Grey Owl
145 posts
May 24, 2013
10:06 AM
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Of all the instruments you could have chosen to play, why did you pick the harmonica?
Why – I heard a school mate play a blues bend and I was hooked from that moment, I just had to learn to play and I made enough early progress to sustain my interest/practice. I have learnt to play another couple of instruments since but they just don’t compare. We breathe in and out to live so what could be more natural than to breathe in and out to make music This makes me feel connected to the harmonica like no other instrument – it’s just a joy to play.
Where – Brighton - UK
When – Around 1965
What – Hohner Echo Super Vamper
My one regret (pre-internet days) I didn’t have a harping buddy to bounce ideas off and have as healthy competition to encourage faster progress. Is it a harmonica players' destiny to plough a lone furrow or has anyone had a playing pal?
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My MBH Profile
Grey Owl YouTube
Grey Owl Abstract Photos Website
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HarpNinja
3331 posts
May 24, 2013
10:12 AM
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Why - I really was into Blues Traveler and the band I was sining in already had guitar, bass, drums, and keys covered in spades. I went to my first BT concert, caught a harp from John Popper and the next Monday bought my first harp and started learning to play it.
Where - Morris, MN
When - November of 2002
What - Special 20 in the key of C
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Mantra Customized Harmonicas
My Website
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Kingley
2671 posts
May 24, 2013
10:26 AM
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Why - I wanted to learn to play blues harmonica, because it sounded so cool. When I was a young child I grew up listening to blues, soul and R&B. I just loved that blues sound and wanted to make it, even though I didn't know what instrument was making it. Many years later my next door neighbour had a blues record blaring out and I knocked on his door asking if he'd make me a copy of it on tape. We got chatting and he mentioned he was learning to play harmonica. I said something like "Oh yeah, apparently you have to block holes with your tongue to get the notes". He gave me his harp and I tried to play it. That sound grabbed me and the next day I went out and bought a harmonica. Learnt to tongue block from day one and have been hooked ever since.
Where - Preston, Lancashire UK
When - Somewhere around 1986 if my memory serves me correctly.
What - Hohner Pocket Pal in C
Last Edited by Kingley on May 24, 2013 10:29 AM
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The Iceman
877 posts
May 24, 2013
10:53 AM
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Heard Corky Siegel's recorded live solo intro to Siegel/Schwall's "Hush Hush" late night on
Cleveland's first underground FM rock station in the late 60's. made the hair on the back of my neck stand up and right then I knew I'd have to own that sound.
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The Iceman
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FMWoodeye
641 posts
May 24, 2013
11:20 AM
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@Iceman.....Corky Siegel was my inspiration and mentor from afar. In '64 and '65 while in high school, a sax player and I would pound out simple I, IV, V rock songs and long improvised solos on the piano in the band room during study hall. We used mostly the black keys, which, as I found out later, pretty much approximate the blues scale. In the late sixties and seventies I saw the Siegel/Schwall band perhaps a dozen times and bought their albums. While listening to the albums, I recognized the same patterns I had pounded on the piano. Thirty or 35 years later, I bought some chromatic harps and just locked myself in the basement with the Siegel/Schwall albums. I got so I could play all their stuff, but it just didn't "sound" the same. My first trip to You Tube was when I was trying to do some train stuff while working up The Ballad of John Henry, a la the Smothers Brothers. It was then that I realized I had gone down the wrong path and started to learn the diatonic harp.
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Littoral
876 posts
May 24, 2013
11:31 AM
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I do believe it picked me, as in I am supposed to play harp.
Age 16, I was working at a nursery company and I had to go to the back lot to shovel up a wagon of mulch. I get there and there's a guy playing harp, a Viet Nam Vet.
I has blown away that something that could sound like that could be carried and played anywhere.
Done. I am going to do THAT.
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harmonicanick
1925 posts
May 24, 2013
11:32 AM
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I did not, I was a drummer first, had an accident and turned to the harp 1973
Bristol UK
Hohner MB
Last Edited by harmonicanick on May 24, 2013 11:40 AM
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The Iceman
879 posts
May 24, 2013
1:06 PM
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@FMWoodeye...
