Crystal is my favorite 10 hole player. Then there is Michal Adler a very good chromatic player. She's very nice I exchanged videos and she said she liked my tone and the piece I sent her. ---------- Emile "Diggs" D'Amico a Legend In His Own Mind How you doin'
@FMWoodeye: I enjoy females, but certainly the music transcends the gender. To separate them out is, I think, insulting to the female artist as it suggests she/they are being held to a lower standard.
BINGO ! I love what you've said, this is SPOT ON
@Diggs thanks a lot _________________________________________
Daughter of Hannibal Lecter, also known as "Christelle Berthon"
Last Edited by on Jan 16, 2012 7:37 PM
I'd agree that, at least as far as the harmonica playing part of it it -shouldn't- matter what gender someone is, but it does seem to matter insofar as there do seem to be a lot more guys playing than women, and it might be important to figure out why that is.
I've noticed at least one local female performer (guitar/keyboard/vocalist, not a harp player) has a disappearing/reappearing ring that she wears on her left ring finger that I suspect she uses to keep all us guys from hitting on her non-stop. (I noticed it appeared after a guy hit on her pretty aggressively at a coffee shop.) If it's got to do with the fact that people think of the blues and they think of bald, fat old men and they aren't giving recognition to female players with the chops because they don't fit a specific image they think of, then maybe it is important to point out that there are a bunch of amazing female players out there too.
As far as vocals, I actually do separate out female and male vocalists sometimes in my play-lists, and some harp players sing, but I also sort by instrument sometimes, or by key, or by decade or genre. In that scheme Charlie Musselwhite's collaborations with Cyndi Lauper would by in the female list because of the vocal.
(rbeetsme, I'll delete the duplicate post for you.)
I think a lot of girls forget that guys are just as impressed when a girl can play an instrument well just the same as a girl is impressed with a guy who can play well. The rarity of female harp players does exacerbate the affect though. ---------- Constantine
Playin the harmonica should be only for men, its a man thing, men dig the harp, women give us the blues so we can moan about our troubles, reason being is many women can out do us and it deflates our ego. I think there should be a law against women who play better than me.
@ Nate - You wrote "... but it does seem to matter insofar as there do seem to be a lot more guys playing than women, and it might be important to figure out why that is." I agree entirely, and understanding this could be especially for anyone wishing to promote 'modern' blues harp playing. It is all well and good us all saying on this forum that gender does not matter, but it certainly seems to matter to all the women playing an instrument other than a harp!
@ rbeetsme - I'm with Oisin and like Rachelle Plas. The videos of her live show she has a lot of fun playing, and this encourages the audience to enjoy themselves (a real skill for any performer!) I've also seen (YouTube) some great country playing which I think was by Annie Raines (?) And of course there is Susan 'Iced-Tea' Bennett.
@ Steamrollin Stan - Congratulations! You have won todays virtual Gold Star for making me laugh in class!
On a serious note, do any of you women out there have any insight into why so few females take to the harp? If there is something that this forum could do to promote the harp to a wider audience you can be sure everyone will be happy to get involved.
I hate to suggest it (he says putting on a tin helmet and waiting for the barrage of abuse which is sure to come my way from the 'Jagrowler haters'), but would a Forum list of great female harp players, prefaced with clever words from Adam that it is only there to dispel any myth that 'girls don't play blues harp' be any help? Ok, ok, I'm sorry ...
You gotta be kidding me! rbeetsme asks a simple question: "of female harp players, who do you like?" No pejorative connotation whatsoever, and somehow that's insulting to women??? Man, we are off the politically correct charts on this forum.
nacoran: "but it does seem to matter insofar as there do seem to be a lot more guys playing than women, and it might be important to figure out why that is."
Why? Why would it be important to try to figure that out? Can't we live in a world where some endeavors are preferred (or just participated in more) by men and some by women? Do we have to have absolute mathematically perfect distribution accross gender, race, religious preference, sexual orientation, political affiliation for every possible activity that exists on the planet?
As nearest as I can tell, no music stores refuse to sell women harmonicas. Is rockin' ron making anybody fill out a gender box for his shipped orders, or asking for a DNA sample before he sends an order out? Who knows why there are more male players (if indeed there are), who cares?
I would agree with what's been said here about the music transcending the gender. It's far more fundamental that the music be conveyed across than whether it's done by man or woman.
But in the case of harmonica, I would have to say through my own observation that it's an instrument predominantly kept alive and played by men, for whatever reason. So I can see the value in noting female harp players in a post such as this, if for no other reason, then to show that it's an instrument that can be played and enjoyed by ANYONE.
Someone I think worth mentioning is a woman I had the pleasure of playing with a couple months ago here in Springfield named Rene Carlson from New York. She's a former student of Adam's who played on the Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise the past two years. She's good friends with Sherman "Frostbite" Elliott, the pianist from The Mojo Cats, Springfield's leadingmost full blues band.
