Its All Good

#1

This site is somewhat refreshing. Generally whenever one is seeking info on the net re harmonicas it is almost an assumption that it has to be about blues. In my case whilst there is a limited (extremely limited) amount of blues that I happen to like. I have a definate preference to play melodies. I have no desire to play in a group hence playing riffs makes no sense nor do I want to jam with tracks. The nearest thing to blues that interests me is in playing certain melodies with a bluesy feel eg like Summertime, St James Infirmary & Wayfaring Stranger.

For my liking the Little Walters , Sonny Boy & Charlie Musselwhite do nothing for me. Sure they have some technical mastery but the stuff they play I find dead boring and usually quite depressing! Give me players like Charlie McCoy, Brendan Power or Buddy Greene.

OK so I’ve probably lit a few fuses. Sorry no offence meant. I know blues has its devotees some of whom are fanatics. Good on them. But I think the harmonica has so much more to offer than just playing blues riffs!

Come on tell me what you think?

#2

I’m a melody tune guy too, Bill er I mean Dave <<<don’t know why you seem like a Bill to me or I keep calling you that but anyways>>>

I like playing songs…There’s definitely more of a challenge in them I’m finding out every day.

You and your buds here are really advanced and farther along than I am on this.

But it gives me incentive! Why?

Because more so than anything - I need structure!

Was just thinking last night, hey, I can improvise here and there as I so choose. But what I really need is focus and structure to get to where I want to be!

Me, I like boogie woogie and Harmonicat stuff! That’s my goals!

I don’t do country, rock, jazz or any of that other stuff really.

You’re into Irish tunes - fast! I’m into melodies - slow!

I can go on and on - But as you say and I wholeheartedly agree: It’s All Good!

{oh btw: have you checked out glenn and mike yet! your thoughts, if any, on them?}

http://www.celticguitarmusic.com/celHarrm.htm

http://www.mikestevensmusic.com/

#3

LOL!

Hey David.

I appreciate your honesty. I may have to take the fifth on this one…

I’ll say this… my tastes in harmonica players has changed over time. These days my favorite music is the sounds of the ocean and the birds during sunrise in Hawaii…

And I will confess… I still love Jimi Hendrix… I just saw a documentary about him and I’ve been I strangely enough I can really hear how much inspiration he got from nature.

My goal on harmonica has aways been to sound like Jimi.

jp allen

jp

#4

JP re Jimi Hendrix for me well yes I’ve heard of him, never heard of him referred to as a harp player? Different era to me. Must have a listen. So much music to enjoy or hate!

Can fully relate to the sounds of nature ie the birds and the ocean. Amongst my favourite sounds. I’m currently having a few days at our beach house on The Sunshine Coast near Noosa Qld Australia. Its been beautiful weather but today rain. We have a bird the Magpie which has the most beautiful voice & I bet they never worry about keys or scales or modes. Would love to play the harmonica and produce music like a Magpie!

In fact I actually listen to very few harp players preferring to listen to various genres but mainly country. At the moment on my system is Dire Straits -Sultans of Swing, but I really love all Mark Knopflers music.

Never heard of the terminology ‘I may have to take the fith on this one’. Is it a US sporting term?

#5
These days my favorite music is the sounds of the ocean and the birds during sunrise in Hawaii....

yo jp!

er um do the birds you’re referring to include the roosters heard on your vids/dvds?

first time i heard them…i thought it was coming from me!

but then soon figured a man who raises chickens can’t be all bad!

mwuahahahahaha!!

see ya!

#6

PLAY LIKE A MAGPIE!

Jimi Hendrix is a guitar player.

Guitar player really inspire me as a harmonica player.

I LOVE Mark Knofler.

jp

#7

guess that answers that then! ;D

man, i really got to get to bed!! :-[

mwuahahahaha!!! :smiley:

#8

Lol tell you what i think? well David you know what i think:-) Hows it going down in the land of OZ

#9

I like some his stuff to especially the covers he did of Bob Dylans songs, Got to admit Bob Dylan has got my IPOD full.

strangely enough I can really hear how much inspiration he got from nature.

Getting back to Jimi Hendrix didn’t he get his inspirations from something else from nature or the
science lab. Trying to be careful don’t want to offend anyone ;D ;D

Harp on!!

#10

maybe, Joe maybe, but he was one mean axeman ;D
whatever works for him…

I like brendan powers stuff, but some of it shure is fast !! ::slight_smile:

#11

I love LISTENING to all of it. But I’m with David, when I sit down to play-I’m by myself-and I like the tunes. Again, I like to play’em all-from country, to folk ballads, to The Beatles.

#12

You know what, I am a tune player too. Maybe for me it’s because I have and easier much easier time up at the top end and the middle of the harp.

Down low is where I struggle. 1 2 3…But when you hear some of them good blues player using there harp down there or even that girl from France I forget her name, Play Amazing Grace, That is just awesome. And for me it’s a challenge so I want to try and learn to play it
that way.

I think alot of the throat vibratos and hand techniquest work and sound awesome down in the 1st three holes.

So I’m going to learn that tune down low and bluesy like she plays it.

Harp on!!

#13

Joe your favorite tune Amazing grace sounds great in 2nd pos.And its not that hard to learn alot easier than some of that complicated fast Irish stuff youve learned in the last year:-) or take some of those great jam tracks HA has and just mess around with em.

#14

Its funny you posted that, ever since I heard this girl play it on another thread I pulled the tab down from the internet.
That’s what I’ve been playing all day today. Bending that 3 is getting easier and this tune is sounding good. I’d like to
find a backing track for it and record it but not sure which one would fit .

Click on this and scroll down till you see her she does a great job if you haven’t heard it yet this one is a must hear…

http://www.harmonica.com/forums/harmonica-talk/amazing-grace/

#15

yea she is amazing no pun entended:-) i read about her on the net, she’s like a super hero of the harp world i think they said she’s the queen of utube on harp or something like that,Im wanting to say she’s only played a few years,that she’s a great classical player with another instrument,but dont quote me on it but i think thats what i read.

#16

This is a legally based expression. In the US the 5th amendment to the constitution is the right not to incriminate oneself. So if they ask you a question you can refuse to answer on the grounds that it might incriminate you. To me this is almost the same as saying “yeah, I did that”, but you aren’t allowed to take it that way legally.

That’s probably more than you ever wanted to know about US laws, but now the saying will make since.

#17

Thanks Gregmatic. Now I understand.

#18

I don’t think anyone will get upset by your taste in music. Musical tastes like so many other tastes are subjective. It’s nothing to take personally. I’ve always listened to lots of different styles of music and since I took up the harmonica I listen to even more types of music.

There are a lot of sounds in country music I would like to make. One that is a nature type sound is in “Deeper than the Holler” by Randy Travis. It sounds sort of like a whippoorwill with a stutter. Anyone know how that’s done?

Of course there’s also one of the greatest country songs with harmonica called “Ain’t goin’ down till the sun comes up” by Terry McMillan and some guy with a guitar ;D. Terry McMillan totally made that song. If I could ever play that half that good it would be awesome.

#19

Response to one of JP’s remarks… I am also a big Jimi Hendrix fan. I have all of is albums. I have thought how cool it would be to be able to play Puple Haze on harmonica… just a thought.

#20

Specialy for Tyson,

I good not find Purple Haze but I hope Voodoo Child will do ?

Look on YouTube for Hakan Ehn en you will find much more

Have Fun, John

Voodoo Child (Slight Return) - Jimi Hendrix - Rock Harmonica