openings spaced more closely together. Um, yeah. Great for tongue blockers but probably a nightmare for lip blockers. Ideally I would need a harp with openings roughly the diameter of my gaping piehole spaced 1 inch apart. My calculations tell me this fictitious harp would be 32 inches long and weigh 13 lbs. Suitable only for very short gigs. Back to the point. Read the reviews. The "relevant" truth is out there.

Harmonica Basics-Choosing Your First Harp Part III

There's an apocryphal story of a fan offering James Cotton $400 for his Hohner Marine Band after a show. Cotton told the man that he could buy a new one for $8 at any music store. The fan insisted, saying that Cotton had obviously modified the harp to make it sound the way that it did. So, is it the harp or is it the person playing the harp?

Sound Quality - Conventional wisdom says that wood combed harps have a warmer, crunchier tone than plastic combed harps and that harps with metal combs have a brighter, if more antiseptic tone than both. Harmonica maven Pat Missin convincingly dispels these myths in an article (http://www.patmissin.com/ffaq/q6.html) posted on his uniquely informative website. Missin provides data from tests conducted by The Society for the Preservation and Advancement of Harmonicas as well as his own scientific study. He then takes it a step further with audio files of the same note being played on a Hohner Marine Band (wood), a Lee Oskar (plastic) and Suzuki ProMaster (metal) so you can decide for yourself.

Missin contends that, unlike an acoustic guitar, whose body (soundbox) construction has a substantial effect on it's tone, the comb material of a harmonica acts almost solely as a support for the reeds. The soundbox of a harp is the hands, mouth, throat and lungs of the player. Tonal quality is also greatly affected by the shape of the air passages, reed construction, shape of the covers and tuning. I highly recommend that you read Missin's article, as well as everything else on his website. I've tried to distill it down to the most basic and necessary elements but in no way did I do it justice. My conclusion is that I could take a $150 custom Marine Band and make it sound like a cheap child's toy. James Cotton could take a child's toy and make it sing a sonic representation of the combined works of Shakespeare.

Durability - This category initially concerned me more than the others. I've read dozens of product reviews that went something like, "Just got a shipment of Lee Oskar harps in every key known to man and blew out the 2 draw in all of them over a three day weekend". Are harps really this fragile? Um, no. The guys that write variations of this review represent an archetype that infests every niche of American hobbyism. I call him "Hard On His Gear Guy". He communicates using an obliquely confrontational verbal form of macho posturing that says "Don't know about you, but I'm a bad ass".

I've personally met the surfing, mountain biking, rafting and golfing incarnations of this guy who, in the harp universe we'll refer to as "Hard on His Harps Guy" or HOHHG. I see this guy's posts as evidence of some sort of psychological malady and not as proper consumer reviews. This isn't meant to imply that some of the reports of prematurely blown reeds aren't the result of poor manufacturing.

Here's a good rule of thumb when reading product reviews of any sort. Throw out the extreme high ("I've gigged with the same Big River since 1952") and extreme low (HOHHG) and concentrate on the median. A good product's satisfaction median will skew more positive. The degree to which this is the case should give you a fairly accurate reflection of the actual quality of the product.

Harmonica Basics - Choosing Your First Harp Part II - Size Matters & Pass The Mouthwash, Please

Here's a list of a few things that you're probably going to be concerned with prior to your first purchase. Some are worthy of your concern and others are just time wasters that will introduce frustration and second-guessing into an already semi-mysterious process.

1. Size - Most 10 hole diatonics that I've seen are roughly the same size. That isn't to imply that a 1/8 of an inch here or there won't drastically affect your connection to the harp. You need the harp to fit in your hands and mouth comfortably. My recommendation is to go to your local music shop and get a feeling for the relative sizes of the various harps. Remember, you can hold them but not mouth them! If you find one that you like and you live in a state where the sales tax is about the equivalent to shipping charges you might as well buy on the spot.