The Cats came out and sat in with us at a gig the night before Thanksgiving, and Rene was in town with her father visting the Elliotts, so she tagged along as well. It was great, great fun playing with such an accomplished harp player! ---------- Hawkeye Kane
Last Edited by on Jan 17, 2012 8:06 AM
thanks baker ive never seen hooker play harp before. clearly not one of his strong points buts its so cool. i didnt pick up hooker riffs on guitar till a few years ago. and i love big mama and doc ross too. wow sooooo cool :D
Now to even things out, my wife is learning to play the harmonica, in 3 weeks she's on her way with a pretty good rendition of O'Suzanna, i brought her a big river C harp and she loves it, after hearing me skawking away for the last 4 years she decided to join my hobby, all is well!!!
I just think someone would rather be recognized as a great harmonica player instead of a great female harmonica player. I understand the points here but adding the word female, for some reason lessens the impact of the phrase. What if you called Kim W. a great white harmonica player? See what I mean. ---------- www.thebacktalkers.com
"What if you called Kim W. a great white harmonica player?"
Yes. There is a delicate and fine line 'twixt the now default accusation of the non-politically correct or "hate speech".
Sometimes, using an adjective or descriptor is simply that.
Kim Wilson, is a great white harp player. No malice there. Rachelle Plas is a fantastic female harp player. White, black, female, short, brown-eyed are all very good words to help describe someone to someone else who has never seen them. Flowing, soulful, energetic and dark are all really great words to assist in describing someone's sound to someone who has never heard them. So what?
If someone describes me as a male harp player, I am not so sensitive that I will get my knickers bunched.
But, there will always be those who sit and wait to pounce on any little thing to allow them to pipe up with some exclamation of affrontery.
Yeah I see what your saying, I was more reacting to the fact that rbeetsme asked what I thought was about as innocuous of a question as could be asked. Within the first three responses were the phrases/sentences:
"personal vendetta"
"To separate them out is, I think, insulting to the female artist as it suggests she/they are being held to a lower standard."
Seriously?
Your Kim example was a good one, let me try one. Suppose rbeetsme were a woman asking the question because she wanted a list of female players to emulate. Should the question still be thought of as insulting to women?
Sorry for the rant, over the top PC is a little pet peeve of mine, and highly ironic in a world that's supposed to be about the blues. I understand the need to keep things civil though. I think I care more about this than rbeetsme does, and it was his (her?, wouldn't want to make an assumption that pisses anybody off) thread.
Buzadero, I don't know who to compare myself to. The type of songs that I play and the style that I play is of long ago and not popular or recognized among a lot of harp players. I guess I'd say that I am an adequate hillbilly harp player. ---------- Wisdom does not always come with old age. Sometimes old age arrives alone.
Identifying female harmonica players can cut both ways.
I recall once hearing Annie Raines introduced by an MC as a great woman harp player. I think he meant to compliment her but it came of as extremely patronizing and I doubt that this was lost on Annie.
On the other hand, about 40 percent of my harmonica students are women, and I sometimes forward them a series of names of women harp players with YouTube links.
The feedback I get is that this is empowering. Women so often have to cut through the negative attitudes - coming from both men and women - of "But you're a girl - why are you doing *that?*" and it can be reassuring to know that they're not alone.
buzadero, just so you'll know adequate and hillbilly are not good descriptors for sarge. modest is a good descriptor. while i have never met sarge i have heard him play.
also, don't we talk about how white guys play and sing the blues all the time on this forum?
i don't think asking the female question is sexist at all...it's just living in the real world.
and you know what james brown said about that.
oh and harpdude, the better question might be "harp players under 200lbs"
Last Edited by on Jan 17, 2012 10:12 AM
Honkin' I'm not looking for perfect mathematical distribution, but sometimes mathematical distribution points to underlying non-mathematical problems. I don't see anything innately masculine or feminine about playing harmonica, but there do seem to be a lot more male players and I certainly don't think that's got anything to do with some innate talent difference, so it would seem it's something cultural. That said it could be something as simple as guys identifying with old blues harp players and wanting to emulate them. That's pretty neutral and that's fine. But if it's because guys are discouraging women from playing, whether it's by hitting on them or by segregating them into a female ghetto of 'female' harp players or whatever then if you are interested in spreading the harmonica gospel to as wide an audience as possible you wonder about these things. We've got one female asking us not to judge female artists separately from male artists- to compare them straight up against the men. We've got a bunch of men coming down on either side of the issue. What I notice is that there is only one female voice in the conversation (baring anyone using pseudonyms). If the thread had just proceeded as a list of great female harmonica players I wouldn't have said anything but since someone brought it up, why aren't there many female harp players out there. It doesn't seem to just be in the ranks of the greats. I'm thinking of the local open mics I go to. It always seems to be guys playing the harp. Tin Lizzie, Big Nancy and Christelle are the only female players who I can think of who have posted with any kind of regularity, and I haven't seen Tin Lizzie or Big Nancy around in a while.
