looking for harmonica in the irish tradition information

[mutepointe]

I play the harmonica but I play it my own way. What would give my harmonica an irish sound? Do you use a specific type/style of harmonica? Hohner makes all different kinds.

[SteveShaw]

All types of harmonica are used. Brendan Power uses both diatonics and chromatics, though the latter are usually heavily modified in order to get the ornaments he needs. Donald Black (who's actually Scottish) plays tremolo harps quite a lot, as do a lot of the older generation Irish players such as Austin Berry and Noel Battle. A lot of players who favour chromatics will turn the slide over so that the note goes down instead of up when you press the button. So you'll have to buy one a semitone flat if you want to do that, if you think about it! The Murphys used a variety as well. Mick Kinsella uses diatonics and chromatics though I believe his preference is for the latter. He flips the slide too. Andy Irvine is an enigma - I've tried to work out what he uses but it isn't easy. Everything I've heard him play is possible on a diatonic, but I suspect he uses Lee Oskars in the Melody Maker tuning for much of his stuff. I use a tremolo occasionally, but mostly I use 10-hole blues harps. If you go down this route you need to get hold of a low D harp. My favourite is the Hohner Special 20 low D. You can get the new-fangled Hohner XB40 in low D, and I have one, but I just don't get on with the darn thing at all. The other key you definitely need is a G. Special 20s in G are great, but Lee Oskars in G will last you ten times as long. It's very useful to have one in A for that Mason's Apron/Laird of Drumblair moment, and one in C will be handy for the occasional song accompaniment or Carolan's Welcome. You really don't need to go for harps in minor tunings, as most of the "minor key" tunes are modal and can be easily played on standard harps. One quite important thing is that a standard 10-hole harp will restrict what tunes you can play, especially in the case of G harps, because of a missing note in the lowest octave. This can be put right by tuning up the 3-blow reed by a whole tone. You can mostly get away without having to do this with D harps, but it is a big issue with G harps. It takes me about five minutes to retune, but then I've done it lots of times before.

As for "the Irish sound," my own preference is to go for a cleaner sound rather than a raunchier bluesy tone. I'm always welcomed into sessions, and I think it's because I'm at pains to blend in rather than show how much I can wail and sound like a train chugging away. Melody-playing in a session should largely be about single notes. If you can use the tongue-blocking embouchure (not me ) you can provide yourself with a nifty vamping-style accompaniment.

In general you get what you pay for. In English money, the average price for a decent diatonic is about £20, Think the same in dollars, or slightly higher, in the US. Quality control is best with Lee Oskars, though Hohner is getting better. Good Hohner harps are Marine Band, Blues Harp (both with wooden combs that some people find abrasive), Special 20, Golden Melody, Pro-Harp, Cross Harp, Big River. If the harp has MS (modular system) stamped on it, it means you can get replacement reedplates and these are a universal fit for all MS harps. Hering diatonics and those made by Huang do not, er, always exhibit the best quality control. This is OK if you're happy to do a lot of tinkering, but I'd avoid 'em to start off with, along with anything that seems incredibly cheap. They're cheap for a reason. Suzuki harps are good too. In the same price bracket is the Blues Master which is nice and smooth on the lips. A step up quality-wise (not really necessary in my view) are harps such as the more expensive Suzukis with or without valves (Overdrive), Marine Band deluxe and the Hohner Meisterklasse. Nice if you can afford 'em, but you have to remember that you won't be needing just one harp!

Have a look at my website too.

[mutepointe]

That was more than anyone had ever told me. Thanks. I don't think I'm too far off base when it comes to playing in the ITM style. The thing that really made me happy (I know no one to talk about harmonicas with) is the thing about the third hole needing retuned. If I lived by you, I'd be knocking at your door with a bag full of harmonicas. I'm not going to fix that myself unless there are step by step instructions with good pictures on the internet somewhere. If they ever do sell this variation as a standard, off-the-shelf harmonica, please let me know.

[rh]

http://coast2coastmusic.com/cgi-bin/cart/SE15206.html

[Mr.Nate]

Steve,

Do you have the harmonic book and CD by Brendan Power called
PLAY IRISH MUSIC ON THE BLUES HARP?

Looks like he has some good recources on this website!

http://www.brendan-power.com/

Nate

[SteveShaw]

Cheers, Rob! I just found that link myself before logging in and there you are with it. I'd say that's the most economical way of getting a Paddy Richter harp. Coast2coast are pretty good. I wish we had 'em over here.

