Conference napalm::guitar

    
    There's a note on this in the (Blues) AFTER_HOURS conference.
    
    Mark, harmonicas like the Marine Band (the #1 most popular harp for
    blues) are *diatonic*, that is a harp in the key of C has only the
    notes for a C major scale.  So you can play in the keys of C major and
    A minor. Unfortunately for blues, you want notes like the flatted
    seventh, etc. Most blues players use a "cross-harp" technique whwere
    they play a harp tuned a fourth above the actual key, i.e. F harp for
    C.  Note that the F major scale includes Bb, the lowered seventh of the
    C major scale.
    
    There are other cross harp positions, plus you can of course play in
    "straight" position, i.e C harp for key of C, this is common for
    country-style harp.  So what I'm saying is that serious harpists have
    at least one harp in *every* key.  For starting out, you'll want to
    have harps in A, D, C and G to cover the keys of E, A, G and D
    respectively, these being the most popular guitar keys for blues.  If
    you'll be playing with horns, they favor flat keys like Bb, Eb and F,
    so you'll need Eb, Ab and Bb harps respectively.
    
    For instruction, the best book I know of is "Blues Harp" by Tony
    Glover, published by Oak Publications.  It's pretty complete, but was
    written in the mid sixties so the discography is out of date; many of
    the recordings are still available but under different titles, etc. 
    The blues style is the probably the best to learn first, as it has the
    most applications.  Oak also has some books on "Jazz" harp (covers
    Stevie and Lee, as well as Toots Thielmans style harp) and a book on
    rock harp which I've seen and covers much of the same ground as the
    Glover book, but uses examples from the Beatles, Stones, Lovin'
    Spoonful, etc.
    
    Shure "Green Bullets" are crystal mikes, and highly prized although
    overpriced.  Astatic also makes bullet shaped crystal mikes, and they
    make one in particular called the Blues Blaster that is sold through
    Hohner dealers, about $75, which has two stock features that are the
    most common mods made to bullet mikes: an XLR connector and a volume
    control.  Many harp players I know who swear by old Shures use the
    Blues Blaster as a backup mike.  It's definitely the best choice for a
    first mike.  Of course, if you can live with a cleaner sound, any old
    mike you have lying around will do to start.
    
    The blues notesfile, BTW, is at AKO458::AFTER_HOURS. Hit KP7 to add to
    your notebook.
    
    							Brian

    
    Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that Homespun tapes sells a six (audio)
    cassette package with instruction from John Sebastian and the late Paul
    Butterfield that my harp-playing brother recommended to me very highly.
    
    							Brian

>    First of all, which is the best harp to learn on. I am familiar
>    with Hohner Blues harps, marine bands, echos, chromatics, as
>    well as Lee Oscar harps which are avilable in straight harp,
>    and cross harp models. I am not overly concerned about price,
>    as harmonicas are relatively cheap. I don't mind spending
>    $20 for a good quality marine-band style harp,

I'm mainly a tune player instead of a blues player, but I have been seen 
consorting with blues players.  $.02:

Blues is (are?) just about always played on a plain diatonic harp.  A 
chromatic harp is a wonderful thing to play around with, but it might get in 
the way of learning blues harp.  I've heard some honkers who could play 
*anything* on a diatonic harp, including chromatic classical pieces.  They can 
hit bent notes on the fly.

I think Lee Oscars (is it Oskar?) have thinner reeds, 'cause it's easier to 
bend notes on them.  Sometimes too easy.  Golden Melodys are tuned to a 
tempered scale.  To my knowledge, all the others are tuned for sweet chords
(mainly, the thirds are tuned a little flat from piano tuning).  Special 20's
spread the holes farther apart than others.

I prefer the Golden Melody because I play mainly straight tunes and like to be 
in tune with other instruments.  Last time I saw Sonny Terry, he was playing 
blues on a Golden Melody.  I like plastic instead of wood for the body, 
because it's more stable and lasts longer.  

Do they really have a distinct cross harp model?  Cross harp is just a method 
of playing a diatonic harp.  I don't now how the harp would be different.

>    Next, which is the best key to start with? Which harps have the
>    most useable range key-wise ? 

I think C and A harps are generally good for playing blues (in G and E, 
respectively).  Depends on the vocalist, of course.  D harps get kinda high 
and squeaky for my taste. 

