Irish Harmonica Article

[beads]

Here is an interesting article about Irish music on the harmonica:

http://www.blarneystar.com/HARMONICA6.4.11.pdf

It covers the Irish tuned chromatic very well. I still haven't decided
what to use for Irish music. I thought I didn't want a button to flat
notes, but the more I read about this option the better
it seems.

[opendoorharps]

Thanks for this link & post.  I am in process of exploring several different approaches to Celtic and Traditional tunes and tunings.  For diatonic in a rack, various tunings and positions while I am playing another instrument, but for the chromatic, I have not yet settled on any particular approach. 

I have been experimenting and creating some custom (reverse slide) chromatics, (C/B, C#/C, high D/C#, G/F#), and other tuning schemes such as Brendan Powers Chromatic tuning.  (Where the ornaments go up to the next scale note rather than down a half step). 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGkbVG1sBXQ

I welcome any input from chromatic players who have explored some of these options and what they have found that works best for them. 

[Gnarly He Man]

I see you live in Napa--I went to grade school there, lived on Trower and Lloyd (Lloyd was a dirt road at the time).
I am in Santa Rosa for a couple of days, wanna jam?

[opendoorharps]

Hi Gnarly.

I enjoy your posts here and on some of the other forums.  Its been a while since I've visited SM, but I'm reminded why I like it so much.  I live in the SF Bay area and co host a regular Monday night Celtic/ Traditional session in San Francisco.  If you ever find yourself up in the Bay Area on a Monday night and feel like battling the fiddlers and other musicos who might wander into a traditional session with some harp energy let me know.  Sorry I missed you in Santa Rosa.

[Gnarly He Man]

Thanks Burke . . .
Come to Texas this summer!

[llumagsara]

I welcome any input from Chromatic players who have explored some of these options and what they have found that works best for them.

hello opendoor

Jean Sabot says in his site: Over those last two years , I have been attracted by the overbends ; I have also customised a chrom tuned to my harp in D with a slide reversed half a tone lower when pushed . But that's another story .....

here, he's playing with chrom
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-qeTcMCxxg&feature=channel&list=UL
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUX_RUpnYlI&feature=channel&list=UL
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2tf61V3Lpc&feature=channel&list=UL

good health

Agustín

[opendoorharps]

Thanks Burke . . .
Come to Texas this summer!

Hi Gary: 

I'm hoping I can detour to the SPAH fest this summer.  But travel plans and finances are still much up in the air.  More likely I'll make it down to Southern CA, one of these days for business.  Feel free to keep in touch offline if you are heading this way as well.

Cheers-
Burke T.

[opendoorharps]

Thanks for the links Agustin.

These are great and very inspiring.  I'm familiar with James Conway's playing, but not so much with Jean Sabot.  I'll have to explore his playing and recordings some more.  I like the diatonic and Chromatic mix they get playing together.  And the guitar playing is great too. 

Lately I've been listening to a lot of Eddie Clarke, Mick Kinsella, and Joel Bernstien for inspiration in this approach. 
Do any of you lads on this thread play much reverse slide style yourselves?

Burke T.

[Eugene Ryan]

Hi Burke,

Lately I've been listening to a lot of Eddie Clarke, Mick Kinsella, and Joel Bernstien for inspiration in this approach.

All great players you've listed there - Mark Graham plays great reversed slide harmonica (I'm pretty sure) on the Open House albums. 

Do any of you lads on this thread play much reverse slide style yourselves?

Yes, I played reversed slide chromatics for some years, based off a G instrument.  It works well for tunes in G and D and modes thereof (less so for tunes in A - it's ok for tunes in C too).  How are you finding it?

[opendoorharps]

Hi Eugene:

Thanks for your reply and great you have had some experience working with this tuning.  I haven't really heard this style in Mark Graham's playing on the Open House recordings I have.  It mostly sounds like blazing diatonic to me.  If you know of any specific cuts I should check out, let me know.  Mark is a great player.

