Re: [Harp-L] Folk Harp

[Richard Hunter <turtlehill@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

"Carter castor" wrote:
<...I'm not completely sure how to handle folk. I got Jon Gindick's Rockin' the
<Folk, and that has helped, particularly his section on Oh Susanna, but
<I was wondering whom would be some good folk harmonica players to
<listen to and get ideas from. His style reminds me a lot of James
<Taylor, but he seems to have a bit of emo influence in the vocals from
<his rock band.
<
<(I think this is also going to mean learning overblows, grrr, as I
<like the sound of straight harp with his work, and he likes to use
<minor keys).

Why don't you just buy a few Natural Minor harps and play them in first position?  Or second position, for that matter?    Beats overblowing, especially if you want to sound good right now, as opposed to three years from now.

When you say "folk harmonica," do you mean modern singer-songwriter stuff, or traditional folk music?  If it's the former, then Bob Dylan and Neil Young are examples of that genre.  I prefer Young's work in that style--basically he just plays very simple melodies with a clear tone.  

The real question may be how much blues you inject into the sound.  If you don't want to sound like you're playing blues over something that's not blues, then try cutting back on your bluesy tones--for example, less throat vibrato, more hand vibrato, fewer bends--and see what happens. 

Regards, Richard Hunter
hunterharp.com