DATE: Wed, 04 Nov 1992 17:06:32 CST From: Jack Ely 466-0458 Subject: Post #2 General Stuff
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From: "JACK EL~rgate.mec.ohio.gov Subject: Post #2 General Stuff
Arrrgh! Here comes another long posting from Jack - I'll try to answer questions of general interest from the last few days.
Chris writes...
Oh yea, one more thing. Jack, in the newsletter there is a section about Toots Thielmans. In it, Toots is quoted as saying that the blues harp is "the raunchiest instrument on earth" and the chromatic is its "civilized brother". Was this an attempt at humor? Was this an odd compliment? Or was Toots a jerk with a bad attitude? I think most people on this list will agree that the blues harp is far from raunchy. If I have miss interpretted this statement please let me know, but it sounds like an insult to a large part of the diatonic harpists of this world.
>>> I think this was meant to be a compliment to the capabilities of the instrument and not a slam on the blues style or those who play it. JE <<<
Chris writes...
Well, I got my free copy of the Harmonica Dispatch by the Buckeye State Harmonica Club yesterday. Thanks Jack!
>>> Thanks go to Connie, Co-Editor, she's the one who gets things done. JE <<<
In the Newsletter it mentions the Buckeye Harmonica Festival 1993, which is scheduled for April 2 and 3 in Columbus, Ohio. Jack, could you tell us more about this (especially for those on the list that did not get the newsletter). What is the agenda, activities, admission price, and anything else that you can think to add.
>>> BHF '93 will be the 17th anniversary of the Buckeye State Harmonica Club. We
have held a festival every year. Traditionally we bring in pros to entertain. We have had some big names in the past including Jerry Murad's Harmonicats. We have an excellent meeting facility which includes a 500 seat
auditorium with good acoustics. We have a decent sound system - Peavey MK-III 24 channel mixer, Yamaha & other amps, and four Bose 802 speakers (The PA equiv. of Bose 901's). Plus a couple guys who know how to run this stuff (The sound system is only as good as the ears behind the board).
Our usual format is -- Two day festival starting at 9:00 A.M. and running until 10:30 or 11:00 both days (Friday and Saturday). The evenings are for the hired professional acts. Daytime activities include -- Seminars, Open mic playing (anyone can sign up to play), food, vendor sales (F & R Farrel Co. will be there with lots of harmonicas).
A package price will include all activities including Lunch & Dinner both days and the evening concerts. Seminars are usually given by our hired pros and this year we will have talent in many areas including chord, bass, and chromatic harmonica. Prices have not been set yet but will probably be $50 for the whole two day package. IMHO our most interesting seminars have been when we simply have all the pros sit on a panel and field questions from the
audience so we may do this again. We are presently negotiating with four acts. I will post the entertainment line-up as soon as it is finalized. The plan is to have two professional acts each night. Not likely to be any blues but very possibly some jazz. JE <<<
Raj writes...
Raunchy isn't a bad thing especially in blues; it's an integral part of the blues. Not many blues can be describes as civilized. I think "the raunchiest instrument on earth" is a compliment.
>>> Well said and I agree. JE <<<
Here's an excerpt from an interview with Toots (from "Jazz Harp") to help clear up his opinion of the diatonic:
Richard Hunter: That brings up the question of what the technical limits of the harmonica might be.
Toots : Well, you can't get a good legato out of the harmonica when you're playing fast. In fact, for me it(s a struggle to get a good tone out of the chromatic at all. I wish I could get the same sound out of the chromatic that the blues guys get out of the Marine Band.
R : The Koch harmonica has something of that sound, doesn't it?
T : A little. Listen to those blues guys though, the *wail*. Hohner sure didn't design the harmonica to sound like that.
>>> The Koch harmonica referred to here is, I believe, the Koch 10 hole chromatic which is Marine Band (or Richter) tuned. i.e., tuned like a blues harp in the first three and last three holes. See diagram below.