Live Siegel/Schwall.....saw them in small clubs and at COBO Hall in Detroit (very large arena). They always had the ability to make the audience rock back and forth to their groove. Their secret was that they expanded and "played the silence" together in their shuffles.
My personal favorite story is learning that whole tune "HUSH HUSH" from the record, playing it over the years and then ending up at Augusta Heritage Center Blues Week for my first time in the early 90's. One of the guitar teachers was Jim Schwall. For Friday showcase, the students got to pick a song and play, asking teachers to accompany them if need be. I sought out Jim, asked him if he remembered "Hush Hush". He said "yup" and suggested we rehearse for the show. I just looked at him and said "trust me". At the show, I started out playing that acoustic intro pretty much note for note. He looked at me in amazement, big grin on his face. Of course, he knew just when to come in and what to do. Then, when I sang, he joined in on the harmony. It was perfect.
So, here was the song that inspired me to play harmonica and years later here was I, stepping right into the recording and playing it w/Jim. One of the high points of my musical memory.
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The Iceman
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Sarge
323 posts
May 24, 2013
5:33 PM
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Why: When I was a little kid, my Dad, Grandad and 2 Uncles would get together and play music. My Dad played harmonica (they called it a french harp), my Grandad played harmonica and fiddle, one Uncle played harmonica and one played the jews harp. Of course, as a kid I wanted to be involved, so finally at 10 my Dad gave me one of his old standby harps and I started the learning process. All old style, old songs, still can't play blues stuff much.
Where: Kansas/Oklahoma
When: 1958
What: Hohner Old Standby
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Wisdom does not always come with old age. Sometimes old age arrives alone.
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Thievin' Heathen
203 posts
May 24, 2013
5:58 PM
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Why: I discovered a pistol, an old 35mm Brownie and a Hohner 260 in the (forbidden) top drawer of Dad's dresser when I was about 6.
Where: A farm shack in Texas
When: 1967
What: Hohner 260 - the ordered structure of it kept me fascinated. Now it seems like chaos.
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TheoBurke
415 posts
May 25, 2013
6:47 AM
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I tried taking guitar lessons , but I didn't take to the instrument. I love guitar above all other instruments, but I didn't have the patience to learn how to play the finer things. Things changed , though, around 1966 or so when I went with a high school buddy--to a no age limit folk and blues club in Detroit called The Chessmate to listen to the Paul Butterfield Band. It was a revelation, life changing in the most literal sense of the phrase; Paul Butterfield did things with the harmonica I'd never heard. I was taken .
Where: Detroit , Michigan
When: 1966 or 1967
Store: Grinnell's Music on Livernois Avenue
Harmonica / Key: Marine Band, key unknown.
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Ted Burke
http://www.youtube.com/user/TheoBurke?feature=mhee
http://ted-burke.com
tburke4@san.rr.co,
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groyster1
2233 posts
May 25, 2013
8:25 AM
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loved the blues and bought a marine band in late 70s...tried to tongue block with instruction paper inside...lip pursed instead...
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IndianaHarpKid
15 posts
May 25, 2013
2:20 PM
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Why: I started listening to the blues really heavily and knew I wanted to play in a blues band, but I knew I lacked the hand dexterity to play any sort of stringed instrument, so I thought why not the blues harp?
When: October 10th, 2011
Where: Lafayette, Indiana
Store: McGuire Music and Sound
What: The terrible Hohner Piedmont Blues set for $35, my first real harp was a Special 20 in G.
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groyster1
2236 posts
May 25, 2013
2:31 PM
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anybody who wants to take up harp I always recommend Sp20s....reliable and the easiest harp to playIMHO
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nacoran
6817 posts
May 25, 2013
2:58 PM
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I always loved music and writing lyrics. I sang in choirs, but I didn't really have the courage to sing out front, so I tried singing backup. The guitar player/singer thought I was trying to steal the job of lead singer. I'd tried guitar and piano, but I've got tendon problems in my wrists. I tried harp, but didn't take to it. The band broke up, but I still had a harp lying around. A combination of needing an instrument to write melodies on and reading harp was good for asthma, and I gave it another shot.
