HARMONICA WORLD
Winter 2021/2022
Harmonica.uk
Contents
President: Paul Jones Vice-President: Ben Hewlett vice-pres@harmonica.uk Patrons: Lee Sankey, Adam Glasser, Roger Trobridge
4 Chair’s Message 5 Newsdesk 10
Q&A: Martin Lang on the Chicago sound and ‘weight’ on the harmonica
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An interview with LONG DENG JIE
Executive Committee Chair: Pete Hewitt chair@harmonica.uk Secretary: Davina Brazier sec@harmonica.uk Treasurer: Phil Leiwy treasurer@harmonica.uk Vice-Chair: Barry Elms communications@harmonica.uk Committee Members IT: Barbara Tate Tremolo: Simon Joy Outreach: Richard Taylor outreach@harmonica.uk Sam Wilkinson: publicity@harmonica.uk Membership Secretary: David Hambley memsec@harmonica.uk 7 Ingleborough Way, Leyland, Lancs, PR25 4ZS, UK +44 (0)7757 215047
16 Obituaries 18
Polyrhythmic tongue blocking
21
O’Carolan’s Harmonica
24
The History of HarmonicaUK
26 What do harmonicas, barges, washboards and nose flutes all have in common? 28
S uzy Colclough: Chromatic Harmonica from Scratch
31
Another plus for the Harmonica
33 Reviews 38
Classifieds
Assistants to the committee Editor: Barry Elms editor@harmonica.uk Archivist: Roger Trobridge archivist@harmonica.uk Education: Dick Powell edu@harmonica.uk Health: Rollen Flood
Cover: Suzy Colclough.
HarmonicaUK membership The subscription year starts in January. Annual UK membership £20, Under 18 £10, Europe £25, Outside Europe £30
Registered Charity (England and Wales) No. 1131484 www.harmonica.uk
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Hello everyone, I hope you all had a great Christmas. As we wrap up 2021, a year of great change, 2022 is certainly looking busy too. Projecting forward sees a focus on outreach, with a new team evolving, as we reach out to a younger membership, and to all players who have not yet experienced the benefits of being a member of HarmonicaUK and our extended family. HarmonicaUK is making great progress in becoming more diverse and inclusive, and it is great to witness our trustees and helpers embracing new initiatives.
CHAIR’S MESSAGE
Over the past year, a number of external groups have been supporting initiatives to promote good respiratory health, and I’m glad to say that moving forward, we will be working with these various groups to support and develop plans to help in this area. Over the past year we have also put on two great online festivals, the most recent of course being the October Festival. We certainly had a world class line-up – more on this later. But I guess the really exciting news is our plan for a live Chromatic Weekend (CW) 17–19 June in Birmingham. It would have been three years since we have all been together. I know the CW planning team is making enormous progress in this area. You will be hearing from Dave Hambley as we move into 2022 on how to book your rooms and tickets for the June weekend. So no need to worry, we will be in contact with you. I am encouraged by the feedback on the new look HarmonicaUK and branding and of course our new website and membership system. Have you created an account yet? It is simple to do and only takes a few minutes. We are working with WhiteFuse (our system provider) on solutions for members who are unable to pay by direct debit. This is Barry Elms’ last magazine as Editor as he moves up as Head of Communications and Vice-Chair. Barry has done a sterling effort. Dave Colclough will be shadowing Barry as Editor of this edition before assuming control as Editor. I am sure you will agree, these are exciting changes. Happy harping to you all,
Best wishes Pete
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NEWSDESK Editor’s welcome
Barry Elms Editor
Welcome to the Winter 2021/2022 Issue of Harmonica World. Big change continues to happen within HarmonicaUK, in an effort to be more sustainable as an organisation and to move forward, reaching out and promoting the harmonica to a new generation of musicians. You will already have received your first HarmonicaUK Newsletter. These will be arriving in your inbox monthly, keeping you up to date with the latest HarmonicaUK news and events, and news from the wider harmonica community. This is complemented by regular Newsdesk items on our shiny new website, www.harmonica.uk – more on the other benefits of the new website later. With the increase in communications from us via the new newsletter, and to take the pressure off the dedicated volunteers on our editorial team, we are trialling producing the print magazine quarterly, rather than bi-monthly – so rather than just six print magazines, you will be receiving 12 newsletters, four print magazines, and access to the newsdesk page (www.harmonica. uk/pages/Newsdesk) which is updated weekly. We believe this will enable us to reach you with current news more quickly (from six up to 16 major communications from us each year), will be more sustainable for us as an organisation in the long term, and better for the environment, so a win all around. We will, of course, still be making the print magazine available in accessible and digital ISSUU versions (https://issuu.com/HarmonicaUK). Finally, after 14 months and seven fantastic issues as editor of Harmonica World magazine, I am moving on from the hot-seat of magazine editor. At the October AGM I was voted in as Head of Communications and Vice-Chair of HarmonicaUK, so, moving forward, I will have responsibility for all communications from HarmonicaUK, including the magazine, website, social media and newsletters. I’d like to welcome Dave ‘Dogfish’ Colclough as the new magazine editor, starting with the Spring 2022 issue, due on your doorsteps in March. We’ve been working on the editorial team together for much of the last year, and I know Dave will do a great job in continuing to put together a fantastic magazine for all of our members; he already has plans for feature articles and more for the next couple of issues. Good luck Dave! I’d like to thank the whole of the editorial team and contributors for supporting me in creating together a world-class harmonica magazine each and every issue, and I look forward to seeing more of the latest harmonica news making its way to all of you via magazine, newsletter, website and social media in 2022, and into the future.
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NEWSDESK New online membership system and your membership renewal HarmonicaUK relies on many hours of time put in by volunteers each month so we can produce magazines and newsletters, keep the web site current, and organise festivals, Saturday Sessions, coffee mornings and other events. We have introduced a new membership system so our volunteers can use their time working on benefits for our members, rather than administration tasks. We would therefore really appreciate as many UK members as possible moving to paying by Direct Debit, as then payments will automatically update our membership system, saving our volunteers hours each week. It’s very easy to get started and set up on our new system, including setting up a direct debit and accessing online member benefits of the system. Our preferred method of communication is email, as it’s better for the environment, and as a charity it costs us less also. If you have a current email address, please email us at memsec@harmonica. uk including your name and address, and we will make sure our system is up to date. Once we have your email address in our system, you will also be able to access the benefits of the membership area of our website. For an overview of the features and benefits our new website and membership system, please see the video at: https://www. harmonica.uk/welcome To access all these new member benefits, please: • Send us your email address to memsec@harmonica.uk – we will confirm receipt • After confirmation, go to https://harmonica.uk • Click ‘Create Account’ in the top right • Fill in your name, email address and a secure password • Check the ‘I’m not a robot’ box • Click register. Our preferred payment method for membership subscriptions is by Direct Debit, which you can cancel at any time. It really helps us if you set up a Direct Debit and cancel or discontinue your existing payment method as follows: • In ‘My Account’, which you have just set up, click ‘Membership’ • Click the ‘Set up a Direct Debit’ button • Fill in the first form with your details and click ‘Set up a Direct Debit’ • Enter your bank details on the second form • Click confirm on the third screen • You will be sent an email confirming your direct debit.
