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dadrob
marine band special twenty is a real nice harp if you do not play a lot. For blues music one plays a harp a fourth above the key of the tune...so when the song is in E one uses an A harp. If the song is in D one uses a G harp and so on. harmonica123 and Jason Ricci's channel on youtube are nice resources. I studied with Joe Filisko in chicago for a few years.
Midnight Rambler which is in B requires an E harp.
this is sometimes called cross harp or second positions
rock on!
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JohnnyBGoode
Thanks for all the amazing info!
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LeonidPQuote
JohnnyBGoode
Thanks for all the amazing info!
Agreed, but ... w/ so many choices, which is a good one to start with (I have long considered playing one too)? "C" or "D" ... etc?
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ab
I've played harp for more than 40 years. But I don't practice. So my chops have stagnated. Learning to play harp is like learning to eat p---y. Just keep doing it and figure out what works.
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RossQuote
LeonidPQuote
JohnnyBGoode
Thanks for all the amazing info!
Agreed, but ... w/ so many choices, which is a good one to start with (I have long considered playing one too)? "C" or "D" ... etc?
C is good because a lot of Bhe training programs use C. For blues,you play cross-harp (2nd Position). because so many great songs are in E or A, I would recommend an A (for E) and a D (for A). That way you can jam along to a lot of good tunes. It gets a little more complicated when you get to the minor keys, you gotta play in the 3rd position if you don't have a minor key harp.
The Blue & Lonesome album has a lot of great jam-along songs, if you have C, A and D harps you can just about play the whole album!
Just keep playing along and you will work out some basic licks for jamming.
I like Special 20's but they run about $45 each. Blues Bender's run around $17, not great, but smaller investment for a beginner. Lee Oskars are solid, run about $35ish. Look for 3-paks, you could save a little that way!
Here is a very helpful key chart...
[www.leeoskar.com]
Enjoy, harp is a blast!
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Ross
@Wry Cooter, have you tried Blue Midnights? I picked one up, around $30 and pretty solid. It doesn't bend quite as nicely as the Special 20, but maybe that "bendability" is what leads to blown reeds (I've had that problem with Special 20s also).
B&L is really a fun album to jam to!