Ugly Bones Ryan
29 posts
Jan 09, 2014
10:45 AM
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Guitar players play under the leg, behind the back, with their teeth, etc. I'm a flashy harmonica player and I was wondering if someone knows some sort of visually entertaining things that can be done with a harmonica; tricks. I know it's probably hard because....well it has to stay in my mouth but there must be SOMETHING. Any ideas?
PS
I know you can put the whole thing in your mouth or play with your nose. That's not when I'm interested in.
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arzajac
1256 posts
Jan 09, 2014
11:03 AM
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#1 - Hold a harp of different keys in either hand. Make a big deal about the fact they are different keys (like the audience would care otherwise!) Play a lick with one harp and wave your arm with a flourish as you put the other harp in your mouth and play the same lick in another position. Repeat a few times with various licks. Do not overuse this.
#2 (Not really a visible trick, but you become the spotlight) - Hold a note or a warble for a really long time. Can be done with good breath control or circular breathing. Works best on the high end. Use dynamics to play loud at first, then softly for an extended period of time (saves on breath, but the audience can't appreciate that) and then end with a ton of volume and vibrato. Use body language to imply this requires herculean strength or something.
#3 Get the band to play as low as they can and walk around the room, sit at tables, dance with women as you play a few 12 bar solos acoustically.
I'd love to hear ideas that aren't so corny!
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Custom overblow harps. Harmonica service and repair.
Last Edited by arzajac on Jan 09, 2014 11:04 AM
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nacoran
7482 posts
Jan 09, 2014
11:48 AM
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Just playing a super low harp will wow them sometimes. There is the cup trick, which gives you a nice echoey sound and the audience sees it.
A variation on what Arzajac said is playing two harps of different keys, but use say, C/C# and you can play a full chromatic scale without overblows. It's apparently a popular style in Asia.
There is a guy in Germany who managed to make a harp with a knob on the end that cycled some LED's built into the harp through a sequence of color changes.
It's an audio special effect, but Turboharp has their Turboslide, which gives you some neat sounds you can't play on anything else (or at least I can't, maybe someone could).
Any tricks a drummer does with sticks you might be able to adapt to harps.
I've never had a joy buzzer handy to take apart, but I've always thought it would be funny to modify one- they don't really buzz so much as spin, and if you adjusted the speed you could spin your harp in your hand, sort of like the way ZZTop spins their guitars. Someone with some mechanical skills might be able to modify a rack to spin, sort of like the guitar guys who spin their guitar around their neck/shoulder on it's strap.
Harp boxing- I've had people come up after a open mic and wonder about the non-harmonica noises I make while playing harmonica, and only use them very sparingly.
(The main video of the Firefly harp doesn't seem to be working, but here is one where the creator showed it to Jason Ricci).
And if you have the cardio for it, there is always just plain old dancing. I was a small venue once where there wasn't even really a stage, and the lead guitar player, out of nowhere, did a split that drove the crowd wild.
If you are doing the circular breathing trick, and you have a mic that has adjustable volume you could slowly turn the volume up as you go. You have to know when to stop. Christelle Berthon did a video once where she started off by basically saying it was going to be a very boring video. She then used circular breathing to hold a note for 5 minutes.
Jason Ricci sometimes, in the middle of a blues riff, switches into an extended classical solo. Not visual, but awesome.
I skip the harp on one song occasionally. It's a basic call and response tune where usually I sing a line, then play the same riff, then the next line, etc. Sometimes though, to change it up, I do it call and response with the audience. I figure if they don't know my songs it's a good way to get them to learn them.
Dress for the venue and look like you are having fun. I had a friend who had a band that threw candy into the audience (at college shoes) and other friends who hand out kazoos for one of their songs (there are harps that are cheap enough to do that with, but I'm not sure I'd inflict them on anyone.)
You could always, at the end of a song you know you really nailed, reach your arm out and drop the harp, like you are a rap star with a microphone, as long as you do it with sort of an ironic smile.
You can also take a really simple song that everyone knows, like Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and play it with all sorts of little flourishes.
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Nate
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barbequebob
2438 posts
Jan 09, 2014
11:51 AM
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Lay on your back while playing.
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Sincerely,
Barbeque Bob Maglinte
Boston, MA
http://www.barbequebob.com
CD available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/bbmaglinte
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Rick Davis
2840 posts
Jan 09, 2014
2:41 PM
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Local pro Al Chesis has a whole bunch of shtick he does while playing. He's good and people really like it.
For example, he will wave his off-hand around in a really excited way while hitting a big note. He will jump up an down. He will climb the furniture in the club while playing. I have seen him duck-walk the entire length of a horseshoe bar while playing an intense boogie solo. On the bar!
He exaggerates many of his gestures and moves while playing. Al has got it down, the whole thing.
edit: I found a video. Al is pretty calm here but you get the idea.
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-Little Rick Davis
The Memphis Mini harp amp
The Blues Harp Amps Blog
The Mile High Blues Society
Last Edited by Rick Davis on Jan 09, 2014 2:54 PM
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TheoBurke
558 posts
Jan 09, 2014
3:11 PM
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Harmonica master Norton Buffalo took a multi-diatonic harmonica solo on Bonnie Raitt's version of runaway. It was musically sharp and visually commanding.