>    Is anyone aware of any video instructional tapes that teach
>    harmonica ? Seems like a good way to learn to play.

Homespun Tapes has some stuff by Paul Butterfield and John Sebastian.  I don't 
remember is it's video or just audio.    


>    If I can learn to play half decent, I would like to aquire a
>    Shure green bullet mic, or equivalent. Is this the best mic
>    for blues ?? What is a reasonable price for one ??
    
I don't know if it's the best, but it's certainly popular.  That could just be 
because it's easy to hold with a harp.  Don't know about prices.

>    Last but not least, any hints on how to learn quickly, and
>    avoid sounding like "home, home on the range" ??
    
I've been told it's best to start out learning the rhythm riffs before getting 
into kick-ass breaks.  You can experiment with articulation and slip in some 
bends in the safety of a simple repeated pattern.  Do you already know how to 
bend notes?

Hope this helps.

Bob

By golly, that Brian is quick.  He got in and out twice before I finished 
typing one reply.

    I haven't learned to bend notes or do much more than play
    simple chords. The last harp I bought (a Hohner Marine Band)
    got into my 3 year old son's hot little hands, and I decided
    to let him keep it. 
    
    Lee Oskar (sp?) harps have 2 square holes on each end of them.
    Is this 2 additional reeds or is this just the way they are
    held together ? I read a lee Oskar marketing pamphlet, and I 
    seem to recall that they offer models specifically made for 
    cross harp. May be just a misconception on my part.
    
    re. mics. I don't know if green bullets are used because
    they are easy to hold, but they definately are used for sound. 
    The harp being played close up makes the mic distort in a way
    that is considered pleasing to blues enthusiasts. Many blues
    harp players use a tube amp for distortion as well. Rather
    than play directly into a PA, they play into a tube amp, and
    mic the amp just like guitarists do.
    
    I'm in no position to offer anyone advice, but I have heard
    bits and pieces of info from reading this and other conferences.
    
    Unlike vintage guitars, and other gear, I would imagine there
    is little call for old harps as they tend to corrode, and smell/
    taste yucky as they age. Am I corrent to assume this ?
    
    As an aside, years ago, when my family lived in Union, N.J.
    my mother worked for the William Kratt company. Her job was
    tuning reeds for harmonicas and pitch pipes. I was watching
    tv with my son one day recently, and good ole Mr. Rogers
    Neighborhood had a segment on Harmonica manufacturing at
    none other than the William Kratt company, however they
    seem to have moved somewhere down south (Union City, can't
    remember the state). My mom gave me two old harps, which 
    tasted awful, so I tried cleaning them with a brass cleaner.
    I think I ruined them for good. Besides the permanent chemical
    taste, there seem to be some leather peieces inside them
    that discintigrated.
    
    Mark
    
    Mark
    

    
    The one thing about the Oskar harps is that they offer "minor key"
    models.  In theory, to play in minor keys, you just use the harp that's
    correct for the relative major, but the Oskar harps *are* different. 
    Most blues players I know buy Oskars *only* fro the minor key harps,
    and use Hohners for everything else.  
    
    The Marine Band is definitely the msot popular, with the Special 20
    close behind.  The reeds in the Blues Harp model are thinner, for
    easier bends, but guys who have played for awhile say that this causes
    the reeds to break faster.   Harps tend to die over time, due to wear
    and tear on the reeds, most pro players go through dozens in a year,
    and carry two or three of each key with them (except maybe for the more
    obscure keys).
    
    Chromatic harps haven't been touched on yet, but they have extra reeds
    to play the chromatic notes you need to playing all keys.  A sliding
    plate uncovers the extra holes, think of it like the pedals on a pedal
    steel guitar, same sort of idea.  Stevie Wonder uses chromatics a lot,
    you notice it has a different, more accordion like tone than a Marine
    Band type.   For blues, chromatic is strictly a "color" instrument,
    used sparingly.
    
    							Brian

    I have one question about the Astatic Blues Blaster mic. If
    most blues harp players plug into a tube amp, why would you
    want a balanced cable ? Wouldn't having a balanced cable
    necessitate using a transformer on the amp end of the cable ?
    
    Just curious !!
    
