Re: [Harp-L] Sonny Boy Williamson Bye Bye Bird

[Michelle LeFree <mlefree@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Harvey Berman asks:
> Here is a link to SBW doing Bye Bye Bird.  
>
> http://www.illinoisblues.com/cdsandmore/videos6.htm#sbw
>
> Anyone know what kind of harp he is playing?  It says Echo something.
>
> Harvey Berman
>   
Ooh, Bye Bye Bird! Easily one of my all-time favorite harp tunes.  And 
thats a cool link, too, Harvey, getting real close up to SBWII. As Tom 
points out that Echo Vamper is the equivalent of a Marine Band 364. It's 
in the key of low C. However, the 364 is not set up like a regular 
Richter tuned diatonic. The lowest 4 holes are like those on a low C 
Richter harp, and that's where "Bird" lives, but the 364 is made for 
playing octaves and other harmonies in the middle and upper end, so I 
get quickly confused if I try to play mine like a normal diatonic. It's 
great for TB'ed chords and octaves all up and down and I love to play 
gospel tunes on it that way. Sounds almost like church organ...

I prefer my SBS (_S_teve _B_aker _S_pecial) in low C for playing "Bird" 
and other tunes as it ~is~ Richter tuned. The SBS, for those who aren't 
familiar with it, is a 14-holer (made from the 364 platform) and has the 
lower 4 holes tuned like a low C Richter harp, and then holes 5-14 are 
tuned like a regular C diatonic. [BTW, the other SBS's are not tuned in 
low keys, and can get very squeaky on the upper end IMHO; why they're 
not tuned in low keys like that low C model I do not  know, 'cuz that 
low C one is made in heaven (well in Trossingen anyway, which is pretty 
close in my book  8^). Maybe Steve Baker himself can comment and shed 
more light on those other models than I. He probably has more to say 
about the low C model, too.]

So, my advice if you want to play Bye Bye Bird is to get a low C SBS. A 
low C regular Richter 10-hole will also work, but I am partial to that 
low C SBS. It's got a thick wood comb with bigger than normal holes and 
produces a tone to die for (I've sealed the comb and replace the nails 
with screws on mine). It's my "desert island" harp -- if I was marooned 
and had only one harp, that's likely the one I'd choose for its killer 
tone and versatility. Thanks, Steve!

Michelle

PS: Thanks to Mojo Red for his generosity in an impromptu hallway lesson 
on Bird at one of the harpfests several years ago. The cat can play a 
fine version of Bird fer sure!