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Ted Burke
http://www.youtube.com/user/TheoBurke?feature=mhee
http://ted-burke.com
tburke4@san.rr.coM
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Rick Davis
2841 posts
Jan 09, 2014
5:45 PM
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Ted, that harp solo blew my mind when I first heard it on the radio in Phoenix in 1977. I didn't realize right away that he was using three harps.
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-Little Rick Davis
The Memphis Mini harp amp
The Blues Harp Amps Blog
The Mile High Blues Society
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1847
1456 posts
Jan 09, 2014
5:47 PM
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he is using 4 harps
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i get a lot of request when i play my harmonica
"but i play it anyway"
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tmf714
2322 posts
Jan 09, 2014
6:25 PM
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The harps used on "Runaway" in order are
F
Eb
Db
C
All played in second position as the chord changes in the song.
So practice the first part with and F harp, switch to Eb, switch to Db, Then finally to a C harp. Now go back down to the F, switch to Eb, finish off the solo with a Db harp.
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6SN7
407 posts
Jan 09, 2014
6:55 PM
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Thanks tmf714, I always wanted to know the sequence.
I always thought Norton's solo was the best harp stunt until I saw Rick Estrin stick a harp in his mouth and play.
Last Edited by 6SN7 on Jan 09, 2014 6:57 PM
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Gnarly
862 posts
Jan 09, 2014
7:08 PM
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Yeah, switching harps is a great trick!
How about changing from diatonic to chromatic in the middle of a solo?
And as far as the solo on Runaway, I determined that a Power Chromatic in B-flat will allow you to play through these changes on one harp. I have a video on YouTube on this topic. Not really on topic for this thread, however LOL
Last Edited by Gnarly on Jan 09, 2014 7:11 PM
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slaphappy
6 posts
Jan 10, 2014
10:24 AM
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what about the "no hands" harp in the mouth trick?
Rick Estrin absolutely brought the house down at Hummel's Blues Harp Blowout show last night in SF with this. He stuck the harp in his mouth and built this sonny boy lick into a big crescendo and did this funny dance while waving both hands in the air.. the audience went nuts it was great :)
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GMaj7
334 posts
Jan 10, 2014
11:29 AM
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At SPAH 2012 Dallas I saw a guy blow up a balloon and let the air out into hole 1 of the harp creating a drone / bagpipe effect while he played a melody higher up on the harp. Really cool.. !
Harvey and Halchak were sitting in the circle.. and come probably remind me of who it was that did it.. pretty hilarious.. and talented
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Greg Jones
16:23 Custom Harmonicas
greg@1623customharmonicas.com
1623customharmonicas.com
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KingoBad
1419 posts
Jan 10, 2014
11:40 AM
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Gmaj7,
That is Harmonica Bruce. He also spent years stretching his mouth so he could put a harp in it.. He plays it backwards jammed in his mouth with his fingers over the holes...
He was also at HCH1.
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Danny
Last Edited by KingoBad on Jan 10, 2014 11:41 AM
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Rarko
86 posts
Jan 10, 2014
12:48 PM
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Jason Ricci walking all over, playing in the crowd...
Andrew mentioned that :)
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Dog Face
230 posts
Jan 10, 2014
12:51 PM
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or our own GreyOwl:
and GreyOwl's student:
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Brad
Last Edited by Dog Face on Jan 10, 2014 1:02 PM
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Gnarly
865 posts
Jan 10, 2014
1:37 PM
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Oh yeah, that's gonna get me chicks, playing the harmonica with my nose while I eat a banana.
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Frank
3674 posts
Jan 10, 2014
2:31 PM
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Anyone mention the mic on the neck trick :)
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The Centipide Saloon
Tip Your Waiter Please
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Ugly Bones Ryan
30 posts
Jan 10, 2014
8:17 PM
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As interesting and informative as this all was....
"PS I know you can put the whole thing in your mouth or play with your nose. That's not when I'm interested in."
Did you guys forget I said that? :D
Thanks again.
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Martic
57 posts
Jan 10, 2014
10:34 PM
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Damn! I need to learn new tricks. It seems like walking through the crowd and holding a high note ain't nothing new.
Another great trick (I think Deak Harp does it too) is to use your voice and make a harmony between the note you're singing and the note you're playing. It works great when you mix the 3, 4 or the 1-4 octave with the low vocal register and/or falsettos. Usually the middle vocal register doesn't mix well with the harmonica notes, so don't use it. Try to make fifth harmonies, they sound funny.
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Philosofy
506 posts
Jan 11, 2014
9:31 AM
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A great trick a friend of mine did was with the song Fever. At the end of the song, which was the last of his set, he would get the audience participating in a call and response, with the audience singing along. He would start moving about the audience with a wireless mike, and slowly the band would stop playing, leaving just him and the audience singing. Then he would just go on break, and the crowd would still be singing. The look on people's faces when they realized that band wasn't there anymore was pretty funny.
