David Herzhaft
13 posts
May 06, 2014
1:00 PM
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David Herzhaft
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Greg Heumann
2710 posts
May 06, 2014
5:54 PM
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Sounds positively awful and so processed it is impossible to tell if he is playing at all.
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***************************************************
/Greg
BlowsMeAway Productions
See my Customer Mics album on Facebook
BlueState - my band
Bluestate on iTunes
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Aussiesucker
1389 posts
May 06, 2014
6:22 PM
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I agree Greg.
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HARPOLDIE’S YOUTUBE
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David Herzhaft
14 posts
May 06, 2014
6:25 PM
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Hahaha
Using some how they call it ??? distortion
And yes I play harmonica sometimes
check out my other videos
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David Herzhaft
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David Herzhaft
15 posts
May 06, 2014
7:00 PM
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You can check my album Jazzin' Around featuring Howard Levy and Frank Gambale I don't use any distortion on it.
Thank you for watching
And there is nothing inflated here
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David Herzhaft
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Dog Face
255 posts
May 06, 2014
7:10 PM
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Mr Herzhaft,
I, for one, am impressed sir. You have a real Bob Saget look going on with that eye brow. You say you blow a little harp too?
I'm joshing. What ever that was, you won't see me figuring out how to do it anytime soon.
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Brad
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The Iceman
1633 posts
May 06, 2014
8:30 PM
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I believe Mr. Herzhaft is also a harmonica educator.
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The Iceman
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1847
1765 posts
May 06, 2014
8:38 PM
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some serious intonation right there.
5 stars!
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i get a lot of request when i play my harmonica
"but i play it anyway"
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FMWoodeye
832 posts
May 07, 2014
1:12 AM
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Once again an illustration of the technical limitations of the harp, an off-tempo...slow...rendition by a fine player of a piece that can be played up to speed by a good high school clarinet player.
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The Iceman
1634 posts
May 07, 2014
8:56 AM
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re: inflated ego...
David is French. It is a different culture. I learned about this aspect when I met Michel Herblin. He seemed like an inflated ego at first, but I found out it was a French thang...he was very focused on his art and worked hard at it...more so than we usually find here in the US.
Getting to know Michel, I discovered it was not so much inflated ego, but Michel being very proud of his hard work and accomplishments.
Always take cultural differences into account before judging is my experience.
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The Iceman
Last Edited by The Iceman on May 07, 2014 8:56 AM
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David Herzhaft
17 posts
May 07, 2014
10:21 AM
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For the ego part :
Dear harmonica friends
I don't know what I have done that could possibly bother you ?
I've been playing harmonica for most of my life spending thousands of hours doing it, I'm just sharing here some videos
if you don't like my music or my playing it is not a problem hopefully some people will
I have recorded cds, written some books
I like to share music and try to help people get better at it
Now for the use of distortion and the more subjective aspect of the tune I guess it is a matter of personal taste, the video just got viral on youtube so I guess my choice is not that bad but I understand that some players prefer acoustic music
Actually I can say that I 80-90% of the time I play acoustic
When you play this kind of tune you have options like guitar players do. And I think that both options are interesting but having both versions recorded I still prefer the distortion take for this arrangement.
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David Herzhaft
Last Edited by David Herzhaft on May 07, 2014 10:34 AM
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Kaining
38 posts
May 07, 2014
2:13 PM
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I forgot how MBH can be a little... well, i probably shouldn't say it.
As for the ego part, you may think that it's just that about David but at some point you have to realise that it, apart for being proud of his work, does serve a purpose.
Selfloathing and misplaced humility ain't really quality either you know.
People talk about players/people with character/attitude/whatever and it helps get more view/fame. *
And also, David can back it up so... well, where is the problem really ?
(and what you probably felt watching his videos, i assure you that some people felt the same way about Jason the first time they heard about him on MBH. I for one felt like that and had problems seeing what was so great about his playing at the time. Turns out he is a great guy, who knew ?...and i do appreciate what he does BTW)
Anyway, if you don't like the distorted version of the bumble bee, there is an accoustic version with 127k views on youtube.
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sonny3
170 posts
May 07, 2014
6:15 PM
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I'm Ron Burgundy?
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SuperBee
1964 posts
May 07, 2014
8:26 PM
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I showed my daughter. She agreed it was clearly harmonica, clearly being played by david and that it was impressive. This from a girl who plays flute, guitar and piano, and has always proclaimed an abhorrence of harmonica sound.
