Re: [Harp-L] Speaking of Alan Wilson...

[tacopescado@xxxxxxxxxxx]

A lot of good comments from Richard, Joe and Mick. I would like to add  
a couple of things:

In the mid-70's when I bought an off-key harp such as a C# or a B they  
were far superior to the usual C, D, A, G, etc. I have a theory that  
only the most senior Hohner tuners tuned the off-key harps leaving the  
mainstream keys to the less experienced tuners. I don't know if  
there's any truth in that except for the empirical evidence that I  
gathered long ago.

Also... Tony Glover's book was absolutely pathetic by today's  
standards but the most important thing I got out of it was to listen  
to and try to emulate the masters (LW, Sonny's, etc). Jon Gindick did  
release a book in 1979 that was much better and was long before Steve  
Baker's. I have a 1939 Larry Adler chromatic 'how to' book. It doesn't  
help much though.

Also, Mick stated that we couldn't slow stuff down to learn it. True,  
I ruined a lot of LP's sliding the stylus back to a point and we  
didn't have loops but then I got a hold of a reel to reel where I  
could dump a cassette (remember those things?) onto to the reel to  
reel at 15" per second and play it back at 7.5" per second. Yeah, it  
was slowed down and sounded like it was under water but it served it's  
purpose.

I coined a phrase a couple of decades ago (though I'm sure someone  
else has said it too because there are very few new ideas) that "All  
technology in interim except the wheel because we're always going to  
need the wheel." There is an argument that the wheel will one day be  
obsolete but there will always be gears, etc. Also, in electrical  
engineering, frequency is thought of as something that rotates in a  
circle (a wheel if you will). They use the unit circle which means the  
radius is one and the distance around the circle (circumference) is 2  
Pi. So there's always gonna be a wheel. Anyone remember when the Mac  
IIfx came out and it was called "Wicked Fast" by Apple? Yeah right. A  
whole 40 MHz of blazing processing power.

On another note, Joe, in the early to mid 70's I was in college and a  
military dependent and bought a lot of harmonicas at a Marine base in  
San Diego. I t was the Marine Corp Recruit Depot but certainly not a  
depot for returning harps. Remember those bellows? Haven't seen one in  
years. They often didn't give us true insight into the harmonica.

So, I ask again, where can I get Blind Owl Blues?

Taco



On Feb 14, 2013, at 3:48 PM, Joseph Leone wrote:

> On Feb 14, 2013, at 3:58 PM, Richard Hunter wrote:
> > They did the best they could with instruments that were inferior in  
> > every way to the instruments that are available now.  I repeat:  
> > inferior in EVERY way.
>
> Richard is 100% correct. Even the vaunted Marine Band had it's  
> idiosynchrosies. The combs could warp, unless you sanded the  
> surfaces of the plates AND the edges of the wooden tines, your mouth  
> got sore. Then there was the metallic taste. No one did repairs, so  
> you had to come up with your own repair ideas. And believe me, there  
> were some preeeety strange repairs. It was either that or you threw  
> them away. Back then people never thought of sending them back.  
> Back? Back to whom? I (for instance) bought my early harps at  
> military PXs. I had no idea there was a place to send them to. And  
> anyway, I always thought that if I broke something it was MY fault.
> > Harp players in the 1960s truly represent the victory of talent and  
> > determination over mediocrity in manufacturing.  Harp players now  
> > have MUCH better instruments available to them in every price range.
>
> There were no tutorials. I think the first thing I ever saw was Tony  
> Glover's book. And it left a lot to be desired. As for  
> chromatic..fageddaboutit.  PLUS there weren't any players sharing  
> anything...for free.
> Everyone I knew in the business jealously guarded their own secrets  
> as if they were the crown jewels. You couldn't get anything without  
> paying for it. We're blessed to even HAVE people like Richard (as  
> well as many others) who are so enamored with harp and keeping their  
> existence going that they will surrender what have to have been  
> trade secrets in the past. We're all RE-living it, only this time  
> it's 50 years later and we have social networking. This time, it  
> will be done right. lolol
>
> smo-joe
>
>
> > Regards, Richard Hunter
> >
> > author, "Jazz Harp"
> > latest mp3s and harmonica blog at http://hunterharp.com
> > Myspace http://myspace.com/richardhunterharp
> > Vids at http://www.youtube.com/user/lightninrick
> > more mp3s at http://taxi.com/rhunter
> > Twitter: lightninrick