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FMWoodeye
814 posts
Jan 11, 2014
10:35 AM
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Well, there is always the Ted Nugent maneuver, which would be characterized as a cheap trick. When you feel the telltale pressure and realize that you must (or can) pass gas, quickly place the mic in the appropriate location and let loose. The only caveats would be make sure that is indeed gas and not something more humid or substantial, and make sure the venue is appropriate. With the right crowed, this can also be an audience participation opportunity.....if you can set a mic up on a stand outside the chicken wire.
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Dog Face
231 posts
Jan 11, 2014
3:16 PM
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@FMWoodeye-
A philosophy I always live by: Never trust a fart.
Heaven forbid I try that on stage!
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Brad
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tmf714
2328 posts
Jan 11, 2014
3:57 PM
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Cant find a vid,but I know Steve Guyger switches back and forth with two harps rotating them rapidly,and also playing the harp upside down-switching back and forth.
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Frank
3679 posts
Jan 11, 2014
4:15 PM
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Dennis Gruenling does a "leslie effect" with the harp - that is freakishly mind blowing - you're sure to flip some lids in the crowd if you can master that trick :)
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nacoran
7488 posts
Jan 11, 2014
4:41 PM
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Oops, forgot this one!
At one point or another I've tried a couple other experiments, that if delivered right could work as tricks...
You won't get great mouth depth, but if you take several harps apart and set all but two covers aside and get long enough screws, you can stack the harps- just put a backwards comb between each level. (I was having wrist problems and I was trying to learn the regular 2 harp trick but having problems holding them.)
It occurred to me that if you wanted to take that to absurd levels you could stack a bunch of harps that way. You can turn it around and play the other side too, but you end up with weird tunings, since then you are playing blow and draw reed plates from different harps. (I thought about trimming the back edge of the combs concave to make it easier to get a good deep seal, but it was more work than it was worth- I've also thought about getting a double thick comb for a pitch pipe and combining two pitch pipes into a 12 hole circular harp.)
Another trick I played around with that did have some potential for someone who wanted to practice it a lot to get the technique down, and who was willing to risk damaging some harps- if you have an open backed harp you can take a toothpick and carefully use it like a guitar slide on a reed. It produces an interesting sound, different (and more extreme than) regular bends.
Call and answer with a guitar player on something like the Deliverance Dueling Banjos works too. My guitar player and I were working something up on an Irish jig I wrote like that. (My band is a bit ADHD. By the time the guitar player had got the jig down the bass player wanted to move on and we never did get back to it.)
For my money, the toothpick trick, if someone with good manual dexterity (not me!) worked on it a bit and delivered it with some flair, could be a signature move with some actual musicality to it.
They are a bit shrill, but Hohner Pucks are so tiny anyone can stick 'em in their mouth, even to the point where you can't see them.
I like funny stuff, at least if you are good enough so the audience knows you aren't being serious.
I don't remember the name of the show, but there is a game show (that had Tim Minchin as a guest), and at some point they bring out harmonicas, and have some guy come up, and they give him dentures with a harmonica built into them. He played a passing Oh Susanna or Home on the Range or such.
There are of course, some novelty harps. Chris Michalek played a harmonica built into a cane on A&E or History Channel show. (He hated it- he'd prepared a complex piece but the audience started clapping in rhythm and all he could play was Oh Susanna (or Home on the Range or something like that). The trick with a novelty harp is it has to be clear what it is from a distance. The cane worked. One of those old Banana harps might work, but a Zeppelin probably wouldn't.
It wasn't a harmonica trick, but I had a friend who (at the time) wowed me by being able to play any song anyone named (and if he didn't know it, if you could hum a couple bars he could get it- in retrospect it was probably all just variations on that one pop chord progression.) If you can do that on harp, maybe while the rest of the band takes a breather...
edit- and this is more audio, but with an airtight harp and a good seal, you can play high draws at the same time as low blows. Your seal has to be really tight, and you'll have to block some of your middle holes against your face. (Someone could, theoretically, make a harp tuning to take advantage of that. I've got one harp I can get a 8,9 or 10 draw on while playing a 1 blow. The air has to go somewhere.
Last Edited by nacoran on Jan 11, 2014 4:52 PM
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CarlA
424 posts
Jan 11, 2014
5:48 PM
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@frank
I heard Dennis do the "leslie effect" on a few videos. It's sounds amazing. How does he achieve this effect??
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tmf714
2329 posts
Jan 11, 2014
5:57 PM
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"How does he achieve this effect??"
By rapidly opening and closing the cup-
Starting at 4:38-but the whole video is a masterclass lesson in tone,vibrato,overblowing, pops and glissindos-
Last Edited by tmf714 on Jan 11, 2014 5:58 PM
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GamblersHand
480 posts
Jan 12, 2014
5:20 AM
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A visual trick I used to do in my younger days - during a solo, on the 5th bar I'd fall directly backwards (like a "trust exercise") while playing a sustained note, and the lead vocalist would catch me just before I'd hit the floor.
worked well generally..he only forgot his part once in the two years we did this particular stage hijink...
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