That was about a year before I wandered around the web. I saw some guy who gave lessons, and I signed up for his newsletter. He sent me a very rude message- something about 'Magic Dick' and 'Whammer Jammer'. Well, that's not my scene! Anyway, before deleting the letter, I did a quick Google search, because the guy had seemed legit. Once I realized my error, I checked out his forum, and well, you guys know the rest.
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Nate
Facebook
Thread Organizer (A list of all sorts of useful threads)
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jbone
1262 posts
May 26, 2013
6:25 AM
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First instrument anyone played TO ME. Gramps when I was very young. Also I heard harp on the latem night race radio stations in the early 60's and it always hit me. Then there were 42 guitar players for every harp player, so the field was biased away from guitar wizard. Harps USED TO be really inexpensive. Always easy to carry even after I began toting an amp, mics, stands, books, cases, cables, blah blah blah.
My first harmonica was one that had sat in a box for at least 12 years before I got it. It had been a gift from my Gramps to my dad, who had passed away in '59. In '71 I was given that harp by my mom. So for me also, a legacy of sorts. As unequipped as I was, I took the legacy, and after many years of turmoil, began to actually play decent.
It's kind of ironic, I have an suv and the band leader has a Mustang, so guess who gets to help lug the gear to gigs??? So the idea of the harp guy who walks onto a set-up stage, plays 3 sets, gets paid, and walks out, is definitely not me!
Over some years in the 70's and 80's I tried other instruments. Guitar uke, keys, dulcimer, autoharp, and a lot of "lesser" stuff like spoons, kazoo, jaw harps, shakers, etc etc. Always back to harp at the end. Only much later did I begin singing. But harp is first and foremost.
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Between the lines:
WHY It was a really incredible sound and it was in my family through at least one member. It was a legacy. Maybe no different from many kids in their early teens but my heart had been broken several times by age 15, and my spirit with it, so when I heard that deep real blue sound I was instantly hooked.
WHAT Hohner Marine Band from the 50's. The harp had been a gift from Gramps to my dad the year I was born, 1955. From all I can tell Dad didn't spend much time at all with it. Having 6 kids may have had a bearing on that!
WHERE Corning New York. Unlikely sounding place for a blues aficianado and player to be born on the face of it. Until you find out that i was youngest of six kids, Dad died when I was 4, Mom raised us by herself for some years. Until you hear that it was a hard bitten factory town with 2 claims to fame in the Guinness book of records until the mid 70's: Most bars on its main street of any city that size in the USA, and most bars per person. It was a hard town.
WHEN In 1971 Mom handed me a box of stuff and told me to pick out an item as a remembrance of my father, who had been gone for 12 years by then. The one thing that stood out aside from his WWII medals was the harmonica in it's little white cardboard box. But that was only a bare beginning. Maybe 2 years later I was shown the blues notes and how to draw. Still just a bare start. Some five years later I left the hometown for good after the latest broken heart, and forgot my harps! Here is stubbornness: I tracked them down and arranged to get them shipped to me months after I had arrived in Dallas. It cost the price of a harp or two to get those 5 harps sent. By then the first harp was long gone and I was using mostly Special 20's.
By this time I was still not much as a player. It would be another 12 years of fits and starts before I began to learn much of anything important. Even then I was barely a sort of ok harp player. Finally, in my 40's, some things clicked into place and from about 2001 until now the journey has been very productive for me as a musician. So while I can claim to have begun at 41+ years ago, my harp adventures as a serious amateur player began more like 22 years ago.
http://www.reverbnation.com/jawboneandjolene
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000386839482
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wa7La7yYYeE
Last Edited by jbone on May 27, 2013 4:22 AM
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MichaelMc
2 posts
May 26, 2013
6:38 AM
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Gear:
Hohner Crossover Harps
Shure 520DX Green Bullet Mic
VHT Special 6 Ultra Combo Amp
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DukeBerryman
51 posts
May 26, 2013
9:44 AM
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Great stories!
Why: All my friends were learning guitar when we were listening to the Stones and Zeppelin - I liked the harp, and wanted to play with Willie Dixon. Thanks to blues radio
Where: outside of Chicago
When: early 80's
What: Special 20 - I owned the same rusty, green Special 20 in C for 10 years before I bought ones in A and D. Owned those harps for 10 years until I met Dave Gage, started taking lessons, and finally bought new harps in the other keys. Now I play Lee Oskars and Suzukis.
