[Harp-L] Harmonicas provide a tune-filled glimpse into periods of history

[randy singer <randy@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Harmonicas provide a tune-filled glimpse into periods of history
  
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/northcounty/20060326-9999- 
m1m26arts.html
 By Marcia Manna
UNION-TRIBUNE COMMUNITY NEWS WRITER

March 26, 2006

 OCEANSIDE – John Whiteman has collected 1,700 harmonicas and he's not  
going to stop. He's not going to sell any of them, either.

“I got totally hooked,” he said by phone from his La Jolla home.

 What: “The Harmonica: A Little Musical Instrument That Everyone Forgot”

When: 11 a.m. Saturday

Where: Oceanside Public Library, Mission branch, 3861-B Mission Ave.,  
Oceanside

Information: (760) 435-5640
 “I joined the KiwaniKats, a harmonica band, four years ago. They  
needed new harmonicas and I thought, 'Maybe I can get them cheaper on  
eBay.' It was a fatal mistake. Every night I spend time on eBay.

“I don't sell them; I'm too much of a hoarder.”

Whiteman does share, though, and Saturday he'll display many of the  
instruments from his collection in the Community Room of the Mission  
branch of the Oceanside Public Library.

Those who think the harmonica is just a small rectangular instrument  
with predictable tones will be shocked at the range of shapes, sizes  
and sounds.

In the exhibit's miniature category, for instance, visitors will see a  
tiny baseball bat printed with the words: Babe's Musical Bat.

It's really a harmonica that was sold during the 1926 World Series,  
when Babe Ruth hit four home runs.

There is a miniature harmonica shaped like a gun, one the size of a  
bracelet charm and another attached to a ring. One has a little horn  
attached.

“The miniatures are fun to collect,” Whiteman said.

“The ring plays four notes out of two holes. The gun and the charm were  
gum-ball machine prizes. The little horn amplifies the sound.”

Whiteman demonstrated by playing an impromptu round of the Stephen  
Foster tune “Oh! Susanna” into the phone.

“Of all of the miniatures, it plays the best,” he said of the one with  
the horn.

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 The humble harmonica inhabits two worlds, one representing collectors, 
the other, musicians. Whiteman, who both plays and collects, has spent 
as little as $1.50 and as much as $1,200 for an instrument.

“You can collect harmonicas that don't even play because they are old 
and beautiful,” Whiteman said.

There are many playing harmonicas in Whiteman's collection, too.

Some, like the antique Weiss Pipeolion, has 10 little trumpet horns 
shooting up from the base. Others have rich resonant sounds that are 
similar to accordions or organs.

“The one that sounds the best is a 48 Chord,” Whiteman said.

“It sounds like an organ. Instead of playing a single note melody, it 
plays chords. With a trio, you can have one person playing melody, one 
playing bass – boom, boom, boom, boom – then a third playing the chord 
in conjunction with the bass player.”

The 48 Chord, made by Hohner, looks like two harmonicas hinged together.

When Whiteman demonstrates it, the sound has the fullness of a pipe 
organ.

“Can you hear those lows?” he said. “It's wonderful.”

No one knows who invented the free-reed wind instrument that has been 
called everything from a tin sandwich to a blues harp. A clockmaker 
named Matthias Hohner is credited with being the first to mass-produce 
harmonicas in the 1800s.

Throughout its long history, the harmonica has been played in lofty and 
low places, from hobo campfires to symphony stages. The instrument fits 
in the hand, and the sound fits a wide variety of genres, including 
folk and Celtic, classical, blues and jazz.

Harmonica heroes include Little Walter, John Popper of the group Blues 
Traveler and Howard Levy, among others.

Whiteman's exhibit also will demonstrate how harmonicas give us a 
window into the past. There are harmonicas decorated with art deco 
imagery, military themes and images of celebrities ranging from the 
Beatles to Ronald Reagan.

“It covers so many different aspects of life,” Whiteman said.

“You are playing music and looking at history and art that is specific 
to a period of time.