Anyone here play the mouth organ?

[pokerfan]

Craig Ferguson inspired me to dig an old, never really used harmonica out of the desk. It was an impulse purchase many years ago, a cheap ten hole Hohner harp in C that probably cost all of ten dollars. Having no one who played to learn from, I tried learning from the pamphlet that it came with but got frustrated and tossed it in a drawer.

First a little background. We had a piano in the house when I grew up and we all took lessons. We all had to learn the recorder in grade school, I played a horn (poorly) in junior high and I banged on a guitar in high school. So I'm not a complete novice to music. I know the most basic of basics but not much more.

So the other day, I'm watching Ferguson and, as you may or may not know, he sometimes gives his guests the choice of closing with an awkward silence (an acting exercise) or the mouth organ. He has said that anyone who comes on that can actually play the harmonica will win the coveted "golden harp." I was thinking that some actor should just simply memorize a tune and surprise him. How hard could it be?

Then it occurred to me that maybe I never gave the harmonica a real chance. And guess what, teh Internets to the rescue! Believe it or not, there are literally a ton of instructional harmonica videos on YouTube (I know! :)) and I immediately zeroed in on this one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PgZ2e0H1ZVE">How To Play "Love Me Do" on Harmonica

Mainly because I've always loved the harmonica on that song. I think that it's as epic as that iconic opening (guitar) chord to 'Hard Day's Night.'

Anyway, I got the tablature for Love Me Do memorized now (actually pretty simple) and it didn't take more than an hour or two to begin making noise that kinda sorta sounds like music. Any artistry is simply going to have to come with practice. But it's kind of a fun little bluesy riff.

So, long story short, I'm loving my mouth organ right now.

[old mark]

1. You might be interested in these links:

http://www.modernbluesharmonica.com/home.html


and one of the greats, Magic Dick, with the J Geils Band;

http://www.magicdick.com/

and Magic Dick at work: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0q2Vy3fx2I&feature=related



Enjoy learning-there are a lot of good, inexpensive harps on eBay- I like Suzuki Folkmasters of Lee Oskars-they are very different.

mark

[pokerfan]

3. Thanks for the links!

I'm already looking to upgrade. This one (Hohner Pocket Pal) is virtually a toy, hence the impulse purchase so many years ago. I would just like to have something a little bit better. I'm going to hit up a couple of local music stores this weekend but I can't really see any need to go beyond $50 at this point, if ever perhaps. I will probably stay in C for now but I definitely see E-flat in my future.

I'm playing with my technique to figure out what method works best for me to hit those single notes. So far the tongue-roll seems to work best for me. Any suggestions or is just something everyone needs to figure out out their own?

I love the incredible portability of the instrument. I used to sometimes carry the lowly recorder with me on back packing trips but the harmonica is even more portable.

[old mark]

7. It is very individual and personal...many different schools and almost

everyone can get their own sound out of them...Here is another great player, Lee Oskar, who played with War in the '70's and '80's-this is War, with Eric Burdon and Lee, "Spill the Wine":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3i0DMbCKnAg&feature=related

and one of my old favorites, Little Walter, doing "Juke";

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uiGpv-UeiDI&feature=related


And James Cotton, playing another of my favorites-I used to sing this one...
"Rocket 88"...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTDpsOY2dX4&feature=related

These might give you some ideas...Hope you like them.


mark

[pokerfan]

8. Very cool

Thanks!

[MiddleFingerMom]

2. Locking.

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No sax threads.
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[pokerfan]

4. LOL

[kentauros]

5. No, but I know how to do a little throat-singing:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mc5lwpnoOmQ&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hi5yRr8jMAk

:D

[pokerfan]

6. I can't sing

but my harmonica can! :)

Throat singing is pretty amazing.

[kentauros]

11. I wouldn't say I can "sing" either.

The cool think about throat singing or harmonic overtoning is to just hit those notes that start the harmonics. Try singing in an enclosed space, like your car or in the shower.

Of course, I'd love to have an abandoned water tower to use :D

[pokerfan]

15. I've discovered the car is amazing

My gf in college who played guitar and sang in clubs. She used to love the stairwell of her dorm.

[eyepaddle]

9. Gosh--I'd actually forgotten that I can do a bit of throat singing!

I have a fairly good handle on the low buzzing drones--but I really wish I could figure out how to do the high pitched overtones.

Like this guy:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbzaKKfvBo4&feature=related

[kentauros]

10. It's the higher-pitched harmonics I can do,

though nowhere near as good as the artists in that video! Those really high pitches are hard to keep going, and likely takes more practice that I've put into it ;)

I would also love to know the significance of their hand-movements.

Here's the book I used to teach myself: Healing Sounds by Jonathan Goldman

[abq e streeter]

12. Old Mark's links and suggestions are great. Good luck and have fun. And once you 'get" bending

the notes (and maybe you do already), it'll throw the possibilities of what you can play wide open. And thanks Mark...I bookmarked your links too, and never occurred to me about ebay. I still like the Special 20's but even on musiciansfriend they're 30+ bucks (and may give the folkmasters another try; I always did think they were the best of the less expensive ones when I had a couple of them years ago). I'll check out ebay soon; I need to get a few; been blowing a lot of em out lately, even though I do more singing and sax than harp these days.
And Pokerfan, when you listen to Little Walter, don't get frustrated that "I'm never going to be that good". No one else is either.

[old mark]

13. No, man, Walter was the best there ever was. I have the full set of Folkmasters,

a couple Lee Oskars and a few odd Chinese harps. I even have one in Bflat to do "Sugar Bee"....http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrb3E7PQk68

I loved them Heat!


