I'm in a band where I'm not necesarily playing a 'harmonica player' role, rather more of a utility player, doing fills, melodies, rhythm, etc. where horns or keys might be. Post some links/vids of yourself and others playing non-traditional roles on harp.
Here's me with my band doing Hold On, I'm Coming by Sam and Dave. There's a vid of this same song on youtube that starts with the National Anthem, but this track gets right to the point. If you'd rather watch, go to youtube and look for Eudora and Deep Soul. I can't access youtube, or I'd post the vid.
Bump. C'mon now, let's see/hear that little ten-hole friend of ours used as a rhythym instrument, as part of or as THE horn section, playing keyboard melodies, bass lines...heck, just holding a song down instead of traditional blues fills. It's much easier to find a blues solo and blues comping. Lee Oskar did plenty of this type of playing, for one. ----------
Crescent City Harmonica Club Todd L Greene, Co-Founder
I liked what you did,thought it was very cool. I don't have anything to show you but,yes, I do this sort of thing. I personally would want to play it an octave lower. I guess C is a horn key,because I seem to play crossed in F a lot. I'll mostly use low F,a regular F almost always sounds too shrill. I think Adam has a lesson on JB's "I Feel Good". Harp works really great for that tune. I'm in a band now that used to have keys and 3 horns. Guess who has to take their place? It's been (and still is) challenging.
Oops. I do have one! I was the horns in this one. Actually this is my present band sans keys & a different drummer. It wasn't my amp-I hated the sound. Peavy 30? Couldn't read the knobs 'cause I forgot my reading glasses. LOL
Since I sing lead vocals almost all the time, I don't have to play a ton of rhythm. When I do, I think more like an organ and use power chords/octaves/various split intervals to fill out the tunes.
Otherwise, I play horn parts (double true if there is an organ in the band).
In most instances, I find lower octave harmonicas to not work well for organ-ish rhythms as they overlap with the the bass.
I don't have access to clips right now, but will try to post some later. FWIW, I'll for sure be comping as such at the blowoff. ;)
When playing a country song, I try to think more of fiddle and steel parts for comping. I've come up with some pretty crazy rhythm arrangements using a Line 6 M9 over the last couple of weeks. Those are more for trippy tunes like the organ solo in "Magic Carpet Ride". ---------- Mike
Last Edited by on Jul 20, 2010 11:11 AM
Yeah, since I'm not a lead singer in this current band for the first time in 20+ years, I'm able to focus on such tings as rhythm, key parts, horn parts, etc. It's fun! Not sure if I have any recordings handy, but in the past I've done parts using a Leslie simulator(Dunlop RotoVibe)which sounds really cool with chords/octaves-not so much on single notes. This was something I picked up from John Popper on live BT recordings-only he used a real Leslie cabinet. I'm not a fan of moving furniture on and off a stage, and I don't have roadies, so until the time I ever do, I'll stick with a pedal! ----------
Crescent City Harmonica Club Todd L Greene, Co-Founder
John Popper is the best non-riffing rhythm harp player out there! His stuff is amazing in tone, originality, and musicality.
It doesn't always work in a blues context, but it is an ultra-transparent way to make the harp work in a ton of contexts and not sound like cramming harp into a song!
Over the last decade, since adding keys, he uses the Leslie a lot less. In fact, I don't know if he even uses one on the road anymore. His John Popper Project disc sounds like it uses the Leslie a lot.
Some random examples of tunes where he uses partial chords, octaves, etc. to comp...
Hook Carolina Blues No Woman No Cry Let Her and Let Go Thinnest of Air Support Your Local Emporer
I think those are easy to find on YouTube...just working off the top of my head. ---------- Mike
I really love how John Popper uses his effects for great keyboard-like tones, especially I love his using of leslie speaker. I enjoy he sing, than soloing, than play comping, consistent activity at stage.
One has to be careful playing "organ" on the harp. I use a DLS Rotosim, which sounds great. BUT, one cannot "build" chords on the harmonica the way one can on a keyboard and the chords available on the harp are sort of primitive and only "fit" certain kinds of material. It's easy to get carried away and screw up the music. So, one has to be very careful.
But there are a lot of other interesting and creative things a player can do by not playing the harmonica like it's a harmonica.
Last Edited by on Jul 21, 2010 12:39 AM
@ hvyj, good point. I use the RotoVibe's 'wah pedal' design to achieve the rate build, which helps me creep up the oscillation of the Leslie effect, plus control it's speed. I don't think the simulators that are always at one constant, uncontrollable speed of oscillation sound realistic in comparison to that of a Hammond B3 with a Leslie cabinet. That, coupled with varying breath force to create 'swells' make it sound more like an organ. It's really like practicing a different instrument. I have yet to get my hands on a Hughes & Kettner RotoSphere, but it has an actual rotating tube in it! ----------
Crescent City Harmonica Club Todd L Greene, Co-Founder
Use a MicroPog, set the top and bottom octaves at 2:30 and set the dry octave at 10:00 o'clock and run it through a RotoSim set for higher speed rotation (as opposed to low speed). You will sound so convincing like a B-3 that experienced musicians in the audience will start looking at the stage to see where the keyboard player is.
Hmmm...never tried a MicroPog. Now, is the RotoSim a separate pedal, or a feature of the MicroPog? The H&K RotoSphere is a 500-something dollar monster(one I can't justify, since I currently play thru a 160 dollar amp!), so it would be cool to have another option like you speak of.
I haven't had a chance to listen to everyone's examples on here, but I hope to soon. ----------
Crescent City Harmonica Club Todd L Greene, Co-Founder
Last Edited by on Jul 21, 2010 2:51 PM
The DLS RotoSim is a $299 Leslie speaker simulator similar to the Rotosphere and EXTREMELY harp friendly. High and low speeds. Very nice unit. You can get an organ like sound w/ just the RotoSim.
The MicroPog is an octave divider made by Electroharmonix. Very powerful effect that can be used for different sounds depending on the settings of the 3 control knobs. A lot of players use it for an extreme low octave octaver effect, but it can also do other things which I find more interesting.
