Harmonica

[Fopah]

Any body have a good inexpensive suggestion for a harmonica? i have one in G, but it just does'nt have the "harmonica" sound i'm looking for, it is just to pure.
if any of you have heard "Mr. Tambourine Man" by Bob Dylan (which i'm sure you have), that's the sound i'm looking for.

Thanks
Michael

[Tony]

Use the search function on the word harmonica...
this may be of help finding some harmonica links.

previous discussions:
http://chiffboard.mati.ca/viewtopic.php ... ee914d663a
http://chiffboard.mati.ca/viewtopic.php ... ee914d663a

[gonzo914]

Here you go -- more than you ever wanted to know about Dylan and the harmonica -- http://www.dylanchords.com/harp/

He played a Hohner Marine Band, and I'd guess the sound you're looking for is probably a C or D. A D is a handy key because in addition to playing in D, you can play blues cross harp in A, and it will do E dorian jigs. The Marine Band has been around forever and was used by a lot of 50s and 60s blues harp players.

I like the Hohner Special 20. It's got about the same sound as the Marine Band, but the body is plastic, so you can run it under the hot water faucet when it starts to grow stuff.

Here's some Hohner diatonic harp info -- http://www.hohnerusa.com/hdiatonic.htm

[Marko]

Any body have a good inexpensive suggestion for a harmonica? i have one in G, but it just does'nt have the "harmonica" sound i'm looking for, it is just to pure.
if any of you have heard "Mr. Tambourine Man" by Bob Dylan (which i'm sure you have), that's the sound i'm looking for.

Thanks
Michael

hey, thats so weird, i've been wanting to take up the harp for ages,
as i can remember my granddad playing it when i was little. I just
bought one this weekend, a marine band C. next one'll probably
be an E, cos i want to play along to all along the watchtower.
What make is your G? If your getting a pure sound
you're doing better than me!
I think bob seems to cover as many holes as his
mouth possibly can, and blows.
You should remember too that the harp'll sound
a lot different to someone listening to you than
it does to you cos of all the vibrations in your throat
and head. Also the quality of the sound (timbre?)
depends a lot on the cup your hands make behind the
harp. the more sound tight it is the rounder the sound
i think

[John S]

All the Blues players I know swear by Lee Osker Harps.
http://www.leeoskar.com/
John S

[dubhlinn]

In this house Bob Dylan is God.

His Harp playing cannot be removed from his singing and guitar playing. Listen to how his harp soars above everything that has gone before, the Albert Hall ( Manchester trade hall in reality) acoustic version of Mr. Tambourine man proves the point.
Anyone else attempting that solo at the end would sound like, as Marko said;covering every hole and blowing.

For all you harp lovers out there check out this wonderful site
www.charlie-musselwhite.com

Scroll down to the end at some point for the quotes section, it's really funny and sad at the same time.It is also one of the best put together web sites I have ever seen (and heard!)

Slan,
D.

[Marko]

while we're on the topic, does anyone know where to get tab for the harp?

[Flyingcursor]

I'd think a Marine Band or Blues Harp would work to get the Dylan sound.
There was a time when those were THE harp to play.
To get them to sound right they either require a breaking in period or you can run water/booze through them to loosen up the reeds.

I met harp player once who did neither. He just bought a new one before every gig and blew the heck out of it and tossed it at the end of the night.

There is a drawback to the liquid method. First, the wood swells. You haven't lived until you've had your lips abused by swollen harp wood. Additionally, this swelling will eventually cause the metal plates to separate slightly from the wood. This is good for yanking mustache hairs.

Second, the reeds will be stiffer then they started and you will always have to drown the harp to get it to sound nice.

The primary harp used by Howard Levy is the Hohner Golden Melody. He had perfected the art of the blow-bend which gives him a chromatic scale on a diatonic harp. He claims the Golden Melody has more supple reeds and makes it easier to bend blow notes.

