Harp tab

Harp Tab How Do They Do That? 

Pack Fair And Square – Mark Feltham […with tab]

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Life is like a card game, you always take a chance

And so to the final installment in our 9 Below Zero trilogy. So far we have covered Riding On The L&N and Swing Job. We’ve looked at the key musical influences in each case and considered some of the history involved. We’ve also tried tabbing out the harp parts. Pack Fair And Square holds no secrets. It’s drawn directly from The J.Geils Band’s live Full House album. Simple.

With 80s contemporaries such as The Cheaters from Manchester, 9 Below Zero were inspired by the high voltage delivery of the J.Geils Band’s live performance and they set about reproducing it British Pub-Rock style. (more…)

Harp Tab How Do They Do That? 

Swing Job – Mark Feltham […with tab]

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Thank you. Good night!

Welcome to the second part of our trilogy, covering the top three harp tracks from 9 Below Zero‘s debut Live At The Marquee album, released on A&M in 1980. By that time the UK had already experienced the revolution of Punk Rock and DIY record labels such as Stiff, Beggars Banquet and Rough Trade. New Wave was virtually passe, two-tone ska was skanking it’s heart out and dueling shirted New Romantics such as The Teardrop Explodes and Duran Duran were waiting in the wings, busily back-combing. (more…)

Harp Tab How Do They Do That? 

Riding On The L&N – Mark Feltham [..with tab]

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You can imagine sittin’ at Tulse ‘ill can’t ya!

I first encountered this barnstorming track on 9 Below Zero‘s debut Live At The Marquee album (A&M) when it hit UK record stores in 1980. The band had already raised heads with its eponymous EP a few months earlier (originally on M&L records featuring Pack Fair And Square, Rocket 88, Last Night and Tore Down). Their new LP bowled in, tweaked noses and blew everyone away. My copy flew onto the bedroom turntable straight from its jacket and there it stayed for months. Of the fourteen tracks that received a daily spin, L&N, Pack Fair And Square and Swing Job went straight to the top of the ‘I want to play harp like that‘ list. It was a tall order, but through trial and error the decoding process slowly took shape. (more…)

Harp Tab How Do They Do That? 

On The Road Again – Alan ‘Blind Owl’ Wilson [..with tab]

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Well I’m so tired of crying, but I’m out on the road again

Midway through the harp solo in Canned Heat’s On The Road Again, Al Wilson plays a G in the middle range of his A harmonica. ‘How did he do that?’ asked then student, now performing UK harp ace, Clive ‘Jive’ Langhorn… Over to Pat Missin for the definitive…

A harp in the key of A has a G#, but no G and it is not possible to bend the G# in this octave, so how did he do it?

Several suggestions have been put forward. Perhaps he played an overblow? That is possible as other players around that time were starting to discover overblows and the hole 6 overblow on an A harp would give you a G. However, the slide down from this note includes a very quick slur over the D (5 draw) and the B (4 draw). If he had to switch between overblowing and drawing, there would be a slight hiccup in this phrase. (more…)

Harp Tips 

Making It In 4th Position – When Johnny Comes Marching Home […with tab]

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And let each one perform some part, To fill with joy the warrior’s heart.. Louis Lambert

Applying the circle of 5ths to a C Major diatonic harmonica enables us to determine the alternative keys and their associated positions that are available on the same harp. As a reminder:

1st position (straight harp) is in C major. Your root note is generally blow 4.

2nd position (cross harp) is in G major. Your root note is generally draw 2.

3rd position (slant harp) is in D minor. Your root note is generally draw 4.

4th position is in A minor. Your root note is generally draw 6.

The first three are the most widely used positions on the harmonica. In each case it is helpful if we can find a well known melody that best demonstrates that position and will map out the principle safe notes for us. In first position the choice is limitless. The most often used melodies are Camptown Races, Oh Susannah, When The Saints Come Marching In and Amazing Grace. In second position the choice is also very wide, especially when we start to use bent notes. In third position the melody to Scarborough Fair is the best example I have come across. You can also try What Shall We Do With A Drunken Sailor or even the theme to the Hawaii 5-O TV series. For mapping out fourth position, try When Johnny Comes Marching Home.

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Beef Up Your Bends Harp Tips 

Beefing Up Those Bends – 4 Draw Bend

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Here’s a simple two-part exercise to help strengthen your 4 draw bend. We’ll assume you have already found your draw bend, but haven’t perfected playing it in isolation without scooping down from the clean draw. If you have already perfected them, you may still find this exercise useful in sustaining your bending muscles and add it to you ‘harp gym’ regime. Hitting a bend accurately and without scooping is known as direct bending – a skill which is central to controlled playing. If you haven’t yet attempted any bends, why not take a look at the draw bend page from my Harp Skills menu here.

Stage One

We start by moving from the draw note down to the draw bend as slowly as possible. The objectives are to maintain a good tone (no loose air), a respectable amount of volume and to control the descent. Now do this again, but saving enough lung capacity to hold the bend as long as possible. Remember to descend as slowly as possible first. (more…)