“Got the double reed blues...”

It is common knowledge that a typical double reed harmonica does not lend itself well to blues. Whereas tremolo harmonicas produce a distinctive “beating” sound effect reminiscent of an organ, and octave harmonicas produce an accordion-like sound, most standard double reed tunings make it hard to play the blues. And while it is possible to bend notes on the tremolo, it requires isolating just one note instead of two, so there is a distinct change in the timbre of the note being bent. Even though, there are a few recorded examples of double reed harmonicas being successfully used in a traditional blues context. Most harmonicas used on these recordings usually have tone arrangements "GOT THE DOUBLE exactly like the regular Richter tuned 10-hole diatonics, such as the classic Hohner AutoREED BLUES..." Valve, while others have variations of the traditional solo tuning or different minor tunings. By Richard Gjems Here are three good examples of blues recordings utilizing double reed harmonicas:

Muddy Waters: “Crawlin’ Kingsnake”

Released on the album They Call Me Muddy Waters (Chess, 1971) Blues harp god Little Walter Jacobs (1930–1968) really shines on the Hohner Auto-Valve harp in second position on this mediumtempo shuffle in the key of A, originally recorded by Muddy Waters’ band back in 1959. The climatic harmonica solo is based on traditional figures and riffs in the John Lee Williamson vein. Walter switches from his Auto-Valve harp in D to a regular diatonic Marine Band in A for the first position outro. An instant double reed blues classic!

Reverend Gary Davis: ”I've Done All My Singing for My Lord”

Released on the album Live at Newport (Vanguard, 1965) Reverend Gary Davis (1896–1972) was a famous singer and guitar

player also proficient on the harmonica. On this gem he delivers solid rhythmic accompaniment in second position to his own singing, using only a Hohner Auto-Valve harp in the key of E. Fabulous spiritual stuff indeed!

Jerry McCain: “728 Texas (Where The Action Is)”

Released on the 7" single Homogenized Love/728 Texas (Where The Action Is) (Jewel, 1965) Prolific singer and harmonica player Jerry ”Boogie” McCain (1930–2012) delivers a cool and quirky boogaloo instrumental in the key of D, originally named after the address of Jewel Records. McCain is probably playing in third position on an unknown tremolo harmonica with some kind of Asian-style tuning in the key of C. The discrete tremolo effect makes the harmonica at times resemble a zydeco accordion. A true mystery track! Thanks to Winslow Yerxa and Pat Missin for sharing information used in this article. Photo Credits: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:M.Hohner_ Comet_harmonica_(2015-08-18_10.32.24_by_Aah-Yeah).jpg licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

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Crossharpword 2Crossharpword 2Some 1ac are ___valved. (4) Steve ___ , who played 1ac with the All Star Medicine Show (3) 1 2 3 4 5 6 See 7ac Percussion instrument (7) Blimey! John Cook's harmonicas contain the sound of a dove. 7 8 9 10 (3) These 31d's play C,E and G on a C 1ac. (4) First name of singer whose albums include "Read My Lips" and 11 12 13 14 "Shoot From the Hip" (6) River (4) 15 16 ______ 1d 6d gets E on C 1ac. 17 18 Grown up ...and 26d. Player of 1ac who fronted The 19 20 21 22 Kingsnakes (4,4) "______ harp" denotes the key of E 23 24 on A 1ac, for example.(5) Friendliness(5) 25 26 27 Old,poetic form of the word "enough"(4) "______ Blues" Bob 28 29 30 Dylan song from the album "Brining it all Back Home"(6) 31 32 UK king from 1910 onwards (6,1) See 14d. 33 34 35 Find the total.(3,2) Jimmy, 1ac player best known for his 1st position blues.(4) In 2nd position, 3 36 37 draw half bent is a blue ___(4) Material from which metal is extracted (3) Little Mix song is a code carrier (1,1,1)