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NEWSDESK If you are setting up a Direct Debit and normally pay by standing order, please contact your bank and cancel your standing order. If you pay by recurring PayPal, you can either ask us to cancel it for you, or refer to the information leaflet sent out with the October/ November issue of Harmonica World for how to do it yourself. If you would prefer to continue with your current payment method, you may continue to renew using that method, but still let us have a valid email address if you have one so you can access the member benefits on our website and receive monthly newsletters. Once you have activated your online membership, you will then have access to our website members’ section, where you will find the members’ forum, members’ directory and teachers’ directory. In addition, we plan for all our events to be bookable via the website, and we have more member benefits planned – watch this space!
Recording with the BBC Concert Orchestra Adam Glasser In October 2021, three of us pro-members of HarmonicaUK, Phil Hopkins, Philip Achille and myself, recorded with the BBC Concert Orchestra for a forthcoming album of Fox Musical show tunes. First we rehearsed – along with four flautists playing ocarinas! – at the BBC’s legendary Maida Vale Studios. A few days later, we travelled to Watford, where the recording took place at the Watford Colosseum with the full orchestra. It was a challenging but extremely enjoyable experience, and a rare treat for three chromatic players to hang out together and talk of course about ... the harmonica! Watch this space for more details of the album and a possible BBC Radio 3 broadcast in 2022.
Volunteers needed HarmonicaUK is run entirely by volunteers, by our members, for our members. If you have any of the following skills, or others, and would be prepared to offer as little as an hour a month, or maybe more, please get in touch with chair@harmonica.uk • Social media – Do you love social media? Facebook, Instagram and others? We need some help keeping our social media accounts up to date. • Photography – Our busy, vibrant communications team needs help sourcing and managing images and photos. You could even be taking photos at events, or working with Photoshop, preparing images for print, web and social media.
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NEWSDESK • Events management – Would you like to help out organising or working behind the scenes at virtual and/or physical events such as festivals? If so, please get in touch!
HarmonicaUK October Festival HarmonicaUK’s 2021 October Virtual Online Festival was a great success this year – all of us volunteering to run the festival enjoyed it enormously, and the feedback from everyone attending has all been very positive. We had some great artists presenting a wide variety of workshops. If you missed some or all of the festival, many of the workshops have now been edited by our patron and archivist Roger Trobridge, and are now available for your viewing pleasure on our YouTube channel, where you will find individual videos, and a festival playlist: www.youtube.com/HarmonicaUK
Festival workshops: Adam Gussow gave a workshop about comping, the art of playing behind other musicians and singers. Will Wilde gave a high energy rock harmonica performance of the songs from his CD with his new band Bad Luck Friday. Robert Legault performed a foot-tapping set of traditional music from Quebec and talked about playing tremolo harmonica. Antonio Serrano used ‘Toots Blues’ to illustrate Toots’ approach to playing blues on the chromatic harmonica. Phillip Henry discussed country blues, beatbox and beyond, and he illustrated his approach, which blends acoustic beatbox and fox chase and train techniques with modern rhythms. Roni Eytan demonstrated his approach to Middle Eastern and North African music on the chromatic harmonica, covering rhythms and microtonal aspects. Howard Levy took everyone with him on his personal musical journey from the 1970s up to the present time, illustrating it with musical examples drawn from blues, Bach, Chick Corea, jazz, The Flecktones, Balkan rhythms and his own classical compositions. Santiago Alvarez discussed Argentine tango and dance rhythms. Thanks again to all who helped organise the festival, to all our fantastic artists, and to everyone who came to watch and take part!
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FESTIVAL CATCH-UP: GO TO: HARMONICA.UK TO SEE WILL WILDE IN ACTION.
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Martin Lang is a lifelong student and steward of amplified Chicago blues harmonica. From his earliest days as a white college student learning to play blues in African-American clubs to his long association with Chicago blues legend Taildragger, Lang has worked to keep the sound of traditional Chicago blues harp alive. In recent years, Lang has become a frontman as well. His 2020 album Bad Man – recorded with a collection of heavy hitters from the Chicago blues scene – is a marvel of tone, efficiency, and presence. Sadly, Lang couldn’t capitalise on the album with additional shows and touring due to the pandemic, so he started writing another record. Lang talked to us about the Chicago sound and his apprenticeship in the world of Chicago blues.
Q&A:
How did you discover the harmonica? I started out as a French horn player. Then I started listening to other music and went off to boarding school. One of my professors gave me the Rolling Stones record Exile On Main Street. I was sitting in my dorm listening to it, and this other guy came and poked his head in. Then he came back with Muddy Waters's double album Fathers and Sons. When I heard that record, it blew me away. When I came to Chicago (for college at the University Of Chicago), I met (harmonica player) Dave Waldman, and he turned me on to all the old stuff. I also had a girlfriend who took me to the blues clubs on Maxwell Street. It was like I instantly knew I had to do this. There was no doubt I would do this and make these sounds. All of a sudden, everything changed.
MARTIN LANG ON THE CHICAGO SOUND AND ‘WEIGHT’ ON THE HARMONICA Justin M. Norton
How did you apprentice yourself to learning the instrument? I didn't slow records down – just played them. And I went to clubs. I didn't just want to play harp; I wanted to be one of those guys. The guys playing in Chicago blues clubs were cooler than rock stars. I wanted to be one of those guys. I didn't want to be a rock star. I wanted to be a Chicago harp player. There were still enough people left on the scene – this small crew of black Chicago harp players. These guys took it very seriously. It was like a religion to them. It wasn't this ‘everyone gets a trophy’ bull. Not at all. You had the rare experience of a blues apprenticeship. Today, people just get on YouTube and start learning. What are people missing? You can't do what I did anymore. It would be impossible. I was trying to learn third position, and the whole sound of this song was based on third position. Learning it required that I go out to the Back Scratcher’s Social Club and drink some whiskey and listen and talk to players. It would turn into an all-day affair. That’s how
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I learned third position. Once I understood it, I immediately put it to use on the bandstand. I constantly tried to make my bag bigger. I still do that. How did you meet Taildragger? Can you tell me about the unique relationship you’ve had now going on for a few decades? Well, he’s not like my Dad, but he’s more than a friend. He’s the most important person I met in Chicago. His main thing has always been that I understand the music. He’s not an instrumentalist, but he has such a deep understanding of blues. For a long time, he would take me to festivals. We’d play with pickup bands. We did a gig in Minneapolis, and I had a huge amp, and I was almost trying to force these (pickup musicians) to play it right. I realised later I had to back off. Taildragger would always tell me to take my time. I eventually learned I had to back off from people and let them play and listen to them, then play around them. I didn’t need to force them to try to play what I thought they should. It was a satori moment. Harmonica playing is at an all-time high for virtuosity. What do you think is missing from it? ‘Weight’ was a term Chicago players used when I was coming up to describe good harp playing. To be told by one of the older guys you had weight was the absolute highest compliment. Weight is a combination of tone, timing, attack, punch and power, and authority. The overall impression the harp creates is power and presence. You don’t hear that every day anymore because it requires a deep understanding of blues and some serious tone. Tone doesn’t come from any object like an amplifier or a microphone. It comes from a person. Michael Jordan couldn’t shoot incredible baskets because he had great sneakers… Gear is the least significant and least important thing. Are you a tongue blocker? I am a tongue blocker most of the time. I keep my tongue to the right side, which is somewhat unorthodox. But it took quite a bit of switching back and forth to get there. When I do a 2 draw, I play that way. I do it that way because someone demonstrated a basic riff and then played what it sounded like tongue blocked. I immediately heard the difference. That’s as far as my lesson went – no one told me which side of the tongue to use. At that point, I’d already been on several recordings, but I didn’t know how to tongue block. Then I moved to Chicago and met Dave, and I realised I was going to have to start over again.
