I have been playing about two years and know about ten tunes and always pick a more difficult song for the next one. I know I will never be a world beater but really do not care. Its strictly about fun and learning something I always wanted to do. I am a believer that you should always be learning something no matter your age. Its a great to stay healthy and content.
I had no idea about anything related to the harp or music, nada, nothing. A few months into my mission I met a couple of fantastic harp players. One was Buddy Greene. Harp players are a unique bunch as even the very best are helpful and ole boys like most other people. Even though I was a beginner he was so helpful and friendly. Even though he has played all over the world and is a great player you would never know as he is very down to earth.
Point is the harp community, including the very best players, is very welcoming, helpful and no one cares about where you went to school, did for a living of anything else. I thought this was a lost behavior. Not a single player has ever been contending or rude. Its been a god send for me as I am retired banker that had all the stress and traffic a person needs. I now live in the Texas hill country and things are just the way I like after growing up in the concrete jungle, AKA Houston, TX.
Just about every other hobby I have had involved with putting up with people that spent too much time trying to convince others how great they were or what they knew, much unlike the harp crowd. I got very good at ignoring it as its just bs. My younger brother was a great musician and he gave me two old harps before drugs got the best of him. I found them and just started my mission.
I am hooked.
To all of you that are the helper on this forum thanks! You help is noted and not forgotten. Maybe in a few years of playing every day a couple of hours a day I can be in a position to help the new players get on the right track out of the block. In the mean time I will sit on my deck and play and enjoy a dry south TX night in the hills. My harp will go silent only when my lungs do.
I agree with all of your points and just came up with another: the low expectations of others.
If someone whips out a guitar or sits at a piano, well he better do something amazing or itāll sound mid. Whereas with a harp, thatās ājust a toyā right? So when you can actually do some cool stuff on it suddenly itās super impressive.
also they are small and donāt require electricity
I love itās pocketable nature and anytime, anywhere (well not quite) can have a quick 5 minutes de-stress and pracitce.
I love thatās completely unpretentious, simple, and direct.
Thereās no barriers (ok, a few quid to buy one but not a big investment) to entry, if youāre breathing you can play, and you get out what you put in.
For an ālimitedā instrument, thereās limits being pushed all the time but also you can push your limits with it.
But mostly, and this is probably just a me thing, but I flat out canāt sing, but can do something not too far removed with a hamrmonica, itās such a vocal instrument.
I absolutely agree that the harmonica community can have some of the most accepting pro musicians out there. Sadly, I was not so lucky because a lot of āmusiciansā made fun of me for being disabled and projected their toxic behavior onto me. If I talked about my struggles with ableism as an autistic harmonica player, most of them would claim Iām being toxic to others and tell me to give up the instrument or āgo to therapyā because of how passionate I am about being accepted as a musician with a disability.
For me, it was finding the right group of people who were accepting to those who are disabled. So I feel lucky that I met my real friends in the community. The first person who accepted me for being disabled was Todd Parrott, who is also my teacher. He really showed me the ropes about playing country music with the harmonica and gave me the confidence that I could play anything if I put my mind to it. Then, I got into the virtual harmonica meetups through Zoom and Iām now playing in a band. I feel so proud of myself because I went from the butt of the joke in the harmonica world to a mostly-respected pro player.
Never thought of that. I never have tried to sing but strongly suspect using my breath on the harp is better for all that can hear. My Grandfather sang at his parents bear point when he was eight. His compensation was a bucket of beer. Pure bred German parents have no issue with kids and some beer about 1900.
Right before my mom passed in 2019 I was visiting her and she sang the song that would put her tribe to sleep at night. I was shocked as I never knew she had such a voice. I would say genetics but I did not get her I Q or voice. She graduated in 1939 and was offered a full ride to Rice University but her older sister did not get such an offer so mom was not able to accept the offer. I was finishing up middle school at 15. cannot win em all but I had her for 68 years and she was the greatest.
Luke I will find you at SPAH and show you a tune I am trying to learn. I am interested in your thoughts on the difficulty and if such tunes are good to tackle as a two year player. Also saw your U tube post on single note play today and your description of how to place the harp and use the lower lip got me out of a slump. Your wife reacts to my play the way yours does when you are having an off day. She is quite an actor. Thanks for the post. I strongly recommend a new player watch this one as it is very helpful.
Sixty years playing and Iāve never thought about why I like the harp. I just started playing it at 16, hoping to be able to accompany a few records. As I heard players ā Declan Mulligan, Bob Dylan, Paul Butterfield, wanting to hear more became learning more and constantly led me to different players.
I had a teenage friend in San Francisco who was crazy about blues. Heād cut school and spend the day in record stores combing through record bins, looking for blues 78s and 45s. Heād call at night, putting the receiver down by the record player so I could hear his ādiscoveryā then heād play over the record trying to duplicate the solos (Little Walter, Jimmy Reed, Sonny Boy, Big Walter). I couldnāt play at his level, but his enthusiasm made me want to learn and improve.
We were about 19, (1968?) and unexpectedly ran into each other out front of Theresaās Tavern. No idea the other was in Chicago until that moment. There to see Muddy Waters. We were talking and he was nervously flipping a harp between his thumb and index finger. An old guy sitting on the concrete, back against the brick wall, not in great shape, said, āYou think you can play boy?ā He leaned down and said, āI can play manā. Challenged to prove it, he did about 36 bars of Howlin Wolfās āAll Night Boogieā. He sounded exactly like the record, Wolfās tone, timing and notes precisely played. The guy, impressed, stood up and introduced himself. Guitarist, Lee Jackson, who played with Sonny Boy c.1950-51. I knew my friend for years and I was still completely amazed by his playing. I liked what he could do, unaccompanied, pulled out of the air. Made me like the harp even more (though not expecting to ever be able to play what Iād just heard). Not sure why my friend likes the harp so much. Iāll ask him some time. Rick Estrin. Even watching now reminds me that I like the harp. Keep it to Yourself
