Re: [Harp-L] Re: Dangerous Harp

[Jonathan Metts <jonathan@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

The other song you heard harp on was "I Should Have Known Better".  Like 
a number of early Beatles songs, it had a harmonica part (originally 
played by John Lennon).  Lennon was not an expert player but does have 
some interesting solos in certain songs.  He mostly played chromatics 
but occasionally used a diatonic; some of the solos are deceptively 
tricky if you try to play them on the wrong harp.  However, it was 
definitely a secondary instrument for him.  (Fun Trivia: In the movie 
Help!, he identifies his contributions to the band as "rhythm guitar and 
mouth organ".)  He had some talent for it but unfortunately quit 
recording with it after the first few albums.  The only later Beatles 
songs I know to have harp are "Rocky Raccoon" and "Being for the Benefit 
of Mr. Kite", and it's barely audible in both of these.

As usual, the American Idol band did a fairly poor job with the 
arrangement on "I Should Have Known Better", and the harmonica part was 
not played all that well.  The original version is a lot looser and more 
fun.  Harmonica parts in the Beatles songs are fun to play and generally 
easy to pick out, especially if you own a chromatic.

Jonathan Metts


J Compton wrote:
> This seems like a good opening for me to jump into this discussion.
>
> Hi, my name's Jonathan, and I, too, watched American Idol last 
> night...(but it's not my fault, my wife watches it, I just happened to 
> be in the room).  This was a double-whammy for me since my wife really 
> dislikes the sound of the harmonica, whether well-played or not.
>
> It really was bad, but I'm *glad* it was bad.  He openly admitted in the 
> intro video that he just started playing a week ago.  If he had gone out 
> there and nailed it, even if it was a simple part, then the obvious 
> conclusion would be that it is a simple instrument to play well.  We 
> don't need millions of people getting that idea (or having their idea 
> reinforced).
>
> What I found even more interesting was in a song later in the evening, 
> there was a similar sounding harmonica in the accompaniment.  Simon 
> commented that it sounded like Chikeezie (?) was playing on her song, 
> but it wasn't the contestant that was playing.  It must have been from 
> the backing band...which leads to the point of my e-mail.  I don't know 
> these songs well (or really the Beatles in general), but did these songs 
> originally include a harmonica part that was this incredibly 
> basic/"bad"?  (For those that didn't hear it, I believe it was a very 
> simple blow/draw chording on 123 (and maybe 4) throughout.)  Perhaps the 
> two songs were just being played authentically.  For the sake of the 
> contestants and the AI band, I sure hope so...because that's the only 
> possible explanation I can think of for doing what they did last night.
>
> Jonathan