One good reference I was able to find on the web is the blues scale tablature for pretty much every blues scale, while played on a C Chromatic.
Very useful.
Blues Scales for Chromatic Harmonica
Credit to Andy Wilson for this document
Wednesday, February 12, 2014
Tuesday, February 11, 2014
Chromatic Blues Harp - Part 2
So more of the 'tools' of this blues harmonica business....
As mentioned in my earlier post, I started with a Hohner 270. Great Chrom, and this one works well.
Truth be told, I'm still barely past making horrible squeaking sounds on both of them, and anything resembling music is purely by mistake... But I'm going to keep at it.
As mentioned in my earlier post, I started with a Hohner 270. Great Chrom, and this one works well.
The only issue with the 270 is that the 16 hole Hohner 20 (64 Chromonica) is what many of the old blues greats played. The 270 also does not have quite the range of the 280.
So some Ebay searching yielded a number of different 280's and eventually I won one of them. The Harp that arrived was terribly dirty on the outside. Nasty.... I spent an evening cleaning it, and now it is quite nice. It will need new windsavers at some point. It also needs one cover support, but I may try to make that myself.
Truth be told, I'm still barely past making horrible squeaking sounds on both of them, and anything resembling music is purely by mistake... But I'm going to keep at it.
Saturday, February 8, 2014
Chromatic Blues Harp
Many many years ago, while hanging out in a music shop to buy a new harp (blues harp/diatonic), I spotted a harmonica with a button on it. As you can imagine, I was intrigued. I bought the funny looking harp and took it home.
When I got home with the little Chrometta, it completely confused me. It was hard to play, sounded like crud and just did not seem like the Marine Bands I had been playing. Windsavers and the slide really threw me off. I returned it (they actually took it back) and that was the end of my Chromatic playing...
Fast forward another 15 years and I was beginning to play diatonic blues harp a lot. I played in the car and really enjoyed it. I was listening to a lot of the classic blues harmonica stuff and found George Harmonica Smith. His blues chromatic harp playing is really the standard by which all other players are judged. The fact that he taught many of them does not hurt that a bit.
Once again, I decided to get a chromatic and learn to play it. I got myself a Hohner 270 and began playing with it. Once again, I was thrown off by the slide and windsavers. The truth is, the layout of the notes threw me off much more, and once again it went into a drawer to hibernate.
The hibernation did not last more than a couple years though, and I began trying to learn Chromatic Blues again. This time, Youtube has helped, as well as a lot of Google searching, and a website called www.Slidemeister.com.
Slidemeister is great. Though very few of the contributors there speak the blues vernacular, they are still chromatic players. Their encouragement has been helpful, and info I've found on that site has helped as well.
This song really gets my attention!
When I got home with the little Chrometta, it completely confused me. It was hard to play, sounded like crud and just did not seem like the Marine Bands I had been playing. Windsavers and the slide really threw me off. I returned it (they actually took it back) and that was the end of my Chromatic playing...
Fast forward another 15 years and I was beginning to play diatonic blues harp a lot. I played in the car and really enjoyed it. I was listening to a lot of the classic blues harmonica stuff and found George Harmonica Smith. His blues chromatic harp playing is really the standard by which all other players are judged. The fact that he taught many of them does not hurt that a bit.
Once again, I decided to get a chromatic and learn to play it. I got myself a Hohner 270 and began playing with it. Once again, I was thrown off by the slide and windsavers. The truth is, the layout of the notes threw me off much more, and once again it went into a drawer to hibernate.
The hibernation did not last more than a couple years though, and I began trying to learn Chromatic Blues again. This time, Youtube has helped, as well as a lot of Google searching, and a website called www.Slidemeister.com.
Slidemeister is great. Though very few of the contributors there speak the blues vernacular, they are still chromatic players. Their encouragement has been helpful, and info I've found on that site has helped as well.
This song really gets my attention!
Saturday, August 24, 2013
Blind Mississippi Morris at BB's
About a month ago, I had the opportunity to go downtown to Beale and soak up a little more blues. I was actually taking my new boss out to see the 'sights' and give him a feel for Memphis. So of course I took him to Beale Street.
When we got in BB's, they introduced Blind Mississippi (Morris) Cummings! Definitely a treat. That evening, he was just playing by himself with one guitarist. They didn't need no more! He laid down a bunch of great tunes and really lit the place up.
After the show, I bought a CD of his and it rocks every bit as good as his live show does. Great fun!
If you have a chance to see him play, make sure you do!
When we got in BB's, they introduced Blind Mississippi (Morris) Cummings! Definitely a treat. That evening, he was just playing by himself with one guitarist. They didn't need no more! He laid down a bunch of great tunes and really lit the place up.
After the show, I bought a CD of his and it rocks every bit as good as his live show does. Great fun!
If you have a chance to see him play, make sure you do!
Wednesday, August 21, 2013
Charlie Musselwhite Live At the Dakota Jazz Room
The Dakota is a nice venue to go see good music. Food was a bit pricey, but it was good. I managed to get a seat all of 10 ft from the right side of the stage. The house was packed, but somehow I managed to get a full 4 person booth to myself got to sit in the best seat.
I had never seen Musselwhite live before, and he did not disappoint. His chops were great and he worked the crowd as I expected he would! The band was tight and his guitar player, Matt Stubbs, was killing it all night (I'm also a guitar player and really appreciate that instrument too).
The set ran just under two hours and finished up with a great rendition of Christo Redentor. Definitely a great song recorded, but even better live.
