New Tunings

So I am now the extremely happy owner of a PowerDraw (key of C) and a PowerBender key of A. 2 fab harmonicas which I'm really enjoying exploring. I think that the upper octave stuff will give me quite a bit more scope. I think the PowerBender (despite the awful name!) is, in the long run, going to be more exciting because of the notes which would normally have to be overblows. The Powerdraw is great and I will probably get more of these as my Big Rivers start to wear out.

Current list of harps:

Hohner
Big River: A, Bb, C, D (Gig)

Blues Harp: E, G (gig)

Golden Melody: F (gig)

Special 20, D

Chromatic (Gig)

Lee Oscar: A

Suzuki Blues Master Bb

PowerBender A

PowerDraw C

Great Gig

Just had a great gig (although Kev was on holiday so absent). Yay!

Gear Gig

The gig itself went well. However, we had many troubles with the PA and my Harp shield and G3 appeared not to help much. The problem was I think, that the G3 should have been switched to passive (whatever that means). Once I'd changed that setting on the back, the feedback reduced considerably.

Unfortunately, I didn't get to use the effects I'd created much as I was very worried about it causing feed back. I did try the Wah but I couldn't hear if it worked. Sadly, the batteries died before the end of the gig so I had to plug it it mid song (which must have looked funny from an audience perspective!) I think I'll get some brand new rechargeables and give them a try (Zoom reckons they should last up to 6 hours, mine lasted about 3).

So it was an ok start to using the gadgets but still plenty to improve.

Tech Stuff's First Outing

So tomorrow night is the first time I shall have both the Harp Shield and G3 box hooked up to play in public. I'm quietly excited. I tried them both at work and there wasn't much feedback so that's a good sign. However, tomorrow with the entire PA the result could be very different. I fear feedback may occur. It will be fun to try!

I have rigged up the G3 with 4 very basic settings.

A0 Wah wah
A1 Overdrive
A2 Clean
A4 Distortion

These are very simple sound effects but they make a difference. I will be interested to hear how it sounds tomorrow especially as, for the first time ever, I will be able to change the volume of my output! Oh yeah!

I wish myself luck!

Gig

Ok so last night was back to the pub for a gig! Great fun and especially brilliant as my darling wife was able to come. I got a nice compliment from the man who at the last gig said he couldn't hear me. It turned out that this time he could and he loved it!

The slight disappointment of the night was that my overdrive pedal broke. I plugged the battery in and there was no life at all in the thing. So consequently, the Harp Shield was no use whatsoever! I plugged it in anyway just to get some use out of it (although I guess, in actual fact, I was really just draining the battery).

Anyway, I've decided to use my birthday money on a Zoom G3 module. It's for guitar but according to the harp site I read, it can be used for harmonicas too. I'm excited at what it may do. I am not going to get the overdrive pedal fixed since this module should be able to do all that and plenty more besides. I am unsure whether the Harp Shield will still be required, I think it will, but we'll see.

On the practice front I've been trying some of Lee Sankey's exercises for improving 3 draw bends and working the major scale in 1st position all the way from 1 to 10 blow. I try to practise on different harps (usually A and F) to get used to how the technique needs to slightly change according to the pitch of the instrument.

Lastly I am going to try and work on We Wish you a Merry Christmas in 1st position (Start 2 draw). The lower octave needs both a 3 draw whole step bend and a 2 draw whole step bend. The upper octave (start 6 blow) is taking me ages to get my head round!

Harp Shield

My Harp Shield arrived yesterday and I love it. Basically it allows for the overdrive pedal to actually make a difference. Very cool indeed. I am hoping that come the next gig I'll be able to use it and switch the overdrive pedal on for solos. Should be good.

Mordon again

Had another really fun gig last night at Mordon. My playing was ok overall and although I forgot a few keys it still sounded pretty good.

Very excited that I get my hands on my new pedal (Harp Shield) next week. I just hope its worth the money.

I have put some harmonica snippets for solos on youtube unlisted here

I've changed the harps I use for gigs over the months. The old ones I keep for messing around with they aren't out of tune yet but they have odd things missing (like screws).

I broke my gifted chromatic when I took it apart to clean it (oops!)

Big River C, Bb, A
Special 20 D
Golden Melody F
Blues Harp G, E

Chromatic

I've been spending much of this summer practicing my chromatic. I play piano at church sometimes and have church music books at home so I've been working my way through some of those songs. I am improving slowly and am getting better at playing in different keys. I still find it very hard to judge big jumps (4ths to octaves) but that's what practice is for! Breathing can be surprisingly tricky, depending on the key, because sometimes it involves a lot of draw notes.

Also I have become pretty good at the 12 blues scales page I've been working on.

Golden Wedding Gig

Played tonight for a golden wedding anniversary. It was very odd. On the one hand the playing went really well and was huge fun. On the other hand there was random drunk woman and people from work. It all went a bit awkward for a while.

At the end a very nice man told me that he hadn't heard the harmonica played so well since the 60s (which he said was his era) and that I should be very proud of myself! Always encouraging to get a compliment. Another lady said I'd done well tonight too.

So all in all, a very weird but exciting gig.

