Harmonica Thinking

David Barrett's 2012 Rhumba King Competition

No doubt most of you out there will know the fine work of David Barrett and his site www.bluesharmonica.com. Safe to say Dave has lifted the bar for learning the harmonica online and with lots of other content such as interviews with modern day masters, his site is more than just an education platform. Another example are the online songwriting competitions David runs where you can win prizes such as equipment, good old cash or performing at a local club. The idea of music competitions can divide opinion, but read on before writing this one off. 

Enteries for 2012 Rhumba King now open

The current competition is to find the "2012 Rhumba King" and yours truly is one of the judges along with David of course, and German based Steve Baker.  There's a very decent prize up for grabs for 3 lucky winners so pay attention....

....a free pass for this years Harmonica Masters Workshops in which runs between 31/10/2012 and 04/11/2012 Trossingden Germany.

With workshops from Joe Filisko, Eric Noden, David Barrett and Steve Baker, anyone who plays the harmonica seriously will know that's a vey cool prize indeed. But the winners will also get to perform in the Friday night concert backed by BB and The Blues Shacks. Oh, and I'll be there and on Saturday I'm giving a seminar on my book research; but more on that in another post. 

Music competitions, they're pointless right? 

So look, I totally understand reservations about entering a music competition. After all, music is not a competition. Moreover, it can seem especially pointless if you don't feel you have a genuine chance of winning. The thing is though, I think this is where the adage "it's not about the winning, it's about taking part" couldn't be more true.

If you have reservations about entering, perhaps think about it this way. Even if you have no chance of winning this is an opportunity to have your playing critiqued by Steve Baker, David Barrett and myself. You'll also have the learning journey of trying to write a tune and capture a decent take. Ultimately, we talking about a personally rewarding experience for an intermediate or advanced harmonica player. And if you are one of the winners, well happy days, and I look forward to shaking your hand at the Friday night concert! 

If this has wetted your appetite you can see the competition details and enter at http://www.bluesharmonica.com/rhumba-king. There's plenty of time to put something together as closing date for online submissions is the 15th of July. 

Good luck! 

 

"Be Interesting" Harmonica Workshop this Saturday May 7th

This coming Saturday (May 7th) the National Harmonica League Spring Festival takes place at The Stables Theatre in Milton Keynes, England. I'm excited to be part of the event once again and will be running an hour long workshop entitled "Be Interesting".  There's also plenty of other things happening during the day. 

My own workshop has been inspired by a question I received from a harmonica player a couple of weeks ago which essentially asked  "how can I stop sounding boring". Although this indicates very brave navel gazing, my initial reaction was that in the end I couldn't offer any specific advice on this one. The person acknowledged the 'impossible' nature of the question in their email. Afterall how do you tell someone to be musically interesting? What does that even mean anyway? There's certainly no "oh just do this' magic bullet which I wrote about in this post. 

After thinking about the question some more I realised that actually it captures a couple of problems we all face from time to time.

1) Hitting a creative plateau where for some reason you stop improving even though you are practising.

2) Falling into the same patterns when improvising.

I wager that everyone reading this has experienced one of both these predicaments. The second point is really common and super, super tough to solve. If you are lucky it takes a life time and more likely, probably a bit longer. Making it a rare thing indeed. It struck me that these relate to the idea of being frustrated that your playing is in some way boring. In the workshop I will attempt to explain how I deal with these frustrations. I'll be covering: 

a) How to rejuvinate old licks

b) How to create new ones

c) Quick wins to add interest

So if you are a intermediate or advanced diatonic harp player who relates to these challenges, come along this Saturday. Hopefully by the end of the workshop you'll have some new ideas on how to "Be Interesting". There are also plenty of other workshops from ace players like Will Greener running during the morning and afternoon culminating in an evening jam session. 

Hope to see you there! 