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Duke Berryman - Chicago blues, harmonica, guitar
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Grey Owl
146 posts
May 26, 2013
10:10 AM
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Really enjoyable stories guys. Keep em coming. I take it that everyone so far has been on their own on their harmonica journey, ie no harmonica buddy to jam and learn with from the outset.
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My MBH Profile
Grey Owl YouTube
Grey Owl Abstract Photos Website
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DukeBerryman
52 posts
May 26, 2013
10:17 AM
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That's so true, Grey_Owl - I never realized it was pretty much a solo journey up until now - thanks to the inter tubes!
Now, I can find people to jam with where ever I go.
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Duke Berryman - Chicago blues, harmonica, guitar
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Stevelegh
756 posts
May 26, 2013
10:47 AM
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U2's Rattle And Hum. Sadly, I can't cite the small excerpt from our host playing Freedom For My People. It was Bono's haunting (read, rudimentary, but effective) solo at the end of Running To Stand Still.
1988 - 1989
Portsmouth England
Hohner Blues Harp (pre MS) G followed by Hohner Pocket Pal in C and Scott McCloskey tuition cassette pack.
Last Edited by Stevelegh on May 27, 2013 3:32 AM
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SuperBee
1142 posts
May 26, 2013
2:58 PM
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maybe it was because John Mayall toured here in consecutive years when I was 16 & 17..I went to both shows, travelled 5 hours to get to the second one, and I'd say that gig was life-changing...the local support band also featured a harp playing front man...I was definitely noticing the harp and thinking it was for me at that gig...when I think back its that gig which always comes to mind.
It was in the Granada Tavern at Berriedale Tasmania (just across the road from what is now MONA - museum of old and new art...it's a big deal), in 1981
My first harp was possibly a marine band in G. I had a few before it started coming together. (Took about 15 years!) The first one I learned to bend notes with was a Huang Silvertone deluxe in A. I had a couple of Huangs, and a special 20 MS which was really hard to play. I still have that one. Only MS special 20 I've ever seen. MP repaired it for me (replaced the draw plate) so its even a player. Still not a real good harp, in fact I have a pre MS blues harp (bad years) which compares favourably.
Anyway, I'll keep it as my museum piece
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LSC
424 posts
May 26, 2013
6:03 PM
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Why: Because my step-dad discovered the drum kit in my bedroom that had been banned from the house. He had banned the kit before I even bought it. It was in my bedroom for nearly six months before he discovered it. When he did it got thrown out onto the front lawn.
After being unsuccessful in finding somewhere to store the drums I took the kit back to the shop. The store would only give me credit equal to what I owed. I said, "Look you've got to let me have something out of this." I saw a harmonica in the showcase, $1.75. "What about that?" They gave it to me.
Where: Cocoa Beach, Florida
When: 1965-66
What: Marine Band in C
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LSC
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LSC
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2chops
132 posts
May 26, 2013
7:36 PM
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You Tube = goshinjk
I'm workin on it. I'm workin on it.
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2chops
133 posts
May 26, 2013
7:38 PM
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Lost my whole stinking post. Aagghh! Do over.
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You Tube = goshinjk
I'm workin on it. I'm workin on it.
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A440
79 posts
May 27, 2013
1:49 AM
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Why: My grandfather and my father played, so I followed in their footsteps
Where: a small town in the Appalachian mountains of western Pennsylvania
When: 1969
What: Marine Band
Last Edited by A440 on May 27, 2013 1:50 AM
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geordiebluesman
740 posts
May 27, 2013
2:31 AM
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Well I packed my job in at 22yrs old and stuck out my thumb and headed for the Sun.
I hitched through Europe on my own and had some adventures,some good some bad.
Whilst sleeping on Nice beach I got robbed by 3 arabs at knife point ( I was in my sleeping bag the robber was standing over me with a knife, I had a bigger knife inside the sleeping bag so i cut a hole in the side and burried my blade up to the hilt in the bastards thigh and they all ran off alas with all my cash into a waiting car.
