HarpNinja
1291 posts
Apr 04, 2011
9:01 AM
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I currently hate playing anything above a C harp. I used to really like the high keys and now I don't at all. I think it is a slot size thing mostly, but I just don't have an interest.
One band I play in started doing If You Want to Get to Heaven and I said I'd only do it on a Low F. In fact, I didn't bring anything above a D to the last gig.
So now I am all about low keys through the PA. Thankfully I can still rock and play a million notes a minute when need be.
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Mike
Quicksilver Custom Harmonicas
Updated 3/23/11
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LittleBubba
42 posts
Apr 04, 2011
9:36 AM
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I know where you're comin' from on that one (I turn 60 this year ). I do like the higher register harps if I need a little stage cut though & if I get jammin' with too many acoustic guitars muddyin' up the tonality.
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Stevelegh
144 posts
Apr 04, 2011
11:02 AM
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A million notes a minute?
There's a guy I heard about who holds the Guinness World record for being the fastest harmonica player in the world.
I think you'd win. Tiger blood.
And winningness.
j/k
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toddlgreene
2850 posts
Apr 04, 2011
11:19 AM
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Damn, Mike...down to only a million? You are an old fart! ;-)
I still like my higher harps-C thru F, and occasionally hi G-I just play more fluidly on them, fast or slow.
And I think I've got you beat by at least 10 years or so. Wait til you wake up Monday with aching hands from a weekend of home improvement work that wouldn't have phased you just a few years ago...I'm there.
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Todd
Eudora and Deep Soul
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HarpNinja
1295 posts
Apr 04, 2011
11:27 AM
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I get aching knees, but that is due to football and surgeries, lol. Million may have been an overstatement...it is more like 800,000. ;)
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Mike
Quicksilver Custom Harmonicas
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waltertore
1255 posts
Apr 04, 2011
11:51 AM
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I have flucuated over the years. I started out with an A harp and then went to pretty much only the higher keys. They cut through better- I played and sang through the same PA mic. Then as I got away from real bands and into the 1 man band I went to pretty much all the low sounding harps. Now I am back to a mix but do about 60% of my stuff with an A. Kind of a full circle with 4 decades in between........ I am 54 and harp playing wise, never felt better. Walter
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Last Edited by on Apr 04, 2011 11:52 AM
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Ant138
878 posts
Apr 04, 2011
12:42 PM
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I much prefer the lower keys.
I'm not even keen on a C
Bb is about as high as i like to go but I dont play in a band:o)
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http://www.youtube.com/user/fiendant?feature=mhum
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HarpNinja
1297 posts
Apr 04, 2011
12:47 PM
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So many of my gigs this winter were sideman gigs that I think the lower keys just work out better. I am to the point where I am thinking of even using the Todd Parrott tuning for the half a dozen harps I use with that band.
Actually, I can do all the gigs with 4...I swear every song is in Bm or E7. With my band I could probably do 75% of the tunes on a C or A harp.
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Mike
Quicksilver Custom Harmonicas
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HarpNinja
1298 posts
Apr 04, 2011
1:22 PM
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I did the math. I could do every song on 5 harps...A, F, D, G, and C.
For my band, I would need 6 and should really have 7...A, F, D, G, C, and Bb...it would helpful to have an E with.
I might be lazy enough to only bring those harps and a couple back ups. I guess I really could never play anything above D if I really wanted to.
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Mike
Quicksilver Custom Harmonicas
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BronzeWailer
106 posts
Apr 04, 2011
2:58 PM
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I am OK up to and including D.
My sign that I am getting old was sitting in the chair at the hairdressers getting progressively angry as a pop-music variety show played in the background.
I told myself not to be irrational but the phoniness really got me riled.
OK, time for me to meditate...
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eharp
1265 posts
Apr 04, 2011
2:59 PM
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send me all those high keys you are refusing to play!
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Rift
71 posts
Apr 04, 2011
4:51 PM
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Before I knew how to play, anything above a C sounded too shrill. About 18 months later I started liking the D and F. And I just found a grey eyebrow hair today, it sucks getting old!
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Aussiesucker
817 posts
Apr 04, 2011
5:05 PM
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I go through phases of liking certain harps. My favourites are generally the lower harps ie Bb down. But I also love my D as it cuts through and is great on fast Irish fiddle tunes.