BOOK YOUR TICKETS ONLINE HERE

Related Links: 

NHL Spring Festival 2011 

NHL Spring Festival Event on FaceBook 

 

 

 

Two Modern Masters of Solo Acoustic Harmonica

It's been a good few days for harmonica fans in the South East of England with solo appearances from Joe Filisko in Brighton and Paul Lamb at the London Harps Group. I'm guessing most people would rather hear a band than a solo performance and harmonica fans are probably no different. After all it's hard to resist the combination of a big amplified harp floating over a killer shuffle sympathetically backed by some tasteful 50's Jazz/blues guitar.  In reality though, these magic ingredients can be combined with unpleasant results. In my opinion hearing a harmonica player unplugged, in intimate surroundings can actually be just as powerful. Preferable even. You just need the right player.

 

Playing on your own? You'll be needing timing and tone.

Harmonica players who can carry a whole set without any backing, (including not using loop pedals), are rare. Putting vocals to one side, those who can will be particularly strong in two harp areas. Tone and timing. For me, Joe Filsiko and Paul Lamb showcase better than most the beauty and power of the instrument when played acoustically and solo. 

Interestingly, I think it's no coincidence that they have developed the ability to play without a band and have two of the best acoustic harmonica tones you'll ever hear, when you consider their two main influences. Sonny Terry and Big Walter Horton. It seems mastering these two players will give you timing, the ability to fill out the sound on your own and particularly in the case of Horton, a huge acoustic tone. Anyone looking to play blues harmonica in a stripped back format could do a lot worse than to study these two old masters. 

Joe Filsiko at The Brunswick

I was one of a number of people who had made the trip down to Brighton from London to hear Joe at The Brunswick as part of a bill which included two other bands, The Blackjacks and The Shoestrung . With local interest the night was sold out. Joe played a 45 minute solo set that deftly incorporated harmonica from various historical periods all with their distinctive style. We were treated to incredible renditions of Sonny Terry's "Foxchase", Big Walter's "Easy" as well as some of Joe's original tunes such as "I'm The Busiest Man". Earlier this year I had the chance to jam one on one with Joe during my trip to Chicago. At the time I was so stunned by his tone I simply couldn't join in. I just had to listen. Here the audience was struck in the same way. It's a cliche, but you could hear a pin drop throughout the performance. Joe has told me that 'creating the maximum sound from the harmonica' is his focus. For those of you who have tried playing the harp with a glass in your hands, like a mute on a trumpet, Joe's sound is as big but without the glass. 

Paul Lamb at London Harps

 

I was so thrilled that Paul kindly agreed to come and play for the London Harps Group. Hearing Paul play up close without a band had a huge impact on me. It destroyed the myth that the tone I was searching for came from the amp and mic. The London Harps Group had an excellent turn out for Paul's workshop which in the end was more of a tour of his harmonica influences, interspersed with questions from the audience. Most of the questions centred on the style of Sonny Terry and Paul played several tunes to demonstrate including 'Wooping the Blues'. 

It was a great chance for the gathering to see and hear up close what the harmonica can do in the right hands. You just can't beat this kind of learning situation where you are sitting right next to a player like Paul. In a way it has the effect of demystifying records you spent hours trying to imitate. Here it is happening right in front of you. It creates an indelible benchmark. 

The Greats Sound Original

My most important takeaway from both these nights was being reminded again that one of the defining characteristics of great musicians is that they sound distinctive. You can identify them from a few notes or a phrase. Take BB King, Albert King or Albert Collins for example on the guitar. The same goes for harmonica players. Little Walter, Sonny Boy Williamson and Sonny Terry all have a unique sound.  I can't underscore enough how difficult this is to achieve. Millions of people play the guitar, piano, saxophone and so on, but hardly anyone develops their own identity or tone. Joe and Paul are that rare breed of musician who have their own sound, even when playing covers.

Paul has such a distinctive draw 2. It's rich and powerful. Trust me, it would be the primary exhibit in the case for 'you can get a big sound without tongue blocking'. Joe's tone just leaves you speechless as a harmonica player. I said as much to the audience when I was invited onto the stage for a jam with Joe and the Black Jacks. It's a very rare thing indeed and I heard it that night in Brighton and in that little basement in Kentish Town.