Re: Fw: [Harp-L] What to play off the cuff

[Cara Cooke <cyberharp@xxxxxxxxx>]

*"Generally I do not recommend carrying around a harmonica at all times, 
that seems just to encourage abuse and further confirm the publics low 
estimate of the instrument. The portability of the thing is too often 
confused with some supposed widely felt need to listen to a harmonica every 
now and then. You never see tuba players terrorizing pub crowds with 
recently acquired skills.)"*

I carry a harmonica with me whenever possible regardless of the dangers of 
abuse. It is seldom considered "low" when in my hands. But, then, I am not 
what they expect either -- someone scratching out "Home on the Range" or 
some weakly played blues riff (which might be the common assumption by those 
asking). I, instead, can catch their attention and appreciation with a short 
jig played at an almost undanceable tempo, but clearly enough that they can 
follow every note.

*"As I said, no big thing but it would be interesting to see some 
suggestions. What do you chose? "Oh Susannah"? "Love me do" intro? "Eine 
kleine Nachtmusik"? "Rule Britannia"?"*

I don't have a single tune or riff that I use for these situations. It all 
depends upon the situation at hand. If the conversation is starting off with 
the "low" opinion of the harmonica, I might play "Fur Elise" (Mozart) or 
"Rogue's Dance" (jig) or "Swallowtail" (jig), or anything else that appears 
to be "higher" than their original opinion. Often, I will ask what type of 
music they like and try to find a tune they already know so that they will 
understand what I am playing. If they provide a general genre, I try to find 
a nice tune within the genre that I can deliver without accompaniment. I try 
to play to them so that they understand, but still pick tunes that have some 
fun in them somewhere: a difficult run to widen their eyes; odd mode or 
changes keys/modes in the middle somewhere; was played on "Bugs Bunny" 
cartoons and is latently familiar; etc. "Oh, Susannah" can be a very good 
choice, as can "Rule Britannia". "Dixie" is an excellent choice for simple 
execution and fiddle-type (complicated) execution and is widely 
recognizable, though some folks these days are afraid to play it or are 
afraid to admit that they still enjoy it so you have to feel your audience 
out to see if they would like to hear it.
 Jigs are usually the most popular of the generic openers for me because of 
the strong rhythm sense in their delivery and their complexity. I will 
sometimes play Christmas music during the 'season' if I am asked. Once, a 
lady who liked really old music asked me to play a little, so I played her a 
couple of madrigals. While movies like "Star Wars" and "Harry Potter" are 
familiar, it can be fun to play themes from them on the harmonica.
 I also usually keep a harmonic minor on me, because I love the scale (but 
it is not as much fun to play the scale on a major harmonica as it is to use 
one tuned that way). So, when I have the harmonic minor on me, I can play 
them "Hava Nagila" or "Hungarian Dance #5", or I can really mess with the 
fiddle tunes. The "Chicken Dance" is fun to mess with on a harmonic minor. 
The 'welcome to Hogwarts' theme from the 3rd Harry Potter movie works 
wonderfully on the harmonic minor.
 My suggestion for anyone who may find themselves in this situation is to 
identify tunes that are enjoyable to play, enjoyable to hear, and are 
challenging (but can be played well), and keep them as a list in the back of 
your mind just in case you end up in one of these situations. Then pick a 
tune or two from your list to show off the harmonica as best as you can 
whenever you are asked. We will never get passed the "toy" concept as long 
as we are too shy to demonstrate the harmonica's musicality. It is a "toy" 
and is "played" by musicians, just like a violin or trumpet. It is up to us 
harmonica players to demonstrate its musicality beyond the common concept.
 Cara Cooke