As for the body language, bravo! for some humourous flourishes, yes, Ron burgundy indeed, Nothing wrong with a little showmanship, and all looking to be in good lighthearted spirit.
We wondered whether a typical high school clarinetist could play it up to speed. We thought probably not, but maybe a very good one. Point taken though, the harp is comparatively slow.
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kudzurunner
4679 posts
May 08, 2014
11:23 AM
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David: First, let me say Welcome to the forum! I enjoyed your performance. I do find myself curious to know how precisely the same performance would sound acoustically--i.e., without a mic and amp (or signal processor, or whatever is being used to compress the signal in a way that sounds "fuzzboxy." Also: are you related to the French blues novelist and scholar, Gerard Herzhaft?
Secondly, BluesJacketman: you've violated the forum creed, which specifically prohibits members from insulting other members. Please revise or delete your post in which you talk about "how inflated [Herzhaft's] ego is." I don't care if you think such things, but you can't post them here and remain a member of this forum. You're free to critique a fellow member's performance, of course, as Greg does (and rather too aggressively for my taste), but that's not what you're doing.
Last Edited by kudzurunner on May 08, 2014 11:23 AM
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kudzurunner
4680 posts
May 08, 2014
11:28 AM
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64,000 hits in two days is astonishing. Yes, you've got a viral video, and it features one guy blowing some harp. I respect that greatly. I believe I'm correct in saying that no past or present member of this forum has ever come close to that number of hits in that short a time period. Congratulations! And thanks for sharing it here.
Also, I've just discovered that you DO have a video, uploaded several years ago, in which you play the same thing acoustically. I'm sure our talkative, contentious crew will be interested in this.
"Il ya une espece de harmoniciste americain qui préfèrent insulter son frère français de baiser sa femme."
Last Edited by kudzurunner on May 08, 2014 11:39 AM
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FatJesus
44 posts
May 08, 2014
12:26 PM
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Shit, my ego's 30x bigger than my ability to blow harp--but it ain't stopped me in 20 years.
Rock on, David!
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David Herzhaft
20 posts
May 08, 2014
12:53 PM
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Dear Super Bee (from a guy who plays the bumble bee I m not sure how serious this looks like)
Thank you for your nice words
First of all I;d like to say that the body langauge is hardly under control when you play this tune, you just try to survive through it :)
Playing this tune on a diatonic harmonica is a lot of work and the reason I do this is to push the limits of our lovely instrument and hopefully more harmonica players will carry the harmonica in new genres and styles. I also hope that doing this helps to give credibility to the harmonica. Many people or musicians still think the harmonica is not a full range instrument.
Also I can play some stuff that no clarinet layer or pianist can play, this is true for any instrument ... the layout of notes and the way to create the notes are different, this being said I think it's interesting to play anything that is played on another instrument because you emulate the sound, phrasing, articulation ...
On my double album Jazzin Around I recorded an acoustic version of Paganini Caprice No5, just trying to do my best. The harmonica first limitation is the way people think about it. Howard Levy opened a big door.
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David Herzhaft
Last Edited by David Herzhaft on May 08, 2014 12:59 PM
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wheel
275 posts
May 08, 2014
12:55 PM
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David is very friendly and his ego is OK. I talked with him via FB and he was very attentive. I think that his performance of this tune is very cool and raises up the bar of harmonica playing!
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Konstantin Kolesnichenko(Ukraine)
my music
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David Herzhaft
21 posts
May 08, 2014
12:56 PM
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Dear kudzurunner
I have the exact same version without any sound treatment because I almost always record acoustic first and add fx after which allows me to try more options, maybe I ll post it when I have time.
To answer your second question yes Gerard Herzhaft is my father
Thank you for your support
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David Herzhaft
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nacoran
7727 posts
May 08, 2014
1:58 PM
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I liked it. As for processing an instrument to the point of not being able to tell what instrument it is, I bet if you played some electric guitar for someone who had only ever heard acoustic, they might have a hard time pulling it out of the mix. One of the wonderful things about effects is they let you sound like all sorts of things. What Kaining says, about Jason Ricci is interesting. When I first started playing harmonica it was for 3 reasons- to help with my asthma, to help with my fidgeting (including nail biting) and to have an instrument that I could pick out notes on so I could figure out what notes I was singing. Most other instruments were out because of carpal tunnel. I wasn't all that keen on the natural sounds of a harp (although it has certainly grown on me), but one day I was watching a YouTube video and I stumbled on Jason playing electric guitar- on the harmonica. After that, my fate was sealed. I was doomed to be a harmonica player.
