[Harp-L] What first attracted you to harmonica? Why did you learn to play it?

[Dan Hazen]

I wonder what your stories are...

[t...@foleylawfirm.com]

the sounds it can make .. elicits faraway trains in the night .. barks like a junkyard dog .. can sound sweet like birdsong on a spring morning .. can chug behind a rapid bluegrass rhythm .. can sound bright and jingly jangly .. can sound dark and moody .. and everyone I ever heard plays it different .. the most underrated but most versatile instrument I can think of ..

[Francis Gallagher]

When I first heard Full House by J Geils...

Get Outlook for Android<https://aka.ms/ghei36>


________________________________
From: Harp-L <harp-l-...@harp-l.org> on behalf of t...@foleylawfirm.com <t...@foleylawfirm.com>
Sent: Thursday, March 2, 2017 11:30:35 PM
To: Dan Hazen
Cc: har...@harp-l.org
Subject: Re: [Harp-L] What first attracted you to harmonica? Why did you learn to play it?

[Chris Hofstader]

Hi,

Way back in the late seventies, early eighties, I was the vocalist for a hardcore punk act. We were not a very good band but we got a lot of gigs, toured US on the Rock Against Reagan tour and Europe on Rock Against Racism. Thankfully, we are a long forgotten act and all three of us (we don’t count the drummers as they were in and out so often that you couldn’t keep track without a scorecard). In 1983, we broke up and I moved to Boston to join the MIT hacker scene.

My musical tastes grew more sophisticated over time and I spent my late twenties and early thirties going to a ton of jazz and blues performances. I was at the Regatta Bar in Harvard Square to hear James Cotton play. Between sets, he came over to our table to shake hands and, as is often the case, to play with my guide dog. I told him how I enjoyed his playing, he gave me a harmonica and told me to learn to play it. The next day on my way home from work, I stopped in Sandy’s Music on Mass. Ave and they told me to get Dave Harp’s original “Blues Harp For The Musical Idiot” and sold me a Huang harp in G as G was what Dave was using for beginners.

A year or so later, I’d meet Dave Harp up at the Vermont Blues Festival and we became friends. Most of my time since, though, was spent making software for people with disabilities (if you’ve an iPhone or other iOS device and turn on VoiceOver, you’re hearing some of my work) but I’d always continued to play around with the instrument. In the last couple of years, I’ve been slowly trying to retire and have started taking my harmonica playing more seriously. I have a real teacher (Tomlin Leckey) and I practice at least a half hour per day, most days more.

I’ve no aspirations to greatness, I just love the instrument as a listener and I enjoy playing the things I can. The other day, I was walking up Haight Street in San Francisco, heard a guy playing slide guitar and sat in with him busking. We did pretty good on tips but I think that’s a function of people seeing a blind guy with a big goofy black Labrador playing blues on the street and open their wallets. This was the closest thing I’ve come to “professional” performance since I was in that hardcore act back in the late seventies, early eighties.

I play for fun, I play to distract myself from my partner’s cancer, I play for the joy that one feels when they hit a lick right for the first time and say, “damn, that was pretty cool.”

So, that’s my story.

Happy Hacking,
cdh

[MARK BURNESS]

I thought it would be easy.....:-l
:-)

From: Dan Hazen <bluesm...@gmail.com>
To: "har...@harp-l.org" <har...@harp-l.org>
Sent: Friday, 3 March 2017, 3:38
Subject: [Harp-L] What first attracted you to harmonica? Why did you learn to play it?

[Laurent Vigouroux]

Mark wrote:
>I thought it would be easy.....:-l
>:-)

Nice one!!! :-)

For me, at first it's simply the sound of the diatonic that attracted me. I was deep into french pop and one of the groups (named "The little rabitts") had lots of harmonica in his songs. I was around 20 and eager to learn music (couldn't do it in my youth). I bought a diato in C, tried to play it and to reproduce what was on the Little Rabbits records, with the help of my fellow school buddies. Then I started to try and play melodies.
But I found out that lots of notes were misssing (dont laugh :-) ), so I bought a Chromonica to have all of them and play song melodies (Beatles, French songs, etc ...).

But after 1 or 2 years, something in the diatonic was so appaeling to me that I switched back to it and started learning bends and to play blues.
Since then, I've been playing diatonic continually.

I had a big switch a few years ago from traditional playing (and using "positions") to jazz playing (and learning Jazz Harmony).

