Kara-Moon Forum

“Harp With a Twist”


Oren asked if I could twist some harp together..so here are 7 clips “Twisted” together.

[One of the exercises I used to do every day was to play a song that I had never played on harmonica before..sometimes the hardedst part was thinking of a song..the purpose of this exercise is to develop instinctual playing..to develop the ear.]


“A Little Bach”..this is a short clip of a tune that I found very useful for developing single note clarity..besides..I never heard Bach on the harmonica before..good enough reason.

“Reminiscence”..a song I wrote after I got through a particularly rocky stretch of years..learning that even if you get cratered for a good cause, you still got cratered.

“Saints”..I always imagine a dixie-land band..this one is too much fun, how could I not??

“Yeah, Johnny’s Marching”..commentary on the use of music throughout history,  to inspire the young men to go fight the old men’s wars..yeah, Johnny’s comin home Mama, but he’s never gonna be the same.

“Summertime”..yeah, you just gotta love summertime.

“Green as Ireland”..I needed one more song to flesh out a set of Irish tunes..so I wrote one..about a man who was homesick for a home he never had.

“Harp Gratuit”..a friend of mine sent me a funny song, while on vacation in France...as soon as I heard it, I grabbed a harp and registered my reaction to it.


..some of these songs are up to 2 years old.

That last song, “Harp Gratuit”..well, I did just a couple weeks ago..the first harp song of the year.


Wyatt

(http://bestsmileys.com/clapping/6.gif)

Great stuff there, boyo.
Versatile, indeed.
 ;)
James

Thank you James.

Wyatt

Naked harp, eh?

That took some courage, friend. "Summertime" made it for me, but the variety of textures and styles rounded out the experience nicely. Tasty application of reverb/delay too!

Here's to many more years of happy harping,

Oren.

..yes..I spent 2 years, every single day,  working on harmonica as a solo instrument..that presented some interesting challenges..hehe..I have played some totally weird venues.  ;D


Interesting comment, Oren..I can always count on you to be picking up on the vibe..variety is so difficult to achieve, and yet so totally fundamental to successful solo harp..


..Thanks..I did work very hard to try to get this toned .  ;D


Thanks a lot Oren.

Wyatt

Thanks for putting these up. Nice work. That's quite a range you are covering.

'The Saints' brings back memories when I was in my school's accordian band. 12 instruments playing this song is really stirring!

lol, your harmonicas sound far better than mine. the ones in the first and the one before last songs in the batch sound quite similar to flutes :P

so which harmonica did you use for each song?

www.psy-t.com/harmonica.mp3 < the playing of a harmonica-newbie on an old tremolo harmonica through a bad soundcard and a worse mic.  :D

Thank you for listening.

Awesome..I can just imagine..that song deserves being presented well.

Wyatt

Reminiscence, Summertime, and Harp Gratuit are all done with a L.O Bm Harmonic Minor.

Johnny Marches is done with a L.O. Melody Maker in C.

..and all the rest are done with a Hohner Blues Harp in C..my all around favorite harp.

Wyatt

PS..I recorded the early ones with a laptop and a cheapie mic..

I took the clip you posted..removed the noise from that crappy soundcard..moved a couple parts around..added a little reverb..and boosted the amplitude 6db. Sounds a little better now.

I'm impressed!

Good bit of digital wizardry, Wyatt :o Noise reduction, tonal shaping, and after-the-fact reverb that rivals anything I've ever heard.

Psy-T, really tasteful harp performance from somebody without a lot of chops! You've got a good feel for the instrument already - keep at it  ;).

Oren.

Thanks Oren,

Coming from you, that is a compliment indeed.

Wyatt

thanks wyatt & oren. btw, i liked your songs in here wyatt  ;D

@ Oren..I woke up this morning and had a real headbanger..
..I decided to apply the technique you taught me for guitar sound shaping
to the harmonica..I guess my mind had been off da harps for a while..can't believe I
hadn't thought of that before..hehe..what was I thinkin??

..thanks, man..that is the best harp sound ever!

..wait till you hear it..posting it here so you don't miss it..

@Psy-T..thanks..glad you liked them..here is what I did this morning with the
song you transposed to Bm..put a Lee Oskar Harmonic Minor harp in Bm to it..
so if you write it in Cm, you can use the Cm harp.

..it's more important to get a decent place to start than it is to have the perfect harp..
..but when you do find the perfect harp, be sure and let me know..I want one!  ;D

Wyatt

Syntho/techno/beat-treat backing tracks....and a nicely recorded acoustic harmonica.

Wyatt, am I correct in intuiting that we're not going back to "normal" anytime soon :D?

Well done,

Oren.

..hmm..well I am studying Reason.  ;D


Thank you..

..that tune was me playing harp with Psy-T's song so he could get an idea of
how that Minor harp would work for him..

..as for normal..hmm..don't know if I am qualified to comment on "normal", but that's the nicest clean harmonica sound I have gotten  yet.. ..time for some more harmonica 'spiriments. ;D

Wyatt

Love those harps Wyatt
We'll have to use this pretty soon  ;D

k

Thanks, Kara!

Yes..I am working on that!

Very interesting possibilities.

Wyatt

Just found this, Wyatt. Don't know why you put it in the shadow forum. Anyway, that's some very skillful harp playing. Enjoyed that. I have a song that could do with some real harp playing. So if you ever feel like adding your bit just let me know.

Thanks Martin.


Cool..I'd be happy to..PM sent.

Wyatt

Martin,

Are you sure you want to go through with this?

After Wyatt, life as we know it is irrevocably altered; things don't fit like they used to; perspective shifts; harmonica notes intrude in the dream state. You'll develop unexplained yearnings for dogs and large pickup trucks.... :o

Think it over, man.

Oren.

 ;D Twisted harps or twisted magic. Well Oren, thanks for the warning. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt.

OK,

...remember, preparation is everything...welcome to the Wyatt Zone... 8)

Hehe..we'll try to be careful that you don't get a sunburn under your hat.  ;D

Wyatt..

(we're all normal, and we want our freedom.)

Believe me, if you want a special twist to your song, Wyatt is the man  8)

k

Thanks guys.

Wyatt