I've been trying to build up a set of reverse slide harps to cover the key, keys at sessions.  It seems like there are certain notes that you can get without the slide, but that now become available with the reverse slide for triplets, trills, and grace notes that let you do runs without changing  breath direction.  Reminds me of a concertina in a way and is very fluid.

I finally bit the bullet today and ordered a Seydel Deluxe in G with Irish tuning as it was taking me so long to get around to re tuning or finding the right plates and parts to build a G that I took the plunge.
 
Burke

[Eugene Ryan]

Hi Burke,

The Mark Graham tracks I was thinking of are on the Open House album.  You're right about Mark - in fact, it's incredible that he's not better known, same with Joel Bernstein.

There's the Two to the Bar tune which sounds like a valved instrument, could be flat-slide or regular chrom (or even XB40 if it was even out then - either way, I don't hear any dual reed draw bends like on a diatonic).   Clydes Banks... similar, also Micky the Moulder.  There is also the Humours of Ennistymon, where there is a roll several times on the note B in the A section.  It's possible that this is actually a roll on Kevin Burke's fiddle I'm hearing and the unison playing makes it seem like it's on the harp.  I would play that tune on a G instrument and the B can be rolled that way.

You're right that the flat side gives you additional ways of playing the same phrases - with the notes B (C flatted, ok C flat) and F# (G flatted).  To be honest, I have sometimes found the non-diatonic notes to be jarring to my ears (remember that the Eddie Clarke tuning was an fortuitous accident) especially when playing with others and I wanted more diatonic notes (and more bendable notes), so I've tuned several more notes down to diatonic notes - but still allows playing in a few keys.

To answer your question in another thread, I tend to stick with a G instrument for tunes in G, D and modes thereof and then avoid harp switching almost completely.  A major gets a bit awkward except for polkas etc (A mixolydian is ok) but D is fine (good even  .

[opendoorharps]

Thanks Eugene:

Thanks for the Mark Graham listings.  I just went back and listened to those and I believe you are right that they sound valved. Though I do hear a bend in Clyde's Bank's which makes me think of a diatonic.  "Micky the Moulder" makes sense on reverse slide, and I wondered why I could not get the same feel from a diatonic.  Do you know the version Pip Murphy plays on "Trip to Cullenstown" with "Tatter Jack Welsh"?  Very nice. 

I finally received a G Irish Seydel Deluxe this week, which plays great.  I think the G will open up a lot more options for fiddle tune keys as opposed to the C/B and C#/C that I already have setup. 

I have sometimes found the non-diatonic notes to be jarring to my ears (remember that the Eddie Clarke tuning was an fortuitous accident) especially when playing with others and I wanted more diatonic notes (and more bendable notes), so I've tuned several more notes down to diatonic notes - but still allows playing in a few keys.

To answer your question in another thread, I tend to stick with a G instrument for tunes in G, D and modes thereof and then avoid harp switching almost completely.  A major gets a bit awkward except for polkas etc (A mixolydian is ok) but D is fine (good even  .

I'd be curious which notes you would possibly (re) tune or alter to get a more diatonic  setup on the slide ornaments?  I'm looking forward to exploring some more. 

Burke

[Greg McCrea]

Don Meade is a great chrome, Eddie Clarke player.mtook a class at Catskills Irish Arts week with him a while back, highly recommended for any of you in the Northeast. He played solo tuned primarily, G/F# or DC# chromes or the Hering solo tuned diatonic which has a brilliant accordie like sound.

I'll see if I can dig up the tapes from that workshop.  Good stuff.

GM

[Greg McCrea]

No chrome content here, but this is the real deal. First rate players all around and Murphy is the gold standard in Irish harmonica playing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plkLTtKJaPs&feature=youtube_gdata_player

[beads]

Nice. It seems to me that here in the States we often rush through tunes at breakneck speed as if it was a competition. I like the tempo Murphy was playing at.

[opendoorharps]

No chrome content here, but this is the real deal. First rate players all around and Murphy is the gold standard in Irish harmonica playing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plkLTtKJaPs&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Thanks for this link Greg.  I was listening to "Trip To Cullenstown" on the way home from a session the other night and it inspired me to come back and listen to this again.  I really like his ornaments, and where he puts them. 

