[Harp-L] Report on the Kerrville Folk Festival Harmonica Workshop/Norton Buffalo

[michael rubin <michaelrubinharmonica@xxxxxxxxx>]

Hello Harp-l.  I am getting back to real life after 18 days of camping
at the Kerrville Folk Festival.  If I comment on a thread that is 2
weeks old and seemingly dead, that is why.

Before I get down to the workshop, let me give a quick review of the
Festival.  It is one of my favorite things in the world.  A community
of volunteers run the fest save for maybe 10 paid employees.  I
volunteered for years and made around 1000 friends who return year
after year for a big family reunion.  Then there are season ticket
holders who camp the entire time, that's another 1000 friends and then
2 to 20 performers every night that we get to know, as well as the
ticket holder who buy just a few nights and are basically tourist in
an impromptu city.  Some nights there are as many as 6000 people at
the ranch.

Although the onstage performers are great, most people agree the real
magic is in the campfire areas where some of the hardest working and
most innovative performers jam with each other.  They afford an 18 day
vacation by volunteering and it pays off in CD sales and networking.
In any case, the music in the campfires is incredible and most prefer
it to that on the stage.  Although I am now a regular stage performer
and therefore do not have to volunteer anymore, I still hit the
campfires nightly.

Regularly at the campfires you will find harp players like Guy
Forsyth, Gary Sapone and Michael D'eath and well as my friends Boomer
and Ben whose last names escape me.

Okay?  So come already.

The harmonica workshop was a 3 day, 4 hours daily, workshop with 3
teachers, myself, Norton Buffalo and Rob Roy Parnell.  You may know
Rob Roy from his work with his brother, country singer Lee Roy
Parnell.

Rob Roy is a cross harp player who is very much into feeling the music
and not really a theory guy and he likes it that way.  Most of his
instruction was breaking down licks in tablature and giving his take
on various techniques.  Because I was teaching, I could not listen in
on his private classes.  Good reports from the students.

As is often the case, I was the theory guy in the group, although
Norton shared some theory knowledge as well.  Personally I sometimes
feel pidgeonholed into that position and even though I talk about
feeling and techniques, I am remembered as the theory guy.

So be it.  I am actually working on a theory DVD, so clearly it is
something I am interested in.  But remember I am happy to talk about
other stuff.  In my private classes with the intermediates I talked
about improving bends and practice tools and I talked about the C and
G major scales and how to find them on the diatonic.  In my advanced
private classes I talked about gapping for overblows, high note blow
bends, finding combinations of sweet spots on the harps and positions
and tongue slaps.

I did not sit in on Norton's private classes, but I believe he did
lots of diaphram exercises and rhythms.  In the group classes Norton
was deep into the diaphram, more so than anyone I have ever talked to.

Norton is almost 100% U Blocking, save for his chordal rhythm work,
which is quite advanced.    HIs curl on his u block is very large.  He
says he does not tongue articulate while u blocking.

He holds his hands in a fairly standard cup, but keeps his pinky, ring
and middle finger parralel and slightly above the harp.  It does
produce a different tone than my way of crossing those fingers
perpendicularly to the harp at around the middle of the harp.  I also
use many other grips including a Greunling-like Fonzie grip, but I am
trying to compare Norton's grip to the one I use that is closest to
his.

He taught  a shake, or trill style that he learned from Shakey Jake.
He said instead of moving back and forth equally from 4 draw to 5
draw, you hold onto 4 draw as a drone.  SO you play 4 draw, then 4 and
5 draw, repeat.

He has great control over what I call reverse slides, 7 draw up to 8
draw, slide quickly to 6 draw, 6 blow.  This works on lots of holes.
There is something about Norton's delivery of this technique that is
unique and I could not get him to break it down further than this.

Similiarly he is very good at playing straight harp fiddle tunes with
tongue pulls and slaps to rhythmically propel the song.  I was also
unable to get him to break this down into a timing method as to WHEN
to pull and slap.  Anybody want to share their method?

Although the last two paragraphs suggests Norton was not able to break
those two ideas down, he was able to break lots of his ideas down.
Not only is he a great guy and player, he is a great teacher.

His chromatic playing is fantastic.  He uses an out of print model
created by Huang.  He also uses a Hohner 2016, which I had as a kid
and loved, but haven't had since.  Anyone know where I can get one?  I
have always liked the tone.  He uses multiple key chromatics.
Although he might be able to play in all 12 keys, he seems to focus on
the first three positions and their relative minors. He uses lots of
double stops/chords and bending.  He is very melodic and has a duo
with his wife playing italian instrumentals.  They played Return to
Sorrento and two other songs for us.

Brad Trainham was in the class and he has purchased a chord harp, I
play bass.  We had the rest of the 18 person/3 instructor class join
on chrome and diatonic on a blues in G.  Big fun!.
Michael Rubin
Michaelrubinharmonica.com