20+ later, I still wonder why I chose the harmonica and particularly why I sticked to it despite the incredibly difficulty to play it chromatically.
I think this has something to do with my inferiority complex regarding music: I started learning music quite late and I've got wooden ears. So playing an instrument that is somehow considered as a toy was something that suited me more than playing a "noble" instrument.
But this is more complexe than that, because I'm fond of the fact that the diatonic is actually a fully chromatic instrument, and I'm kind of happy and proud to astonish other musician when I start playing our little instrument.

A sort of modest arrogance (I love the oxymorons :-) )

[Tin Lizzie]

The children’s book “Lentil”, by Robert McClosky.

---
Lentil is a boy who wants to make music, but only an awkward squawk comes out when he tries to sing. He saves up his money and buys a harmonica. He plays it every day as he walks to school and back, and he especially loves to practice in the bathtub, because he can get such an excellent tone.

Things happen (as things do, in books, children’s or otherwise), and [ spoiler alert ] Lentil saves the day from the wiles of Old Sneep.

“And so, you never know what might happen, if you learn to play the harmonica."


On Mar 3, 2017, at 6:37 AM, harp-l-...@harp-l.org wrote:

> Date: Fri, 03 Mar 2017 03:38:17 +0000

> From: Dan Hazen <bluesm...@gmail.com>
> To: "har...@harp-l.org" <har...@harp-l.org>

> Subject: [Harp-L] What first attracted you to harmonica? Why did you
> learn to play it?

> Message-ID:
> <CACqeu8FaRjJfVScJ8yoDZn-a...@mail.gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8

[Sébastien Frémal]

The reason why I purchased an harp ? Bob Dylan (yeah, I know, not the best
harmonicist, but I was young ;) great artist still ! ).
The reason why I wanted to really learn to play harmonica ? Jason Ricci
(that's more like it ;) ).
The reason why I'm still struggling with it ? Mariano Massolo and people
telling me "you can't play this song with a diatonic harmonica" ;)

I like the sound of harps, the expressiveness of the instrument and the
fact that a very few people study jazz with the diatonic. You can create a
path that's yours. That's a really lonely road, but it's a good one :)

P.S. : sorry Tin for the double message ;)

[Alan Rosenfeld]

I saw James Cotton with Muddy Waters in 1964, I was twelve and had been
playing guitar for two years. Liked the sound and bought my first Marine
Band the following weekend for $5.00. Primarily self taught, though I did
take a few classes with Adam Gussow.

Alan Rosenfeld

[Jordan Feldman via Harp-L]

I'm a jazz trumpet/wind controller player and thought I would transfer my licks, etc to chromatic. Then I bought a diatonic to cover some easy harp parts for a dance band I'm in(What I Like About You, Last Dance with Mary Jane, etc) and couldn't put down the diatonic.
Anyone want to buy a hardly ever used Suzuki SCX? lol..

Jordan

[John Kally]

FWIW, when I was a kid back around 1970-early 71 there were a couple of records that got a lot of airplay on the Chicago area “underground” fm stations. John Mayall’s “Room to Move” and Siegel-Schwall’s live version of “Hush Hush” were the ones. I also was given a copy of Muddy Water’s “Fathers and Sons” that Christmas besides the Mayall lp. I went to see Siegel-Schwall right around then at a little place called “Alice’s Revisited” in Chicago (I was 15) and that sealed the deal for me on playing harp. It was also lots cheaper than buying a guitar. Years later I ran into Corky Siegel when he was doing a solo gig at Cal State LA and told him about how he influenced me when I was a teenager. His response was “Great. Now I feel really old!”

[Peter Madcat Ruth]

In 1964 I heard Brownie McGhee and Sonny Terry on the radio and I was hooked.

Peace & Joy,

Peter Madcat Ruth

[jrum...@live.marshall.edu]

the attraction:
I had just started a long trip in 1997 when we stopped in a Cracker Barrel.
I saw the $5 harmonica and thought, this will give me something to do for
the next 6 hours. I then turned around and bought a $15 book on how to play
the harmonica by Jon Gindick. I became a harmonica owner that could barley
tweet out a standard tune. In 2001, 2 guys in town started a harmonica
club. They taught me how to play, and it stuck.

Why:
I have played bass guitar since 1970. I never play melody or lead on bass.
Also, the harp is SOOO portable. It's been a good ride.