I found this basic key info from another post, but its been really helpful for playing along with Randal Bays and Joel Bernstein's "Pigtown Fling" and having a key map of the songs for reverse slide chromatic.  Thought I'd re-post it with tune names and info if anyone is interested.

Track #(harp key)   Tunes
Track 1: D/C#  The Sligo Maid_Dowd's #9_The Boys Of Tulla
Track 2: G/F#  The Trip To Athlone_The Boats Of Killaloe
Track 5: G/F# Up To Your Knees In Sand/Bunker Hill
Track 6: G diatonic (either G country tuned, or D melody maker) Amhran Hiudai Phadai Eamoinn
Track 7: C/B  Sporting Paddy/Sean CA Ceo
Track 8: G/F# Johnny Doherty's/The Humors Of Trim
Track 9: G/F#  The Pigtown Fling/The Long Drop/McGovern's
Track 10: C/B The Lament For The Fairies/The Castle Of Tuamgraine
Track 14: C/B The Dogs Among The Bushes/Ballinasloe Fair
Track 15: Koch slide diatonic  /The Rose In The Heather/Derrane's
Track 17: G/F# The Ragged Hank Of Yarn/The Templehouse/Tim Moloney's

Cheers-

[joelong]

Here is an interesting article about Irish music on the harmonica:

http://www.blarneystar.com/HARMONICA6.4.11.pdf

It covers the Irish tuned Chromatic very well....

This link doesn't seem to work any more.  Any idea where I can download this article?

[beads]

I went to the blarneystar.com site and found this:

http://blarneystar.com/HARMONICA_030912X.pdf

This article is dated 2012. The original was dated
2010.  I will try to attach it.

[joelong]

Thanks, beads.  What a great article!

[Gustavo Casado]

If anyone has interest in free scores of Celtic music this is an excellent site:

http://www.oldmusicproject.com/occ/tunes.html

[opendoorharps]

Greetings Irish Harmonica meisters.  I've been away from the forum for a spell, but glad to see some activity still here.  I really enjoyed reading the Blarney Star pdf again too!  I've been trying to make some progress on my two reverse slide harps in D and G, and the XB 40's still for live sessions, but also have been distracted with some good Tremolo players and recordings. 

The Discography at the end of the article reminded me of a great book I had the good fortune to receive recently through various circumstances, wampum, and some chromatic repairs:

The Harmonica and Traditional Quebecois Music:  History, Techniques, Scores, and Players.  (Bruno Kowalczyk and Raymond Lambert).  Its been out for a few years, but is a great resource for these style of tunes and tremolo technique.  The recordings I've come across of Quebecois tunes to my ear have some strong lineage to a lot of tune sets that I hear come up in the Irish and Scottish playing.  Although the Quebecois tunes tend to be a bit more crooked.

I still keep Eugene's demos on hand for inspiration on how to play and setup a reverse slide CX 12 in the hopes I'll find the time to address the custom tuning  (Thanks Eugene!).   

[HallelujahAL]

but also have been distracted with some good Tremolo players and recordings.

I've been following this thread but have been somewhat afraid to put my head above the parapet as I only use tremolo harps for Irish & Scottish tunes...I've never played a chrome tuned C/B and wouldn't want to in case it messed up my ordinary chrome playing. However, the tremolo tuned harps are perfect for the music, and are the most popular instruments used within the traditional music scene over here in these Islands in my experience.

[opendoorharps]

Hi HallelujahAL- 

Its probably my bad for mentioning something about Tremolos here on the Slide Irish topic, but I guess if I also mention that someone on this forum showed me a "Suzuki SCT-128" the other day, you could have your Chromatic and Tremolo world all together in one harmonica  .  Plus the article does go into some detail of Tremolo playing in the tradition. 

I can relate on the reverse slide dilemma on chromatic, as going from a C/B to a C/C#, or G/F# to G/G# can be a bit of a brain twister.