Oh, hell, here's another one Alan Wilson on harp-"On The Road Again", live somewhere,early in 1970 or 71...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZ_IzNJh9cI&feature=related

I saw them live around this time, onstage with the Almans-all the original members of both bands.

mark

[pokerfan]

16. Not bending yet

or at least not with any kind of control. I'm still working on hitting good clean single notes. But I keep going over the Love Me Do riff (getting better every day) and the bluesy riff towards the end: 3↓-4↑-3↓-3↑. (Hope those arrows show up for you).

[abq e streeter]

17. Don't worry--the control over bending takes a LOT of practice

but if you can do that at all, even once in a while by accident, you're over one of the main humps already. And working on getting clean single notes...:thumbsup:

[pokerfan]

19. did the arrows show up for you?

That would be useful for posting tabs.

[abq e streeter]

22. Yes, they posted...

I don't even think in those terms, but in the beginning I think they can be very helpful. Just my opinion, and may possibly be disagreed with by other harp players, but I think that "weaning' yourself off of dependence on them and just hearing and feeling it ultimately is the way to go.No hurry, but eventually... The online and/or you tube harp lessons are probably very helpful and if you can find an in person one (don't need a lot; just a very few to get you going) would probably be helpful. Sometimes a local music store can point you towards someone. I teach very sporadically but when I do, it's generally someone who has had me recommended by a music store employee who knows me. I rarely do more than a small handful of lessons with any one person; I always tell them I'm just showing them a few basics to help them teach themselves right, and to know what they're aiming for and how to get there. Again, the stuff available on you tube etc. might be every bit as good (or better).
Another idea....I like that you're aiming at some relatively simple stuff to start, i.e. Love Me Do...the great ones like Little Walter etc. that have been mentioned here can be intimidating. Hell, I've been playing for decades and they still intimidate me. I tell beginners to check out the first Zeppelin album and Creedence's Bayou country.Both have some nice but very basic blues harp on them. Of course this may also involve buying a few more. I can't remember, but I'm guessing that a lot, especially the Zeppelin, is in E which would require an A harp (I think Creedence might use both A and C harps...just can't remember but some of the others who have replied here who also play guitar, which I don't, might remember those keys).
Another idea for getting the feel of where the notes are as far as both the hole number and in or out, is to try to play simple nursery rhyme type stuff like Mary Had a Little Lamb and just figure it out in your head without writing it down with the arrows etc.

[pokerfan]

25. Awesome

As far as tabs goes, I have to start someplace... I think any dependency on tabs will slowly diminish as I become accustomed to the harp. I find that I'm already beginning to think it terms of what I'm hearing rather than about what hole # I'm hitting. I'm already playing LMD without thinking about hole #'s so I'm sure eventually, I will be able to play by ear. Baby steps... Thanks for the help.

[Bennyboy]

14. I play...Norton Buffalo is my hero......

Love it. Only play for myself mostly but been playing for years. I play lee Oskars mosly but the old Hohner Blues harp is a good one.

Highlight of my 2010 was talking to John Popper (the best ever IMO) aobut playing and Norton Buffalo.....and how much he inspied both of us....

[abq e streeter]

18. Norton Buffalo was incredible

I gave a few lessons to a friend of his from Calif. who was living here; may still be. He mentioned knowing Norton before starting lessons with me, and I warned him I was about a thousandth the harp player Buffalo was.
I think Popper is great too. I know a lot of blues "purists" that don't like his playing because again, it's not 'pure" enough blues or something. If they can ever show me where he signed a contract promising to only play "pure blues" then I'll concede the point (or not). Till then.......
To me, Sugar Blue is the best I ever saw, and I know some detractors of his, and for the same, in my opinion, rather spurious reasons.

[panader0]

20. Go buy a Sonny Boy Williamson record

I play harp on a few of our bands songs. Sonny Boy is the real deal.

[pokerfan]

21. Thanks

Checking out Youtube...

[abq e streeter]

24. Just checked out your songs on my space---damn good stuff

I don't know which Sonny Boy you were referring to; I always think of "Rice Miller" but can't go wrong with either of 'em. BTW, an old friend of mine who's a great drummer is living somewhere in SE Arizona these days I think. John Benoit; wonder if you know or know of him (serious badass drummer; has toured with Junior Brown among others)....If you do, and you happen to think of it if you ever see him, tell him Ron the harp player from Albuquerque says hi from over the intertubes.

[elocs]

23. Actually, the harmonica is the only instrument I could pick up and instantly play.

I have no idea why or how, but I can almost immediately play any tune I know on the harmonica. I can play tunes, but cannot play along with music although I can play the harmonica tunes from Love Me Do as well as Hear of Gold. I guess I'm saying I cannot play like jazz harmonica.

[pokerfan]

26. Heart of Gold

Am I going to be able to hit some of those notes with my C harp or am I going to need a small tackle box to carry all the harps I'm gonna need? :) I can see how acquiring differently keyed harps can become a compulsion. Damn it, I already went through this with eyepieces for my telescope!

[elocs]

27. I have a Hohner Echo chromatic G harmonica that is over 30 years old

and I just picked it up after not having touched it in many months and played the Heart of Gold intro. I don't know how I could ever do it not being musical in any other way.

A few years ago a good friend asked me what I wanted for Christmas and I said a harmonic. I was really just looking for a replacement for my old G chromatic. She ended up getting me maybe 10 different harmonicas of different sizes along with a neck holder like I was going to be a pro. I ended up keeping a Hohner Chromatica 280C with a button but I still prefer my old one because I cannot get the hang of using the button.