If you're in California (I paid $31 for a Spec 20 at Guitar Center that I could have gotten for $22, with shipping, online), New York or any state with confiscatory sales tax rates, proceed to the online store of your choice. Most online stores have customer reviews, many of which contain valuable information on the specifics of all of the harmonicas that should be considered by a beginner. Utilize this resource. In my very limited experience I've found that Lee Oskar Majors are a little bigger than Hohner Special 20s and Hohner Big Rivers and Hering Vintage Harps are bigger and taller/thicker than both. The Hering has another drawback which leads me nicely into the next item on our list.

2. Flavor - Yeah, I know this sounds silly and if you stick with plastic comb harps it's not going to be an issue. If, on the other hand, you like the sound of a wood combed harp, I hope you also like the taste of the wood. Marine Bands taste like pearwood. But Mike, pearwood offends my delicate palette! I'm sure, with enough research or the services of a harpsmith you can get a wood comb with just the right qualities to satisfy your needs. I've heard that hickory and birch are to die for.

Lastly, BEWARE THE SEALED WOOD COMB! Case in point: The Hering Vintage 1923 Harp has a sealed wood comb and faux antique gold cover plates. This is a great, rich, deep and crunchy sounding instrument that tastes like a mouthful of brass washed down with a shot of varnish. Until they start sealing combs with maple syrup I'll stick with plastic.

Next: Sound Quality & Durability

Harmonica Basics - Choosing Your First Harp Part I or I'll Have the Tin Sandwich Please

The easy part first. Regardless of the brand or model of harp that you ultimately choose, get it in the key of C. Almost all tutorial material and programs are set up to be used with a C harp. Second, you want a 10 hole "diatonic" harmonica. Chromatic, Tremolo and Octave harps all have their places but they are like kryponite to the beginner. A diatonic was good enough for Sonny Boy Williamson and it's good enough for us.

Now it gets a bit more dicey. Because health laws just about everywhere outside Azerbaijan prohibit you from test playing harmonicas prior to buying, you're going to have to rely on your eyes and hands (if you are going to make your purchase at a brick & mortar store) or the opinions of current harp players (if you're going to purchase online). The next few posts will deal with this problem in enough detail that you should be able to, with a fair amount of confidence, buy a usable harp without having to slobber all over it.

Also, as I get more comfortable with HTML I'll be including links from websites that have useful content. In the meantime, Google "harmonicas" and you'll pull up every online harp dealer in the free world and probably a Wikipedia post that is actually pretty interesting. Almost all online vendors on the first search page will have a section on choosing harps. I found it helpful to read all of the material from several sites even though much of it was repetitive. After getting through three or four of these you'll be pretty comfortable with the basics. After you've done that, come back and I'll tell you, among other things, why the flavor of an otherwise exceptional harp can be a deal breaker.

Welcome To The Blues, My Son!

I'm Mike and I'm a wannabe. I first fell in love with sound of the blues harp when, chemically altered, I stumble/wandered into The White House in Laguna Beach Ca. in 1981. I'd been following a sound for several blocks. A sonic wailing that was reverberating through the night and seemed to encompass simultaneously, pain and pleasure, joy and sorrow, hope and despair, love and hate. I felt this on an intuitive level more than an intellectual one. I was twenty-two and the Truth that my hormone ravaged mind grasped onto was this: Anybody who can recreate this sound can get laid whenever he wants. Strong stuff indeed.

For the next three hours I did an uber-pathetic version of The White Boy Dance amidst other sweaty undulating forms as The James Harman Band introduced me to The Blues. The next day I bought a Hohner Marine Band and my journey began. It ended two days later when I realized that there was work involved. The Sound was elusive.

Fast-forward twenty-five years: I'm at a birthday party where Chuck E. Weiss and the Goddam Liars are playing. Jimmie Wood (Imperial Crowns, Jim Belushi and the Sacred Hearts) joins on harp for a couple of numbers and a neural pathway is created that takes me back to The White House and that sweaty night. The next day I order a Lee Oskar C harp and my journey began anew. When it arrives three days later I'm instantly reminded that, oh yeah, this is hard. Regardless, I'm going to do it this time. I'm a young man no more and my interest in getting laid is, uh, less consuming, so I've got the time, the focus and the energy to see this through. Welcome to The Blues!