I use the Lee Osker harp. They are responsive right off the shelf and the reeds are strong so there's less likelyhood of the G and low F harps to blow reeds. They usually cost around $35.00 apiece. You can get them from Elderly's Instruments for $25.00

Because the harmonica is a diatonic instrument, (except the chromatics which I don't care for), you can use the same rules of thumb as you do with whistles regarding playing in certain keys. You can play most of the same modes though I only use the Major and the Dorian and whatever the 5th mode is (Mixolydian?).

For blues/bluegrass I usually play in cross-harp or 2nd position. It's the most popular for blues.

The key you play in 2nd position is the 5th of the key of the harp. Thus, a C harp would play G, the A harp, D, G harp, D.

A lot of harp players will tweak their harps so it has even more in common with the whistle.

Nowdays there's alternate tuned harps. I just bought a Lee Oskar Natural Minor harp (Em). I haven't spent much time with it yet so I don't know how I'll use it. Being from the old school I still prefer the standard tuning.

[Father Emmet]

The problem with playing IrTrad on harmonica is that there always seems to be several bars of draw notes in succession. Frustration with harmonica lead me to the whistle. Do trad harmonica players try to work in an exhale point in the tune, as whistle and flute players try to find the best spot to inhale?
I'll have to dig up my D and G Honers and give them another chance.
The tutor I was using is "Irish and American Fiddle Tunes for Harmonica", which comes in handy anyway, as I use it for whistle.

[Darwin]

For all you harp lovers out there check out this wonderful site
www.charlie-musselwhite.com

Scroll down to the end at some point for the quotes section, it's really funny and sad at the same time.

Look's like he's one of us:

"2. When I'm feeling down, I like to whistle. It makes the neighbor's dog that barks all the time run to the end of his chain and gag himself."

Strangely, he looks a bit older than he does on the cover of my copy of Stand Back!. Even though he's almost two years younger than me, I don't think he's aged as well.

[Walden]

If I don't break a harp in pretty easy, it'll go out of tune pretty quick, from note bending, and be relatively useless (in the case of Lee Oskars and newer Blues Harps, as well as several other models, the reed plates can be replaced, though, but still, not that cheap to have to buy often).

If it's broke in properly, even some cheap noname harps will hold up to a lot of playing for a long time. My main one for several years has been one I bought cheap in a toy department.

Not every key of harp plays the same as every other key, in that the reed stiffness varies. It's easier to play cross harp, on a C or a D than on a G... at least to me. My personal preference leans toward Hohner Blues Harp, regardless of key.

[Flyingcursor]

Not every key of harp plays the same as every other key, in that the reed stiffness varies. It's easier to play cross harp, on a C or a D than on a G... at least to me. My personal preference leans toward Hohner Blues Harp, regardless of key.

Very true. High F is fairly easy to work with but it seems it depends on the particular make of harp. My two favorite harp keys is (1st position) D. They seem to have a nice bright tone and you can play in A and E dorian. And of course playing first position you get all of those D tunes. Of course the C is good for those many G tunes but the D dorian isn't so common. I wish I could get a high G though because like Walden said, the G is not as nice to play on. I don't get the responsiveness from them. And I've fried many a 2hole draw with bending.

One of the more difficult holes to bend on all harps is the 3rd hole draw. If you can get that worked out you can actually play 4 notes with that single draw hole, V# VI and VI# and VII. Again alot depends on the harp.

A question for Walden. Do you ever drown your Blues Harps or do you prefer to take the time to break them in?

[Walden]

A question for Walden. Do you ever drown your Blues Harps or do you prefer to take the time to break them in?

I have, but didn't find it as effective as taking the time to break them in.

the D dorian isn't so common.

I use the D Dorian on the C harp quite a bit.

[Hipbone]

I've always prefered the Golden Melody, but they don't hold up to hard playing.

Howard Levy sold his soul to Satan - there is no other explanation.

2 posts in 1 day - I must not have anything to do today.

Pat

[Flyingcursor]

Hipbone you must be a fan of Howard Levy. Appropriately envious I see.