Another gig

Just a quick update really. We played last Friday at St Nic's in Durham. We were the second of three acts and followed an amazing choir (who were an offshoot of the Sage choir). I was extremely nervous that our style of music would not go down well. I shouldn't have worried. We were greatly appreciated, people clapped along and generally had fun. Afterwards, folks were really complimentary (someone came at the end and said how much she had enjoyed my playing! How very kind!)


I've also started to try and get some new harmonicas with my piano teaching money. I wanted a few spares in the keys I play most often. So now have a new A Bb and C. All are Big Rivers so they should last a while.

Chartity Gig

Had fun tonight. I hope that it sounded as good to the audience as it did on stage. Overall there were only a few mistakes by me. The new £5 microphone is working out ok. I still haven't had the chance to use the overdrive pedal. I'm looking forward to when we can actually sound check with it.

Fun :)

Another gig

Last Friday (15th Nov) played another gig at the pub beer fest. It was the usual mix of fun and mistakes. We did get some video footage of ourselves but the quality of the sound is awful so I'd rather just remember it in my mind (where I was incredible!!!)

Gear

Due to the PA being reduced, through the exit of a band member, I have been asked to get a mike. Today I found one in cash converters for £5. It's not that bad a mike, in that it sounded reasonable when I played through it. The music shop in Consett then sold me 2 leads and I decided to get a pedal which will give me a bit of distortion for those few songs which need it. All told it came in at £42 which was far less than any proper mike. I only hope that it all works out ok for Friday's gig. I think I will pick up a small practice amp at some point.

4th and 5th position

I've been thinking about trying to learn another position on the harmonica (more from a desire to try it out than to learn it for any tunes.) Tony Glover refers to 4th position but I think he means 5th because if you track them with the cycle of fifths, then what he talks about is the 5th key you come across. Anyway 4th starts on 6 draw and is semi complete. 5th starts on 2 blow and is complete and sort of works in the upper octave but has a missing note or two. I don't know of any recorded music which uses either of these positions so it really just a novelty.

So a C harp can be used to play in (amongst others):
1st: C
2nd: G
3rd: D
4th: A
5th: E

I can't see a particular use for it unless there is a blues in an obscure key or wanting to play in A on a lower harp instead of D cross.

To play in A

1st: A
2nd: D
3rd: G
4th: C
5th: F

Mordon Gig

We played Mordon hall last night. We are now 1 band member less so the sound has changed somewhat. I actually found it easier in the new format and had a really fun gig. I was, I think possibly for the first time ever, pleased with how I sounded pretty much throughout!

Also we had some good new songs in which went well. The speed we played Let's Stick Together at meant that my solo would never have worked so I just made one up. Mr Pitiful was a not too good (I think we missed a guitar solo) but my brass riff intro went well. And She Was, which I suppose isn't new any more, was cool. Born To Be Wild was awesome! I didn't quite time the switch from triplets to the main riff but I doubt it was very noticeable. My solo was loud and brash. Love for the Common people was great fun and worked well.

All in all, lots of fun :)

Current harps

Here's my current list of harmonicas which I use for gigs:

Special 20: C, D
Blues Harp: E, G
Golden Melody: F
Lee Oscar: A
Suzuki Bluesmaster: Bb

Chrometta 12: C
Super Chromonica: C

Summer Fun

Over the summer I've been working on various things. Let's Stick Together works well on my D harp (2nd position) it's been fun to try and steal some of the sax riffs.

Also, at band the other day, we started on Love for the Common People (1st position A) and Born to Be Wild -which I need to work out a solo for. 3rd position C, I think covers the key (Dm) but I'm lacking inspiration as regards the solo.

I've been reworking Bright Side of the Road too in case it comes back into the set. The intro is sounding better and I've tried some of the brass lines as fills. Still find the riff in the middle of the solo hard but it is coming.

There have been other licks which I've tried too but I can't remember them (oops). I think a run from 6 blow down to 2 draw with the flat 3rd down to major 2nd was one. Either way, I've enjoyed playing a lot. I'm going to work on the chromatic and try to get Madness's Our House next. The brass lines should work fairly well on the chromatic but it will be interesting to see if it is the harmonies which really make the song.

Onwards!

Practice: 1st octave

I don't play blues in 1st position because I can't overblow and I think the upper octave is too shrill especially when amplified. However, yesterday I tried "King of the Road" in 1st on the first octave. What made is particularly challenging was that I used my F harp. It needs some work but was useful for trying to get holes 2 and 3 in tune when being bent.

Worth more investigation.

Also "When the Saints" 1st position (start on 1 blow) then 2nd position (start on 2 draw) and "Amazing Grace" 1st (3 blow) and 2nd (1 draw) are good for getting the bends working. I don't think I can play any of them in 3rd because there is no way (without overblows?) to get the major third.

Gig two

It didn't go so well for me last night. Various solos went awry and it took ages before people seemed to start enjoying themselves. Completely mad dancing bloke was quite funny though, in a scary sort of way.

Beer festival

Awesomely fun beer festival gig tonight! Lovely comment afterwards from a lady who'd enjoyed it, "What a difference you make!" Awwwwww :)

Tomorrow night is the Morgan Owner's get together. Looking forward to it!