To retune a reed yourself you just need a simple set of tools such as the Lee Oskar tool kit:

http://coast2coastmusic.com/cgi-bin/cart/LOTK.html

The kit comes with instructions. A chromatic tuner would be fairly necessary as well unless you have a super-accurate ear. You need to take off the blow reedplate to retune the reed - easy. With some harps, SP20s for example, that will necessitate a small ordinary screwdriver in addition to the one in the toolkit. The usual mantra applies. Practise on old harps first! Always retighten screws progressively and just snug 'em down nicely - I've gone berserk and stripped many a thread in my time. I definitely recommend all aspiring harmonica players to learn the basics of tinkering with your harps. If you can just fine-tune a reed here and there and adjust the reed gaps your harps will be much more playable. It takes me about half an hour these days to get into a new harp and set it up for exactly how I want it to play.

[SteveShaw]

Steve,

Do you have the harmonic book and CD by Brendan Power called
PLAY IRISH MUSIC ON THE BLUES HARP?

Looks like he has some good recources on this website!

http://www.brendan-power.com/

Nate

I can email as a Word document all my musings on playing ITM on diatonic harmonicas to anyone who wants them. I am familiar with his book. It's very sound and would get you going but it isn't the be-all and end-all. It does have the advantage of the CD. You have to have fairly deep pockets to buy his customised harps but I know they're well-regarded.

[SteveShaw]

Cheers, Rob! I just found that link myself before logging in and there you are with it. I'd say that's the most economical way of getting a Paddy Richter harp. Coast2coast are pretty good. I wish we had 'em over here.

The Seydel Paddy Richter doesn't come in low D as far as I know. If I were starting out I think I'd buy a Seydel Paddy in G and a Special 20 low D. You can get by quite well without the Paddy tuning with the D harp - just a few tunes will be problematical but not enough to spoil the fun too much!

[Mr.Nate]

This is pretty cool stuff!

I use to play a little blues harp on my Special 20 C harp!

I might buy a low D and give it a try.

Thanks Steve

[mutepointe]

Thanks for the links. I'm the opposite of a tinkerer unless I have to but I may try that on a cheapie one day. That modified harmonica looked really sweet.

[SteveShaw]

I know there's no such thing as good advice, but IF you would rather play 10-hole harps than chromatics (that's me!), and IF you don't care much for tremolos, the best thing would be to get (a) a Special 20 low D and just use it in the tuning it arrives in, and (b) one of those Seydel Paddy Richter ones in G. It is nice to have an A harp and a C harp with you as well. Go for Lee Oskars in those keys and they'll probably last you forever unless you use 'em for blues honkin' as well! If you can splash out a tad more, I definitely recommend duplicate D and G harps. They go out of tune at the most inopportune moments! You're lucky in the US as harp prices are just about half what they cost here. I'd import a whole batch, but the only time I tried that the customs and excise people hit me for six! If I lived over there I'd get 'em from John Watts at Coast2coast. He's a good chap and he understands harmonica players and their needs. Their site is pretty good too.

[Mr.Nate]

Here is a slightly cheaper option than what RH had suggested.

http://coast2coastmusic.com/cgi-bin/cart/SE10206.html

I don't know much about about harmonicas but I am just going to speculate that this Seydel harmonica would be more equivilant to a special 20? It has the special Paddy/Richter tuning but only costs 10 more dollars than a special 20. Not a bad deal if you don't want to invest the 30$ for a tuning kit and tweak the 3 blow up a step yourself.

Just a thought!

Nate

[SteveShaw]

I had a bit of a spat with the Seydel boss-man a year or two back because of the higher prices they charge for anything other than their standard harps. After all, Hohner, God bless 'em, don't charge any extra for their low tunings, and I hardly think they sell truckloads of 'em every week. I'd certainly try one of those Seydel Paddy harps at that price were I not already an inveterate tinkerer myself. I have never had a Seydel harp (I'm not very adventurous so don't read anything into that!) but they are well thought of. The thing about the tuning kit is that it'll last you for at least 1001 harps, and you have to remember that harps wear out fairly regularly. When I started, a SP20 lasted me about six weeks before a reed went flat on me. My playing technique is much better these days, and now a SP20 will last me 9-12 months of reasonably hard playing before significant surgery is required. I'm a great advocate of learning how to tinker. It isn't hard, it gets the harp into exactly the shape you want and it saves money in the long run.

[rh]

I'm a great advocate of learning how to tinker. It isn't hard, it gets the harp into exactly the shape you want and it saves money in the long run.

It isn't hard, i've filed a bunch of harps (Paddy and some minor tunings on diatonics, plus a Brendan Power tuning on a Hohner chromatic). You can find some cheap harps on ebay if you're worried about ruining a Special 20 or whatever.

[Mr.Nate]

It's surprizing how much information is out there about harmonicas!

Here's a Dvd set at Coast to Coast for those people who really want to know the in's and out's of a harmonica.

http://coast2coastmusic.com/cgi-bin/cart/ROHRDVD.html

Harmonica Repair Videos by Rupert Oysler. Play Better, Sound Better, Save Money! ALL SECRETS REVEALED! For the first time see TOP TECHNIQUES clearly demonstrated with detailed demonstration and playing examples.