June 2013 American Way Magazine - page 38

F -
monica, so Ifigured it couldn’tbe thatdif-
ficult tomaster. AbrahamLincolnplayed
it. So didBilly theKid andWyatt Earp.
Jesse James’ brother, Frank, had a harmonica inhis
pocketthatdeflectedabulletandsavedFrank’s life.An
explorer in theAmazon, surroundedbyangry Indians,
pulledouthis“mouthorgan”andbeganplayinga tune.
Themusicapparentlyhada soothinge–ectbecause in-
steadofslayinghim, theIndiansaskedhimtocontinue
playing. “Odd,”hesaid later, “theypreferMozart.”
In themid-1920s, theharmonicawas added to jazz
and traditionalmusic recordings. In the ’50s, African-
Americanmigrantsbrought theharmonica toChicago,
Detroit, St. Louis andNewYork. InChicago,musician
LittleWalter grabbed amicrophone andplayedwith
hishand cuppedoverbothhisharmonicaand themic,
creatinga resonant, distorted sound thatmostplayers
sincehave imitated.
IwantedtolearnitbecauseIlovetheblues,especially
thesoundofthebluesharmonica,calledthe“bluesharp.”
Idon’tknowwhy theycall it aharp, because theharp I
know isa triangular stringed instrumentplayedbyan-
gels.Maybeonlyangelscouldhave inventedthis instru-
ment,onlyslightlybiggerthanapackofgumbutonethat
producessucharaw,grittysoundthatyouwanttostamp
your feet, snapyourfingersandscreamout“Yeaaah!”
AShakyStart
Ona lark, Ibeginmybluescareerbysigningup forJon
Gindick’sfive-dayMississippiDeltaBluesHarmonica
JamCampat theShackUp Inn inClarksdale,Miss., a
citywhereRobert Johnson,MuddyWaters, B.B.King,
IkeTurnerandSonnyBoyWilliamsonIIplayed.
Thefirstday inclass, Iamwith twootherbeginners,
being taught byJonGindickhimself.He tellsus to try
andplay the two-draw (thesecondholeon theharmon-
ica).Isuckinasmuchairaspossible,mymouthwrapped
aroundtheinstrument,butIsoundlikeableatingsheep.
“Just relax,”Gindick says. “Youhave to learn thisnote
because it’shomebase to theblues.Dropyour jaw, get
yourtongueflatonthebottomandusetheKconsonant
toshapeyour inhaledairstream.”Easy forhimtosay.
Still,Iamnotgoingtogiveup.Besideswantingtomake
thatharmonicawail theblues, there isanotherreasonI
MUSIC
® ¯ ° ± ²
³ ´ ´
InSearchof
SouthernSounds
MUSICTOOUREARS:
Thewriter/brand-new
harmonicaplayer
(illustratedabove)
showingoff her skills
at the two-draw, a
harmonica staple
Learning toplay thebluesharp (aka the HARMONICA)
as though Iwasborn inClarksdale,Mississippi
40 JUNE 01, 2013 AA.COM/AMERICANWAY