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Dirty-South Blues Harp forum: wail on! >
Search for Tone, the Joy and Misery
Search for Tone, the Joy and Misery
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MindTheGap
652 posts
Aug 29, 2015
3:19 AM
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One of the great things about reading MBH is to tune into to the concerns of more advanced players. I'd never have worked out from the instruction books how much effort people put into trying to change the simple, raw sound of the harmonica to make it sound like something else, through acoustic technique or mics and amps.
I used to play the bass a lot, but haven't seriously for a long while. I had to sub for bass the other day and even though I was very rusty the thing that struck me was that I could plug an inexpensive guitar into the PA, a bit of EQ, and it sounded basically like a bass - no mess, no fuss. No need to jump through hoops with technique or equipment. That was great! (Oh, yes and no feedback issues!)
I read Martin's recent thread with interest. Another experienced player not quite content with their sound, even though others say it's good, and it certainly sounds 'right' to me.
Is being slightly discontent a constant force that motivates you, or is it a drag?
I'd really like to hear from other players who are content with their tone. Is it a case of learning to love what you do already, or was it the end of a journey of technique and equipment?
Thanks.
Last Edited by MindTheGap on Aug 29, 2015 3:39 AM
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The Iceman
2652 posts
Aug 29, 2015
4:18 AM
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I always had a preconceived sound in my head of a round, warm tone, so over the years I worked on relaxation of all unnecessary muscle tension and breathing the harmonica from the diaphragm to achieve it.
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The Iceman
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Littoral
1284 posts
Aug 29, 2015
5:20 AM
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Yeah, tone is it. The endless quest is, in part, the beauty of it.
Tone on any instrument has to resonate through the player. Violin is the classic example because it goes through the body such that you can't even get a decent note without resonating with the instrument.
By comparison harp can get notes almost as easy as a piano, chord's even easier. Deceivingly esay, and that's part of why it sometimes has to overcome toy status. But harp does, similar to the violin, have the unique benefit of being in the mouth and accessing the same muscles we use for voice. The possibilities for expression model what we can do with our voice, and arguably more. The limit then is our technique and imagination.
Last Edited by Littoral on Aug 29, 2015 5:24 AM
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jbone
2015 posts
Aug 29, 2015
5:26 AM
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That's good counsel Ice.
For me, hearing my heroes doing what they did spurred me finally to be a student and actually learn some things. Changing what one does is a struggle sometimes, ex. I still kill a 4 draw reed here and there after so many years.
Usually I do not think much about what to do to get my tone. We get set and we go, and the motto is "raw, real, right now". Whatever that may bring. Lately we're playing on the street and at the farmers' market so the only tone available is from within and from the surrounding structures. But it's definitely on me to get warmth, a certain volume, and a variety in my playing for when we get some people hanging out for a few songs. It's hard to not notice, people hear a harp and they are drawn to it. Sometimes even not-so-great playing will bring an audience. For me though, my mission is to do what I know, explore at the same time, and reach people with music, preferably blues but also old country, roots rock, even some almost-vaudeville material, ragtime, folk rock, whatever people respond to.
I recall years of agonizing about tone. The magic quality. My search took me through several amps, eq's, a few mics, and finally I was blown away by a guy who played into the p.a. and blew all my tone efforts out the window. I took his counsel and deepened my efforts on the instrument itself, and later on looked at amplification.
I've owned some nice amps, from 12w 60's Princeton to a custom built Bassman replica, to my current favorite, a mid 70's Vibro Champ. Mics, I have a great dynamic modded by Heuman, a 585s, and an Astatic 332 crystal. With that much and a good attitude, not to mention just hitting a p.a. mic sometimes, I can cover all I need tone-wise.
I've focused on the duo approach since my wife Jolene is my partner and has been for years. Even with other projects she has hung in and been there for me. About 2 years ago I made the decision to be more exclusive and work with her always and that's it. We plan to play with other outfits here and there but as a unit. Being with one partner has allowed me to hone my sound. There is very little guesswork about what is going to happen on a stage, she will lay done some great tuneful rhythm and I will rise above it on harp and vocals.
For me tone just happens when you play long enough and struggle hard enough to find the right tools. Embouchere, cupping, hand effects, material,kind of harp, etc etc.
I've been watching Jolene make big progress on guitar and on vocal phrasing in recent years. When she does better I have to raise my game. True synergy.
I am always my own critic; even when people around me are complimenting me there is the internal voice asking, why did I do that? That was wrong, I could have done that better, etc etc. You know the voice. I have to trust my audience sometimes, and that includes Jolene. Left to my own devices I may have just sat where I was say 20 years ago and never grown any more.
For me the answer is, we need some resistance to force us to struggle and grow. It's a GOOD thing.
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http://www.reverbnation.com/jawboneandjolene
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000386839482
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbTwvU-EN1Q
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