[Harp-L] Re: Percussion for Acoustic Blues Duo

[Bob Loomis <miltloomis@xxxxxxxxx>]

 Rick Davis wrote: "What is your favorite percussion instrument for an acoustic blues duo... for the harp player when he's not playing harp.  Or, playing harp on a rack?"
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There are a number of possibilities here. I used to play brushes on washboard, but later acquired a tuned drumhead that works even better. You can either hold it on your knees and rest forearms on the rim while you play to keep it from slipping off, or you can invest in a snare drum stand and put it in that. I have a snare drum, too, but rarely use it as the tuned drumhead is much easier to carry. Lately I've been carrying my percussion gear in an aluminum-covered case that I use for a drum for brushwork ... works nicely. And of course, there's the Joe Craven approach: Make high hat sounds with your mouth!

Brushes are most useful for this kind of accompaniment ... you can even just use them on a briefcase or instrument case or even a sturdy cardboard box to add some tasty rhythm, and IMHO a good, tasteful percussion voice really kicks an acoustic performance up a notch. 

Another possibility is djembe, which to my ear works better than any other drum if you are going to use just one drum. You can get a wide variety of sounds out of a djembe, It is much more versatile than bongos and easier to carry than congas. I saw several acoustic groups play at California Worldfest last weekend with djembe percussion and they sounded great!

You can also acquire a variety of shakers relatively inexpensively and use those to good effect on some songs.

Piper  Heisig used to teach a workshop on unobstrusive percussion fr acoustic groups  using the tuned drumhead and a couple of kinds of sticks ... don't know if she has any instructional material available on DVD. She lives in San Luis Obispo if you are anywhere near there.

Hope this helps.

Bob Loomis
Concord CA USA