Addendum to WSP 10/26/08 + harp 101

By the way, Charisse is becoming an accomplished bass player--very solid. She also sings well, though a little softly. She might try leading a song once in a while. I really appreciate her playing on Lay Down Sally, and Dead Flowers.

Red Hook Slim is a good harp player, with a blues background I think. He plays cross harp, which is the blues style.

Harp 101
Harp is slang for harmonica. There are different styles of diatonic harp. A diatonic harp has the notes from the major scale of a single key--ie, the white keys on the piano. This is opposed to a chromatic harp, which lets you play all 12 notes on the chromatic scale--ie, the white keys & black keys on the piano.

The 3 styles of diatonic harp that I know are:
1) Straight harp. If the song is in C, you use a C harp. The C harp has C, E & G as blow notes. (The draw notes are a little more complicated.) In other words, when you blow out playing straight harp you get I, III & V -- the C major triad. So if you blow out randomly on a C harp, you get some random inversion of a C major chord. When you play straight harp, about 3/4 of the notes are blows. Straight harp is good for folk, and for playing melodies. I play straight harp about 70% of the time. It's easy, and I think most people enjoy hearing a solo that incorporates the melody. It can also sound pretty soulful on certain songs. I like it on "On the Road Again", "Salty Dog Blues", "Blue Ridge Mountain Blues." Bob Dylan mainly played straight harp.

2) Cross harp. To play cross, you pick up a harp that is at an interval of IV from the key of the song. So if the song is in C, you pick up an F harp. This is great for twelve-bar blues, and very common in country. In cross harp, about 3/4 of the notes are draws. (When you suck in on the harmonica, it's called a "draw". Harmonicas are double-reed instruments, and the draw makes a different note than the blow). Draws can be more expressive than blows, partly because it's easy to bend a draw note. Draws are good for making train sounds, and playing blue notes. This is why cross harp works well for blues and country. Red Hook plays cross almost exclusively, and Daniel seems to use it most of the time.

3) 3rd position. Use a harp that is a VII interval from the song. So if the song is in E, pick up a D harp. This is good for songs in a minor key. A song in A minor would be very hard to accompany with an A harp--i.e., first position. But a G harp will usually do the trick. I also heard that 3rd position can be used for blues, but haven't had much success with it yet.

WSP 10/26/08

I played for a couple of hours with Pete, Charisse and Red Hook. Dan dropped by just for a couple of songs. I wish I could remember all the songs we did. Some were:

Song, written by -- sung by
For the Good Times, Kristofferson -- Pete
Dead Flowers, Rolling Stones -- Adam
You Ain't Going Nowhere, Dylan -- Dan
Lay Down Sally, Eric Clapton -- Pete and Adam
Rambling Boy, Tom Paxton -- Adam
Don't Think Twice, Dylan -- Adam
The Bottle Let Me Down, Merle Haggard -- Adam
Wagon Wheel, Old Crow Medicine Show -- Pete
You Never Can Tell, Chuck Berry -- Pete
Me & Bobby McGee, Kristofferson -- Adam
City of New Orleans, Steve Goodman -- Pete
On the Road Again, Willie Nelson -- Pete
Weary Blues from Waiting, Hank Williams -- Adam
Omaha, Waylon Jennings -- Adam
It's Good to Be Back Home Again, John Denver -- Pete
Everybody, John Prine -- Pete
Cold Cold Heart, Hank Williams -- Pete
You Better Move On, ?? -- Pete