Re: [Harp-L] Background (Rhythm) harmonica

[Jp Pagán <jplpagan@xxxxxxx>]

So good to see you again, Michelle!! It's been much too long.

I think you and I are probably pretty much in agreement here, but  
maybe I should clarify my position. See below.

--- In harp-l-archives@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, "MLeFree" <mlefree@...> wrote:
>
> Not wishing to take anything at all away from Madcat, leave us not  
forget
> another expert rhythm harper, Phil Wiggins. He uses another  
"utterance" to
> evoke his complex rhythms, "takata puff puff." Lots of other  
"utterances"
> can work nicely as well. Any horn player knows double and triple  
tonguing.
> Play with combinations of the above and you can come up with your own
> rhythms.
>
> And, I understand Jp Pagan's assertion:
> > But Madcat (from what I know of his playing) is more focused on
> > playing rhythms on his harmonica (i.e., train songs, Old Lost John,
> > etc). Granted, these two can come together in duo's like Madcat &  
Kane
> > (also excellent!!) and Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee, but they are
> > pretty particular to a style of music.
>
> But I do take exception. I've found in many musical genres that a  
harmonica
> player who can/will provide some bass and/or rhythm backup is  
regarded as an
> asset to the group (bluegrass, country, folk, and more...) And  
rhythms
> produced by the harp don't need to be a whole lot different  
treatment than
> what we've talked about thus far.

I definitely agree with you when you say that "a harmonica player who  
can/will provide some bass and/or rhythm backup is regarded as an  
asset to the group". The distinction I was trying to make is in HOW  
they do it. When I said that what Madcat and Sonny Terry are known for  
is particular to a style of music, I was referring to things like  
train rhythms and Old Lost John and Fox Chase rhythms, pieces that are  
often played by solo harmonica but also work in certain styles of  
group playing. But those kinds of "rhythm," by definition, don't  
include basslines or other types of backup playing. Like I said  
before, I'm just trying to distinguish between different definitions  
of "rhythm playing": on the one hand, *rhythmic* playing, like train  
songs and *rhythm* (or more accurately, *background*) playing, which  
is less a specific style of playing, and more a function. It is what  
bass players and rhythm guitarists do, but also what harp players like  
Little Walter were known for (not that you have to play it like he did).

I think there's a whole larger conversation possible here about  
whether the harmonica is truly a "rhythm" instrument (as in, an  
instrument that fits into the rhythm section of a band, like the bass,  
piano, guitar and drums), or more of a "horn section" instrument like  
the sax and trumpet, or something that doesn't truly belong in either  
place or something that fits perfectly in both. I won't give away my  
opinion...

-Jp