A hitchin buddy gave me some cash so I took a 27hr train ride up to Paris and found myself in an 8 berth carridge with a bunch of lads,one of whom played great Harp.
Man we partied the whole way drinking wine smoking weed and flirting with all the girls who gravitated to our carridge,all because of that Harmonica vibe!.
I swore there and then that I would learn to do that and eventually many years later I did.
That all happened about 1981, I got my first Harp,some generic piece of crap around 2006.
My first real Harp was a Marine Band in C, and I'm still with Marine Bands now nothing else sounds as authentic to my ear I just love them.
Playing Harp is the BEST thing that ever happened to me and I will be doing it till the day I die!
Last Edited by geordiebluesman on May 27, 2013 2:33 AM
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jbone
1263 posts
May 27, 2013
5:35 AM
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@ Woodeye: Was that really a mistake, to start with chromatic? I would bet that later on it came in handy. They are definitely two different animals but chromatic is much easier once one finds 3rd position for blues and jazz, no?
I know it was some decades for me before I began the 3rd position thing, but once I did the chromatic made perfect sense.
My gramps played chromatic but I don't remember if he ever played for me. I do remember diatonic sessions in the living room at their home on a Sunday evening, with the whole family all around listening.
I just think that there are no real mistakes, you may have had a hard start on harmonica, but the information was still available later on. Did that early experience help you later when you took a new look at chromatic harmonica?
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http://www.reverbnation.com/jawboneandjolene
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000386839482
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wa7La7yYYeE
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Jared_SA
54 posts
May 27, 2013
6:28 AM
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Why: I inherited a few harps from my grandfather. Didn't know him all that well, but I really enjoyed the idea of the harmonica. I grew up playing in metal bands, but always loved the feeling of blues. So I saw a 5 disc set called "Every Shad of the Blues" and slowly tried to play along without sounding like a plank. Watched loads of Adam's vids. Went from there.
Where: Cape Town, South Africa (Blues hub of... Nowhere)
When: 2006 (I'm only 26)
What: The only diatonic I inherited was Barclay in D. Since then I've had Pro Harps and Blues Harp, but found MS reeds to irritating. Now I only played MB Deluxes.
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Egg Timer Mic
Home Made Bullet Mic
Last Edited by Jared_SA on May 27, 2013 6:29 AM
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jbone
1265 posts
May 27, 2013
7:42 AM
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My first real concert was J. Geils band with Magic Dick! Not that I had any idea I might ever play that well but I had something to set sights on. That was the first of a long line of blues harp players I wanted to be like. I was pretty much a loner for years as far as learning anything concrete about harmonica. I did not know how to be a student and I was just too high. After years of doing some very damaging things to myself, I cleaned up. After a few years more I found a student mentality and embraced it, and that's when I truly began to learn. I would say the last 15 years or so have been really rich in education about the playing of the harmonica. Before that it was about attitude mostly.
12 years ago I pawned my amps and mics, sold off my cd'sd to survive. Big mistake and I will tell you, once you give something up you will likely not see it again. I managed to get one mic back out of 7, and no amps back out of 3. I have yet to see most of the cd's I had collected starting in the early 90's.
Shortly after I realized my mistake I changed careers and made a vow to ALWAYS play harp no matter WHAT. I rebuilt my gear as best I could and have been collecting cd's as $ permits. Most importantly though, my resolve to play for as long as I am able has been a blessing. In some ways locally I am not a popular guy, maybe partly because I'm a "Yankee" or "Damn Yankee", but also I think because I approach my craft like a guitarist or keyboard or horn guy. I am going to do my best to lay down a good thing. This can be perceived as arrogance or aggression by some and I think I've had to pay a price for that. I'm sort of on the fringe in this music community. The good news though, is that I am not alone and we out here on the edge have banded together and do our own real deal blues thing.
My music life has been full of inspiration and perspiration to get where I am now. Not a touring pro, but a local high end amateur and a guy with bills and a day job. But happier than ever!
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http://www.reverbnation.com/jawboneandjolene
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000386839482
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wa7La7yYYeE
Last Edited by jbone on May 27, 2013 12:10 PM
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Grey Owl
149 posts
May 27, 2013
9:27 AM
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Loving these stories! Nice that a lot of them have family connections too.
