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.