Hey everyone, as lame as it may sound, I got into harmonica after a western marathon on TV. I already played the guitar and for some reason that day, the harmonica on all of those western songs really grabbed my attention and I had to buy one. I just really liked the sad lonely feeling and the sense of wide open country a cool harmonica song can give. I'm curious though, how did all of you guys get into the harmonica? I like hearing stories of the ways all different kinds of people are drawn to do the things they do.
I was in a band with John Frazer, the San Diego based player who started the Spring Harp Fest (which was yesterday, headliner was Lee Oskar). He befriended me, and eventually the harp took over my life.
I got hooked on the blues during my university days. First was John Lee Hooker, then Muddy Waters, Howlin Wolf and many, many others. The sound of the harp really grabbed me and I thought it could do things no other instrument could.
I stopped playing for a long time when other things got in the way but took it up again about a year ago to encourage my son's interest in music.
A long long road. My gramps consoled me with a harp and songs after my dad had passed when I was a tot. Later I listened to AM radio, the Sunday blues shows, and it imprinted me. After a long lapse I inherited a harmonica. Even later I actually began trying to figure it out. By the time I was in my 20's I could bend a few notes. By my 40's I began to really get the picture and focus more on what I really needed to learn. Now in my early 60's I have a great duo partner and we write and work up and self produce our own root/blues material. currently on cd #3.
I never learned the traditional way, no lessons, no scales or exercises other than what I could make the things do, and finding my way along. Wife and I are similar that way, she has had very little formal lessons although she had used books and a few teachers minimally for guitar.
I think what's most important about any of us is, we have gone ahead onto the road of harp destiny. ---------- Reverbnation
I grew up with my dad playing a chromatic but I never thought that was cool
I grew up playing blues on drums and guitar. I had a job that required extensive air travel and was looking for something I could mess around with in hotel rooms
My brother gave some CD,s that a friend of his made and said I should try harmonica as its portable.
Turns out the friend is Steve Guyger and that was a pretty high bar but once I could bend- I was hooked
My son was hooked on Sesame Steet's Kid's Favorite Country Songs.
In it, John Popper and LD Miller do a version of Home on the Range that is so engaging, that even my wife would stop what she was doing and listen to it when it came on.
I remembered, "Hey, I have a harmonica or two downstairs in my toolbox."
I was walking down Queen St. in Toronto, was going by the Rex and heard this amazing music, so I went in to listen. There was two guys playing harp, that I didn't even know their names. The show was unbelievably great, and some of the best music I have ever heard. Turns out it was David Rotundo and Jerome Godboo. I know them well now as I see them any chance I can get. But needless to say the next day I went out and bought myself a marine band in the key of "C". That was almost 5 years ago, and I still don't sound as good as them, and never really expect to. But they keep me trying, and motivated to learn, and that is good enough for me.
I had a few false starts. My grandmother brought a tremolo back from China for me once on one of her vacations. I played with it enough to get Twinkle Twinkle Little Star out of it and then it went in a drawer.
A few years later my friend had a band. I had some lyrics I'd written that I wanted to hear sung so I gave them to him to sing. (I did a little backup singing.) I really just wanted to hear my songs sung, but he wanted me singing backup, but he didn't want me up on stage without an instrument horning in on his 'lead singer' job. I tried guitar. (I'd tried piano before). I've got bad wrists and tendon problems so that didn't work. I bought a Blues Harp and gave that a try, but it ripped up my lips and the band broke up anyway.
So that sat in the drawer for a while.
Then I noticed I was getting winded going up stairs and I looked around for low impact things that could help my lung capacity. I bought a Sp20 and a box of Piedmonts and started just making noise. I figured at the very least I could use it as a pitch pipe to write down song notes with.
And I kind of kept it a secret, and I didn't set any particular goals. I've always been better with intrinsic vs. extrinsic motivation. No pressure. I just practiced for fun. I jammed with one of the other members from my old group. I looked online and found Adam's Myspace page.
One day, I got an email saying, "Magic Dick, Whammer Jammer" from him. Not having a particularly strong grounding in harmonica I thought I was being spammed and nearly didn't investigate, but I did and found the interview here on this site. I joined up and talked harmonica which helped keep me focused a bit. I watched the lessons, asked questions, practiced...
