If so, what kind(s) of harp(s) do you play? How many do you own? I have 1 Hohner Special 20 in C. This http://www.musiciansfriend.com/folk-...ies-harmonicas is what I'm saving up for. Who do you like as instructor @YT? I've been watching Jerry Portnoy and Jon Gindick.
I'm the only one? Wow. okay.
Well, I don't play harmonica, but my longtime friend, Howard Levy (of Bela Fleck and the Flecktones fame) is considered to be a major innovater of the diatonic harmonica; he came up with a technique for playing chromatically on it. He's got a few instructional videos out, though perhaps it's a little more advanced stuff than what you're looking for; I dunno.
I play harmonica, just some cheap (but not too cheap) random diatonic ones. My instructor? Needing something to do while sitting in traffic. Keyboards/guitars/drums aren't very easy to play in the driver's seat.
- Matt
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I can suck air in and out of a tuned harmonica, Bob Dylan style, but to actually PLAY the thing would be a dream. I've always wanted a chromatic harp -- all I've ever used are the fixed-key types. Stevie Wonder is my harmonica inspiration; man, what feeling.
^ I have a chromatic G harp. Got it for my 30th birthday - before I knew it was mainly for classical and jazz. Haven't even put it to my lips in many years. I'll have to do some research to find out if it's worth anything.
I have a harmonica but damned if I know how to play it properly.
Please don't ask questions, just use google.
Never let good music get in the way of making a profit.
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for me, these are really inspiring.
Last edited by davis; 01-31-2013 at 09:20 AM.
likewise this
Could you run a harmonica mic cable through an effects board and get those effects on the harp?
Sure
From what I understand, this is a weird virtuoso approach based on systematically extending the note-bending that harmonica players already do - he creates accidentals by bending each individual flat out of a diatonic C scale. Even as good as he is, you can hear the intonation slipping at points.Originally Posted by No Pride
Well, he calls the technique "overblowing." As somebody who can't even play blues or campfire harmonica, I wouldn't even pretend to know what that means. But I know what you're saying, John; it doesn't sound "tempered" like a chromatic harmonica does. And though I'd never tell Howard this, I greatly prefer the sound of a chromatic harmonica for jazz, amazing though it may be that he is able to play it on a diatonic harp.
For those unfamiliar with Howard, he's a monstrous jazz pianist as well. And a couple of decades ago, he played about two dozen other instruments too, including flute, sax, mandolin, ocarina, some sort of African marimba... just about everything but brass instruments. About 15 or so years ago, he decided that he was spreading himself too thin and concentrated all of his efforts on just harmonica and piano. But having known him as long as I have, I remember jamming with him when he was playing alto sax and he sounded something like Eric Dolphy. I don't know a lot of geniuses, but he's definitely one. Still, it's not pure natural ability; he's constantly practicing.
I play a little. I'm not very good but then again a harmonica isn't exactly a violin now is it?
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^ No. And a cello isn't exactly a set of ebony & ivory; that said, in Alabama the Tuscaloosa.I'm not knocking Levy, but blues harmonica resonates with me a lot more than Jazz harmonica.
A guy I used to hang out with long ago used to joke that people would applaud Bob Dylan not so much for playing his harmonica but because he stopped singing in order to play it.
Howard is astonishing- I saw him several times w/ The Flecktones, and his work on Jerry Goodman's album "The Stranger's Hand" has always knocked me out, too.
"He who binds to himself a joy doth the winged life destroy. But he who kisses the joy as it flies lives in Eternity's sunrise..." - William Blake
I don't actually play harmonica, but I've had the privelage of playing a few times with a guy I think is the best harmonica player I've ever heard. His name is James Supra. He's calmed down considerably over the 20 years I've known of him, but the first time I ever heard him (I couldn't see him from where I was sitting) I thought it was a blues band with an unbelieveable keyboard player. Then I went around the corner and saw it was a guy with a harmonica. Definitely worth checking out. I'll try to find some vids later when time permits.
BTW, he's also a violent drunk, but I think he's sobered up now. The first time I ever actually met him he decided he was going to try to beat up MY WHOLE BAND (5 of us). We never really found out why, but fortunately his friends came and got him before things got ugly.
That was shot at a bar near my house and this
is his full band.
I looked for some 90's era stuff when he was a little more "shrederriffic" but I couldn't find anything. He used to run his mic through a couple different guitar pedals and do some amazing stuff. Chorus and digital delay on a harmonica WORKS.
I dont play the thing myself, but my daughter tries
Pat O'Brien with Scott Henderson is a killer:
Pat O'Brien is also a great guitarplayer :
What's the difference (other than price) between a standard Golden Melody and a 542BX Golden Melody?
How long does a blues harmonica last, anyway? I mean, I hear that players soak the whole thing in water to get the reeds soft enough to bend the hell out of. It has got to take it's toll on the longevity of a harp.
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A gentleman is defined as someone who knows how to play the accordion, and doesn't.
I've heard of that, but every place I read recommends not doing that. maybe that's for wooden harmonicas, not plastic ones. I don't know how long they last.
Hey, Steve Hackett's no slouch when it comes to the blues harp. He's cited Magic Dick from the J Geils Band, Sonny Boy Williamson, Howlin' Wolf, Little Walter, and the Paul Butterfield Blues Band as his top influences for an article I wrote a few years back.
-=Will you stand by me against the cold night, or are you afraid of the ice?=-
I play. I favor Suzuki Promasters (metal combs, very cool) and Lee Oskars.
^ that interests me. Jon Gindick recommended I start with a Hohner Special 20. Annie Raines recommends people try various brands and figure out what works for you, but she loves the Hohner Special 20, as do John Popper and Jerry Portnoy. my favorite harp player is probably JD Wilkes, and I don't know what he uses now but in the past has used Bushman Delta Frosts and, I think, Lee Oskars.
It this olive Suzuki a Promaster? http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007O5WHBO/...I1JR6A3KMVNK60
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