Next on my tour of the world’s greatest harmonica players, I stopped off in Guangzhou in China, where I spoke with the fantastic Long Deng Jie. Long’s chops on the chromatic, diatonic, and even digital harmonica have wowed audiences on the internet. He was kind enough to chat with me about his journey on the harmonica. How did you begin on the harmonica? Well, my father was actually a professor of the oboe at a conservatory, so I began learning music on the piano at the age of 5. When I was 10, I also began learning the oboe and went on to become a professional classical musician. Shortly, before I turned 30, I wanted to try something different and fell in love with the harmonica. Initially, I started on the diatonic and within a month I had learnt to overblow and was really inspired by Howard Levy. So, after one year of playing diatonic, I also began studying the chromatic harmonica, which I have been playing for about 8 years now.
AN INTERVIEW WITH LONG DENG JIE Around the world with 80 great harmonica players Sam Spranger Editorial Team
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How did you get so good so quickly!
Because I studied music and the oboe, I had plenty of musical knowledge to draw on. Crucially, I practised scales and difficult scale patterns in all 12 keys for at least half of my practice time. I would spend 3–4 hours a day practising – however, now I have less time, so I commit to about 1–2 hours. Is the harmonica popular in Chinese culture? During the ’80s, a lot of people played the tremolo harmonica, but by the ’90s, the trend had died out. However, there has been a resurgence since the 2010s, especially on the chromatic harmonica. Asian culture really appreciates pop music and classical music. There is less of a culture for blues and jazz in China.
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So what turned you onto blues and jazz? Because when I was young my father was so influenced by classical music, which I enjoyed, but when I was 13, I found blues and jazz and it was really exciting. However, at that age I was only playing the oboe, which is not ideal for playing the styles I wanted to play. The harmonica, on the other hand, gave me a way of expressing myself in these genres. I saw that you are pioneering a new midi harmonica. Yes, the first digital harmonica was the DM48 which I originally played. Then, last year, a Chinese factory started researching their own concept and they contacted me as a consultant. The Chinese model is vastly different, as it has internal effects as well as acting as a midi controller. How is the scene right now? Yes, with COVID, things were difficult, but now I am up to gigging once a month with a duet again. But in China not many people are into jazz, so I am mostly playing classical concerts but introducing a jazz element within the programme. Do you have any practice advice for our readers? Whenever I ask this of my harmonica friends, they always say the importance of tone. Draw vibrato, for example, is incredibly important to master and not to be confused with throat tremolo. In terms of technique, it goes back to getting your scales down and practising every day, however many people don’t have the patience to do that. Like everywhere in the world, people underestimate the potential of the harmonica. I’m trying to change that perception and encourage people to keep learning on the instrument. You can listen to Long Deng Jie’s wonderful performances on YouTube @DengJieLong You can watch the full interview @ mybrokenharp
In Memory of Willie Cobbs Norman Darwen You Don’t Love Me – anyone who has been around the blues for a while will be familiar with this song, with its distinctive riff. It may be via The Allman Brothers, John Mayall, Buddy Guy and Junior Wells, or other quality acts. It could even be through Dawn Penn’s reggae hit version in the early ’90s. The first version, however, dates from 1961 and is by Arkansas singer and harmonica player Willie Cobbs. Willie died on 25 October 2021 at the age of 89. He was born in Smale, Monroe County, Arkansas on 15 July 1932. He moved north to Chicago in 1951, where he initially worked with Little Walter and Eddie Boyd, and sang and played his harmonica on Maxwell Street, the famous Sunday morning street market that at that time was the venue for many of the city’s blues performers. He made his first recordings in 1958, and he also backed pianist Eddie Boyd on record in the same year. He was turned down by Vee-Jay Records for sounding too close to the label’s big star Jimmy Reed, though ironically, they did distribute You Don’t Love Me a couple of years later. By the end of the ’60s, Willie seemed to pop up from time to time on singles, with a Japanese album gathering up many of these in 1986. Willie recorded several albums after this date – Down To Earth was very well-received.
In memory of Danny Ronen Dror Adler In memory of a great chromatic player, a dedicated lawyer, a role model to so many harmonica players and groups, and a close friend. Danny Ronen passed away recently, after a long struggle with a serious disease. He was only 62. In 1981 Danny, a young man of 23, and a physics student in the university, came and asked me to be his teacher, telling me that he is a great admirer of the Adler Trio. I refused, as I was not teaching at that time. He did not give up…When I started teaching him, I found out that he was already a brilliant player, and, within a year, he knew all the Adler Trio’s repertory. At that time, my brother, Danny Adler, the lead player and founder of the Adler Trio, decided to retire and dedicate his time to a private business of his own – based on one of his inventions. Danny Ronen joined the trio in 1982.
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In 1984, The Adler Trio was invited to perform in the SPAH convention in Detroit, and this performance actually launched an amazing international career. The superlatives on Danny’s playing echoed all over the international harmonica community. Invitations to all major harmonica festivals followed, beginning with the first World Harmonica Festival in Jersey, England, organised by Jim Hughes, and then the second WHF in Trossingen, Germany 1989, followed by the first Asia Pacific Harmonica Festival in Yokohama, Japan 1995. The Adler Trio became very popular in Danny’s era, especially in the east, and many top professionals of today say that Danny was their role model and triggered their decision to become professional. He also studied law, and when he became a lawyer he joined his father’s business and gradually retired from the trio, helping Michal Adler, my niece, to fill his place safely. Michal Adler was at that time an accomplished and busy soloist performing on her own, and whenever she was busy, Danny would come and replace her. His love for the harmonica did not subside when he retired, and he started playing the kind of music he loved best – jazz. Whenever he could, he would go out on gigs with different groups, always contributing his unique style, talent and quality. Looking back on the 20 years Danny played with The Adler Trio, 1982–2002, I realise what an amazing, joyful, fulfilling, meaningful and important part of my life they were. His leaving us so young is a great loss to his family, his friends and colleagues, and to the entire harmonica world.
