The Harp Weasel?

stimpsonslostson · October 2015

Another part time harmonica player here. I also like Lee Oskars, Golden Melodys are also pretty good- VERY air tight & therefore good for over blows etc.

If you're looking to get started, the best advice is to buy a harmonica (a good one is under £30 new) and give it a whirl.

It's worth bearing in mind that if you're playing blues you'll need to play in second position to get the notes for the blues scale.

There are several excellent harmonica tutors on youtube. my favourites being Adam Gussow and Tomlin Leckie (the latter taught me).

The main restriction to my own playing (apart from a lack of talent) is the fact that harmonicas are LOUD and there's no way to play them quietly. With two kids under 5 that's a fairly significant obstacle to consistent practice & progress.

marktheharp · October 2015

↑ wise words. .. I started playing melodies. .ie. 'Michael row the boat ashore' theme from 'last of the summer wine' then progressed to like of drty old town' 'Billy Joel piano man'.then started in 2nd position bending the blues. .. as people have mentioned it's a great instrument and what started as a kids instrument, which was then taken to another level in the 20's/30's in the deep south all the way up to Chicago :-)
and they were also issued in the first world war to frontline troops on both sides. ....
I don't practice as much as I should, to take it to another level...but life gets in the way. ....
great thread by the way , thanks to Ash for starting it =D>

OilCityPickups · October 2015

There is an art all in itself to playing in a band setting ... knowing when to lay back and just play little rhythm 'stabs' The volume control on a harp mic is essential here I find. I try to use a small amp really wound up, and when you are not playing it can feedback like hell. Learning to turn right down when you are not playing, up for 'horn stabs', and flat out for solos ... body positioning on stage can minimise feedback too. I have successfully used a Laney LC15r with a 10 inch speaker ...

Dominic · October 2015

Never understood why it is called a ' harp ' ....doesn't sound anything like one

Is it just because it sounds cooler than 'mouth organ '

No offence to the players but this is my most hated instrument sound - singlehandedly spoiled almost every decent Dylan track !

OilCityPickups · October 2015

Harp is short for harmonica ...

Dylan murdered the harmonica ...

and this is what it is meant to sound like ... in my opinion

https://youtu.be/iV7YoxTMwwo

stimpsonslostson · October 2015

I've posted this before, but here's my inspiration for starting to play harmonica

the fun starts around the 1.00 mark. It's Eric Oberlander of FIve Horse Johnson guesting with Clutch:

OilCityPickups · October 2015

That's brilliant ... I did a gig supporting the Blues Band with Paul Jones once ... that made me want to play.

JCA2550 · October 2015

TheGuitarWeasel said:

My other main instrument ... well, guilty pleasure is blues harmonica :-)
Ever since the days I played in 'the Jukes' with Pete Hoggman ... the guy who did the 'My Boy Lollypop' harp solo ... I have been fascinated, and gigged many times as a harmonica player.
Have always chewed the fat with other harp men about amplification, effects, being drowned out v drowning out the guitarist lol ...

Ha! That wouldn't be smilin Pete Hoggman by any chance?

OilCityPickups · October 2015

It would be ... a fabulous caracter

And a fabulous harp player. He was an absolute git to work with, total blues perfectionist, but it taught me loads. I played bass with him ... and his Mrs Jill shared the vocals. If she called for a bass solo I knew I was in for it ... Jill loved them, Pete hated them ... and he would just glare at me till I finished. Later at the bar he would have a go for playing that 'fancy s--t'.

marktheharp · October 2015

That video of clutch with guest harp player. Awsome stuff. ..remind me a bit of 'blues traveller' sound. On listening to it without visual you don't know whether it is overdriven harp or guitar.

And Ash I have wanted a laney lc15r for a while and wondered ...what valves and speaker your running. . ?

OilCityPickups · October 2015

Sold on my LC15 a while ago ... but had a 10" Jenson ... the HH fitted as standard was crap, and I believe i swapped to 12au7 in the preamp ... though it's been a while.

marktheharp · October 2015

Nice one Ash thanks man.

Aidanspaghetti · November 2015

You guys any pointers to a starting out kinda lesson, harp "kit" per se? Any good "fretboard" for harpists sites? I've always wanted to play since seeing Paul Lamb regularly as a young lad.. I've also now got a wicked looking amp for it (my selmer discussion - probably sounds like shit lol)

OilCityPickups · November 2015

Get a C harp, start drawing at the second hole (fnar fnar) and you are away (you are playing in G 'crossed harp')... lots of 'how to' its on u tube

Concentrate on clear single note runs and slurs ... bending notes takes a while to learn, but it's simply a knack. I'm not great at blown bends, but drawn ones I can wail like a bugger at :-)

Aidanspaghetti · November 2015

Thanks Ash! Will do this week so... Btw I always loved this track, think it sound deadly but is it the equivalent of Steve via wanking for harp players?