@Superbee Love Tasmania man. I was over there in 2003 just for a few days doing the tourist bit - Launceston (Cataract Gorge), Cradle Mountain and Penguin - what a great name for a town:)Must go back to Tas again sometime and spend more time there. It's bigger than I imagined - I was thinking Isle of Wight ie small island off the mainland but it's a tad bigger:)
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My MBH Profile
Grey Owl YouTube
Grey Owl Abstract Photos Website
Last Edited by Grey Owl on May 27, 2013 9:36 AM
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walterharp
1103 posts
May 27, 2013
9:40 AM
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why: in high school, had been fooling around with it, heard John Mayall and really started to get serious.
when: not really clear. there were always a few harmonicas around because I seemed to like it and my folks got me some. the clear memory of when is sitting outside noodling around and realized i could do the line and rhythm for willie and the poor boys.. drove my family crazy with that. That would have been in 1969 on the radio, and I was around 11 then
what: crummy old harmonicas. my aunt got me an echo harp and a chromatic, but they never really took like the diatonic
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MP
2760 posts
May 27, 2013
1:23 PM
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Why? like Theo it was Paul Butterfield. heard his first record and decided i had to play blues harmonica.
Where- Honolulu, Hawaii
When- 1972
What- Pre-Ms Hohner Blues Harp. Key of D. I was unaware that most blues was played in E or A, so i had an auspicious start with 2nd position D harmonica in A.
from geordiebluesmam-
"Playing Harp is the BEST thing that ever happened to me and I will be doing it till the day I die!"
here, here!
"
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MP
affordable reed replacement and repairs.
"making the world a better place, one harmonica at a time"
click user name [MP] for info-
repair videos on YouTube.
you can reach me via Facebook. Mark Prados
Last Edited by MP on May 27, 2013 1:27 PM
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Frank
2451 posts
May 27, 2013
1:51 PM
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Why...Heard James Cotton Record "Live And On The Move" playing it was fun, made me feel good and brought me joy.
Where...PA
When... I discovered I liked harp in high school, but didn't begin to make it a serious hobby till in the 90's after seeing Sam Myers live with Anson Funderburgh.
What...I think it was a hohner standby in C
I've always had some buds to talk harp with, but mostly I'm alone when messin with the harp in my spare time for rest and relaxation
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Littoral
885 posts
May 27, 2013
2:11 PM
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adding, Mayall's Room to Move really got my attention.
John Steinbeck, from The Grapes Of Wrath
“A harmonica is easy to carry. Take it out of your hip pocket. Knock it against your palm to shake out the dirt and pocket fuzz and bits of tobacco. Now it’s ready. You can do anything with a harmonica: thin reedy single tone or chords, or melody with rhythm chords. You can mold the music with curved hands, making it wail and cry like bagpipes, making it full and round like an organ, making it as sharp and bitter as the reed pipes of the hills. And you play and put it back into your pocket. It’s always with you.”
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SuperBee
1146 posts
May 27, 2013
2:29 PM
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Grey Owl, that's very cool to know you've been here. I grew up on the Northwest, at Wynyard, about 30k west of Penguin.
I've heard a lot of people have the impression the island is very small. In terms of Australian states it is very small but I think it is 21st
on the list of biggest islands, more like Ireland than the Isle of Wight. 26000 square miles. Give me a yell if you decide to come again. I'm looking to travel more over the next few years, if all goes to plan...your island is on my list too
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Seven.Oh.Three.
215 posts
May 27, 2013
7:23 PM
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Why- I started learning guitar when I was younger. Got half way decent too. But I had three friends who were just monster guitarists and it kept me from being satisfied with my playing. I quit guitar and tried loads of other instruments with little to no success at any of them. I basically have up on music at that point. I picked up a harmonica loving the music that it was possible of producing and thought I'd just pick it up and play the S*** out of it immediately. Haha. It took four years for me to finally get serious about playing it and haven't put it down in two years now.
Where- Washington, D.C.
