[Harp-L] Harmonica history

["Jonathan R. Ross" <jross38@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Peacoatguy (please actually sign your messages--it makes it easier to
tell who writes what without having to check the "from" field--thanks:)
wrote:

>The harmonica was an uninspiring German  toy-instrument, toy, until
>African-American descendants of slaves got  hold of it.

I take issue with this.  The harmonica was a very inspiring instrument
for generations of players before the popularization of it within
African-American music.  There were gigantic harmonica bands playing
Sousa marches and such throughout the US at the end of the 19th century
and the early 20th century (this is why the "Marine Band" got that
name), mostly aimed at children (boys primarily).  Some of these had
hundreds of members for just one band--thousands were thus inspired.
Indeed, both Larry and Jerry Adler as well as countless others began in
such bands.  Similarly, the harmonica was widely successful throughout
Europe playing indigenous folk musics, giving rise to traditional styles
of playing independent of African-American influence (until the record
player and radio came in, of course).

You may not like those styles, but it was far from an "uninspiring"
instrument.  As for it being a "toy", well, folk-music was often looked
down upon by the upper classes, and thus instruments found there had a
large stigma (guitar, harmonica and others).  This didn't begin to
change until the 20th century--even as major composers such as Liszt
added folk elements to their music the actual folk musicians,
instruments and music was still looked down upon for the most part.
Many people still consider harmonicas, jaw's/jews harps/guimbardes,
ukuleles and a host of other instruments as toys, despite what lists
like this think.

In no way does this negate the impact of African-American musical styles
upon current music worldwide nor upon the harmonica in specific, but
acknowledging the importance of that today should not be done in a way
which denigrates what others were doing independently or before the rise
of African-American based musical forms.  I'm sure the millions of
people who play(ed) harmonica throughout the world in styles unrelated
to the African-American tradition have been very inspired by their
instrument.  

To me this shows a lack of knowledge of the harmonica outside the US,
which is sad, particularly on an international harmonica list.

Further, he writes:

"African-Americans  invented blues harp."

Yes, but not in isolation.  Modern tendencies put music into categories
like "blues", "country", "bluegrass" and such, but I find it all-but
impossible to make such distinctions when listening to early recordings
of the harmonica in the South.  In the South, white and black musicians
played similar music in similar styles, thus fox-chases, trains and
blues (format and songs) were found in both societies.  Who did what
first becomes hard to say and exactly who was playing "blues" and who
was playing "country" isn't easy to tell--I certainly can't.  The
cultures were not isolated, but very mixed together (even if the
politics and legal status was highly segregated).  As records became
more stratified and recording companies more settled the two musical
cultures began to drift apart, with most African-American musicians
leaning towards the blues and most white Southerners towards
country--probably the large exodus of African-Americans from the rural
areas to cities and from the South to the North played a role in this as
well.  But the origins of the harmonica playing styles in both societies
are intertwined, with blacks and whites contributing, and I think the
most historically accurate picture is to recognize the cultural mix
between "the races" in the South is what was most important--thus, jazz,
blues, rock, country, funk, rock and the rest originated from the mixing
of cultures unique to the American South.  Again, this should not be
read as trying to lessen the importance of African-Americans to that
story, but rather to put that importance into a wider perspective.
Without _all_ the cultures (African-American, Creole, French/Cajun, and
Scottish-Irish in particular) present in the South during the 18th and
19th centuries, modern American and world music would look radically
different.  Those of us who appreciate jazz, blues, country, rock and so
forth should be thankful to all those who created them, and amazed that
despite such harsh conditions for African-Americans they were able to
have such a profound impact in helping create a truly unique musical
culture in the American South, one shared by both whites and blacks and
the benefits of which can be found on most radio stations in the US
every day--and many throughout the world.



 oo    JR "Bulldogge" Ross
()()   & Snuffy, too:)
`--'