Dub
Administrator
I'm gettin' so the past is the only thing I can remember.
Posts: 19,915
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Post by Dub on Mar 9, 2023 14:07:00 GMT -5
I have a mini-harmonica that has Made in Occupied Japan stamped on it. No idea where I got it. Oh, man. That seems like so long ago. When I was a child, lots of things used to be labeled that way. There were little tin, wind-up cars that when you peered inside from the bottom, still had soda company’s colorful logo. They were “made in occupied Japan.” I still have vague memories of VJ-Day.
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Dub
Administrator
I'm gettin' so the past is the only thing I can remember.
Posts: 19,915
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Post by Dub on Mar 9, 2023 14:17:36 GMT -5
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Dub
Administrator
I'm gettin' so the past is the only thing I can remember.
Posts: 19,915
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Post by Dub on Mar 9, 2023 14:24:34 GMT -5
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Post by Rob Hanesworth on Mar 9, 2023 14:49:07 GMT -5
I own the Stan Musial harmonica instruction book, but I still can't play like this.
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Post by Marty on Mar 9, 2023 14:59:24 GMT -5
Good day
29F-35F snow
DaWife is gone to have her other eye done, Kaiah took her so I can work. Kai has her PC with her so she can work while she is waiting. She will still need glasses for some things but not the Coke Bottle Bottom ones she has now.
I remember those tin toys with pop or beer can labels inside.
11 Days Until Spring.
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Post by billhammond on Mar 9, 2023 14:59:59 GMT -5
I've long admired this guy, a co-founder of Bela Fleck and the Flecktones:
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Dub
Administrator
I'm gettin' so the past is the only thing I can remember.
Posts: 19,915
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Post by Dub on Mar 9, 2023 16:15:07 GMT -5
I've long admired this guy, a co-founder of Bela Fleck and the Flecktones: Playing blues in first position on a ten-hole harp must be very difficult. I know there are people who can play a complete chromatic scale on a ten-hole harp but I think that ability is rare.
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Post by Hobson on Mar 9, 2023 17:18:50 GMT -5
A week ago we had snow. Today Spring has sprung in Tucson. Just back from our walk. Trees are leafing out and flowers are in bloom. It's currently 74F on our patio and we have doors open for fresh air. Supposed to hit 82F tomorrow.
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Post by drlj on Mar 9, 2023 17:51:21 GMT -5
A Chicago harp player I met, and whose name is lost in the folds of my memory, told me to play cross harp or the 4th tone of the scale for blues because that’s what the Chicago blues players did.
So, if the tune is in G, I would use a C harp, if in E, I would use an A harp, etc., etc.
I had harps in A, Bb, D, G, C, & F. I never used a harp in the same key as the song but always the 4th tone of the scale. It makes a difference.
A lot of Chicago harp players I saw used to have a glass of water on the stage that they would drop the harp in and then shake it out to play. They said it made the harp looser and easier to bend notes. It did, too, but it also wasn’t great for harp longevity.
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Dub
Administrator
I'm gettin' so the past is the only thing I can remember.
Posts: 19,915
|
Post by Dub on Mar 9, 2023 18:00:19 GMT -5
A Chicago harp player I met, and whose name is lost in the folds of my memory, told me to play cross harp or the 4th tone of the scale for blues because that’s what the Chicago blues players did. So, if the tune is in G, I would use a C harp, if in E, I would use an A harp, etc., etc. I had harps in A, Bb, D, G, C, & F. I never used a harp in the same key as the song but alway the 4th tone of the scale. It makes a difference. A lot of Chicago harp players I saw used to have a glass of water on the stage that they would drop the harp in and then shake it out to play. They said it made the harp looser and easier to bend notes. It did, too, but it also wasn’t great for harp longevity. Exactly. The tonic note for your intended key becomes a “suck” note. (That’s so it doesn’t suck.)
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Post by millring on Mar 9, 2023 19:23:49 GMT -5
I spent a rare day off looking at minivans to replace the potterymobile. I think I'ma get a 2020 Grand Caravan.
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Post by jdd2 on Mar 9, 2023 19:31:05 GMT -5
happy birthday to harmonicas everywhere.
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Post by epaul on Mar 9, 2023 19:38:08 GMT -5
I spent a rare day off looking at minivans to replace the potterymobile. I think I'ma get a 2020 Grand Caravan. Great Choice!