When- 2011
What- special 20 in C
-7.o.3.-
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Rgsccr
161 posts
May 27, 2013
9:43 PM
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Back in '69 had to learn something to try and impress my girlfriend, and win her away from her guitar playing previous boyfriend. Couldn't afford anything but a harp. Started listening to the blues and fell in love with the sound a harp can make. Started with marine bands and blues harps. Gone through lots of different harps since then - Lee Oskars, SP-20s, Big Rivers - now I've settled on Crossovers for lower keys and Marine Band Deluxes for higher keys (C through F).
Last Edited by Rgsccr on May 27, 2013 9:45 PM
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Goldbrick
189 posts
May 27, 2013
9:54 PM
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I am mostly a drummer who also plays blues guitar but about 2 years ago I realized I was tired of dragging that stuff around.
I was in Philadelphia visiting my brother and he played a cd of a friend of his , Steve Guyger. I said WTF?
I had always enjoyed blues harp but had never really heard it played like that and Steve looked and talked like a regular neighborhood guy.
I went down to the local store and got me an old standby that wouldnt play for crap in key of C. Than I dug around the internet and realized what I had heard was cross harp and you draw instead of blow--what a friggin revelation. I also bought a Lee Oskar harp and found that that old standby was also part of the problem.
That was 2 years ago and after about 6 months started working harp into my bands set list. My goal is to get good enuff to Be a good blues harp player who plays other instruments and not the other way around
And a blind pig gets a piece of corn every now and then because I love small tube amps for guitar and already had a couple of Kalamazoos and an Oahu that I found were great harp amps
Lee Oskar in C
JT30
Kalamazoo 2
Last Edited by Goldbrick on May 27, 2013 9:55 PM
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Sarge
327 posts
May 27, 2013
9:58 PM
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Hey Rgsccr, did you get the girl?
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Wisdom does not always come with old age. Sometimes old age arrives alone.
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Rgsccr
162 posts
May 27, 2013
10:59 PM
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Yeah, I did, for a while. Haven't seen her since '72 and I still miss her. Prettiest girl I ever saw. In the words of the song, every day I have the blues. Not that things are all bad, or bad at all, been married to another great woman for 34 years, have two great kids, and I learned to play the blues. Oh yeah, the where was Santa Barbara and Berkeley.
Last Edited by Rgsccr on May 28, 2013 12:06 AM
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WestVirginiaTom
85 posts
May 28, 2013
7:41 AM
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Why: Not really sure why. I was always drawn to the blues. I have friends who play acoustic guitar, upright bass, and mandolin, and I wanted to play something else to fill the gaps. I loved the sound of the harp, so I figured I would give it a try. At the age of 49, I bought a Lee Oskar harp and an instruction book by David Harp. A few months later I attended beginner blues harp classes at the Augusta Heritage Center in Elkins, West Virginia and got excellent instruction from Joe Filisko, Phil Wiggins, and Grant Dermody. I went back the following year for intermediate courses. Next month, I will go to Augusta for a third time. I have been playing harp for a little more than 4 years, and I can’t imagine ever giving it up.
When: 2009
Where: West Virginia
What: Lee Oskar in C
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Rick Davis
1858 posts
May 28, 2013
7:53 AM
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When - 1973
Where - Hitchhiking around the Pacific NW.
Why - Met a guy on the road who played harp. Coolest thing I ever heard.
What - I bought a Hohner Blues Harp in E a few days later.
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-Rick Davis
The Blues Harp Amps Blog
The Mile High Blues Society
Tip Jar
Last Edited by Rick Davis on May 28, 2013 7:53 AM
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Grey Owl
152 posts
May 28, 2013
8:11 AM
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Cool stories guys!
Tough key to start on Rick, Do you still like to play the higher keys?
@Superbee Yea I hope to get back to Tasmania again, be good to meet up. I have family in Melbourne and we're overdue another visit (last one in 2009)
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My MBH Profile
Grey Owl YouTube
Grey Owl Abstract Photos Website
Last Edited by Grey Owl on May 28, 2013 8:11 AM
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shadoe42
262 posts
May 28, 2013
4:35 PM
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I have long loved blues, and harmonica in general. So when my Carpel Tunnel Syndrome was so bad I could not play guitar for a year I went in search of something I could still make music on.