Jim Rumbaugh
The Harmonica Club of Huntington, WV

[Rick Dempster]

Because my cousin gave me one and said "You should play something" and it's
the only thing I'm any good at.
RD

[Grant Walters]

I’m not sure if this message is going out to average Joe’s like me…
but…

I was in a classical Orchestra as a first chair...trumpet player…
Public school finance cuts…cut the Orchestra …and
I was not allowed to join the Stage Band ( jazz)….
unless I would march in the Band…Sousa music…
As the captain the football team…
this was impossible…
The Director was happy to drum me out of the Band…
figuring I was a Jock….Highschool stereotyping …limits growth..again…

My cousin Ryan Walters was a harmonica player so I dug the Roots guys...
but it was not until I heard Magic Dick that I realized
it sounded like the trumpet …ahhh haaaa
I also heard Madcat Ruth on a Hohner sample record…scratch my back...
and then sought out Mark Ford and Andy Just in our area…they rocked...
sounded like lead guitar to me…..sold my trumpet…bought a tweed amp..

The rest is history…legend in my own mind…

Grant Walters…Wavelength Band...

[Richard Hunter]

I heard Paul Butterfield for the first time in 1967, when I was 15 years
old, and I was immediately and completely knocked out by that white-hot
sound. I bought my first harmonica within a few weeks and struggled with
it without much success for six months. Then I bought a copy of Tony
Glover's "Blues Harp," which told me what I'd been doing wrong, and things
got a lot better for me quickly. By then it was pretty clear that harp was
going to be a big part of my identity and my life.

Regards, Richard Hunter

--
"The Lucky One" 21st century rock harmonica project at
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/richard-hunter-s-the-lucky-one/x/5259889#/
Author, "Jazz Harp" (Oak Publications, NYC)
Latest mp3s and harmonica blog at http://hunterharp.com
Vids at http://www.youtube.com/user/lightninrick
Twitter: @lightninrick­­­‪­‪­­­‪‪­­‪­‪­‪­­­­‪­­‪‪‪­‪‪­­­‪­‪­­­­‪‪­­‪­‪­­­­

[Fred S via Harp-L]

When I heard Madcat on the first two New Heavenly Blue albums in college in
early 70's, and Corky on Siegel-Schwall's self-titled album and 956 West at
about the same time.
Took me 23 years from then to start to learn how to play it, but was
attracted long before then.
Fred S

[Dennis Michael Montgomery via Harp-L]

With me my love for the harmonica didn't happened all at once. My first inkling that this was a real musical instrument that you could make real music with was when I first heard Sonny and Terry. Until then I didn't realize you could generate so much energy and excitement with two simple acoustic instruments. Later on it was Charlie McCoy who push me over the edge of enthusiasm with his version of the Orange Blossom Special. To make my love permanent was Little Walter.

[Dennis Michael Montgomery via Harp-L]

Correction Brownie McGhee and Sonny Terry.

[Chris Talbot]

Ha! You stole my answer. :)

For me... After years of fooling around (poorly) with guitar, I wanted
something I didn't have to tune and was easily portable. I loved the sound
of blues harp, so I went out and bought a diatonic harmonica in the key of
C.

Chris


On Fri, Mar 3, 2017 at 2:36 AM, MARK BURNESS <markwj...@btinternet.com>
wrote:

--
Chris Talbot
Phone: 867-872-0822
Twitter: @NorthernTalbot
Skype: christalbot

[Bob Loomis via Harp-L]

I've told this story before but my Mom took me on a trip from L.A. to Yosemite National Park when I was about 11 or 12. It was a long drive in our 1940 Chevy, and at a gas station/grocery store somewhere along the way they had Hohner Marine Bands for $2 or $3 (!) and she bought me one to keep me amused.

That got me started. But it didn't really grab me until I was a student at L.A. State College circa 1961. As editor of the Night Times I got to dispense and use the freebies we got as journalists. They included passes to the Ashgrove where I saw Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee and was, like Madcat, just literally blown away, especially by Sonny's harping. The long, slow but hugely enjoyable process of learning to play continues to this day and I'm now 78.This year I'm making a return to rack harping in my farmer's market gigs and featuring songs from the '60s in honor of the 50th anniversary of the so-called Summer of Love.

Keep on harpin',Bob LoomisConcord CA

On Friday, March 3, 2017 1:31 PM, "harp-l-...@harp-l.org" <harp-l-...@harp-l.org> wrote:


Send Harp-L mailing list submissions to
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When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific
than "Re: Contents of Harp-L digest..."