Welcome to the forum David. Sorry if the members were a little cranky. Greg usually would have been more tactful and pointed out more clearly that (I think) he was talking about the effects, and on this one, I'd disagree with him. Bluesjacketman was just out of line, as Adam pointed out. I'll check back later to see if he's self edited.
You mention recording clean and adding fx after. Do you mean post processing effects, or are you doing two separate takes? I'm a philistine when it comes to recording. One of the only tricks I've learned is to record two takes and add fx to one and play them over each other. Not sure exactly what it accomplishes in technical terms, but I like the results.
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Nate
Facebook
Thread Organizer (A list of all sorts of useful threads)
First Post- May 8, 2009
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1847
1774 posts
May 08, 2014
2:10 PM
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64,000 hits in two days is astonishing.
when you consider 63,000 hits were mine
not so astonishing, after all.
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i get a lot of request when i play my harmonica
"but i play it anyway"
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1847
1775 posts
May 08, 2014
2:16 PM
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i get a lot of request when i play my harmonica
"but i play it anyway"
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sonny3
171 posts
May 08, 2014
3:25 PM
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Not sure that everything that can be played on short harp should be played on it.Very talented guy, though.
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GMaj7
402 posts
May 08, 2014
8:25 PM
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All good stuff David... Don't worry
Buy a fedora and some really dark sunglasses...
Play something slow in E on an A harp and spend about
3 bars wailing on 4 draw.. then do a head-shake at the turnaround...
You will be the MBH hero in minutes..
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Greg Jones
16:23 Custom Harmonicas
greg@1623customharmonicas.com
1623customharmonicas.com
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David Herzhaft
22 posts
May 08, 2014
11:38 PM
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To nacoran :
Thank you for your nice words. Have you stopped biting your nails ?
For FX post processing what I do is a very standard studio procedure : Most sound engineer are very conservative when they record = they record with very little compression and EQ if any and add Fx in the mix. That's exactly what I do, that's why I was mentioning that I have the clean track because my original take is 100% acoustic. And overall I'm an acoustic guy I play 90% of the time acoustic but for jazz-rock stuff I've always liked to crank it up and I think here the fuzz makes the harmonica sound more like a guitar, it also brings sustain.
to 1847 : please keep going then !
to Gmaj7 : thank you for your support.
I have to say I love Blues harp, my first harmonica heroes were Sonny boy No2, big walter horton, charlie musselwhite, lazy lester, rhythm willie, billy bizor ... I still play blues harp but I found myself leaning toward other music genres as well and I really think that the instrument itself is worth any other instrument so limiting it to the Blues is not the best choice. Just imagine one second that guitar players would only play blues, no country-music, no bebop, no western swing, no classical music, no rock, no flamenco => no joe pass, no wes montgomery, no paco de lucia, no brent mason, no jimmy bryant, no van halen, no segovia ...
monochrome
And if you go down this dangerous road then what is real blues ? is it chicago Muddy Waters or West coast T bone Walker, mississipi Rl Burnside or East Coast , Reverend Gary Davis ?
They all sound very different ...
Music is a free land
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David Herzhaft
Last Edited by David Herzhaft on May 08, 2014 11:39 PM
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harpdude61
1996 posts
May 09, 2014
4:04 AM
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I tip my hat to you David. Outstanding!
As a player that strives to become a proficient overbender, I appreciate your abilities. I'm sure you use overblows. Are you using any overdraws?
Your smooth transition between the notes should be applauded.
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www.facebook.com/catfishfryeband
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Frank
4217 posts
May 09, 2014
5:04 AM
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Hi David - You and Ted Burke may have to duel :)
As far as ego...It is perfectly appropriate if not normal to let ones ego shine while in performance mode or while addressing an audience.
And of course having the necessary skills to flesh out and qualify ones ego is extremely helpful in capturing an audiences admiration and apt attention.
Many Artists maintain a "stage ego persona" that they use as a performance tool.
But off stage and out of the spotlight, they can exhibit a much more accurate representation of themselves - which is often much more gracious, humble and caring when dealing with the public.
