Harmonica players

[MTGuru]

Re-written for Harmonica? Why in the heck would you need to do that? They play just fine the way they are (mostly).

No, no ... You have to simplify them and take out most of the notes. We're talking about harmonica players here.

[caedmon]

Re-written for Harmonica? Why in the heck would you need to do that? They play just fine the way they are (mostly).

No, no ... You have to simplify them and take out most of the notes. We're talking about harmonica players here.

You sure know how to hurt a guy's feelings.

[SteveShaw]

Glenn's book was written before Brendan Power "invented" the Paddy Richter tuning. In consequence, a lot of the G tunes in the book are written out for 12-hole harmonica (such as a G-tuned Hohner 364). In my view, these big, clunky harps are best avoided (YMMV) and a G Paddy Richter 10-hole harp used instead. It does mean that the tab in the book won't work at all well for a proportion of tunes. Glenn's book is a great collection of tunes with good settings. My opinion of harmonica tab is that it is truly the spawn of the devil and will slow down your learning mightily. Learn by ear!

[caedmon]

To each their own learning method. Mine is one of methodical steps. I began with harp tab because it allowed me to play songs NOW. The geek in me knows numbers and orderly systems. And, coming from being a drummer, I cannot read music. I am trying to learn now, though. Music tab is just a stepping stone for me. I can fill in the blanks later when I have the experience.

[scheky]

He's not talking about reading music. He's talking about learning to play by ear. It's a HUGE boost in your ability to learn tunes.

[Whistling Archer]

I got the Glenn Weiser book the other day 100 fiddle tunes & Irish for harmonica w/cd,
But unfoftunately only about 20 tracks"songs" are on the cd. I pick stuff up by ear , but I see the names of songs , withe Planxty ,, sheg, different words and I have NO idea how it sounds . I can learn it if I can hear it , But alass , oh, yes a lass was involved

only 20 tunes

[scheky]

Steve,

I'd like to introduce you to ABC and all the wonderful applications out there that play the tune for you (so you can hear what it basically sounds like).

Concertina.Net has the Tune-O-Tron and thesession.org has the tunebook (with gif and midi for each tune). Look em up, listen to them and play them. The Session also has links to CDs with that tune on them and what track it's on. That's all one needs in my opinion to get cracking.

[TheSpoonMan]

I play harmonica. Bits and pieces of whatever I sing or play on other instruments. Mostly ITM and Sacred Harp.

yay jesus! yay bible! yay church! yay sacraments! whoo

[MTGuru]

Sacred Harp.

Really? I can just imagine a room full of people playing 4 part hymns, and humming syllables into their instruments.

OTOH, I guess any harmonica played in a church is a sacred harp.

[SteveShaw]

I play harmonica. Bits and pieces of whatever I sing or play on other instruments. Mostly ITM and Sacred Harp.

yay jesus! yay bible! yay church! yay sacraments! whoo

My good man, you come out with all this and here am I, having spent a lifetime convincing myself that the harmonica is a pagan instrument!

I like to visit old churches and cathedrals wherever I go, and I always endeavour to play Amazing Grace on a G harp in each one. The last occasion was last Saturday, when I played it in St Enodoc's church in Cornwall (within sight of the Doom Bar sandbank in the Camel estuary). John Betjeman is buried in that little churchyard. I like to think he would have approved of my rendition.


St Enodoc's and the Camel estuary:



The great man's simple grave:

[TheSpoonMan]

Sacred Harp.

Really? I can just imagine a room full of people playing 4 part hymns, and humming syllables into their instruments.

OTOH, I guess any harmonica played in a church is a sacred harp.

LOL. very true. Nah, I wouldn't dare bring it to a singing, but the tunes sit real well on harmonica (the tenor and treble parts, at least). Especially the Southern ones, the older Eastern compositions don't feel as right, or maybe I'm just not good enough for them.

Those are some nice pictures, Steve! That's a great tradition.

[Dulcimer Bill]

I play mountain dulcimer with a local group. Also play pennywhistle as well as harmonica.
The harmonica goes well with the "Old Time Music" that we play.
I keep a harmonica at work and several times a month I'll play the "blues" in the hallway. Keeps the management up to date on our attitude.

[littlejohngael]

Honestly, I just started playing again -- and I've never played seriously. I'm serious now, though. So, I have a Hohner Special 20 in G and a new one in C. I also have a Hohner Blues Harp in G. Wood vs. Plastic. Meh, anyway, I'm playing all kinds of stuff -- blues, old time stuff, celtic.

Does anyone have any experience with/opinions on the Hohner Celtic harmonica? It's supposed to be keyed to play stuff that you'd play with a set of pipes. Sounds interesting.

Best,

Little John

[SteveShaw]

Does anyone have any experience with/opinions on the Hohner Celtic harmonica? It's supposed to be keyed to play stuff that you'd play with a set of pipes. Sounds interesting.

I've never heard of it. There's the Hohner Echo Highlander, a D/A double-sided beast (with tweaking on the A side), developed by Donald Black with Hohner. I understand that it's fine for some Scottish piping tunes but the layout wouldn't be much use to me for Irish tunes. Other than that I'd recommend ordinary blues harps with the 3-blow raised by a whole tone. This gives you the Paddy Richter tuning which is great for the vast majority of Irish tunes and for the Scottish/Northumbrian ones that don't contain accidentals. Proper modal tunes are just fine on Paddied harps.

[littlejohngael]

I've never heard of it. There's the Hohner Echo Highlander, a D/A double-sided beast (with tweaking on the A side), developed by Donald Black with Hohner. I understand that it's fine for some Scottish piping tunes but the layout wouldn't be much use to me for Irish tunes. Other than that I'd recommend ordinary blues harps with the 3-blow raised by a whole tone. This gives you the Paddy Richter tuning which is great for the vast majority of Irish tunes and for the Scottish/Northumbrian ones that don't contain accidentals. Proper modal tunes are just fine on Paddied harps.

Indeed, I stand corrected. The Hohner Highlander it is. I'll visit your website and hope to find how to raise the 3-blow by a whole tone. I'm sure that's less complicated than it sounds. Heck, I just took apart, cleaned and reassembled a chromatic harmonica. Raising the 3-blow should be easy by comparison. LOL!

Thanks again for the feedback!