After the show, I had the chance to meet Charlie and talk with him a bit and he really seems like a down to earth, genuine guy. I picked up copy of his latest CD and got it autographed by the band.
I thought the evening was over, and the club owner came out and announced that the second show was not quite full, so if we had paid for a 7pm ticket, we could stay for the 9pm show (for free)! I'm so glad I did. The second show was mostly different material than the first, and the band really kicked into high gear. Charlie cut them loose and let each member get a great solo section in, much to the crowd's great appreciation.
Charlie is getting up there in years, and I'm glad I've gotten the chance to see him. So many of his peers are already gone. Seems like we've got to take the chances we've got to see the original innovators and creators of this great music.
All in all, an awesome show!
I also need to mention that the CD I brought home with all those autographs is awesome. It includes many of the tunes I heard at the show and just like the show, Charlie's licks are strong, his band is tight and the music is solid! Definitely worth picking up.
Tuesday, August 20, 2013
Some Changes To My Blog
When I started this blog, my intention was to post about Mandolin Blues. My intention remains just that, but reality has shown me that I have much wider interests in the blues than just those played on the Mandolin.
My interest in the blues started a very long time ago with a harmonica from the corner drugstore in my family's Arkansas hometown. Later, it grew to include the guitar when I first heard Stevie Ray Vaughan, I even played blues on the trumpet for a while during gradeschool. It was much later in life that I found blues on the Mandolin and the Electric Mandolin.
Truth be told, I'd be much better off sticking with one instrument, but understanding myself as well as I do, I know that as the surroundings of my life change, so do my interests. I know if I would stick with one instrument, I might become a master of one, instead of the master of NONE that I am.
I do plan to continue discussing mandolin blues as I originally intended, but now I'll talk about other blues experiences that I have here in the Bluff City. This is the home of the Blues! As Charlie Musselwhite said the other night (he's a fellow Memphian), 'The blues just comes up out of the ground in Memphis, and you can't help but get it'!
My interest in the blues started a very long time ago with a harmonica from the corner drugstore in my family's Arkansas hometown. Later, it grew to include the guitar when I first heard Stevie Ray Vaughan, I even played blues on the trumpet for a while during gradeschool. It was much later in life that I found blues on the Mandolin and the Electric Mandolin.
Truth be told, I'd be much better off sticking with one instrument, but understanding myself as well as I do, I know that as the surroundings of my life change, so do my interests. I know if I would stick with one instrument, I might become a master of one, instead of the master of NONE that I am.
I do plan to continue discussing mandolin blues as I originally intended, but now I'll talk about other blues experiences that I have here in the Bluff City. This is the home of the Blues! As Charlie Musselwhite said the other night (he's a fellow Memphian), 'The blues just comes up out of the ground in Memphis, and you can't help but get it'!
Saturday, July 13, 2013
My First Custom Blues Harp Mic
Sorry for the non-mandolin content, but it is blues! Reality is that I've been playing blues harmonica since I was a kid. Learned from an old blues player in Arkansas how to bend notes and it was all downhill from there. Truth be told, I'm not great, but I enjoy it, and that is what really matters.
After listening recently to Blind Mississippi Morris down at BB's on Beale Street a number of weeks ago, I decided I was going to buy a good blues harp mic, so I could play amplified. I got lucky and found an old JT30 that someone had already done some customizing to. He had added an Amphenol connector and a volume knob. Unfortunately, he did both jobs wrong....
So, I got it home, and played on it, and it sounded/sounds awesome! As mentioned above however, when I opened the mic, I found a wiring mess.... I decided to clean up all the wiring and fix the Amphenol connector which he had simply drilled through and essentially eliminated the need for..
After figuring out the correct wiring for the connector and fixing that, I went after the volume pot wiring and the grounds. Finally, all of that was correct, and I could spend some time on paint!
I sanded the whole mic down to bare metal, and then primed it. A light sanding later, and I was able to airbrush on several nice coats of House Of Kolor Pavo Purple. Some good metalflake in it, so it really looks cool!
After listening recently to Blind Mississippi Morris down at BB's on Beale Street a number of weeks ago, I decided I was going to buy a good blues harp mic, so I could play amplified. I got lucky and found an old JT30 that someone had already done some customizing to. He had added an Amphenol connector and a volume knob. Unfortunately, he did both jobs wrong....
So, I got it home, and played on it, and it sounded/sounds awesome! As mentioned above however, when I opened the mic, I found a wiring mess.... I decided to clean up all the wiring and fix the Amphenol connector which he had simply drilled through and essentially eliminated the need for..
After figuring out the correct wiring for the connector and fixing that, I went after the volume pot wiring and the grounds. Finally, all of that was correct, and I could spend some time on paint!
I sanded the whole mic down to bare metal, and then primed it. A light sanding later, and I was able to airbrush on several nice coats of House Of Kolor Pavo Purple. Some good metalflake in it, so it really looks cool!
When the color was laid, I was able to go in with several light coats of clear, followed by one nice wet coat of clear. After all that was done, I buffed the whole thing out and waxed it. I'm really proud of the result as it turned out quite nicely.
I also ordered a new knob for the volume control, and put a new 'silk' in behind the grill. I cut that from an old cycling jersey which no longer fit me.
Most importantly, the thing sounds great, and I can make some pretty good sounding music on it.
I'm currently playing the mic through either my Vox DA5 or my Stella Cigar Box amp. Both actually sound pretty cool. The Stella setup is crunchier, but simpler, and the Vox has reverb and delay which sound good while playing blues harp.
Lots of fun!
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