David has shown his attitude to be exceptional in dealing with seemingly harsh criticism. I personally applaud his kind professionalism and gentle responses to those who sought to bully him into some sort of submission :)
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HarpNinja
3873 posts
May 09, 2014
7:11 AM
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I can't believe some of the negative comments on this thread. There are endless threads on this forum of amateur blues harmonica players playing to backing tracks from home. Many of which exhibit just as much confidence, swag, or even arrogance...but because they are begging our attention through blues music, they get a free pass.
I don't know David, but I appreciated the professional manner in which he presented himself in the video, and working up such an arrangement is smart for someone trying to capitalize on their talents. That is a song nearly everyone knows done in a very unique way. What a great way to promote yourself!
Having followed up on some of David's links, it is obvious he markets learning materials to the harmonica playing public, but having one foot aimed at the mainstream is smart.
If you are a good player and pissing off other harmonica players, you likely have a great thing going!
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Mike
My Website
My Harmonica Effects Blog
Rock Harmonica Lessons
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scojo
462 posts
May 09, 2014
7:34 AM
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Yeah, I liked it too (although I think I prefer the acoustic version). This guy can clearly play. Like HarpNinja, I'm baffled by some of the attitudes displayed here. Get over yourselves. If you don't have anything nice to say, either keep your mouths shut or say it in a way that shows a little humility and compassion. You might find yourselves on the other end of that attitude sometime soon, and it's not fun.
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scojo
463 posts
May 09, 2014
7:40 AM
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Also David... your statement:
"I still play blues harp but I found myself leaning toward other music genres as well and I really think that the instrument itself is worth any other instrument so limiting it to the Blues is not the best choice. Just imagine one second that guitar players would only play blues, no country-music, no bebop, no western swing, no classical music, no rock, no flamenco => no joe pass, no wes montgomery, no paco de lucia, no brent mason, no jimmy bryant, no van halen, no segovia ...
monochrome"
...this EXACTLY mirrors my own philosophy. Thank you for stating it so well and for your fine playing. -Scott Albert Johnson
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Frank
4218 posts
May 09, 2014
8:04 AM
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The blues can seem to be so over-rated! Why do the blues and it's players get all the love and glory...
It's not fair and seems unwarranted - why can't people see and hear how great the players are who trying to be progressive? Why are the modern players treated like second class musicians or even the flavor of the month artists?
Are they too "poppish" and only seen as shooting stars, what gives ?
Last Edited by Frank on May 09, 2014 8:10 AM
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HarpNinja
3874 posts
May 09, 2014
8:13 AM
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"The blues can seem to be so over-rated! Why do the blues and it's players get all the love and glory..."
On this board, or in general? I would argue that the best known harmonica players in the world are not blues players, or not known primarily for blues.
I am not so sure even a generation ago that was the case. You were more likely to see a harmonica band on the Ed Sullivan Shoe (Harmonicats) than a blues great.
Bob Dylan, Neil Young, John Popper, Lee Oskar...all non-blues players that are currently known the world over with millions of album sales.
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Mike
My Website
My Harmonica Effects Blog
Rock Harmonica Lessons
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HarpNinja
3875 posts
May 09, 2014
8:14 AM
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Show, not shoe.
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Mike
My Website
My Harmonica Effects Blog
Rock Harmonica Lessons
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Frank
4219 posts
May 09, 2014
8:22 AM
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It's sad though that the modern players are often shunned and their contribution to music is often dismissed as kinda blah - even if it is exciting and fresh and amazing :)
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scojo
464 posts
May 09, 2014
8:25 AM
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There is room for all kinds... progressive players, blues purists, and everything in between. It just seems that respect for those different from us (or those with different tastes) is not too much to ask.
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The Iceman
1640 posts
May 09, 2014
8:36 AM
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Keep in mind that those on this list and/or harmonica players in general make up perhaps .05% of the listening/buying public.
Harmonica players with something unique to offer must also connect with the other 99.95% of the public.
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The Iceman
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Frank
4220 posts
May 09, 2014
8:39 AM
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Yeah, in this day and age - the music needs to "make you wanna roll your window down and cruise" cause if not - the music is usually tossed into the nobody cares bin :)
Last Edited by Frank on May 09, 2014 8:42 AM
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JustFuya
126 posts
May 09, 2014
9:32 AM
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I think when you do something that amazes and mystifies your 'peers', their first reaction is to look for the smoke and mirrors. A little skepticism is healty. Barbs are not.
The University of Diatonic Harmonica has a new class.