DIATONIC HARMONICA LAYOUT KEY of "C"
__ Middle C __ C above | (blow) | middle C V V 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 +---++---++---++---++---++---++---++---++---++---+ BLOW | C || E || G || C || E || G || C || E || G || C | draw | d || g || b || d || f || a || b || d || f || a | +---++---++---++---++---++---++---++---++---++---+ ^ ^^ ^ |__"G" chord__||__the "C" scale __| (draw) C D E F G A B C
The KOCH chromatic harmonica is tuned just like the diatonic, thus you get a
bit of the bluesy sound, at least you can play cross harp and get the "G" chord etc. - but not the power or sound. It is available in C and G, I don't
know about other keys. Oh, BTW, it is sold by Hohner.
The standard chromatic tuning is different and called "solo" tuning. The entire scale is repeated in each set of four holes (just like holes 4-7 of a
diatonic). 12 hole chromatics are available in 12 keys. 16 holers are only available in C. A 16 hole chromatic has four complete C scales, with the C repeated in every octave. See layout below...
+--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--+_____ ++ |C ||E ||G ||C ||C ||E ||G ||C ||C ||E ||G ||C ||C ||E ||G ||C |Blow \++| SLIDE | D|| F|| A|| B|| D|| F|| A|| B|| D|| F|| A|| B|| D|| F|| A|| B|Draw_/++| OUT +--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--++--+ ++ -----> 1. 2. 3. 4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 | | |<- - - - - - - -12 hole layout - - - - - - - >| Notes: 1. The cover plate numbers on different models/brands of 16 hole harmonica will differ. Some show the first four holes with a dot beside them to indicate the octave below middle "C". Middle "C" is found in hole 5 (the 5th
hole) on a 16 hole chromatic.
2. Hole 16 tuning (slide in) is slightly different from it's lower octave companions (1., 5, 9, & 13). Hole 16 contains a "D" note where you might expect a D# (Eb). Why? I don't know. (hope these drawings got through the mail OK.)
JE <<<
fica~emus.rutgers.E~+ Writes...
I second the recommendation of Rick Estrin. He has great stage persence, too; outrageous deadpan tongue-in-cheek schtick and lyrics, all done with an air of uncompromising sleaze. If you get a change to see him with Little Charlie and the Nightcats, go for it.
>>> I went to a video taping of Little Charlie and the Night Cats last night at a local studio. My first chance to hear Rick Estrin - He's a great showman,
vocalist, and gets around both the diatonic and chromatic harps real well. Catfish Keith opened the show - no harp but a great one man act (Vocal, Guitar & Foot). They needed a live audience so some of us Short Harpers and Columbus Blues Alliance folks helped out. (A dirty job but someone had to do
it). ;-) The video will be available through Black Top Records at about $19.95 - they plan to do more. This was the second video, the first featured
Anson Funderburk with Sam Meyers on harp. The local producer/investor originally intended to sell these videos to Public TV or cable TV but no one
bit - fortunately Black Top liked it and decided to do a series and market them for home VCR users. Check out a Black Top catalog - the series is called "American Blues". I will post ordering info when I can get details.
JE <<<
I looked in Disc Jockey for Harp albums this weekend, in particular, I looked for Lee Oskar. I did not see the album, but in the Phonolog he was listed as having one album ("Before the Rain"--I think.). Has anyone heard this or any other of his stuff? Would it be worth ordering?
>>> Lee played with the group WAR and still tours with them occasionally. I have
three albums by him. All Have his name on the cover + title. 1. "WAR" (Harmonica on cover) 1976 - United Artists UA-LA594-G 2. "BEFORE THE RAIN" 1978 - Elektra 6E-150 3. "MY ROAD OUR ROAD" 1981 - Elektra 5E-526 JE <<<
George Mayhew writes...
Another excellent player in the light jazz/pop stream is William Galison. I only know of one cd, "Overjoyed," by him. It is worth owning, if you want to play chromatic.
>>> William has another album out titled "CALLING YOU". His "Overjoyed" album received a lot of air time on a Columbus radio station. (BTW George, thanks for the BSHC membership) JE <<<
Chris Pierce writes...
Sounds pretty cool. You say you are learning to play diatonic . . . does that mean you already know how to play Chromatic? What sort of things can you do with a Chromatic Harp (as opposed to a diatonic, obviously)?
