Harmonica in ITM

I’m primarily a fiddle player, but lately for kicks I picked up some Harmonicas to play tunes on. I was inspired to do this by a man I saw in Boston (at the Greenbriar) who plays tunes very nicely. As much as I can recall he had played another instrument but unfortunatly lost both hands & picked up the harmonica. I’ve been trying to track down leads for some instruction on finer points of playing but have only come up with very entry level instruction books. Most of these books have tablature & just tell you which notes to play (Namely Glen Weisser’s Books).
I was curious if anyone knew of any books that explain ornaments & other technique. Right now I’ve got standard diatonics in C,G,D & A and also a Hohner Chrometta in G which has great volume but is not as “fast” due to it’s larger holes & doubled tonics. I’ve been doing a couple of Polkas & some Mazurkas as I’m new to the instrument & those seem to come easiest.
Thanks in advance

Brad, one nifty thing about harmonica is that they play perfectly in tune.
With a G-diatonic, you can play in the key of G-major, or A-dorian, or D-mixolydian, or E-aeolian.

On the diatonic harps, there are some missing notes in the first octave, and you can still get them by learning how to ‘bend’ the next higher “draw” note. Check out some books on Blues harp, to figure out how to do this, or check out another harmonica player. The lower notes are harder to bend than the notes in the middle octave. Basically, you draw quite hard through the 4 hole or the 6 hole, and drop your tongue and lower jaw, and you will hear the pitch lower a bit. With some practice, you can control the change in pitch, and then you can try to bend the draw note though the 3 hole. The C harp is the best one to use for this, because it is the easiest one to bend notes on. The lower pitches are harder to bend, because they take more lung capacity to do it. Don’t try it on the chromatic, because they are expensive things to repair, and continuous bending will eventually flatten the reeds in your harp. Throw it out after a year, and get a new one.

You don’t have to learn to bend notes, but if you absolutely need the missing notes, you can get them.

Good luck with it.

hi brad
you might want to check out Brendan Power’s page - look in links under solo musicians
pol

I have to agree the G Diatonic is a good workhorse for Irish tunes. I have found ways around the missing 6th in the lowest octave. I either play an octave higher or find an alternate note. There is a lot of adjusting the tunes to the harmonica, but overall it is much more musical than I first thought. I’ve been forwarned about overblowing chromatics & it’s not needed very much at all for Reels & Jigs, in fact it takes away making them sound more bluegrass-y or old timey. But if someone who knew exactly what they were doing it would probably work. I’ve been thinking about getting an octave (reeds are tuned in octaves on the same hole) D Diatonic because it is very high in pitch & is frankly sort of annoying, but D is the peoples key for this kind of music. Thanks for the input…

Brad -
Saw your posting and just wanted to put a name with the harmonica player who inspired you. His name is Mike Connolly and he can be found most Monday nights at the session at the Greenbriar in the Brighton area of Boston if he is not traveling or out performing. Mike is indeed a gentleman and there are few who love the ITRAD music as much as he does. He always plays with great enthusasim and he always provides the session with a series of great tunes. If you get a chance, talk with Michael he is indeed an inspiration and he would be more than willing to share his perspective on both the harmonica and the music. If you have half as much skill playing the harmonica as Mike has you will be a great player and you certainly will enjoy the music.

Bob

I’ve been a harmonica player for years, but it never occured to me until this year that the
tunes could sound good on the harp. I’ve only learned a few so far- a few polkas and a
couple of reels and jigs.
I’ve found that I don’t like the sound of tunes in the bottom end of the harmonica. The reeds
don’t respond as well at speed, and bending to get the missing notes just doesn’t work
very well at all. It’s great for blues and rock, where the slurred sound works for you, but in
trad it’s hard to make it work. I’ve found that a D diatonic played in the middle and upper
octaves works the best for me.
Try Tripping Up the Stairs - the B part will make you work a little. The Drunken Landlady is
also fun.
-jon kiparsky

I have a friend who should know Mike C. very well, I’ll try to get his phone # & maybe arrange a couple lessons. The Greenbriar Monday night session is not really my favorite. Besides being an hour & a half drive away, the session ettiquette & musicianship is usually below par. I have heard that they have a more advanced session afterwards, which I should make the effort to make it up for.

Jon, I agree, the lower end of the Harmonia is poo-poo for Irish styled stuff & bending notes just doesn’t sound right. I have tried Tripping up The Stairs as well which is a nice work out.
I was curious for ITM do you tongue or use glottal stops? I’ve found the glottal stops are more work but give a seemingly more traditional sound akin to a box or concertina.

Also any good tips on ornaments?🙂

The Brendan Power link is dead Pol, I never got to see it :(

Try this link. it refers to Mick Kinsela, He’s a master musician and well worth looking up. http://www.folkworld.de/9/e/mouthie.html

just tried the brendan power link - seems to work for me (on windows and on unix)
pol

“Do you tongue or use glottal stops?” asks Brad- rather a personal question, I think.

I use both articulations. All three, really - glottal stop, and “t” and “k” stops. I’ve had to think a
lot more about what articulations I use since I started teaching professionally, and the
one thing I know for sure is that it’s not something I think about ahead of time, or while I’m
playing, or after I’ve played. It just doesn’t occur to me to notice what sort of articulation I
use on a note until someone asks, but I know I use them all from time to time. Probably
the “t” stop gets the most play, followed by the glottal. There’s really not much call for double
articulation in Irish music, so the “k” stays mostly in the bag. (Thinking about it, I wonder if
the double articulation could be done fast enough to make an ornament…) I hadn’t really
compared the stops for their resemblance to the sound of an accordion. I’ll have to listen
for that. I can hear what you mean, though, in my head. Makes sense.

One thing you might not have tried, or you might have tried, is using the release of a stop
to give the note a bit of a snap. I find I use that a lot more than stopping the notes to end
them. For example, on the first phrase of Egan’s Polka - fABA fABA - if you release a “t”
stop on the f notes, the tune gets more drive than if you just blow the notes straight.
-jon kiparsky