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Polyrhythm: simultaneous use of different rhythms – which are not forms of the same metre and do not derive from each other – between the voices of a composition, which produces a rhythmic variety. In a previous article I focused on the rhythmic potential of tongue blocking using the famous Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star as a basic melody, and I was inspired by the 12 variations of that melody (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyhxeo6zLAM) that Mozart had elaborated in 1781 (those were not just rhythmic variations). All the variations I proposed were based on a different subdivision of the basic time: the melody is simple and helps to define the main beat in 2/4 (each bar is composed of two beats), while the percussion of the tongue was used to create a rhythm, which in that case was linked to the basic time: it was a different subdivision of the main beat.
POLYRHYTHMIC TONGUE BLOCKING Matteo Pulin Profetto
What would happen if this subdivision no longer followed the basic one? I think we could lay the groundwork for a polyrhythmic harmonica! Using the same melody, I've tried to elaborate a series of 12 variations in which the two rhythms are not derived from each other. There are a few definitions of polyrhythm and they're not always consistent with each other, so maybe not all the variations I propose could be defined as strictly polyrhythmic, but here I want to explore and make the best to emphasising the illusion that tongue blocking gives that two instruments are playing at the same time. A standard 10-hole Richter diatonic harmonica has few chords available, so we have to be careful to avoid harmony problems (i.e. the chord that is inevitably produced by the vibrating reeds) and instead emphasise the rhythm making each slap (i.e. the moment in which the tongue beats on the harmonica, blocking the holes that must not play) the fastest and most decisive possible. Two movements are involved (I’m using here the same nomenclature as Joe Filisko, one who knows something about tongue blocking ...): • clean single note produced by leaving the tongue on the harmonica and letting the air escape into the single hole we need on the right side of the mouth • vamping the note is played by making the tongue lash – quoting David Barrrett: "by breathing a fraction of a second in advance (allowing the four reeds to vibrate), then blocking the
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three holes [left] with the tongue, leaving the hole right open”. WARNING! This technique, which is used in Chicago style to give push and aggression to the note or split, in this case, which we can refer to as Old Time style, serves much more to mark the time, and is executed with more subtlety! If the rhythm and melody play at the same time, the tongue will beat on the harmonica, leaving just the correct hole open and blocking the other holes on the left. If, on the other hand, a melody note is already playing, the tongue will rise and fall back on the harmonica, leaving the correct hole open and blocking the other holes on the left, without interrupting the air flow that is passing and, therefore, allowing the hole on the right to continue playing.
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I've tried to get to the rhythm gradually in the cases I found most difficult, removing or adding a beat from time to time until I reached the result. Keeping the focus especially on the melody always helps a lot, letting the rhythm, which is better to play lightly and in the background, proceed spontaneously. I've often been inspired by ‘famous’ rhythms for these exercises: you can hear references to the clave de son, to the habanera, to some of the typical tango rhythms, to the 3: 2 polyrhythm ... As already said, the melody is quite simple and defines a very evident basic pulse, so it is good for this application: this is just an exercise to practise the tongue blocking's great rhythmic attitude, but I find that it can be very useful not just for training, but maybe to be included in certain passages of our songs. Through recording our progress often and perhaps through more listening, focusing on both parts to verify that each is proceeding correctly and independently is a good idea. The tune structure is ABA, but in the music scores above, just part A is included for reasons of space (part B is just as easy to play by ear). The rhythm part scores are written below the tune and the basic beat imposed on the tune by the tongue percussion is represented. The exercise is played with an A harp and the tempo is 75 bpm. I hope this can be of help and, as always, have fun! Facebook page: Matteo Pulin Profetto – Irish & Celtic Harmonica YouTube channel: Pulin Harmonica pulinharmonica@gmail.com
FESTIVAL CATCH-UP: GO TO: HARMONICA.UK TO FOLLOW HOWARD’S MUSICAL JOURNEY
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In 2003, I recorded my Black Mountain Harmonica CD, featuring bluegrass and Irish tunes. My brother owns a studio and put it all together. At the time, he figured I might burn a few to sell while busking. It did better than that: around 1,500 copies ended up in various hands. This was almost 20 years ago, so it was time for another. The 2021 lockdown was a perfect window. I live in Sydney, and my brother Quentin is in Adelaide. He has run his own commercial studio for more than 40 years, and is an outstanding player on multiple instruments. An ideal mentor. For my initial CD, I recorded the harmonica parts in Sydney, using ‘Band in a Box’ backings and a hand-held SM58 mic. I brought the results to Adelaide, on CDs, and sat in Quentin's studio while my friend John Bridgland played guitar and mandolin backings, with Quentin and his studio partner Darren adding the rest.
O'CAROLAN'S HARMONICA Tony Eyers
Then Quentin sat me down for a chat. My playing was more or less error free, but dull. My brother said that "every note has to tell a story". I listened to my efforts; he was right. I recorded all the harmonica parts again, with 50 or more takes for each chorus, as I slowly figured out how the notes should sound. The final result was way better. Many folk liked this first recording, so I was encouraged to do another. My partner (now my wife) was in the UK for six weeks in 2003, time enough to get Black Mountain Harmonica done. However, kids, work, few funds and fewer ideas kept my second CD at bay. Plus, I'm a little ashamed to say, I was waiting for my brother to donate another week of his professional time for my new project, as he had done for the first one. I decided this time to pay for his efforts. This got the ball rolling. Over the last decade, my group has done a series of YouTube videos, featuring traditional tunes arranged for harmonica trio. So I started with these. My first CD had two slow airs by O'Carolan, the famous 18th century Irish harp player and composer. These two O'Carolan tunes were popular, so I chose another six for the new CD, and called it O'Carolan's Harmonica. I then picked six bluegrass/old time tunes to fill out the project.