>>> I am a self taught chromatic player (or thought I was until I joined BSHC and found out how little I knew). I used to be proud of the fact that I could play by ear and "didn't have to read" How stupid! I periodically teach
a course called "BCH" Basic Chromatic Harmonica whenever I get 10 or so students signed up. The only way to learn chromatic properly is by reading music. Sounds funny coming from an old ear player but I never attempted to teach until I learned some basic music theory and a good harmonica method from a seminar a few years ago which enables me to teach at least the basics. I'm beginning to believe that we need music theory (maybe even more advanced) to learn the diatonic too. In fact our "Short Harp SIG" is going to start devoting a portion of our Tuesday night sessions to music theory. [Hohner never did any of us any favors by telling us it was easy to play harmonica]. How did I get on that soap box anyway, I thought the question was "What sort of things can you do with a Chromatic Harp (as opposed to a diatonic, obviously)?" Well, for one thing you can get the sharps and flats (the black keys) easily once you learn when to push the button in and when to blow or draw. Chromatic is good for all styles of music. I love to hear a
good jazz chromatic player, although Toots is not my favorite. My favorite is Pete Pedersen (Memphis). I know, no-one ever heard of him, that's why I haven't posted a list of my favorites or most influential. You can play any style on either one. It's just going to sound different that's all. Some styles seem to fit diatonic better and vice versa but that doesn't mean you can't use a chromatic for blues or a diatonic for classical etc. I think it is largely a matter of taste. Which is easiest to play? That's another question often answered wrong. I would not attempt to teach anyone diatonic,
other than straight harp (i.e., holes 5 - 7 where the major scale of the harp lives). Anyway I am learning to play diatonic but not just blues - can play straight harp diatonic stuff OK. but want to learn blues, jazz, country, etc. The style, technique, learning process are totally different. But learning one won't hinder the other, so... learn them both. JE <<< Chris Pierce continues...
Jack tell us a little more about you. What styles of music do you play and like the best? What brand of Harps do you use? Tell us more about Chromatic harps. . .I think that most people on this list play Diatonics.
>>> I play mostly older pop stuff - I really like a pretty, romantic ballad but that puts most audiences to sleep so our BSHC club band and Harpers Bizarre repertoires include some up tempo stuff, some Country/Western and a few polkas. We even play some of the slow stuff fast just to keep people from falling out of their chairs. Oh, did I tell you BSHC and Bizarre have albums
available. Warning! Danger! beep beep, Aooogah! -- ILLEGAL COMMERCIAL -- Sorry about that - Seriously we have audio and video tapes of some of our past festival performers - I'll post info later if anyone's interested. Three of us in the club have recently been spending an extra hour or so after regular practice learning some arrangements from music. The first one we tackled is called "The Little Rhapsody In Blue" (a shortened version). It
was giving me fits (I'm the worst reader of the three) so we are also working on a much simpler piece with harmony parts "Whispering Hope" for diversion. JE <<<
What brand of Harps do you use? Tell us more about Chromatic harps. . .
>>> I have several brands of chromatic harps. The Hohners are good but getting to be very expensive. For the money I like the Hering (Brazil). Hering has had quality control problems and was out of business for a while but seem to
have their act together again. I mostly play the 16 hole (4 octave models) but sometimes switch to a 12 for a key I can't handle on the C. I play mostly in the key of C and C#. C sharp is an old trick on the chromatic, a very difficult key on most instruments, on the chro you basically just hold the button in - and the crowd says - "wow, they changed keys". If you really want to impress someone tell them you're playing in D flat. :-) I think I outlined the chromatic and some of the differences in paragraphs above. i.e., the layout/tuning etc. -- Another favorite of mine is the Hohner Super 64x (black covers, Gold mouthpiece, and double thickness reed plates which give a nice low register response). I also like the Hohner CBH 2016 (no longer made) It had great tone quality - sounded like a sax in the right hands (mouth). But a real pain to keep in tune. The CBH was designed by Cham-Ber Huang who used to work for Hohner. JE <<<
