Re: [Harp-L] Re: Bass Harmonica - advice



Hi

I have played bass harmonica for 3 years, and played harmonica for harmonica (diatonic) for 10 years.
The bass harp is a tough beast to master, but its very nice if one does. I am working on it a lot. 

I started playing cello when I was 8, then i played bass part in school orchestras and read music on F-clav.
I also played electric bass for several years, jazz, pop, rock. 

I learned all the bass harps things I know, by myself. If you read music its great to check out beginners electric bass books, 
there you learn the fundementals of how to act as a bass musician in different situations. How to use notes and which. There 
are tones of books availeble.

Technical aspect of bass harmonica is pretty complex. Since its only played on blowing, we harmonica players have to get used to that. 
Its good to use a lot of air and to play soft, and use a good microphone when you play live so you dont have to blow so hard. The instruments
works best with "medium type" of airstream. Always blow some air, like half a second before you plan the note to come. Its a big experience to learn when 
the notes comes out on this instrument. The metronome is a good friend. 

Check my myspace, http://www.myspace.com/filipjers, on the song "Rosa Da noite" and in a video in the end of the page I play bass harp. 

There is a great bass harmonica player from Finland, called Pasi Leno. He plays in a band called "Sväng". 
Pasi is the best contemporary bass harmonica player I have heard on live gigs and records. 

Here is a link to youtube clip where I play some solo bass harmonica on a live gig

http://youtu.be/AMqaIM1VCRI

All the best and good luck

/ Filip Jers



3 jul 2011 kl. 00.55 skrev michael rubin:

> I have been playing bass harp for around 4 years.  It is conceptually
> easy, difficult to play well.  I ran a harp band and learned a lot.
> For the last three months I have joined a band that plays East
> European music with banjo, flute, accordion, trombone, flute and
> vocals.  Some of the music is fast and furious.  I joined them during
> SOuth by Southwest in Austin and therefore had to learn 30 songs in
> less than a week for around 8 gigs right away.  We have been playing
> around two shows a week since then.  I can say for sure that trial by
> fire has been the best method for learning and my playing has improved
> more in three months than in all four years prior to that.
> 
> For amplification I use Richard Smith's Harmonix pickup which took
> lots of tweaking to work well.  Since Richard lives in England, it was
> hard to find machinists in Austin to take on the job of really making
> it work, plus the original item was expensive and you have to live
> without your harp for months while he implants the picks into your
> harp.  If I had two thousand dollars lying around I would buy a Suzuki
> Bass and pickup, both semen great.
> 
> I teach bass harp by Skype.  Although I am not one of the world's best
> bass players, I am an experienced teacher who understands what the of
> a bass player.
> 
> Contact me off list if you are interested.
> Michael Rubin
> Michaelrubinharmonica.com
> 
> On Friday, July 1, 2011, Maka McMahon <makamcmahon@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> &gt; Blunt,
> &gt;
> &gt; There's not much around for the Bass harp.  The Smith's book is
> the easiest to get hold of - one of the specialist music stores still
> sells it (Google should find which one - my memory is not helping
> today).
> &gt;
> &gt; I went cheap to start with as I wasn't sure how useful the Bass
> would be. I've got a Swan  - two rows, two octaves in C.  It is of
> course all blow and takes a lot of air to shift those long reeds at
> the low end.  Not much cutting power, so you need to be amplified in
> anything but the smallest, quietest of rooms, and you have to use a
> mic on a stand.  The layout is pretty easy to get the hang of - like a
> piano keyboard with the white keys on the bottom row and the black
> (plus fillers) on the top row.
> &gt;
> &gt; The Swan is not the sturdiest of Basses (its OK), but it is
> significantly less expensive than the Hohners or Suzukis and does a
> reasonable job (or a very good job on a 'bangs for the buck' basis).
> &gt;
> &gt; But there is another option......
> &gt;
> &gt; The Digitech RP series of effects pedals have a great two octave
> step down and that lets you play bass lines with a normal diatonic.  A
> new RP355 and Richard Hunter's patch set for harmonica will cost less
> than a Hohner Bass and open a whole new world of harp effects.  I've
> got a slightly older RP350, but it makes some great bass noises.  I
> use 4 x 8&quot; bass quad boxes as the speaker(s) for my PAs, so
> either the mono (35w) or stereo (200w/side) PAs make bass (and harp)
> via the RP sound good.
> &gt;
> &gt; Not sure if the Harmonicats would freak at the thought of 'bass
> by effects' (George Miklas may be reading this!) and it certainly
> lacks the visual impact of a Bass harp, but the RP355 would be my
> recommendation, if only because making a diatonic into a bass is one
> of the myriad of clever things it can do.
> &gt;
> &gt; Richard Hunter knows much more about this than me and I'd
> recommend seeking him out if you're interested in the RP option
> &gt;
> &gt; Cheers
> &gt; Maka
> &gt;
> &gt;
> &gt;
> 

Filip Jers


www.filipjers.com

phone: 0046 768 08 25 50
filip.jers@xxxxxxxxx

www.myspace.com/filipjers







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