Re: [Harp-L] bluegrass at SPAH

[Cara Cooke <cyberharp@xxxxxxxxx>]

Bill is right.  Start with the basics and you will learn where things best
fit over time and with practice and experience.

As for volume, you should develop your volume so that it is at least
noticeable.  Quiet instruments sometimes get left out unintentionally
because no one is aware that they wish to play.  (Honestly, most
bluegrassers might skip the harmonica player in a round of breaks because
they are not aware that the harmonica player can take a break.  How many do
they run across that can?  They might deliberately play a bluesy tune for
the harmonica player to take a break on and then skip over him the rest of
the time.  It is up to you to communicate and demonstrate that you would
like to take more breaks and that you can.)

It would be better to develop your volume so that you can be heard in an
acoustic setting.  It is possible, however, to use a small mic and amp in
some settings, as long as you are careful to keep the amp well blended in to
the music, just like the other instruments, and you always keep the sound of
the harmonica clean.  The less obvious the mic and amp, the better.  You
will find that some bass players in bluegrass use electric basses and amps
in the jams.  They have the same responsibility to keep the volume under
control and blending in with the music.  They also usually use a small amp
that is easy to ignore.

The Shaker Madcat mic works well in a jam setting.  It is small with a clean
sound and a volume control and, when plugged into one of those little
cigarette pack (or similar) pocket amps, is so under powered that a clean
sound still results.  (No preamp should be used.)  The mic is hidden in your
hands and the amp can hide in your pocket, so both are easily forgotten if
you keep your tone and volume under control.  You may find other
combinations that are also pretty good (finger mic, condensor mic), but I
would stay away from the mic and amp combinations that produce a "dirty"
sound or a sound that sounds too processed.  You are simply looking to be a
bit louder, not sound like you are working on a sound system.

Ultimately, jam ettiquette says that the jammers should quiet down to hear
the lead instrument or vocalist.  As the saying goes, 'If you cannot hear
the lead, stop playing or play more quietly.'.  There are a lot of
instruments in jams that cannot be heard besides the harmonica.  Those
players need to work on their projection, too, or use an instrument more
suitable for the situation.  (Some stringed instrument set ups and designs
are intended to play more quietly.)  However, for the moment, the jam will
have to quiet down to be courteous to the person playing the break with the
quiet instrument.  You should be aware, though, that some harmonica players
simply play too quietly for the jam to bring the level down for them to be
heard without stopping entirely.  So work on your volume, tone, and
control.  Learn to project what you wish to be heard, when you wish it to be
heard.

Cara

On Tue, Jul 19, 2011 at 12:07 PM, JWilliam Thompson <
landcommentary@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> Here is my personal view to a couple of the "harp in bluegrass"
> questions, based purely on experience.
>
> 1. Volume--Harmonica being heard in bluegrass jams? not a problem. My
> personal experience is that harmonica  can be heard over all  the
> other instruments when you are soloing. Of course, a good embouchure
> and breathing are important.
>
> 2. Positions? 1st and 2nd positions will cover 98% of all BG tunes. I
> find the Paddy Richter tuning really helpful but not essential. 3rd
> pos. is needed for a few modal tunes like Shady Grove. Don't be
> distracted by esoteric stuff like exotic positions. Get the basics
> right and you'll  be fine.
>
> see you at SPAH
>
> Bill in DC
>