folky harmonica

[Jersey Jack]

Hi Guys,

 

I'm looking to expand my guitar playing and singing by adding harmonica--very much in the model of Dylan, Springsteen, Neil Young, Steve Earle, etc.

 

I've bought some harps, and I have a small guide book, but when I look around on Amazon and elsewhere, all of the books seem designed for those looking to play the blues. I love the blues, but I just want to play a little harp to provide some texture and some solos over the basic acoustic reperatoire.

 

I'm sure a lot of you do just this with harp and acoustic guitar. Can you share your learning experience? Did you use books, videos, etc? Which ones worked for you? Did you take lessons? If you figured it out on your own, how did you go about doing this?

 

Any help would be appreciated. I can play "When the Saints go Marching in" and other songs from the book, but I'm at a loss as to how to improvise in the Dylan tradition.

 

Thanks,

Jersey Jack

[Muddslide]

Brother, I'm in that boat right alongside you. I've been meaning to take up the harp for a long time. I've had a few for years but am just now learning my way around them.

 

The accepted wisdom I always hear is to learn to play the harmonica separate from the guitar, then learn to play them both together, but I am not that patient.

 

Like you, I am more interested in the folk style as opposed to blues harp. However, I like both and am playing a little of both.

 

Now, the more folksy style is called "straight" harp. If you are playing in the key of "C" (as in a C-F-G type chord progression) you use a C harmonica. You play mostly by blowing.

 

Blues harp is called "cross harp" and you use the circle of fifths to figure out what key harmonica to use. If you are still playing a "C" chord progression, you'd use an F harmonica (I believe.) And you play with more draws.

 

I've been sticking to mainly a C harp-- I play it straight when I'm playing guitar in the key of C and cross when playing guitar in the key of G.

 

I have MUCH to learn still. I'm still trying to figure out the "1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc." positions on the thing. I'm also trying to find more instructional material but as you say, most of this stuff seems set up for people wanting to play bluesy. Straight harp seems to be largely archaic, though most of my favorite players from many decades ago (like Jaybird Coleman and Noah Lewis) could and did play it both ways.

[rnickl]

I also picked up the harp a while back. I just learned stuff off the internet and by ear. Pick a tune and try to play along.

 

Most of Neils stuff is also in cross harp. The way I remember what key harp for the key of the tune is by my fretboard. If the song is in G thats my E shape at the 3rd fret, move it to the A shape at the 3rd and I'm playing C chord. So I need to play a C harp to play G in cross harp. (Did that make sense)

[tastroman]

Learning cross harp is a must. Most players like Dylan and Young bend the notes at times on the draw. It is very difficult to bend a note on a blow.

I am doing things in reverse order. I learned harmonica, and after realizing I was always wanting to play with a guitar, I felt it best to learn the guitar myself. I have yet to combine the two as I am still learning my way around the guitar.

[Jersey Jack]

This is helpful. The emphasis on draw on cross-harp and blow on same-key harp is useful. But if one is playing a melody, one often needs to draw and blow. It seems to me that the folksy style playing I'm trying to get is sloppy in the sense that Dylan and Co. don't fret too much about hitting clean, single notes. I tried Steve Earle's "Jerusalem" in D, with a D harp, and the song worked well, though I coudln't really control whether I was playing single notes or chords!

 

Thanks again!

[Terry Allan Hall]

Learning cross harp is a must. Most players like Dylan and Young bend the notes at times on the draw. It is very difficult to bend a note on a blow. I am doing things in reverse order. I learned harmonica, and after realizing I was always wanting to play with a guitar, I felt it best to learn the guitar myself. I have yet to combine the two as I am still learning my way around the guitar.

 

I learned harmonica first, as well (age 7)...didn't get a guitar and put 'em together until I was 11, so unlike a lot of harmonica players who use the "harps" as an after-thought, I focussed on getting a strong melody from the beginning, and learned how to emulate Dylan/Young's "sloppy" technique later...

 

 

Back the OP's question: best thing, IMABO, is to just jump in and start combining the two things...you'll only get better by practicing.

 

And get a Lee Oskar harp-rack...nothing better on the market, since the BluesMaster rack went out of production and only a few $$$ more than a cheapie ($20 or less)...the Hohner is not as easy to adapt to your personal needs.

 

[tastroman]

Will a Lee Oskar rack hold Suzuki Folk Master harps? By X-mas I will have been playing guitar for 2 years and I'm feeling I am ready to make the jump. About 1/2 of my harps are Folk Masters with the other half being Special 20's.

[Chicken Monkey]

The Lee Oskar doesn't work as well for me, because I have a bunch of other sound effects attached to the rack. The narrowed span of the Lee Oskar limits my options.

[Terry Allan Hall]

The Lee Oskar doesn't work as well for me, because I have a bunch of other sound effects attached to the rack. The narrowed span of the Lee Oskar limits my options.

 

Which do you prefer?

 

Seems Hohner makes a longer "cradled" one, as does Kay/Chicago Blues (although the Kay/Chicago Blues one looks kinda flimsy)...are there others available today that hold longer harps?

 

Hohner

 

Kay/Chicago Blues

 

The only problem I had w/ the Hohner one was that it only had one tightening screw, so it would strip out very easily, and was difficult to fix...the LO is MUCH easier to repair!