[Harp-L] How we learn Blues Harp

[Bob Cohen <bob@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Up until recently my path to learn blues harp follows the traditional arc for baby boomers. Through a combination of books like Tony Glover's, a few teachers here and there, an apprenticeship of sorts with a local blues luminary, years of jam sessions, a few SPAH seminars, and some "master classes," I've arrived at what one might call a certain level of competence.

Last year I began studying with Mike Turk, who by the way is an amazing player and teacher who should be on everyone's short list of Jazz harmonica greats. We started out with the diatonic.  But I have been frustrated by the rigors of overblowing and recently began playing the chromatic.

Studying Jazz on the chromatic has led me to the joys (irony gently implied) of charts and reading.  Reading is amazing.  Even though I'm still at the see-Dick-run phase in my reading, I've learned four Ellington songs in three weeks. Had I been obliged to slog my way through learning them by ear, I'd probably still be stuck on "In a Sentimental Mood."

And now to the point of this post. Why don't most blues harp players learn to read? Why is there such a dearth of blues charts? And why are the method books often not written in standard musical notation?  And why don't most people approach blues harp like other instruments?

I sort of know the answer. It's two fold: tradition and audience. The originators learned by doing and by mimicking because they didn't have access to formal musical training. And since we want to sound just like them, we have adopted their way of learning. And because we have adopted the approach of originators, most harp players can't read music. Music book publishers are in business to sell books so they don't publish books their audience can't use.

In my opinion, this approach puts us behind the eight ball as musicians and as members of a band. We often learn just enough theory to function and that's it.  And on top of that, it takes years to develop our ears so we can listen to a piece and accurately repeat what we've heard.


Bob