PC or against everything PC, don't those numbers make you wonder what is going on?
But, that wasn't what the thread was started about. I think there are some valid reasons to ask for names of great female harp players, whether it's to inspire more women to play harp, or because we like the female vocals that often go with it. I'd just like to know there are a few women out there who's eyes don't glaze over when I start talking about harmonica (lot's of people, male and female, start to have that far away checked out look when I start talking about harmonica, in fact, not just when I talk about harmonica. I think I talk too much). So, without being overly PC, I'm just wondering. :)
I have been listening to last.fm over the internet as I work. When I hear something I relly like I bring the window to the front to see who it is. Several times lately the name that has shown up is Kellie Rucker. Great vocals and Harmonica in a style I like.
I hear ya, and had you raised the question in a thread of it's own, I probably wouldn't have even remarked. Coming on the heels of the OP being criticized for what seemed to me to be such a simple non-sexist question, well it just got me going.
I'm all for a little intellectual curiosity, but these days especially as it pertains to under-representation by one group or another in one activity or another, unless the number equals some pre-approved level, the de facto assumption seems to be that some kind of nefarious activity must be going on behind the scenes.
I haven't the slightest idea why there are more male harp players than female harp players, but if that's true (and if you listen to Winslow -40% of students- it's certainly changing), it's not my default assumption that there's some grand conspiracy keeping women from playing the harp if they want to. Maybe as a group they just don't like playing harp as much, I don't know, I never really cared that much. Play, don't play.... whatever floats your boat. The jams/open mikes I go to always have plenty of women there, granted they're all singers/guitar players, but I never thought to myself...gee we need to have more female harp players here. I just always assumed that if there were women who wanted to blow some harp, they'd show up.
Don't really understand your point about "hitting on" women. How do you get together with someone if you don't "hit on" them. I always thought that potentially meeting a romantic interest was an integral part of the music scene, but hey, that's just me.
Honkin, there is hitting on someone, and then there is blowing through all the stop signs. There are 'social' situations and there are everyday situations. If you are at a singles' mixer it's fine to hit on everyone. If you are jBeing hit on can be annoying (I vaguely remember the feeling... I used to have a great ass and long beautiful hair that girls always wanted to touch). Sometimes it was flattering. Sometimes it was stalker-esque. If five bald fat guys are all hitting on the one girl in the room I imagine it comes off more as stalker-esque, especially if it's at whatever the opposite of a singles mingler is- blues jam? :)
Of course these days, I'd settle for stalker-esque. In the end it comes down to the same thing as when you are on stage... having some idea why the other people are there. If they are there to dance, dance, but not everyone is always there to dance.
(Now I'm depressed. I haven't had a stalker in 20 years. Maybe I could busk for some money for Rogaine.)
When I came back to harp playing some 6 years ago I enrolled in a Blues Harmonica Workshop which was being held in Brisbane. My expectation was that the other students would be mostly similar aged males. Wrong! The vast majority were female, young and attractive. Nothing like the stereotype I had imagined.
At the time a popular Australian Country Rock group called 'The Waifs' had a lead Harmonica player called Vicki. Everyone of the young female attendees at the workshop wanted to be able to play like Vicki!
Well, there is a broad spectrum of sensitivity. I'm an old fat man. If someone calls me "old man" or "fat ass," it really doesn't bother me. I adhere to the Roseanne Barr theory: If you're fat, just BE fat and shut up. If you're skinny...f**k you. Now, some corpulent individuals get offended or downright tearful when they are called "fat ass." Recognizing that I MAY be offending someone, I don't call fat people "fat ass," neither do I call black men "boy" or women "girl." I don't view it as political correctness, just common courtesy. Can't we all just get along?
Everytime the subject of favorite women harp players comes up, I have to put in a plug for Geneva Red. I drove 5 hours to hear her play in Lima, OH in 2011. She puts on a good show and is a fine entertainer. Here is one of my favorite youtube clips of her.
---------- HarmoniCollege March 24, 2012 theharmonicaclub.com (of Huntington, WV)
I was on a show with Trina Hamlin once. Glad to see her mentioned on here. I have an anthropological take on the disparity between numbers of male and female performers. On average I think more males perform music, sports, comedy, stunts, flashy spending, etc as a form of human "mating dance". Sexual choice rests mymymostly with females. Why? Because in a natural sense, having sex could result in 9-mo of pregnancy and years of raising. So, women choose and men "entertain" to help the decision. Our modern world is changing, but if you allow yourself the idea that we are animals too, the theory isn't so crazy. ---------- 12gagedan's YouTube Channel
@Jim Geneva Red is clearly a great live entertainer, mind you I was a bit worried for the old boy who got up on the bar with her, I could see one fractured hip coming up!
@Dan its clear to me some people like to embrace the animal instincts within themselves more that others.
I can't see too much wrong with the OP asking about favourite female harp players, when at award shows etc there is always a "best male" and "best female" performer categories