These new tracks, except for one, had been done previously by my trio, so I had arrangements and backings in place. I settled in for a few weeks, applied my brother's ‘every note tells a story’ principle, sweated mightily, and got my parts done. I sent them to Adelaide, by online file transfer this time, and hired Andrew Clermont, an old friend and fabulous player, to add his parts along with my brother. I also engaged Catherine Fraser, a well-known local Scottish-style fiddler, to add her magic. My hired companions, along with my brother, provided a mighty backup to my parts. A final mix then, and job done. Actually, no. I was back where I was in 2003; my parts were not good enough. This time, however, I didn't need my brother to point it out. So I took the new backings, and started over. My view is that a listener gives a CD (or a Spotify/iTunes equivalent) 30 seconds at the most to grab their attention, otherwise they move on. My opening track on Black Mountain harmonica was Billy in the Lowground, a bluegrass standard which PT Gazell set at 142 beats per minute on his seminal 1978 Pace Yourself album. I set my version at the same speed, so the album goes off with a bang. I applied the same principle to my new CD, and set the opening track, Katherine O'More by O'Carolan, to 138 beats per minute, just a touch under frantic. The trick to recording fast tunes is to make them sound slow. No one likes rushed playing. So I spent a fortnight with a metronome before my first Katherine O'More draft. It was ok, but sounded like I was afraid of it. For the final draft I ditched the low harmonica I had been using, chose a higher one which spoke more easily, and spent a couple of days getting it right. Hopefully I did. In recent years I've become a Seydel endorser; they've provided me with a full set of harmonicas in the Major Cross tuning that I use for my recordings. So, this time I had very low and very high pitched harmonicas to complement the regular ones. All got a look in. My close friend, Tokyo-based architect Riccardo Tossani, did a cover design for me in 2003, and repeated the favour this time. To see how it all went, visit music.harmonicatunes.com. See the reviews section for Neil Warren’s review of Tony’s CD.
We left Part 5 in our history at the point where Hohner had enlisted a prominent NHL member, John Tyler, to reinvigorate their organisation, the NHL. Things came to a head in 1980, when John Tyler felt he had done all he could and the Hohner management decided that they could not continue to promote the NHL in the way they had done for the previous 50 years. They needed a way forward. John Walton was born in South Africa in 1940. He was a successful chromatic harmonica player and entertainer who had met many of the top performers. John had worked in Variety and on cruise ships before moving to the UK in 1978. He settled in Bournemouth with his family and immediately got involved with the NHL.
THE HISTORY OF HARMONICAUK Part 6 1981-1986 The John Walton Years (1981–1986) Roger Trobridge HarmonicaUK Patron
In 1981, John had meetings with John Tyler, who had decided to step down and dedicate more time to his job as a headmaster. John Walton agreed to take over as Director in 1982. He had always wanted to start a harmonica club – now he had one, and he set out to make it successful. A new membership card and a lapel badge was produced. At the time of the handover, the membership of the NHL was over 2,000 but the majority of them had paid £1 to receive the magazine. Once Hohner decided to withdraw its financial support for the NHL, John had to raise the membership fee to £6 to cover the forecast running costs, and the membership fell to a couple of hundred. Initially, Hohner continued to edit, print and distribute Harmonica News, and John Walton provided the content. John became frustrated when Hohner edited his writing and controlled some non-Hohner content. By the time of John’s first NHL event, The Convention, at the Guildhall in Southampton in November 1982, he had decided on some major changes. At the AGM it was agreed that the name of the magazine would be changed to Harmonica World because ‘Harmonica News’ was registered to Hohner. Operating costs had to be brought under control, so they reduced the magazine size from A4 to A5, and the Walton family printed and posted out the magazine themselves. The NHL was finally fully independent. John became President, with his wife Jeanette as Secretary. Norm Dobson (US) was appointed as Chairman and Area Secretaries were set up to encourage local activities. The Convention became the NHL’s main annual event, with the 1983 event being held in the Queen Elizabeth Hall, Stratford upon Avon. John held a competition for the Young
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Harmonica Player of the Year, which was won in 1982 and 1984 by Rowena Gelling (now Millar). She was awarded the Fred Southern Trophy. Many familiar names were members at this time – Frank Eatwell, Colin Mort, Jim Hughes, Doug Tate, Ken Howell, Jimmy English, Alf Clay, Windsor Carlisle and the current Chairman, Pete Hewitt. Subsequent Conventions were held in Westcliff-on-Sea (1984), Blenheim Palace (1985), Bournemouth (1986) and Western-SuperMare (1987). An additional event was added to the event calendar in 1986 when Frank Eatwell held the Open Harmonica Championship in Banbury. Jim Hughes organised a similar British Harmonica Championship and Gala Concert in Shirley, Birmingham in 1987. John Walton always wanted the NHL to be an international organisation, and he travelled to many overseas harmonica events. In 1984, he visited SPAH with this family harmonica group, the Harmonaires, and in 1985 he took a party of NHL members, including Jim Hughes, to a week-long HarmonicaFest run jointly with the renowned chromatic player, Cham-ber Huang, in Silver Bay in Upstate New York. Towards the end of 1985, John Walton made a big decision. He changed the focus of Harmonica World and renamed it Harmonica World International. The simple, quarterly A5, personally printed magazine became a new glossy, monthly A4, international harmonica magazine printed by his family company, Able Music. John continued to feature NHL news, but he opened it up to all harmonica clubs around the world. He had wanted to build a worldwide harmonica magazine and up-to-date news, but he was about 30 years too soon. It would need the internet and live, online digital magazines before this could be done profitably. At the same time that John changed the magazine, he became a founder member and Treasurer of the new International Harmonica Organisation (IHO) set up by Peter Janssen from Holland. The IHO decided to use Harmonica World International as their official organ. NHL members were encouraged to join both organisations. John Walton stepped down as President at the AGM at the end of 1986, having agreed that Colin Mort would take over. John stayed on as Treasurer/Secretary. He had achieved a lot in his five years in charge, raising standards and building up the organisation, but a new approach was needed. The losses incurred by the new magazine had become too great and the 18th issue in June 1987 was the final one. The next part of our history will cover the move to a true members’ organisation and the recovery of the NHL finances.
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The answer, of course, is Ed Hopwood! Ed plays diatonic harmonica, nose flute (yes, it does exist) guitar and percussion using shakers, washboard and suitcase bass drum, to name a few. He performs solo and as part of a trio, The Rigmarollers, where he is joined by fellow bandmates Julian Marshal and Ewan Penkey. Playing a mixture of Prohibition-era jazz, blues and jug band, gospel and zydeco, the guys ensure a foot-tapping performance with something to please everybody. London-based Ed, who lives on his aptly named 42-foot barge Muddy Waters, took time out to tell us about his playing, YouTube channel, and album release. Describing his playing style as heavily rhythm-led, he says, “I tend to learn little parts of tunes and build rhythmically around them, and being a drummer as well I find this process most natural for me”. Another influence on Ed’s percussive and groove-led style is his father, Fred Hopwood, a Cajun drummer in one of the UK’s first bands in the genre – R.Cajun & the Zydeco Brothers. Using a mixture of puckering and tongue blocking, his harmonica of choice is a Marine Band Crossover with an Andrew Zajac custom comb. Mid-gig, he has been known to play the washboard using the edge of the harp itself! (Please don’t try this at home.) “The bright sound of the Crossover really seems to suit my acoustic style.” Ed’s YouTube channel The Harmonica Barge started around three years ago and gives free harmonica tutorials in a variety of styles, including blues, bluegrass and even a Cajun drinking song, with an in-depth series which features extended content and tab available for a small fee. The channel was born when Ed, who was teaching a group, London Harps, decided to share his knowledge on a larger scale. “I used to attend the meet up before taking over the running of it for a while, and a lot of the stuff I know was learnt from people there, so I decided to film some lessons and pass it on.”