I still was mostly doing it to help with my singing/songwriting though. I started jamming with one of the members of my old group. I lean more rock and blues rock than pure blues (or at least did at the time. I grew up on hair metal and grunge.) But it was definitely helping my songwriting to be able to find notes and write them down.
Then I saw one of Jason Ricci's videos and realized with the right pedals I could do the rock sound I wanted.
Of course, your musical journey rarely ends up where you headed out for. I am as likely to listen to blues as grunge now and although I play a fair number of songs that are solidly in the rock category I also love me some blues too.
I got my son a Blues Band harmonica for his third birthday, a cheapie noisemaker. He loved it. He went from room to room in our apartment huffing and puffing. After a few minutes he came running into the living room, his eyes shining. "Dad, where is your harmonica?"
Yes, where indeed *was* my harmonica?
I became aware of the great, yawning, harmonica-shaped void in the core of my being, a void that only a harmonica could fill.
So, off to the music store to complete my existence. I stood at the counter and had to choose between the $4.95 Blues Band and the $25.99 Blues Harp. I hardly knew what a harmonica sounded like other than campfire-and-cowboys music, which I wasn't fond of, but I resolved right there I was going to get good on this thing. So I bought the Blues Harp.
Then I found Adam's video where plays and breaks down "C.C. Ryder." He killed it with just a harmonica and an amp and I was totally hooked.
That was six years and 70 harps ago.
Last Edited by the_happy_honker on Mar 28, 2016 12:36 PM
My wife is a certified yoga instructor. A couple of years ago she received a course listing from Kripalu, a yoga center in eastern Massachusetts. In it was a course called "Harmonicayoga", taught by David Harp (really, that's his name) about better yoga breathing through playing the harmonica (and vice versa). I had never played a musical instrument (unless you count the radio) and decided to give it a try. Got hooked on blues harp in particular and the obsession started.
My Granddad, Dad and his 3 brothers all played harmonica. They would all get together and play music. Sometimes my Granddad would play his old fiddle and Grandma would play an old upright piano they had while my Dad and Uncles would play harmonicas; one Uncle would be twanging a jews harp. I really wanted to be a part of that and was not shy about voicing my want of a harmonica. So, when I was 10 years old my Dad gave me an Old Standby in Bb and I started learning the songs and the old style of playing. That was 58 years ago and I"ve played it pretty steady since then; mostly for myself. ---------- Wisdom does not always come with old age. Sometimes old age arrives alone.
Last Edited by Sarge on Mar 28, 2016 3:05 PM
I heard John Mayall and Paul Butterfield when I was a drummer in a school band in 1968
Their soulful sound captivated me and when I had an accident as a pro drummer in the '70's I just played the harp from then on
My family have no background of music whatsoever and my parents dissaproved of me ever after, oh well we grew together later in life and now they are gone, but I am playing harp more than ever!!
It was an unusually balmy day for the 2nd of December 1973. I had one foot in my Dad's Econoline. Mom had a tear in her eye. My brothers were saying bye. I was going to the US Air Force Basic Training. Brother Randy hollered HEY! He handed me a small box and said, "don't come back till you learn to play it". I looked at the box, Hohner Marine Band C, "OK" I said. Best gift I was EVER given! Thanks Randy...BN
Last Edited by Barley Nectar on Mar 30, 2016 3:52 PM
About 4 years ago I was staying at The Riverside in Clarkesdale MS on King Biscuit weekend. Met this guy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCmDq_zQvlA who was getting a tour from Rat Ratliff , the owner of the Hotel. Over the next 3 days, seemed that wherever I went -Breakfast, Reds Place, Ground Zero he was there. We talked music, blues, history of the area , drank some beer . Finally he mentioned he sang and played harmonica. Might have been in a e-mail after that weekend, as we kept in touch. I mentioned that I thought it would be really cool to play but I was probably too old to learn (61 at the time) He told me I was full of it and that I could do it. Advised me to look at some of Adam Gussows youtube videos and go to Adams website. That prompted me to buy Adams beginner package 3 years ago. Have bought other lessons since and I have been having lots of fun. Practice mostly to jam tracks on my own, except once a month go to the Group Harmonica Class/Jam in New Smyrna Beach FL. Only goal is to have fun, drink a beer , learn something new every month. Thanks Jamey!! Do not think he is a member of this forum. Blues guy at heart---but Country on stage- to make a living.
