Harmonica

I started off playing on a Hohner Echo Vamper but soon moved on to the Hohner Marine Band. The American import model was the most responsive. Poor old Dempsey (Dempsey’s Music) used to have to order a gross in order to satisfy my measly purchase of one harmonica a month. He was also left with odd keys like F * for C *  a key rarely used. I realised that Hohner had the same reed plates for most of their harmonicas with different covers and names, that would go out of tune the exception being the responsive & expensive Crossover (marine band). Now I mainly play Lee Oskar and carry 8 in different keys.

 I started playing straight harp (1st position, ie. playing a C harp in C) and that was ok for styles like Jimmy Reed (Honest I Do, Bright Lights etc.) but I became a huge fan of Little Walter and Sonny Boy Williamson.  Soon I learned that playing 2nd position “Crossed Harp” was far more expressive and enabled bending (blue notes) on the lower notes. 2nd position is the 2nd draw note on the harmonica (harp). On a C harp it would be G dominant seven (G7) the mixolydian 5th scale of C major. That dominant seven opens the harp up for blues and country styles. This 2nd position also opens up fluidity on a normal  1 (G7), 4 (C), 5 (D), Blues progression.
I have been playing “crossed harp” 2nd position for so long now that I find it hard to play straight harp. I don’t consider Bob Dylan or Neil Young to be harp players, though I have been asked for that style on a few sessions. “he who pays the piper calls the tune “.
There are a couple of exceptions for playing straight harp (1st position); Jimmy Reed, mentioned above; Taj Mahal (Honey Bee), Kim Wilson vcl & harp player of the Fabulous T- Birds with “Cherry Pink, Apple Blossom White” and Sonny Boy Williamson on the fantastic “Trust My Baby”. Kim Wilson also covered this tune with a great version on his solo album. There’s another position used a lot esp by L. Walter on Blues Harp and Chromatic Harmonica; 1st position draw on a C harp is D dorian the 2nd note of the C scale – Dm 7. great for the 2,5,1 Jazz progression.
I wrote the tune Strollin’ (http://mui.ie/music/) with this in mind. In fact check out my Demo tracks at http://mui.ie/music/
The main thing is to just play, learn tunes and riffs & play with guitarists, pianists, bands etc. I learnt a lot from C.D’s : Little Walter; Sonny Boy; Taj Mahal, Captain Beefheart, Kim Wilson for Blues. Charlie McCoy & Mickey HarmonicaRaphael for Country. Another reason that I was a fan of Walter’s was, he was one of the first to amplify his playing through an amplifier. I was lazy and didn’t want to carry an amp around, after all harmonicas are so portable. I would  play through an amp for sessions and my setup would be  harp through a Shure Green Bullet (+vol ctrl) >  Lone Wolf, Harp Reverb > Fender Valve Amp (Blues Deluxe), When I Played “The Scratcher” in New York with Carl Money who now lives there. I had time to pick up an all valve 40s Kalamazoo amp in  Southside Guitars, Brooklyn. Kalamazoo were originally Gibson. Small but powerful. These setups Give that crunchy big reverb sound. Mostly I would just go through the band PA system as you have to turn to 11 to compete with a back line of guitar, bass,  & drums on a small stage.

 

“Here in the dark” Eamon Harmonica Vocals and Carl Money Guitar