    Mark
    

    
    Re: .7
    
    Even though the Blues Blaster uses an XLR connection, it is wired up as
    high impedance unbalanced.  The old Astatic and Shure bullet mikes
    either came with a permanently attached cable (yecch) or the old
    Amphenol screw-on high impedance connection.  It's easy to get XLR to
    1/4" cables but tough to find Amphenol to 1/4" cables these days
    (actually, you usually have to search for the connectors and make them
    yourself, as I've done for harp playing friends in the past).
    
    							Brian

  The Shure Green Bullet mic comes unwired and can be wired either high or
low impedance, wire it depending on your aplication.

					Tom Boilard

    Okay, so I'll look for a Shure Green Bullet, or Astatic Blues Blaster
    when I am ready. But fist I guess I should learn to play one (:^{).
                                                                  
    
    How do you bend notes? Whats the secret to playing only one note
    at a time? I guess what I should do is get a few differant harps,
    record some basic blues guitar on my multi-tracker in the correct
    key, and away we go.
    
    Mark

The easiest note bends are on draws (inhale), but blows are possible (not for 
me).  Start sucking in on a note with your tongue configured for an eeeeee 
sound.  Then move into the configuration for a long O sound.  If that didn't 
work, try another note.  Some bend better than others.  

Single notes are played either by just forming a small hole with your lips, or 
by using your tongue to cover unneeded holes.  Tonguing is a handy technique.
you can play octaves by covering four holes with your mouth and tonguing out 
the middle two.  You can also play some oom-pa chord accompaniment for a 
simple melody by covering the two or three holes to the left of the melody 
note and alternately opening and closing those holes.  Some people use their 
tongue all the time to avoid holding a tight pucker with their lips.  It can 
get tiring on the pucker muscles.

Bob

    I bought a Blues Harp last night (key of C) at EUW for $12.99
    For future referance, is this a good price or can I do better.
    They had the marine band and Blues harp, plus a couple of special
    20's. I chose the Blues harp over the marine band because of the
    fact that the blues harp has a plastic case, compared to the
    cardboard case for the marine band.
    
    I figured the key of C will allow me to play cross harp in G, as
    well as straight harp in C. I tried playing cross harp and could
    immediately see the advantages to this method, especially for blues.
    It seems like you can run out of wind this way easier, though.
    I also noticed that you can bend notes on the draw quite easily
    by simply drawing in harder than normal. 
    
    Thanks for all the advice.  I guess being an old windbag
    has it's advantages (:~{>
    
    Mark Jacques
     

>    I bought a Blues Harp last night (key of C) at EUW for $12.99
>    For future referance, is this a good price or can I do better.
     
These days, I'd call that a good price.  A year ago, I could get harps for 
around $11.  Now it's more like $15-17.  May be a local phenomenon, I dunno.

Bob

    A friend and I are both trying to learn to play the blues harp.
    He has a little bit of piano playing experience, and I have been
    playing guitar for many years. He came up my house the other night
    with his harps, and a brandy new Shure Green bullet he had just 
    bought. I soldered a 1/4" phone jack onto it for him, and we tried
    playing it through my Pignose amp and my Twin. It definately produces
    the distorted harp sound we expected, but it is very sensitive to
    feedback. Any hints on avoiding feedback with this puppy ??
    
    I picked out a real basic, but catchy, blues line, which we tried
    to play on the harp. First position (straight harp) didn't cut it.
    Even second position (cross harp) didn't cut it. We found that
    by playing in third position (relative minor key) we could find
    all the notes in the blues scale. We both have C and G harps, and
    were using them to play in Am and Em respectively.
    
    	The scale we learned goes like so:
    
    	In A minor
    
	
    		d e g d c a g a
    
    		d e g d c a g a 
    
    		e g a c a e g a , e d c a g a
    
    
    	Is the third position commonly used in Blues harp, or are we 
    approaching it from an unorthadox angle.
    
    
    	I am thinking of getting a chromatic harp. What model does
    Stevie Wonder use.
    
    Mark
    
    

    I visited MacDuff's Music Saturday, and came away with the following
    new additions to my harmonica "collection" (Been at it all of 2 weeks
    and already I got a collection (:~{O)
    
    1.	Special 20 in key of E 
    2.  Special 20 in key of A  
    
    	note: MacDuff's seems to have the best prices on Special 20's 
    	and/or Blues Harps. Take your pick, $11.00 each.
    