Last Edited by Cotton on Mar 28, 2016 4:28 PM
Christmas of '86, my roommate and I both got small Christmas bonus'. We went into Manhattan to Manny's Music. He bought a 12 string, and convinced me to buy a harmonica (Huang Silvertone Delux.) We couldn't afford cable TV, so our only entertainment was playing music and our bumper pool kitchen table.
David ("I shortened it from Feldman") Harp used to be a popular harmonica instructor and author in the SF Bay area, but moved to Vermont several years ago. Hadn't heard from him in a long time. I'd heard he'd become a motivational speaker; glad to see he's still involved with the harmonica =========== Winslow
One day I was listening to the blues. I heard a SBW2 song and I thought - I could do that! (HAAAA!!) I should do that! I went out and bought a cheap harp that day. Then a better one a few days later... What probably kept it from being just one more of my many briefly loved and quickly discarded hobbies was my asthma. It was/is severe and I noticed playing helped with that as well as giving me an incentive to quit smoking, which I did within a few weeks of starting to play.
I was aspiring to fronting a heavy/metal band when I was 17...one day I was with the guitarist in a music store, he was buying strings. He asked the prop to show him the harmonicas, and bought a marine band in G. Later, he gave it to me. I guess he was thinking about Robert Plant. Anyway, I was 17 and had no idea about anything but it planted a seed. Later that year I saw John Mayall on his bluesbreakers reunion tour, with Taylor, McVie and Allen. Show blew my mind and this idea of harmonica and vocals became set...and I just stayed interested in the idea. Took me another 15 years before I actually started playing harmonica in any organised way, and I'd quit fronting bands by the time I was 23...still had no idea but realised I was lacking some important ingredient...I thought it was ability, but it may have been initiative.
Last Edited by SuperBee on Mar 28, 2016 6:58 PM
My older brother was working so had a huge collection of 45s' all of them Pop hits of the day.The one i listened to over and over was this B side of a 1966 hit by the Lovin' Spoonful called " Daydream".The harp sound just resonated with me and so my voyage into the Blues began I still occasionally listen to it today
I was born in Chicago, 19 and 48.... Sorry... but after that a totally white bread life until I heard "Daddy-O's Jazz Patio" on late night AM when I should have been asleep. About 12 at the time. Next year went to high school in the city with a bunch of reprobates and one guy knew the owner of Delmark Records and we started passing music back and forth and I got into the harp. Never stopped after that... Just sitting in when I could, but then never really got into a band until about 5 years ago. Wish I'd done it sooner!!
It was 1967..I was fifteen and a drummer ( with a mylar set). Whenever we had a gig I borrowed a friends kit. Well my parents could not ( or would not) afford a drum set for me and I was replaced. I went to Gerbers Music is Syracuse and bought a Marine Band for $4. I began by playing Bob Dylan and Neil Young stuff and then a friend gave me a John Mayall album......that was it for me.
Back in '69 I got started to impress a girl (prettiest girl I've ever seen). Her on and off previous boyfriend was a great guitar player and singer (later played with John Lee Hooker for a while). Harp seemed like something I might be able to learn. Like pharpo, I started with some Dylan and Donovan (Josie), but soon heard some Sonny Terry and Sonny Boy II and that was it for me. Don't know if the harp playing had much to do with it, but I did get the girl. That was in Santa Barbara at UCSB. When she moved to San Francisco I followed and went to Berkeley (also to play tennis on the team). I can remember hanging out on Telegraph many late nights and being amazed at the harp players busking.
Wow guys, lots of cool stories. I like how many of you just heard someone playing on the street, in a bar, wherever. Guess it just goes to show how versatile, portable and ear catching the little guys really can be.