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Post by TKennedy on Mar 9, 2023 20:00:41 GMT -5
Big harp fan here. First time I heard Howard Levy play a complete chromatic scale on a Marine Band my jaw dropped. The harp case I bought probably 35 years ago has proved extremely durable. One time I was driving to a gig and caught a glance of something bouncing down the road behind me and cars swerving to avoid it. My harp case! I left it on top of the car. Didn't faze it. Beautiful snow today coming pretty much straight down. Looks like about 5 wet inches. Planning an outing in the morning .
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Post by Cosmic Wonder on Mar 9, 2023 21:34:42 GMT -5
Greetings peeps. I’m in Brookings OR, drinking four roses single barrel and it is VERY good. Nita made a pupu platter extroidinaire, with smoked salmon cream cheese spread, curry chicken salad spread, summer sausage and assorted cheeses, and crackers. So that’s dinner and I’m a happy over the hill surfer, who is bringing in the Seagull from the truck and messing around with Ramble On Rose. Did I mentioning the bourbon was very good?
Mike
On edit: the drive today was miserable, rain started at 1030 and never stopped. Wind was moving the truck around. Richardson grove redwoods were beyond majestic, see them if you can. Summer would be best. Got to Brookings about 5:30.
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Post by Marty on Mar 9, 2023 21:48:41 GMT -5
A Chicago harp player I met, and whose name is lost in the folds of my memory, told me to play cross harp or the 4th tone of the scale for blues because that’s what the Chicago blues players did. So, if the tune is in G, I would use a C harp, if in E, I would use an A harp, etc., etc. I had harps in A, Bb, D, G, C, & F. I never used a harp in the same key as the song but always the 4th tone of the scale. It makes a difference. A lot of Chicago harp players I saw used to have a glass of water on the stage that they would drop the harp in and then shake it out to play. They said it made the harp looser and easier to bend notes. It did, too, but it also wasn’t great for harp longevity. The wooden comb on *Marine Band and **Blues Harps are made of wood and swell when soaked. This tightens the gaps between the comb and reed plates. * Golden Melody and ** Special 20 harps have the same corresponding reed plates as the two other harps but have plastic comb. While water will damage any harp over time it needs to be rinsed out every once in a while with hot water to get the funk out. Some players will swell a harp in beer, not good, or whiskey, it's still the same, you have to clean it. Would you use the same fork and never wash it? Reed plates are replaceable but sometimes difficult to find. Lee Oscar harps reed plates were easy to get and he offered harps in major and minor melodic tunings. There was a popular group in the late 90s that had a harp player everybody wowed about, he was all over that harp. He was using a melodically tuned harp, couldn't hit a bad note if he wanted to. Mr. fucking know it all pontification over. You may all return to general fucking around
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Post by John B on Mar 9, 2023 22:31:05 GMT -5
There was a popular group in the late 90s that had a harp player everybody wowed about, he was all over that harp. He was using a melodically tuned harp, couldn't hit a bad note if he wanted to. Here they are from just a few years back.
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Post by Marty on Mar 9, 2023 22:52:49 GMT -5
There was a popular group in the late 90s that had a harp player everybody wowed about, he was all over that harp. He was using a melodically tuned harp, couldn't hit a bad note if he wanted to. Here they are from just a few years back. That's the guy. Thanks.
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Post by dradtke on Mar 10, 2023 12:16:03 GMT -5
Our daughter used to play harmonica for a while in junior high. She came with us to a political fundraiser house concert with some musicians, and I introduced her to the harp player and asked him for any advice he could give a beginner. They chatted a bit. His advice was to work on single notes.
A few years ago when Tony Glover died and was in the news, she asked me, "Was that guy I talked to Tony Glover?" Yup.
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Dub
Administrator
I'm gettin' so the past is the only thing I can remember.
Posts: 19,915
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Post by Dub on Mar 10, 2023 12:56:54 GMT -5
Our daughter used to play harmonica for a while in junior high. She came with us to a political fundraiser house concert with some musicians, and I introduced her to the harp player and asked him for any advice he could give a beginner. They chatted a bit. His advice was to work on single notes. A few years ago when Tony Glover died and was in the news, she asked me, "Was that guy I talked to Tony Glover?" Yup. Tony, early on, had made a Folkways LP on learning blues harp.
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