Awesome album btw if you haven't heard it....

Nomad · November 2015

I found this guy's series of lessons helpful...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddM5RlWSJ4E

That's the first one. Work through them step by step.

A C harp is good to get first because most online lessons use that - you can sook and blaw on the same hole and get the same pitch as the teacher. A D is handy for jamming to blues in A. I'm another Lee Oskar fan - Thomann's prices are pretty good if you're ordering a few or buying something else already (the 10 euro postage on one harp wipes out the saving). If not, just get down to your nearest music shop and buy one.

I wouldn't bother with things like mic and amp for a while - needs a bit of research, and costs money that's arguably better spent on some decent harps. You also need to work out if you want to play acoustically (cleanly amplified, like for recording or PA) or overdriven for the Chicago sound ('crap' mic and small amp getting pushed for a low-fi sound).

Bending is weird. I found various web sites that claimed to have the theory behind it nailed, full of diagrams showing tongue positions and mouth shapes, but it still took ages to get it to happen. As Ash says, it's a knack, and seems to be a case of doing odd things with your mouth and throat until it happens.

There are forums out there, but I never bothered with any of them. They can be handy when threads come up in searches, though.

OilCityPickups · November 2015

I found draw bending came from dropping my tongue and opening my throat a bit ... then initially tilting the harp up a tad helped ... god knows why :-)

And you can spend a fortune on harp mics ... but the ones that are cheap as chips seem to work best ... I had an old WW2 tank microphone in black Bakelite for ages ... bought it for 50p at a boot sale! Sounded ace ... till some bugger stole it at a gig :-(

DIY and harp seem to go together

Nomad · November 2015

The Superlux D112 clone/copy/style of the Green Bullet seems pretty good, and Thomann's price is excellent...

http://www.thomann.de/gb/superlux_d112c.htm

About 15 quid less than even Amazon. Demo here...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qCf4qNEtu88

Decent length of cable and built in volume control with a centre detent. Quite a heavy and bulky mic, though. I've been harbouring plans to recase the cartridge from a cheapy dynamic to get something that fits into the hand better.

OilCityPickups · November 2015

Me, I like a good, big harp mic ... something to smack unruly punters over the head with :-)

Nomad · November 2015

The Superlux will certainly work for that.

Before I got mine, I thought it was a plastic case. When I picked it up, I realised it was all cast metal. Fixed cable as well, so you can give it a swing and get it back into action right away rather than have to go and find it when the plug comes out.

koneguitarist · November 2015

My singer after years and years of harp sound issues, recently bought a new mic and a valve amp, been brilliant ever since, no feedback loads of power and a great tone, will email to find out details.

koneguitarist · November 2015

http://www.harmonicas-direct.com/accessories/microphones-amps/harp-train-10-harmonica-amp Think this is the amp, great tone, sounds warm and fat with a tele too!

marktheharp · November 2015

The above site used to be based in Queensbury in Bradford.I bought quite a few harps from him...
All good advice above about learning. ..just stick with it...
hours of fun. ..In a sound proof room away from your loved ones....:-)

Mkjackary · November 2015

so harp is a synonym for harmonica? confusing.

I tried it a few times, could never bend a note which I really wanted to do (ala man with a harmonica) so I gave up.

Is bending notes hard or is it pretty begginer?

marktheharp · November 2015

I would say bending notes is the hardest. ..
.and play in the correct key (called cross harp) when playing blues. ..
straight harp is just playing the melody of a tune in the same key. ..If you want the blues sound, cross harp is your friend. I.e if guitar is playing blues in 'E' you need to be playing a harp in 'A'. To get the blues sound..
I can highly recommend the book and cd called ' beginning blues harp by Don Baker'.
Hopefully this link works?
If not search above on Ebay, can be had for as little as £3.99.... This book is what started me off. ..:-)
good luck with your quest and anybody else reading this.... us Harp players are a friendly bunch.....
cheers Mark.
http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&id=151873745286&alt=web

marktheharp · November 2015

Also to anyone who is in the Leeds/Bradford area and fancies a quick lesson I can show you how to start off...

OilCityPickups · November 2015

Mkjackary said:

so harp is a synonym for harmonica? confusing.

I tried it a few times, could never bend a note which I really wanted to do (ala man with a harmonica) so I gave up.
Is bending notes hard or is it pretty begginer?

Harp was slang used among early masters of the blues harmonica ... it sort of stuck.

I equate bends on harp to picked harmonics on guitar ... a knack: once you discover how to do it you always wonder why you had difficulty in doing it,

Aidanspaghetti · November 2015

Cheers guys, I'll have a look for the Don baker book... A class musician himself! Looking forward to picking one up...

OilCityPickups · November 2015

And listen to Little Walter till you absorb what harp 'should' sound like :-)

marktheharp · November 2015

Yes absolutely and don't forget 'sonny boy Williamson'..... <:-P

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