Today's Topics:

  1. Re: Jazz crossover tunes (Michael Rubin)
  2. Jazz Cross Over Tunes (phil...@aol.com)
  3. Re: Jazz crossover tunes (Richard Hunter)
  4. Re: Overbending vs. Half-Valving (Richard Hunter)
  5. Re: What first attracted you to harmonica? Why did you learn
      to play it? (John Kally)
  6. Re: What first attracted you to harmonica? Why did you learn
      to play it? (Peter Madcat Ruth)
  7. Playing Led Zeppelin?s - When the Levee Breaks (Degregorio, Jeff)
  8. What first attracted you to harmonica? Why did you learn to
      play it? (jrum...@live.marshall.edu)


----------------------------------------------------------------------

Message: 1
Date: Fri, 3 Mar 2017 13:31:37 -0600
From: Michael Rubin <michaelrub...@gmail.com>
To: Michelle LeFree <mle...@silverwingleather.com>,    Mike Wilbur
    <mi...@chaserkeywest.com>
Cc: harp-l <har...@harp-l.org>
Subject: Re: [Harp-L] Jazz crossover tunes
Message-ID:
    <CACQv+tzU5M4S8vH2igKrqGiV...@mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8

Herblin is the most on pitch harmonica player I have ever heard. It was
unnerving.
Michael Rubin
Michaelrubinharmonica.com

On Fri, Mar 3, 2017 at 7:42 AM Mike Wilbur <mi...@chaserkeywest.com> wrote:

YouTube :
Michel Herblin " Art Space", J.J. Milteau " Lonely Croud", Mariano Massolo
" Blues
Pat'a "
All Diatonic , Herblin on Golden Melodys
Michel Herblin was at SPAH in St. Louis a few years ago.







Mike Wilbur

> On Mar 2, 2017, at 12:32 PM, Michelle LeFree <
mle...@silverwingleather.com> wrote:
>
> Robert Hale asked:
>
>> What are some tunes I can prep for a jazz-oriented jam? Chrome and short
>> harp.
>
> Robert, you have gotten some good suggestions but I didn't see The Duke's
"Don't Get Around Much Any More." It's a fun song to play with a diatonic
and not very difficult. Check out Walter Horton's version.
>
> Michelle
>
>


------------------------------

Message: 2
Date: Fri, 3 Mar 2017 14:40:02 -0500
From: phil...@aol.com
To: har...@harp-l.org
Subject: [Harp-L] Jazz Cross Over Tunes
Message-ID: <15a95afad9...@webstg-m02.mail.aol.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8

"Creole Jazz Band Fake Book" is a free pdf book of public domain jazz tunes pre-1923 (public domain=no license fees, no copyright issues).

I just downloaded my copy of  version 2.4 . It's 322 pages (thick as an old phone book!)

<http://creolejazzband.com/Fake%20Books%202/CJB%20Fakebook%2024%20-%20C%20TREBLE.pdf>

BTW: Once this pdf is downloaded on your computer you can send it to your iMac with the "Send to Kindle" APP.

Creole Jazz Band tunes are in a variety of keys -- but that's why you have more than one harp!

Hope this helps,
Phil



------------------------------

Message: 3
Date: Fri, 3 Mar 2017 14:56:08 -0500
From: Richard Hunter <rhunt...@gmail.com>
To: "har...@harp-l.org" <har...@harp-l.org>
Subject: Re: [Harp-L] Jazz crossover tunes
Message-ID:
    <CADnofm97fE02r2HCgj_dOirY...@mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8

Robert Hale wrote:
>On Thu, Mar 2, 2017 at 10:32 AM, Michelle LeFree <
>mle...@silverwingleather.com> wrote:

>> "Don't Get Around Much Any More."


>Hi Michelle,

>I DO like that one! and have played it at jazz events. You're right, fun
>tune.

Tom Ball performed a solo harmonica arrangement of this piece a few years
ago at SPAH, and it was delightful--equal parts country blues and swing-era
jazz.  As I recall, Big Walter Horton also recorded a version of this piece
with accompaniment. Either way, it's a can't-miss number for either
diatonic or chromatic harp.

Regards, Richard Hunter
--
"The Lucky One" 21st century rock harmonica project at
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/richard-hunter-s-the-lucky-one/x/5259889#/
Author, "Jazz Harp" (Oak Publications, NYC)
Latest mp3s and harmonica blog at http://hunterharp.com
Vids at http://www.youtube.com/user/lightninrick

Twitter: @lightninrick????????????????????????????????????????????????????