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FatJesus
45 posts
May 09, 2014
10:15 AM
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The Iceman, as usual, has it spot on.
WE ARE THE .05%!
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David Herzhaft
23 posts
May 09, 2014
10:31 AM
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Thank you all for your nice support
to harpdude 61 : yes there are a lot of overblows and overdraws in this piece. It is very chromatic Indeed.
to Harpninja : I don't think blues is overrated but some people and most of the time not the artists identify themselves to a genre and tend to think this is the best style of music. But you have great and poor quality everywhere. I like all sorts of music when it's well crafted and played with passion.
As Duke Ellington said : there is only 2 kinds of music
Good and Bad so i don;t think we should discriminate music genres there are great musicians and artists everywhere.
And you are totally correct that I'm using this video as well as another one to market my new Dvd and books about harmonica improvisation, I play 2 tunes on the Dvd this one and a jazz composition with a crystal clear sound :)
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David Herzhaft
Last Edited by David Herzhaft on May 09, 2014 10:50 AM
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rockmonkeyguitars
78 posts
May 10, 2014
10:28 AM
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Didn't like the over processed tone of the 1st clip but loved the acoustic clips. David, you have talant and I have enjoyed listening to these vids several times now. Thanks for posting them.
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Frank
4231 posts
May 10, 2014
10:43 AM
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The bumblebee kinda reminds ya of the batman theme tune :)
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Moon Cat
387 posts
May 10, 2014
8:27 PM
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Great playing David! I'm glad, Ice Man and Adam chimed in here (Kudzu). I Have seen the original version of this some time ago and was absolutely blown away. I have shared it with several friends and students with much admiration. Amazing playing indeed, I'm sure your book is fantastic and a fine tool to ANY musician with a mind as open as say a: "high school clarinet player". The ego's attacking you here are clearly threatened or ignorant at best and way more inflated than your's could ever be. The mere study, hours, hard work and practice you have OBVIOUSLY put into your playing; I'm sure, has been a humbling, educational, ego deflating and door opening experience IN AND OF ITSELF that most or all of your critics will probably never have the pleasure or grace of experiencing. In the great words of Bobby Rush "I aint studyin' it" and i'm sure your too busy adding music to the world to be studyin' it either. Thank you sir! Laissez les bons temps rouler.
Last Edited by Moon Cat on May 10, 2014 8:29 PM
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David Herzhaft
25 posts
May 10, 2014
9:32 PM
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Hey Frank yeah I think I watched too many batman episodes when I was a kid ...
To Mooncat thank you so much for your support and nice words :)
And yes I think you'd love the dvd or full pack, I spent a lot of time working on this project to make it as complete as possible.
You can get it from Amazon or www.harmonicaland.com there is a full english version available.
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David Herzhaft
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Jehosaphat
742 posts
May 11, 2014
12:21 AM
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I am NOT being facetious here nor trying to be provocative
But i really only like Harmonica when it is playing Blues.
There,I said it.
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JustFuya
145 posts
May 11, 2014
2:34 AM
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@Jeh-
There will always be a small market for blues. Don't worry. What DH did was set the bar higher for those who compete in the Olympics. I love it. Good show! It doesn't make our show any less entertaining.
Dance music for the nervous.
Last Edited by JustFuya on May 11, 2014 10:49 AM
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sonny3
173 posts
May 11, 2014
4:27 AM
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@ Jehoshaphat,some instruments are better at certain types of music.There's nothing wrong with that.What would country music be without steel guitar?
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1847
1781 posts
May 11, 2014
8:18 AM
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I believe I'm correct in saying that no past or present member of this forum has ever come close to that number of hits in that short a time period.
i had a video, along with another member here
that got a ridicules amount of hits in a few days
there is a way to"generate" hits
that has nothing to do with video content
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i get a lot of request when i play my harmonica
"but i play it anyway"
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David Herzhaft
26 posts
May 11, 2014
12:45 PM
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@Jeh :
I understand your point of view
I got started into music with the Blues
But as Blues is in itself very different from region to region I got myself into jazz through guys like Fenton and Freddie Robinson, Clarence Gatemouth Brown also listened to bluegrass and country early on.
And once you start playing other styles you realise you're not playing a genre you're playing music and a musical instrument. Piano playing ranges from Bach to Dr John .. and I like them all.
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David Herzhaft
Last Edited by David Herzhaft on May 11, 2014 12:58 PM
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