Yes Diggs. I found it's good for other kinds of soulful melodies too, like 'Amazing Grace'. It's tuned for a pentatonic scale, which is really common in Chinese music but also popular in many other genres. You can get the other chromatic notes of the scale as intermediate bends also, plus quartertones too of course, though I haven't explored that side much so far.
Brendan, with that drone and the bending you do, you're most of the way already to playing East Indian ragas. I'd love to hear that. Beautiful, as always.
Harp-er: your observation is dead on. To do it authentically I think it needs Raga-specific all-bending harmonicas, like the one in the clip above (pentatonic scale, or Bhupali/Mohanam Raga). Even though the tune isn't Indian, you're right to hear the potential for that incredible musical tradition.
I don't think I'm the man to attempt to play the Ragas, as they are very deep and complex pieces that require years of immersive study to play properly. But I think I can make the harmonicas that will allow talented Indian musicians to do it.
That's one of my goals for the year: make available low-cost all-bending harps that are suited to 2-3 of the most commonly used Ragas in Indian music. Bhupali/Mohanam Raga is one. Bhairaav is another, a more Arabic-sounding Raag.
I really believe that the harmonica and Indian music are made for each other, they just haven't been properly introduced yet. I hope to help enable that introduction in a small way by providing suitable harps, because the results would be fabulous to hear!
Last Edited by Brendan Power on Apr 05, 2015 4:22 AM
Well Brendan, if anyone can introduce these folks to each other, it would certainly be you. Might be that match made in heaven. I look forward to one day hearing from the offspring.
I appreciate your humility on declining to be the one to play "authentic" ragas on harmonica, but, really, I'd bet my favorite pair of summer shorts that you could and can and hopefully will, for our enjoyment, do your version of "Indian-style" music on one of your special harps. As I said, I'd love to hear you do it.
I'd sell my soul to the devil to do it, Harp-er! In my opinion Indian musicians have been the world leaders in note bending for many centuries, and to transfer some of their exquisite pitch bending mastery to the harmonica would be nirvana (to mix religious and musical metaphors).
I guess I'm so in awe of the spiritual power of India's ancient musical culture that I've been happy to worship from afar, as it would seem sacrilegious for an outsider to merely dabble in something so deep. The master Indian classical musicians truly devote their whole lives to it.
But maybe trying to cop a few licks from a Bollywood song would be possible, and allowable! Thanks for the push harp-er, hopefully I'll come back to you with an Indian takeaway at some stage.
Your playing of The Dawning of the Day took me to a place I have not visited for some time. Thank you for taking me. I think I'll just stay awhile, I'm not ready to leave... ----------
Makes me think about people like Ravi Shankar and Zakir Hussein - and I'm sure there are/have been many others - both highest level Indian classical musicians IMHO, who didn't seem to have a problem crossing over into Western pop music, either by teaching George Harrison for example, or playing with the Grateful Dead, etc.
I think you may be too hard on yourself in thinking there couldn't be a place for you in putting a toe, or a foot, or even a leg into that stream. One of the most sacred things about music is its universality. If it doesn't bring us together, well...............
And also, haven't you dedicated your life to music? I don't know you, of course, but the faces you show publically would seem to suggest that you have.
I await what I'm certain will be a wonderful synthesis of talents, of sensibilities, of technical innovations, and of dedication.
That was really, really great. With those deeeeep bends. Man! And you can literally hear the connection to Chinese music, Indian Ragas (as noted), and even the Pentatonic music of West Africa. Really universal, yet completely unique. Beautiful. ----------