------------------------------

Message: 4
Date: Fri, 3 Mar 2017 15:04:35 -0500
From: Richard Hunter <rhunt...@gmail.com>
To: "har...@harp-l.org" <har...@harp-l.org>
Subject: Re: [Harp-L] Overbending vs. Half-Valving
Message-ID:
    <CADnofm924rRXXW=776=y5f=p1kt9nu9dVBYk...@mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8

The discussions so far of these different techniques for achieving
chromaticity on the diatonic harp haven't directly mentioned what I think
is the most important thing: you get different sounds with these
techniques.  As Vern has mentioned on one or two occasions, process is
product. Valved reeds sound different from non-valved.

I suggest that anyone who wants to explore chromatic playing on the
diatonic should make a point of comparing the sound of a valved harp to
their more-traditional diatonics to see which they prefer.

The only other thing I can add is that the learning curve on overbends can
be steep--at least it was for me.  I use the technique now on most of the
material I play, but it took a long time to get there.  Maybe that's
because I grew up as a harmonica player before overblowing entered the
mainstream, so I had a lot of previous learning to overcome.  I see people
in their late teens/early 20s now who've mastered the techniques in a
fraction of the time it took me, thanks to Youtube (and thanks also to a
new generation of instruments that are designed to be easier to overblow
out of the box).

Anyway, a different sound is a different sound, so make your choice and
take your chances.

regards< Richard Hunter

--
"The Lucky One" 21st century rock harmonica project at
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/richard-hunter-s-the-lucky-one/x/5259889#/
Author, "Jazz Harp" (Oak Publications, NYC)
Latest mp3s and harmonica blog at http://hunterharp.com
Vids at http://www.youtube.com/user/lightninrick

Twitter: @lightninrick????????????????????????????????????????????????????


------------------------------

Message: 5
Date: Fri, 3 Mar 2017 14:15:32 -0700
From: John Kally <jka...@gmail.com>
To: har...@harp-l.org
Subject: Re: [Harp-L] What first attracted you to harmonica? Why did

    you learn to play it?

Message-ID: <6BDF1A17-4F2F-4EB6...@gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8

FWIW, when I was a kid back around 1970-early 71  there were a couple of records that got a lot of airplay on the Chicago area ?underground? fm stations. John Mayall?s ?Room to Move? and Siegel-Schwall?s live  version of ?Hush Hush? were the ones.  I also was given a copy of Muddy Water?s ?Fathers and Sons? that  Christmas besides the  Mayall lp. I went to see Siegel-Schwall right around then  at a little place called ?Alice?s Revisited? in Chicago (I was 15) and that sealed the deal for me on playing harp. It was also lots cheaper than buying a guitar.  Years later I ran into Corky Siegel  when he was doing a solo gig at Cal State LA  and told him about how he influenced me when I was a teenager. His response was ?Great. Now I feel really old!? 

------------------------------

Message: 6
Date: Fri, 3 Mar 2017 16:25:22 -0500
From: Peter Madcat Ruth <mad...@madcatmusic.net>
To: Harp-L <har...@harp-l.org>
Subject: Re: [Harp-L] What first attracted you to harmonica? Why did

    you learn to play it?

Message-ID: <39441C6F-60D3-44C6...@madcatmusic.net>
Content-Type: text/plain;    charset=us-ascii

In 1964 I heard Brownie McGhee and Sonny Terry on the radio and I was hooked.

Peace & Joy,

Peter Madcat Ruth

------------------------------

Message: 7
Date: Fri, 3 Mar 2017 21:27:26 +0000
From: "Degregorio, Jeff" <jeffery.d...@christushealth.org>
To: Harp-L <har...@harp-l.org>
Subject: [Harp-L] Playing Led Zeppelin?s - When the Levee Breaks
Message-ID: <f264c465d28a4b70...@ICESM113.echristus.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="Windows-1252"

Hello fellow harpers

(*****Could not determine if this message went out earlier today, maybe keyed something in wrong on the address*****)


Led Zeppelin?s song ?When the Levee Breaks? has an iconic harp part that I would like to play on diatonic harp with members of a band.  Does anyone have harmonica tabs from what you may have used for this song or could write out a tab for me.  Ideas and tips are welcome of what position, tabs, etc. to use for this song.