WHAT DO HARMONICAS, BARGES, WASHBOARDS AND NOSE FLUTES ALL HAVE IN COMMON? Dave ‘Dogfish’ Colclough Editorial Team
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I asked about the zydeco and bluegrass videos available: “Zydeco music sits really well on the harmonica as it’s tuned similarly to the squeezebox used in the style, especially when you incorporate split octaves”. Regarding bluegrass (a style not usually associated with the tin sandwich), he says, “I went to bluegrass sessions initially, singing and playing the guitar, but took my harp along after a while”. After slight initial resistance, it is now becoming more accepted within the genre. “It’s all about the etiquette, which can be a minefield, and I have a blaggers’ guide to bluegrass uploaded to give harmonica players a rough guide”. During lockdown, The Rigmarollers recorded their debut album Mr Crump Don’t Like It, and it was released in December last year, a review of which can be found on the reviews page of this issue. It’s available on Bandcamp, and alongside gigging and festival bookings, the band are planning a second album, this one of all-original songs in 2022. Ed has also been involved in a project, Harp for Health, developed from a parallel scheme called Singing for Breathing, where in the former Ed has been a guest tutor leading a workshop teaching harmonica to people with respiratory diseases such as COPD. In fact, Brunel University made a study of the scheme’s effectiveness in relieving breathing difficulties and the data is overwhelmingly positive. “These sessions have been a lifeline for many people who’ve been isolated over lockdown and they are singing the praises of the harmonica and the health benefits it’s giving them.” Well done Ed, we applaud you.
For more information, check out these links: Rigmarollers album: https://therigmarollers.bandcamp.com/album/ mr-crump-dont-like-it YouTube Channel: www.youtube.com/channel/ UCyjg4YuxoZeBtWSdS1414HQ Link to In-depth Lessons and store: https://harmonicabarge-shop.sellfy.store/in-depthlessons/
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In March 2021, Suzy Colclough decided, in her early fifties, to learn the chromatic harmonica from scratch. She contacted Pete Hewitt for a possible teacher. Her husband, ‘Dogfish' Dave Colclough, already active in HarmonicaUK, was wellknown to members as an excellent blues player, but few of us knew Suzy. In April, Suzy started taking weekly lessons with me and participating in most of my Zoom workshops. Not everyone is aware that both Suzy and Dave are visually impaired: “Dave can see something, most definitely light and dark, but I am completely blind, which is rare – only 2% of people are like me”, Suzy explains.
SUZY COLCLOUGH: CHROMATIC HARMONICA FROM SCRATCH Adam Glasser, HarmonicaUK Patron Suzy gave up her business as a complementary holistic therapist 10 years ago. She had always enjoyed music. When she was little, her nanny had an organ which fascinated her, and a book that played tunes. But Suzy never had any music tuition until quite recently, when she tried the saxophone. After only two lessons she was forced to give it up because of illness. But upon hearing the chromatic harmonica, she realised it was a path to the kind of music she wanted to learn. I have never in decades of teaching come across anyone who has made so much progress in such a short space of time, starting from zero knowledge of music theory or instrumental experience. She has been consistently passionate and committed with a complete approach to learning music, developing a beautiful distinctive tone, and playing exercises and songs in different keys, and the desire to deeply understand music theory. With distinctive tastes and a relentless work ethic which she is able to sustain even during times of ill health, there is no limit to how far Suzy Colclough may progress as a player and teacher: "I found learning over the past months really enjoyable. Occasionally, I don't understand, but I tend to just take it away, leave it for 24 hours, and then I wake up in the morning, and it makes sense. I know the way I work and study because I've done therapy qualifications since leaving
school. I know the way my brain works. I often have to sleep on things and then the following morning, it makes sense. I would really like, one day, to teach the harmonica. I was teaching the last six months of my therapy work. I love working with people and explaining things to them". How does Suzy conceptualise in her mind the layout of the chromatic? "The image I have for the notes is like a kind of egg box turned on its side with 12 holes. And so, the top, if you go from the left, the top egg would be C, then below it would be the D. The gap in the middle between the two eggs would be the sharp or the flat. I have all the blows across the top and the draws across the bottom." At my suggestion, Suzy bought a small midi keyboard, which she has been using intermittently to assist with note layout and music theory: "You can find the note more easily on the keyboard than on the harmonica. Once I hit the note that I'm looking for on the keyboard I can find it on the harmonica. I don't tend to use the keyboard for exercises. I tried to do those directly onto the harmonica. But if I'm learning a new song, then I most definitely use the keyboard. If I haven't got a particular pattern together, I go back to the keyboard and then play it on the harmonica. I know it seems strange, but I also enjoy technical exercises very much because I can see the most progress when I do exercises". Suzy has learnt a substantial number of exercises in all keys, simple songs and nursery rhythms as well as more ambitious melodies – jazz standards like Autumn Leaves, Moon River, themes from the Godfather and the Deer Hunter. She has particularly enjoyed learning Beethoven's Für Elise, which she first heard as child tinkling out of her Mum's jewellery box when it opened. In September of this year at Suzy's initiative, we did an interview with Lynne Morgan, content producer for RNIB Connect Radio – the UK radio station sharing stories on a wide range of topics of people living with sight loss. Suzy and I talk about the experience of learning and teaching and contributed some pre-recorded pieces. The programme can be heard here: https://audioboom.com/posts/7956348-harmonicauk-festival In recent months. Suzy has also been regularly in touch by phone with Jim Hughes who, over the past few years, has lost his sight. They found much in common and are planning to do a workshop together, so keep an eye on the HarmonicaUK Newsletter! To sum up, I found it hugely enjoyable and a great privilege to work with Suzy Colclough. The experience has influenced my teaching practice toward all harmonica students, i.e. more emphasis on muscle memory and ear training and less emphasis on written material/TAB/sight reading. I look forward very much to seeing Suzy progress further – there is no limit to what she can achieve!
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During September, I spent a wonderful week visiting my lovely sister, Jody, who is 88 years old. She was diagnosed with dementia 17 years ago and just 2 years ago was upgraded to moderate level. That shows you what a remarkable woman she is to begin with – as soon as she found out, she immediately set out to do all of the things she could to work her mind and keep it going. But that is not what this is about. I wanted to share with you what happened one day at the start of the visit. We were talking about music and she said the magic words, “I could never play a musical instrument”. “I have no talent”. Well, you know what I said: “Yes you can” and “Yes you do”. Out came a Special 20 G Harp from my purse.
ANOTHER PLUS FOR THE HARMONICA Zoie McIntyre
“Here you go – just breathe in and out.”