Have developed a crush on my Low F Marine Band since hearing, & trying to copy, some work posted by Grey Owl. Come to think of it where is Grey Owl as he hasn't posted for a while?
If getting older is not being able to make my mind up re which harp I like best then I'm guilty. I do love my Ab Crossover!
Last Edited by on Apr 04, 2011 5:08 PM
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dougharps
60 posts
Apr 04, 2011
5:20 PM
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Yeah, it sucks getting old, but it beats the alternative!
Deak complains about the high harps sounding too shrill, but for me it depends on the song. Certainly for fast passages the higher keyed harps are more responsive. When you want fast passages, a high G can get a lot more notes per second than a low G. But only on the right song at the right time...
Otherwise, if done too often, it can get annoying.
Mike, you sure didn't look that old when I saw you play in Minneapolis. And your playing rocked. You must be aging well!
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Doug S.
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boris_plotnikov
501 posts
Apr 04, 2011
10:05 PM
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I hate playing jazz and classical tunes on harps higher than C, especially while playing 12, 4 and other odd positions. While for regular blues, rock and funk stuff in 2-nd position which don't need perfect bend controls on 3rd hole I really love high harps, they funky, loud, clear and perfect cuts through the mix.
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Excuse my bad English. Click on my photo or my username for my music.
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Joe_L
1186 posts
Apr 04, 2011
10:16 PM
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Mike - I've got socks older than you. It doesn't bother me to play harps in the higher keys. A lot of Sonny Boy II tunes lend themselves well to higher keyed harps.
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Jim Rumbaugh
466 posts
Apr 05, 2011
10:33 AM
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I love my D, I have fun with my F, I wish my F responded better, Maybe I need to work on it? I find the G a little too low for second position, But 3rd is delightful.
So I guess I'm high pitch harp player at age 59. Seems like those lower pitched notes need more air.
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intermediate level (+) player per the Adam Gussow Scale, Started playing 2001
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6SN7
159 posts
Apr 05, 2011
11:04 AM
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We play a bunch of tumes in Bb, Eb for me, swing, jump tunes. I love playing these tunes because i play like a sax player. and a low eb is just too sluggish.
I love playing the low stuff on A and G, it just it is more tone, less notes, chicago style. Different key harps, a chance to do a little something different on each song.
Now what I hate is guitaroist tuning a half stepdown. wankers....
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groyster1
978 posts
Apr 05, 2011
11:08 AM
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I will be 61 in october glad there are some in this forum as old or even older BTW joe lee bushs name came up in the little walter story
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HarpNinja
1303 posts
Apr 05, 2011
11:09 AM
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I am not crazy about D, but they are very easy to play and very useful. I think I like the lower harps because of the tone and the fact that they end up being what I play most outside of 2nd position. None of the notes are too hard to hit and they are easy to set up to play well.
Some of my distain for the higher harps is a little odd. Maybe no one else notices this, but I sometimes get a weird tone that is lower than the pitch...by this I mean it sounds a little like I have an octave pedal on. In fact, the last time I was in studio I was using an E harmonica and could hear this octave effect on the recording...I was plugged straight into an amp with no effects! Honestly, it might be me making the noise. I don't get how it is possible, and it probably makes no sense.
I know it happens when amped, but I think I hear it acoustically sometimes too.
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Mike
Quicksilver Custom Harmonicas
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nacoran
3962 posts
Apr 05, 2011
5:10 PM
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High pitch sensitivity isn't a sign of getting old...
You are turning into a werewolf.
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Nate
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Jehosaphat
34 posts
Apr 05, 2011
5:37 PM
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"Some of my distain for the higher harps is a little odd. Maybe no one else notices this, but I sometimes get a weird tone that is lower than the pitch...by this I mean it sounds a little like I have an octave pedal on."
You can get this effect deliberately by selectively blocking off the open back of your harp.Maybe this is what you are doing unintentionally? Just a thought.
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OzarkRich
435 posts
Apr 06, 2011
7:26 AM
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Getting older has had the opposite effect on me. While my hearing isn't quite bad enough for hearing aids yet, the higher pitched harps are a lot easier to hear. F is currently one of my favorites.
I also have trouble getting good tone through an amp for the same reason. All the settings seem to sound the same. If I record it I can tell the difference easily enough but live is really tough anymore.
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Ozark Rich
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