    3.	Rock Blues - A how-to book (Brian mentioned this goody in an
    	earlier reply) for $9.99
    
    4.	Blues Harp Songbook - Contains lots of old Blues standards from
    	folks like "Little Walker" also $9.99
    
    	They cut me a deal on the above 4 items for $40 even.
    
    5.	Astatic Blues Blaster Mic - $75.00 included a 20' xlr to 1/4" cable
    	which normally sells separately for an additional $15 to $20.
        Couldn't resist !!
    
    	note: One differance between Shure green bullet and Astatic is 
    	that the Shure green bullet mic can be stand-mounted, the Blues 
    	Blaster cannot. Not that it really matters because most harp 
    	players cup the mic they are using. May make a differance, though 
    	if you are trying to add fills while playing guitar. Of course 
    	you can always get around this by using a "spring clamp" mic clip. 
    	Already added one to my shopping list. The Astatic mic actually 
    	bears the name Hohner.
     
        What other purchases do I plan to make in the future?? Well I
    	guess one of those Bob Dylan around the neck deals, a couple of
    	Lee Oscar minor key harps, more Diatonic special 20's in the keys
    	I don't have as yet, a couple of Hohner Chromatics, and some kind 
    	of carry case for all this stuff. Not to mention a lot more 
    	instructional material. Hey Santa...............!!
    
	Mark Jacques

The harp player in the last band I played with has a bandolier with leather 
pockets for the harps.  I think Hohner sells them.

$11 is great for Special 20's.  Invest!  My supplier went from $11 to $16
a few months ago.

Bob

    I was in Union Music last night. They had a dozen or so Lee Oscar
    harps in minor keys on sale for $11.00. I bought one in Em. I'm
    considering getting one in A before they run out. They normally
    sell for $19.95.
    
    Okay, I have a serious concern, NO SNICKERING !!! Every time I
    play harmonica for any length of time, I find that the hairs in
    my moustache get caught between the harmonica body and the cover
    plates...Tear, Rip,  YEEEOUCH !!!  Seriously, is this common ?
    Should I shave my face, give up trying, or perhaps try another
    model? I've seen countless pictures of Bluesman with full beards
    and moustaches playing harp. Now I know what they mean when they
    say "You have to suffer if you want to play the blues"
    
    
    	Mark

    This is still GUITAR, but what the hell.  I've been playing blues harp
    for over a year now (I came from a brass backgroud), and have found
    that the Bluesharp brand gives a better sound than the Marine Band.  A
    Marine Band is stiffer, but maybe that's just me.  If you're getting
    harps for anything under $15, you're getting a deal.  Mostly they're 16
    and up.
    
    About the mustache problem: yes, it's happened to me, too, but only on
    an older C, where the top plate is a little loose.  Just keep your
    hairs clipped!
    
    There are a few good books, a couple previously mentioned.  A good one
    is by Sonny Terry, or at least about Sonny Terry's style, with a number
    of tabs from various tunes he did.  A good buy.
    
    Keep on harpin,
    
    Rob

    BTW, I assume that the Blues notes conference is dead?

    
    FYI...
    
    Ray Gillan (lead vocalist of Badlands) plays Blues Harp.
    
    Check out the debut album, he plays some great stuff with it, and
    Jake E Lee puts the icing on the cake with his guitar playing.
    
    -Tony

    RE:  .18, .19
    
    Check the blues conference for harp info.....AKO458::after_hours
    
    Steve

    You are the second person refer to the after hours conference. I have
    looked all through that conference, and have not found any notes on
    playing harmonica. I hate to ask, but which note deals with playing ??
    
    Mark
    

    Sorry Mark,
    
    I really thought there was a Harp topic in "after_hours".  I must have
    been thinking of this note (1489).  My apologies.
    
    Steve

>    You are the second person refer to the after hours conference. I have
>    looked all through that conference, and have not found any notes on
>    playing harmonica. I hate to ask, but which note deals with playing ??

Sorry about that - I guess as Moderator, I've been a little lackluster in 
adding keywords. The note you're looking for is #89.

Alan S.

I think that the note in AFTER_HOURS about playing harp has a fairly cryptic 
title.  Something like "Those that can't play blues".  I believe that is
the title.  Do a search for /title="*those can't*" or something similiar.

_gary

    I was blues jammin' with some friends the other day and we did some 
    pretty cool sounding stuff with a harmonica.  I played it thru my M1,
    slightly overdriving it and it sounds awesome!  
    
    Mike