Well, she blew in, jumped a little and then in and out, and the biggest smile lit up her face and she giggled and she was off. Breathing in and out all up and down the harmonica. “Ha ha hoo hoo” came next and she took off with that, like she was born with the harmonica in her mouth. Because Jody falls so much, her daughter puts cams in the living room/kitchen and bedroom so she can see what happens when she falls. The one night I spent with my nephew and niece, we watched to make sure she was okay, and what a delightful sight. She was picking up the harmonica case, taking the harmonica out, looking at it, figuring out where to blow, and playing, laughing and giggling all the time. The joy she feels playing the harmonica, the fun she is having, makes me smile still as I sit here writing this.
Joy to all – keep harpin’ :)
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REVIEWS Table by the Wall – The Bad Day Blues Band A review by Sophia Ramirez, Editorial Team The Bad Day is an exciting new blues-rock band, with Adam Rigg on the vocals and bass guitar, Sam Spranger on the harmonica, Nick Peck on the guitar, and Herman Moura on the drums. They opened for Grammy winner Delbert McClinton at Times Square in 2017, and since then have been rapidly on the rise, winning Best New Blues Band in the 2019 Digital Blues Awards and playing two critically acclaimed performances at The Isle Of Wight Festival in 2018 and 2019. Raw and volcanic and, as Classic Rock Magazine describes, ‘ludicrously good fun’, the group’s debut album has been much anticipated. Happily, in Table by the Wall, they’ve brought all that celebrated energy into the studio for music that dares you not to tap your feet and jam along. Table by the Wall explodes into existence with a riotous cover of Hold On, I'm Coming, Spranger’s swinging harmonica working in partnership with Rigg’s soulful voice, the sound swelling as his vocals get more intense. The title track Table by the Wall comes next, fast and high-octane, with vocals for the most part on the same level as the other instruments, everything sharing the spotlight and working together to build the rip-roaring tunes – this helps create an overall feel of electricity and fun. While the album is certainly uproarious and wild, it’s also masterful at pacing, knowing where to slow down to give the listener a chance to keep up. For instance, Wandering Man starts slow and more low-key with an easy-going beat, and then gets crazier, blasting humorous lyrics like "I've got five little kids and no damn socks'' amidst rocking instrumentals. It’s followed by Jump, which keeps the momentum going with a bouncy guitar beat that blossoms into head-bopping energy and life. However, nowhere is this vast range of pacing more apparent than the final track, Luna Rooms, which starts super mellow, the languid voice and sleepy-eyed instrumentals telling a story full of peaceful imagery by the river, until it suddenly ramps up halfway into a full-on frenzy of dynamic guitar and wailing harmonica. Through all this, Sam Spranger’s harp playing truly shines, most notably in the track Stop. In the midst of an intense rock orchestra, the harmonica’s solo surfaces, clean and hypnotic and clear as water. As the album was released in 2021, one can imagine all the obstacles faced in recording during lockdown, and the creativity needed to overcome them. Fortunately, the pandemic didn’t stop the creation of this lively and thriving album, that gives the listener everything from serene melodies to unrestrained riffs, mild to explosive, and still leaves them wanting more.
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PERFECT INTONATION The standard Mars is tuned to equal temperament which gives a bright sound BUT now we also have ‘JUST’ intonation for that authentic Pre-War Blues sound.
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REVIEWS O’Carolan’s Harmonica – Tony Eyers A review by Neil Warren Tony Eyers is a Sydney-based player who founded the popular Harmonica Academy tuition website. Tony specialises in traditional music and developed his ‘Major Cross’ tuning (available from Seydel) to make it easier to play at faster tempos on the diatonic harmonica. Tony’s latest project is the instrumental O’Carolan’s Harmonica album. For the uninitiated, O’Carolan was a blind 18th Century Irish harpist who wrote many timeless tunes still played widely today. For this album, six of O’Carolan’s tunes have been selected, along with six other traditional tunes. Tony has his own harmonica trio, and he multi-tracks several harmonicas on the various songs, with the main melodies played on the Major Cross tuning. Four of the other instruments on the album (bass, guitar, piano and drums) are played by Tony’s brother, Quentin, who also engineered the album (what a talented brother!). Two more string musicians provide instrumental solos on the album to provide a balance to the plentiful harmonica sections. The album is produced to professional standards, with fine playing from all the band. The harmonica playing is highly accomplished, with great taste applied to the traditional genre. Several of the tunes are at a higher tempo, including the opening track, Katherine O’More, which is played with great gusto by Tony. True to his humorous approach, Tony includes a sigh of relief on the recording at the end of this rousing number. The song John Drury is one of the slower tunes, with a lilting gait applied admirably to the song. Young William Plunkett makes extensive use of octaves. Shady Grove is a classic bluegrass number. Tony’s last album, Black Mountain Harmonica, followed the same format of mixing bluegrass and traditional songs. The album signs off in fine style with another bluegrass number: Elzic’s Farewell. Traditional music is becoming increasingly popular on the harmonica. With this album, Tony Eyers has added another quality offering of tunes to enjoy and draw inspiration from. The album can be heard, and digital tracks purchased, here: https://tonyeyers.bandcamp.com Or email Tony for a hard copy: support@harmonicaacademy.com You can hear lots more about Tony in his recent interview on the Happy Hour Harmonica podcast: Search for ‘Happy Hour Harmonica’ or enter https://tinyurl.com/ycydd33n
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REVIEWS Just Me and My Friend(s) – Charlie Barath – Own label A review by Norman Darwen “There may not be any living harp player who is authentically as diverse as Mr. B”, writes none other than Joe Filisko of Charlie Barath. So yes, he is certainly worth investigating. This is not diversity for diversity’s sake, though. After opening with a convincing work-song, akin more than a little to Lead Belly, an acoustic guitar and blues harmonica pre-war Memphis-flavoured instrumental and a tough electric Chicago blues-styled Travelin’ Woman, he then switches direction with equally impressive numbers like the jazzy Western swing of Losin’ My Mind Over You (complete with Woody Woodpecker musical quotes and a lyric reference to The Flintstones!), the very folky sounding Ohio, and the pure country of Little Turtle Nightlight. Besides being good songs, they also all feature appropriate harmonica playing tailored to each composition. Charlie is equally adept at old-timey sounds like Ollie Ollie, the hokum-ish, jug band sound of Much Better Now, and even a gypsy-jazz style accompaniment on Heart Of Mine. And of course, he frequently returns to the blues in many forms throughout the album. Versatile then, most definitely, but quality-wise remarkably consistent – very high quality indeed throughout, and thoroughly enjoyable. Take Joe Filisko’s word (and mine too) for it! Norman Darwen www.charliebarathharmonica.com
Mr Crump Don’t Like It - The Rigmarollers A review by Barry Elms, Editorial Team This is the debut recording by The Rigmarollers, a trio featuring Ed Hopwood on vocals, diatonic harmonicas, guitar and washboard, with bandmates Julian Marshall (guitar, fiddle, mandolin) and Ewan Penkey (sousaphone). The album is a foot-tapping mixture of Prohibition-era jazz, blues, jug band, gospel and zydeco music. The album was recorded during lockdown in 2020. Given that Ed trained as a drummer, the music is heavily rhythmled, featuring Ed’s skilful washboard and other percussion playing, combined with rhythm guitar and Ewan Penkey’s up-beat sousaphone basslines.