Thank you

Jeff DeGregorio



CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE:  Confidential information, such as identifiable patient health information or business information, is subject to protection under state and federal law.    If you are not the intended recipient of this message, you may not disclose, print, copy or disseminate this information.  If you have received this in error, please reply and notify the sender (only) and delete the message.  Unauthorized interception of this e-mail is a violation of federal criminal law.



------------------------------

Message: 8
Date: Fri, 3 Mar 2017 16:32:48 -0500
From: <jrum...@live.marshall.edu>
To: Harp-l <har...@harp-l.org>

Subject: [Harp-L] What first attracted you to harmonica? Why did you
    learn to play it?

Message-ID: <71F63920D32E4EBAA0DB886E9B60E965@UpstairsLabPC>
Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="UTF-8";
    reply-type=original

the attraction:
I had just started a long trip in 1997 when we stopped in a Cracker Barrel.
I saw the $5 harmonica and thought, this will give me something to do for
the next 6 hours. I then turned around and bought a $15 book on how to play
the harmonica by Jon Gindick. I became a harmonica owner that could barley
tweet out a standard tune.  In 2001, 2 guys in town started a harmonica
club. They taught me how to play, and it stuck.

Why:
I have played bass guitar since 1970. I never play melody or lead on bass.
Also, the harp is SOOO portable.  It's been a good ride.

Jim Rumbaugh
The Harmonica Club of Huntington, WV

------------------------------

Subject: Digest Footer

_______________________________________________
Harp-L mailing list
Har...@harp-l.org
http://harp-l.org/mailman/listinfo/harp-l


------------------------------

End of Harp-L Digest, Vol 163, Issue 5
**************************************

[Michelle LeFree]

Peter Madcat Ruth wrote:

>In 1964 I heard Brownie McGhee and Sonny Terry on the radio and I was hooked.

I saw Sonny and Brownie 7 years later. Sat in the front row of a small
venue. I was riveted. Changed my life! But instead of deciding to try to
play them at the time I became a blues aficionado and a bit of a blues
historian.

I was taken back to 1971 later on when I lived in Ann Arbor for 20 years
and had the extreme pleasure of seeing Madcat & Kane perform on many
occasions. Again, I was riveted. But I was so busy raising my kids,
working the University of Michigan and starting a company that my
enjoyment of the blues was limited to listening while I worked. I still
kick myself, though, for not hooking up with Peter when I had the
chance. We even had the same dentist and chatted blues in the waiting
room on several occasions. As Maxwell Smart used to say, "Missed it by
~that~ much!"

It wasn't until I moved back to Colorado 17 years ago that I picked up a
harmonica. I decided that instead of hooking my TV up to cable I'd put
my money and time to much more productive use. I really only wanted to
play songs around the campfire or while taking a break from fishing,
etc. and I loved the idea of a pocket-sized instrument that I could take
anywhere. So I bought a Special 20. It wasn't until I tried to play
along with some of my favorite songs that it dawned on me that I'd need
more than one harp. Then I broke a reed. I couldn't afford to just toss
the harp so I bought Blackie Shackner's book, a Lee Oskar tool kit and a
few homemade tools and replaced the reed.

I tried every learning resource I could find (this was pre-Youtube) and
Harp-L was my oasis. But it was Jerry Portnoy's Masterclass CDs when
they first came out that set me free and gave me a fingernail hold start
to my lifelong learning pursuit of the little tin sandwich instrument I
love.

Now I have dozens of harmonicas of various sizes and descriptions,
hundreds of dollars in repair/customization tools, literature and videos
(Richard Sleigh's are tops!).

And along the way I've made dozens of great "HarpBuddy" friends as I
call them from around the world and several inspirational teachers, many
of whom are on Harp-L. My harmonic playing and repairing was a doorway
into the rich social life that I enjoy now that I most likely wouldn't
otherwise have had.

What a wonderful little instrument!

Michelle

[Slim Heilpern]

Great stories, everyone!

Hear’s mine (in short form):

I had been playing at a very beginner level ever since my dad gave me his one of his well-used super chromonica 270’s when I was 5 years old. I played it a lot for a while but had set it aside once I started playing guitar at age 8. But then in my late teens I was listening to a Django Reinhardt compilation and two songs came on featuring Larry Adler, who I was familiar with via some pop and classical 78s/EPs that my father had in his collection. But here he was swingin’ hard along with Django and I was stunned enough by the performance to get out my old chromatic and start practicing. Not long after I started listening to Stevie Wonder and then Toots. Those 3 gentlemen were and remain, all these years later, a huge inspiration to me. Between them, it’s all there.