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Dr. Rev. Mr. Cheeks Miller
My Electronic Music World
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2chops
134 posts
May 28, 2013
6:25 PM
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Why: Got my first harp as a Christmas present back in 1977. I was 12. Loved the harp parts on CCR's Run Through The Jungle and Keep On Chooglin/live. Heard Juke hear and there. The harp parts really captured my ear. Managed to get the harp opening down to Piano Man, who didn't?, and The Long Way Home. Mostly fooled around for a long time with not much success. About 3 years ago was gifted with a box of 40 harps. SP20's mostly. And stumbled across Gindick's and Adam's vids. YES! No lookin back now.
Where: Cammal, PA.
What: Hohner Blues Harp, key of A.
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You Tube = goshinjk
I'm workin on it. I'm workin on it.
Last Edited by 2chops on May 28, 2013 6:26 PM
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BronzeWailer
1004 posts
May 29, 2013
2:35 AM
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When: About 1979. Saw Sonny and Brownie concert and was blown away.
Why: Thought I would like to make that sort of sound.
What: Marine Band. Probably a C. Can't remember.
Where: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
I got Tony Glover's book and got OK at bending the draw notes but stagnated. I would drag the harp out once or twice year but made zero progress for the next 30 years. Having kids and moving countries twice didn't help. Then a friend turned me onto to JR's videos in early 2010 which led me to Adam's videos and this excellent forum. Over the past three years I've been furiously making up for lost time and having a blast...
My YouTube
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MichaelMc
3 posts
May 29, 2013
6:12 AM
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Why: I've played wind instruments most of my life. I can read music, and play what I'm told, but could never grasp improv. Then I picked up a harmonica and was "goofing off" with a band mate and was shocked at how much sense the harmonica made and how well it was designed for blues improv.
After that, I sold my sax, started a blues band, and haven't looked back.
When: about 4 years ago
What: my first harp was a special 20 in C. I've since tried all the usual models, but have settled on the crossover.
Where: I started playing in Dayton, OH, but have since moved to the Nashville area for work. That's where my band is presently located.
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Gear:
Hohner Crossover Harps
Shure 520DX Green Bullet Mic
VHT Special 6 Ultra Combo Amp
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bloozefish
97 posts
May 29, 2013
2:02 PM
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I started out playing drums in high school (mid-60s.) Heard Canned Heat, and was intrigued. Saw Butterfield at the Miami Pop Festival in '68,and was floored.
Bought a Marine Band in C and couldn't figure out why I couldn't sound like the records. Finally found out about cross harp, learned to bend, and recognize a I-IV-V progression (but didn't know what to call it.
Got a job running lights and sound for a theater company that traveled, so I sold the drums, and bought more harps. Went through Memphis with the theater company, met a lot of local blues musos, and got to refine my chops with lots of practice.
Later, after college and grad school, I met up with an old buddy and we formed a duet that played lots of beach bars in Florida. Also got to sit in with a number of bands, playing both harp and percussion (congas, etc.)
Harp has been a good friend through many years, and I play some every day. Not currently gigging.
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Buzadero
1076 posts
May 29, 2013
7:09 PM
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I didn't choose the harp, it chose me:
When: Early 1960's
Where: Southern California
What: Marine Band, likely in "C"
Why(How): My grandfather was enamored of the West. He loved cowboy music and would put harps in the grandkids Christmas stockings every year. I was the only one who ever tried to make usable sounds in the effort to please him. When I was probably 7 or 8 years old, I bent a note and he was quick to explain that what I had produced was viable and encouraged me to repeat it.
Flash forward a few years and I discovered that girls thought that the ability to generate something marginally recognizable as a familiar tune was cool. As a throbbingly hormonal male, that was a healthy boost in practice motivation.
Flash forward again: The compact little freakshow of a toy was just portable enough to always have around when moving through life with limited storage capacity. On a ship, traveling, on a remote job etc. At some point I found myself in the American South and parlayed what limited talent threshold I had to communicating with others and striving to create "music" via the front porch/campfire/sitting-in jam.
The harp has made me more friends and garnered me more smiles than any other single factor in my life.
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~Buzadero
Underwater Janitor, Patriot
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