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REVIEWS The album features well-known numbers such as Croquet Habit, which Ed’s vocal style suits perfectly, and a lot of top-notch harmonica playing on tracks such as Save Me Some, Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out, and the instrumental Cider Time Rag. Julian Marshall’s fiddle playing fits perfectly on tracks such as Wait For The Light To Shine, and for fans of guitar, there’s some great playing throughout the album, for example, check out the instrumental Dallas Rag. The album is available for purchase on Band Camp – if you’re a fan of Americana, especially Prohibition-era blues and jug band music, I can’t recommend this album highly enough! Ed is a highly skilled diatonic player, there’s some great tunes to play along with and learn from. This album is a treat to listen to, and the Rigmarollers are planning a second album of all original songs in 2022, which I’m already looking forward to hearing! https://therigmarollers.bandcamp.com/album/mr-crump-dontlike-it
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CLASSIFIEDS Teachers and Repairers
KEY D Diatonic.
John Cook 01708 446 644 R Repairs. Certified Hohner, Suzuki and Seydel technician. Chromatic and diatonic service repair and tuning. Repair workshops and private repair. London. Zoom. john@johncookharmonicas.com
Chromatic.
T
Tremolo.
U
Tuning.
R
Repairs.
Eva Hurt 07578 808 353 C Triola. Classical, folk, musical theatre. Triola. London In person, Skype, Zoom. eva.harmonica@yahoo.com
Ricky Cool 07749 918 343 D Blues, country, roots. Birmingham. In person, Skype, Zoom. rickycool@ blueyonder.co.uk
Cathal Johnson 0834 444 980?? D C Blues, country, traditional Irish dance. Republic of Ireland. In person, Skype, Zoom. Certified Hohner technician repairs and tuning. www.harmonicasireland.com
Mike Fairbairn 01623 753 693 D C Blues. Derbyshire. In person. fairblues@hotmail.co.uk
Julian Jackson C D All genres. London. In person, Zoom. joolsj@yahoo.com
Paul Gillings 07880 324 163 C D All genres. Norfolk/Suffolk. In person, Skype, Zoom. paulgillingsharmonica@gmail.com
Moses Jones 07707 193 437 D C All genres. Bristol. In person, Zoom. moses.jones88@yahoo.com
Adam Glasser C All genres. London. In person, Zoom, phone by arrangement. adamgharmonica@icloud.com
Tony Jukes 01455 202 829 C D Blues, folk. East Midlands. In person, Skype, zoom. tjukes@hotmail.co.uk
Roy Green C D All genres, excluding jazz. Cranbrook, Kent. In person. roysgreen@talktalk.net
Steve Lockwood 07786 256 178 D U All genres. Cambridgeshire In person, Skype, Zoom. steve@steve-lockwood.com
01580 720 148
Cain Hamilton D U Custom and tuning. Holywell, Wales. sugarharmonicas@outlook.com Ben Hewlett D All genres. Bristol. In person, Zoom, Skype. benhewlett@me.com
07973 284 366
Ed Hopwood 07814 637 317 D Blues, Folk, Roots. London. In person, Skype, Zoom. info@theharmonicabarge.com
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C
07930 801 344
Johnny Mars 07947 252 186 C D Four different types of tuning. The Mars Method of Harmonica Tuition. johnnymars@me.com Taunton. In person, Zoom. Eddie Martin 07974 120 418 D C All genres. All genres. (except jazz). Bristol. In person, Skype, Zoom. www.eddiemartin.com John Monaghan C U R. Widnes.
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01514 249 594
CLASSIFIEDS Gary Murray 01344 842 162 C Jazz, blues. Berkshire. Online. www.garymharmonica.co.uk
Richard Taylor 07525 256 954 D All genres. Preschool to adults. Brighton and Hove. In person, Skype, Zoom. hove.actually@ntlworld.com
Keith Parker D Blues, country, rock. Cambridgeshire. In person, Zoom.
07966 471 734
Will Pound D C Paddy Richter speciality. Caernarvon. In person, Zoom. will@willpound.com
07884 222 356
Mat Walklate 07725 479 148 D C T All genres. Manchester. In person, Skype, Zoom. m.walklate23@btinternet.com
Adam Pritchard 07429 126 120 D All genres. Cheltenham. In person, Skype, Zoom. pritchharp@gmail.com Aidan Sheehan 07812 143 226 D All genres, excluding jazz. Cwmbran. In person, Skype, Zoom. aidenharpsheehan@gmail.com Sam Spranger 07815 538 888 C D All genres. London. In person, Skype, Zoom. sam.aspranger@gmail.com
Joff Watkins 07980834 002 D C All genres. London. In person, Zoom. joffharp@yahoo.com Will Wilde D All genres. In person, Skype, Zoom. willharmonicawilde.com
07854 591 413
Harry Pitch 3 CDs @£11 01628 622895 haru.harmonica@talktalk.net David Hynes finest Irish Traditional harmonica CDs £7 davesharmonicas.com Bass Harmonica for sale, in good condition, box a bit used organbeal@hotmail.com Bargains New/Used Harmonicas For Sale - please ask for list - davetaylorbluespiano@gmail.com Wanted. Chord harmonica in good playing order. Please contact rickycool@blueyonder.co.uk
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Winter 2021/2022 • Harmonica.uk
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WWW.SEYDEL1847.COM
GIVE ME SIX – FOR THE PRICE OF FOUR. OUR BIG SIX SET IS NOW AVAILABLE IN A NEW ATTRACTIVE DESIGN: THE SEYDEL BIG SIX PACK. GET SIX ORIGINAL BIG SIX INSTRUMENTS FOR LESS, A CONVENIENT BELTBAG AND A PRACTICAL SEYDEL LANYARD ARE PROVIDED FOR FREE! THE SIX HARMONICAS ARE TUNED IN THE MOST COMMONLY USED KEYS WITH SIX STRONG COLOURS: G-BLACK / A-LAVA / Bb-SKY / C-OLIV / D-YELLO / F-WHITE. THE BIG SIX HAS AN EXCELLENT TONE RESPONSE IT IS LOUD AND IMPRESSES WITH AN ASSERTIVE TONE. MOST BLUES SOLOS ON THE HARMONICA ARE PLAYED IN HOLE 1 TO 6. BEGINNERS AND PROFESSIONALS ALIKE LOVE THE COMPACT BIG SIX BECAUSE OF THE GREAT SOUND, WHICH CAN BE EASILY ACHIEVED BY VARIOUS HAND EFFECTS. MORE POWER FOR YOUR BLUES. SIX BIG SIX HARMONICAS FOR A VERY ATTRACTIVE PRICE: THE BIG SIX PACK.
