blues harp

Interviews 

Jiving With The Greats: Jerry Portnoy – Boston, 2.April 2009

The Good Doctor 7 Comments , , , , ,

…he, whose heart was that of a little child, had answered to his name, and stood in the presence of The Master. William Makepeace Thackeray

Prologue

For anybody looking to master the art of Chicago and blues harmonica, look no further than Jerry Portnoy’s front porch. Study his Grammy Award winning work with the Muddy Waters Band. Update this by investing in his solo project Home Run Hitter. Then check out Down In The Mood Room – it’s predominantly, though not exclusively, jazz. Give it time if you’re a bloozer. You’ll soon understand what Jerry has to say. Then get yourself a copy of his instructional package – Blues Harmonica Masterclass. It’s not cheap, but you get every ounce of bang for your buck, plus it’s the real deal straight from one of Muddy Waters‘ monolithic harp dynasty.

Harp Surgery visitors and students will know that Jerry Portnoy‘s work is regularly mentioned on this website. It also features in our teaching sessions. Most recently we’ve been mastering his version of Misty from the 1995 Home Run Hitter album. One student in particluar, Rob Ryman, has also been working on Real Gone Guy (from the same record). These are just two of countless numbers that carry Mr Portnoy’s hallmarks of style, accuracy, tone and expression. (more…)

Harp Tab How Do They Do That? 

It’s Bad You Know – R L Burnside [..with tab]

The Good Doctor 16 Comments , , , , , , ,

She asked me why. I just went on and told her. The engineer blown the whistle, the fireman he rang the bell
I remember seeing R.L. Burnside in Brighton in the late 1990’s. The gig was above a pub (the Flying Pig I think) on Queens Road, just down from the railway station. My enduring memory will always be of Cedric, his grandson, silhouetted behind the drum kit, pumping out ‘tribal’ blues rhythms. There were just the two of them, musicians that is, but it was utterly mesmerising. I’d never experienced blues of this kind before; far removed from standard Chicago 12 bar romps. It took the audience somewhere humid and remote. Down in Mississippi, but back up in the hills.

Who’s blowing the harp?
So who’s responsible for all that raw harpooning on It’s Bad You Know? Only Lester Butler of The Red Devils! I believe recorded scraps were sequenced and engineered by Tom Rothrock and the track was released into the underground dance scene in 1998. Where it flourished. The message was then adopted by the likes of Moby, Little Axe and now Alabama 3. More recently by Son of Dave. If it’s any testament to quality, this track and, of course, Alabama 3’s Woke Up This Morning have been used in the TV series The Sopranos.

Harp tab (C major diatonic, 2nd position)
2D’  2D  2D  3D’  2D  2D  2D”  1D  2D”  1D…1D’
2D’  2D  2D  3D’  2D  2D  2D”  1D 2D”  1D…1D’
2D’  2D  2D  3D’  2D  2D  2D”  1D  2D”  1D…1D’
2D”  2D”  2D”  2D”  2D”  1D  2D”  2D”  2D”  2D”  2D   2D
2D’  2D  2D  3D’  2D  2D  2D”  1D  2D”  1D…1D’
2D’  2D  2D  3D’  2D  2D  2D”  1D  2D”  1D…1D’
2D’  2D  2D  3D’  2D  2D  2D”  1D  2D”  1D…1D’
2D”  2D”  2D”  2D”  2D”  1D  2D”  2D”  2D”  2D”  2D  2D
2D’  2D  2D  3D’  2D
1D  2D”  2D”  2D”  2D”  2D  2D
2D’  2D  2D  3D’  2D
1D  2D”  2D”  2D”  2D”  2D  2D
2D  3D’  4B  4D’  4B  3D’  2D
2D”  2D”  2D”  2D”  2D”  1D  2D”  2D”  2D”  2D”  2D  2D
2D’  2D  2D  3D’  2D  2D  2D”  1D  2D”  1D…1D’
2D’  2D  2D  3D’  2D  2D  2D”  1D  2D”  1D…1D’
2D’  2D  2D  3D’  2D  2D  2D”  1D  2D”  1D…1D’
2D”  2D”  2D”  2D”  2D”  1D   2D”  2D”  2D”  2D”  2D  2D

Fading
2D’  2D  2D  3D’  2D  2D  2D”  1D  2D”  1D…1D’
2D’  2D  2D  3D’  2D  2D  2D”  1D  2D”  1D…1D’
2D’  2D  2D  3D’  2D  2D  2D”  1D  2D”  1D…1D’
2D”  2D”  2D”  2D”  2D”  1D  2D”  2D”  2D”  2D”  2D  2D
2D’  2D  2D  3D’  2D  2D  2D”  1D  2D”  1D…1D’
2D’  2D  2D  3D’  2D  2D  2D”  1D  2D”  1D…1D’
2D’  2D  2D  3D’  2D  2D  2D”  1D  2D”  1D…1D’
2D”  2D”  2D”  2D”  2D”  1D  2D”  2D”  2D”  2D”  2D  2D

Harp Tips 

Tuning Up The Band

The Good Doctor 0 Comments , , ,

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

The Good Doctor 0 Comments , , , , , ,

‘…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?

The Good Doctor , , , , ,

‘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…)