Interviews Reviews - Shows 

Mountain of Love (Alabama 3), Concorde II, Brighton, 2 Dec.2008

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You know how it is when people evangelise. You smile, nod your head and then shove an invisible finger in each ear. The first time I heard Exile On Coldharbour Lane, I was unreceptive. My friend, on the other hand, was entering a transcended state even before he hit the play button. ‘You’ll love it!’ he beamed. What I heard was good, but it didn’t burn bushes for me or part the clouds. In fact all I could focus on was the crudeness of the harmonica.

A few days later I cranked up my own copy on the car stereo. This was when it hit me. It actually sounded fantastic. Immediately the world was a better place and before the month was out I had subscribed, unconditionally, to a new subculture. Then I too found myself evangelising. Alabama 3 made me chuckle inside. It made me groove. It was clever, it was sleazy, it was irreverent. It had a punky edge and musical depths. It had a lyrical wizardry and it was relevant. It was an adventure. It threw high fives at roots Americana. It flashed a V at decorum. It gave prejudice the bird. Most importantly it had a layer of raw harmonica that sat perfectly… (more…)

Harp Tips 

Tuning Up The Band

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Thanks to Jim Faulkner for raising this point at today’s workshop. As it is such a handy point, I thought it would be better posted under Hints and Tips than Lesson Feedback…

‘Did you know The Who used a harp to tune up with before their gigs? And as a classically trained musician, this never sat comfortably with John Entwhistle… what is the advantage of using a harp for tuning up?’

We’re talking about tuning up guitars here. ln lieu of an electronic tuner, keyboard, piano in concert pitch, or tuning fork, a bog standard diatonic harp is an excellent alternative. Of course you can also find pitch pipes, but what are they if not a redesigned harmonica by any other name, with some or all of the notes in the chromatic scale. A standard 10 hole diatonic in A will do the trick just as well (or any key if used wisely).

The 6 strings on a standard guitar are tuned E B G D A E, moving from the lowest to the highest string respectively.

Traditionally an A major diatonic is the best bet as it relates readily with three of the six open strings on a standard guitar and every harp player carries one! For the bottom and top strings you need to find an E. Draw 2 is the obvious option, but much better to use blow 3 as this is less likely to be off pitch from frequent bending. (You can also check that your blow 3 is in tune itself by octaving with blow 6. If they are in unison – there’s no tremelo effect – you’re safe). You can then move to the A string by blowing holes 1 or 4….or octaving both. (more…)

Harp Tips 

1st Position Blues – Crossing The Canyon

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‘…Who shall tempt with wandering feet, The dark unbottomed infinite abyss, And through the palpable obscure find out, His uncouth way.’ Paradise Lost (Milton)

As a journeyman blues harp player, there comes a point when we start to explore blues in different positions. We learn that in theory the number of positions available on any one harp is exponential. In reality however, most of the top guys we listen to use only 1st, 2nd or 3rd position – straight, cross and slant harp respectively. Put simply, they can get the most effective results from these positions. We will look at 3rd position playing another time, but for now I want to focus on 1st position or straight harp.

I would bet any money that you learnt to play Amazing Grace, Camptown Races, When The Saints or Oh Susanna when you first picked up the harp! These are folk tunes we all know. They can be readily navigated in the key of the harmonica – normally starting from, or ending on, blow 4. That’s traditional straight harp. It’s what the diatonic harmonica was built for.

I’ll put another wager on the fact that, having cracked these pedestrian folk melodies, you then hurried off to cross harp blues playing on a mission to find all the funky bends necessary to sound like Little Walter, Big Walter, James (more…)

Harp Tips 

Why Are My Harp Notes Set Out This Way?

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‘I do desire we may be better strangers.’ As You Like It (William Shakespeare).

Background

One of the first exercises we learn at the Harp Surgery is playing the major scale from blow 4 up to blow 7 (the mid octave). We use this to develop single note playing and movement around the harp. Simple as it may seem, it’s a great way of learning to navigate the new instrument and to develop an aural awareness of the changes that take place (as we cannot actually see them under our nose). We also use it to warm up at the start of subsequent sessions.

Once the central doh-ray-me is mastered, we then learn to extend upwards from hole 7 to hole 10 (the upper octave) and consider the 10 hole blow bends necessary to complete the sequence. Lastly we apply the process to holes 1 to 4 (the lower octave) and consider the draw bends necessary to complete the pattern. Once we can play the major scale in each octave fluently, including bends, we have the ability to range the length of the harp in 1st position, using it as one homogeneous instrument.

So why is hole 7 back to front?

Coming back to the central scale in holes 4 to 7, there is one thing that sticks out like a sore thumb. Hole 7 is backwards and trips us up every time. For those who are totally new, the mid scale on any 10 hole diatonic runs (more…)

Announcements 

Louis Borenius 1949-2009

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It is with great sadness that I have to relate the passing of Louis Borenius; husband, father, friend, and musician. Louis died of heart failure in Salisbury Hospital early last week. The news has come as a deep shock to all who knew him.

Some of you will have enjoyed performances by The Blackjacks over the years. Whether it was at the UK national blues festival, other nationwide venues, Ain’t Nothin’ But in London’s Soho, or locally here in Brighton & Hove, Louis was an integral and vital figure. And not just with the Blackjacks. He also drummed or played vibraphone for Coup d’Etat, Big Chief, Bop Brothers and countless other top jazz, blues and rock ensembles. Indeed Louis’ pedigree extends right back to the early jazz days of Ronnie Scotts and the UK’s emerging live music scene. You mention them, he’s played with them.

Today’s service was a beautiful testament to one of life’s rarest gentlemen, intellectuals, humanitarians and gifted music makers. Over 200 assembled to pay their respects. And those who couldn’t join the funeral sent their condolences or turned out for the evening’s wake at Brighton’s Komedia. As one friend put it so perfectly, Louis knew so many high profile musicians, yet he always remained wonderfully grounded. (more…)

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