Anybody have suggestions who to listen to for this? I mean harp players more influenced by or sound like they play things a guitar player would .Also what guitar players do you cop licks from? I think Butterfield also Ricci.
What type of music are you playing. IMO, blues guitar, even the swing stuff (and I am not a big swing blues guy)is much more interesting than harmonica a lot of times.
Generally, and this is a generic statement across genres, lead guitar is going to have more single notes and embellishments than traditional harmonica. Often times, what is normal for speed and rhythm of an embellishment on guitar will sound fast and busy on harmonica to a blues harp player. This is true in both blues and other genres.
It is also more melody driven. I don't mean that the guitar plays the vocal melody. It is also going to sound a bit jazzier as there is usually more acceptance for the use of multiple modes/scales over a chord...it is also easier to follow a song's harmony by transposing keys.
Derek Trucks is a fantastic guitar player to check out. He has fantastic phrasing and plays very melodically.
One of the key differences with guitar is that notes are bent up on a guitar, while they are bent down traditional on harmonica. Overbends sometimes make it easier to match some riffs.
Finally, and we're talking broad strokes here, the use of space is different than on harmonica, at least in a lot of blues. Listen to some Freddie King and then Little Walter. King will leave tons of space. LW will often chug or play something rhythmically between phrases.
Basically, play more Mixolydian and learn to add embellishments to melodic phrasing. Pat Ramsey and Jason Ricci are good examples of that. ---------- Mantra Customized Harmonicas My Website
One of the reasons I choose chromatic to channel my harmonica ideas is that it allows to do those quick half step things I do on guitar with hammer ons and pulloffs.
Three that spring to mind for me...IMO John Popper, Huey Lewis, and Jason Ricci all play like guitarists.
I tend to play harp like a guitar player as well. Most of my playing style, like HarpNinja, has developed from single note playing, and in my case, it draws from my trumpet training way back when. My articulation is almost completely based on my years playing trumpet, and as a result, triplets are commonplace at every gig for me. Take our version of Miss You....almost every bit of my playing are individual notes.
@Harpninja, I'm mainly a blues guy but just trying to learn some new tricks.notes bend down but don't you release them back up? @Frank thanks now I can say I play with Albert Collins.That helped .
