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!