- Slim.

[Michael Rubin]

I was probably around five when I saw a plastic banana harmonica.

I was around 10 when John Sebastian Jr. played Welcome Back Kotter on the
John Davidson show. He played harp and then threw it away over his back.
Then he pulled out another harp and threw that one away. Fascinating.

I was 15 and a camp counselor. My boss brought a harp to work and let me
see it. Instead of playing it for a few seconds, I took it to a corner and
played for a half an hour. A kid walked by and said ,"Wow! Are you a
professional?"

A half a year later I bought Jon Gindick's Country and Blues Harmonica for
the Musically Hopeless. From the first moment I played it that day, I
knew it was my thing.

The same boss lent me a John Lee Hooker record. Zero harp. I loved it and
said, "I don't care if harmonica has never been played in blues, I'M going
to play harmonica in blues!"

I went to the record store. It became evident immediately that harmonica
and blues were connected. The blues section might as well have said
"Michael Rubin's section" because every allowance dime went there.
Michael Rubin
michaelrubinharmonica.com

[(null) (null) via Harp-L]

I have a nephew who was playing one. He could not read music, but he was making some cool music. Well I said If he can do it, i have to try. So I am playing in a band now, but there is still a lot to learn.

Sent from my iPhone

[The Iceman via Harp-L]

The sound of the harmonica (Corky Siegel's "Hush Hush") resonated within the core of my being.

[Vern]

My Grandfather gave me a Marine Band when I was about eight. I played it with slowly increasing proficiency to about age 12. Becoming frustrated with the missing Fa and La in the low octave and the lack of “black-key” notes, i put it aside in favor of guitar lessons. My teacher happened to be Perry Bechtel, a famous fretted-instrument virtuoso.

When the harmonica quartets and Adler were popular, I discovered the chromatic. Since then, playing chromatic on a rack has been my goal. In college, I made a rack with a button-pushing mechanism that used a slab of 3/4” plywood strapped to my chest and an automobile choke cable coupled to a foot pedal. Over the years, I have experimented with foot pedals using pneumatics, hydraulics, solenoids, and push-pull cables.

A SPAH seminar with Eddie Manson and a week-long seminar in Copake with Bonfiglio are fond memories. I received valuable instruction in repair and adjustment in the shop of James McKenzie.

In 2001, I invented the Hands-Free-Chromatic. I developed a production capacity in my garage and later transferred it to Chris Reynolds. This gave me more time for arranging for the HFC and practicing.

Vern

[Tom Ball]

Madcat took the words right outta my mouth — literally!
—Tom Ball

[Peter Sheridan]

I first heard Sonny Boy Williamson II (Rice Miller) on the radio, broadcast
from a station in CANADA, and I was hooked. A year later I heard Little
Walter on the radio, broadcast from WLAC, and the hook was set.

Pete Sheridan
www.petesheridan.net

[flyi...@roadrunner.com]

When I was 21 there was a new baby in the house and I knew that the band days were over. For awhile at least! I took up the harp and learned a few songs but I didn't know how to bend notes and gave it up. Later at age 55 I was recovering from ulcerative colitis and needed to make some music. It was difficult to play the harp with inflamed intestines but I loved the sound and having the instrument with me all the time. I played my first gig on harp with a band last night and it was amazing! I truly believe that the attraction has something to do with my Polish heritage. The sound of the free reeds touches me deeper than any instrument I have ever played.
Dee Makowski
Dee's Finely Tuned Instruments
Erie,PA.
www.deesfti.com

[David Brown]

Walter Horton album: Fine Cuts.
Chicago Slim Blues Band album: "Love Me Or I'll Kill Ya!"
Led Zeppelin song: "When the Levee Breaks"
Steve Marriott's harp solo on the song "I Wonder" off the Humble Pie album
"Smokin'"
Charlie McCoy on his rippin' version of "Orange Blossom Special"
Pat Ramsey's solo on the song "Last Night" (Johnny Winter's album "White
Hot and Blue").

[bfr...@austin.rr.com]

'mystic eyes' by Them. van morrison on harp. buddy had a harp, handed it too me, and after a coupla passes i could play it (not that it's difficult)...then, i heard butterfield! then musselwhite...then everyone else! lol '30 days in the hole' has some fine harp fo sure!