Hiroshige Winter

Here’s a composition I wrote for the Harvard Freshman Arts Program. I’m not exactly very proud of my playing in this piece; this was one month ago, where my hole (haha get it) range of playing revolved around puckering only. Now that I’m learning how to tongue block though, I should be able to make it even better with time. Anyway, hope you enjoy it!

Re-Learning the Chromatic

I finally decided on my concert piece this week, so in preparation for it, my teacher’s asked me to start learning tongue-block instead of puckering (for differences between these two methods, see here). While this might seem like a simple transition who has been playing pucker for the last 5 years, in essence, this was like asking me to re-learn the whole instrument from scratch.

To me, why I didn’t make the switch earlier was simply because I didn’t see a need to. Other than allowing one to play double-stops, the advantages of making the switch seemed scant. I couldn’t be more wrong. Consider what Franz Chmel says here (page 16):

There are not many instruments that offer such versatile tone production possibilities as the harmonica. Changing the oral cavity allows for many different tonal colors, ranging from hard to soft to delicate, from dark to bright…

Using the puckering method, I was actually able to produce quite a range of tonal color by changing the shape of my oral cavity, but after playing one week of tongue-block I realize it doesn’t come quite as close. The science behind this is quite simple. Like other wind instruments, a large part of the tonal production, believe it or not, comes from various parts of your upper body, as the sound resonates through your mouth, your nasal cavity, forehead, chest (singers will notice this). Because tongue-blocking requires you to widen your mouth, your oral cavity immediately enlarges, vastly improving the tone color.

It’s ironic. I initially thought that making the change to tongue-blocking was pretty futile; now I find myself in the opposite situation. After seeing the change in tonal production, why should I go back? I wonder why I wasn’t taught this method right from the start… Oh well.

How To Set Your Axe on Fire

(For those if you are wondering, an “axe” is another term for the harmonica)

For musicians, getting the right tone is most essential. Normally, this is achieved primarily by one’s playing technique, and secondly by the quality and construction of the instrument. But, thanks to the scientific advances of today, there’s now a crucial third factor, available only the last 10 or 20 years or so — technology.

Using the money earned from my three-month internship, I purchased a DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) which allows me to record and produce stuff on my own. For software, I’m currently using Ableton 8 Suite, just about the best DAW software out there I think, save for Apple’s Logic (or so they say). One of the wonders I’m learning about concerning sound production is the power of adding Audio Effects — not just adjusting volume, or changing the EQ, but thanks to today’s technology, modifying a whole range of other things. Let me demonstrate.

One song that really encouraged my harmonica playing was Plant’s solo for the intro of the Led Zep song, When The Levee Breaks. Many have actually confused the initial solo to be an electric guitar, but it’s really a heavily-amped diatonic playing. The harmonica is a wonderful instrument; but due to its size and design, it lacks the volume and sonic range of many other instruments. Plant’s solo was groundbreaking for me, because it proved that you don’t have to be an electric player to do a wicked solo. After experimenting around with Ableton Suite 8, here’s what I got so far:

Diatonic Sound on a Chromatic

For harmonica buffs, another one cool thing for me as an exclusively chromatic player is that it helps to bridge the gap between the chromatic and diatonic sound. Most blues harpists tend to play diatonic because of the difference in timbre, which arguably makes it more suited for R&R or blues standards. With the help of technology though, this difference is equalized, as these effects open up a whole new range of sonic capabilities for the chromatic. And get the best part: as long as I hook up the mike to my audio interface and Mac, I can get the exact same sound live (or whatever I adjust using Ableton), so I don’t have to be dependent on a limited series of amps for the harmonica.

Gunning for the Asia-Pacific Harmonica Festival 2010

Here’s something that caught my attention about a month ago. Browsing the Slidemeister forums, somebody mentioned that the biannual Asia-Pacific Harmonica Festival was around the corner (exactly two weeks before I leave for studies in the States), and more awesome yet, that it would be held in Singapore this year.

Wow, it’s as if the opportunity just fell right into my lap. Not does it only give me a milestone to head towards (try and work towards getting at least a silver medal in the competition, if not better), the exposure as a harmonica player is absolutely fantastic with people like Brendan Power and Willi Burger coming down, as well as all the enthusiasts in the region.

In terms of the competition, I’m still not quite sure what to play. Judging from the winners of previous competitions, whose footage you can catch on youtube, most people end up playing classic virtuoso stuff like Adler’s Genevieve’s Waltz and so on. Even though I’ve only been at this for a while, I can already imagine there’ll be a standard list of pieces that will probably make up 65% of what all the participants are playing. By the end of this month when the application deadline kicks in, I have to choose something that will land me on the 35%, so I have a decent chance.

This is really a case of “Twelve Holes, Giant Steps”. Many of these virtuosos have been playing for years — after picking up the instrument for fun at 17, and neglecting it for a good three years, I have to up my skill levels in less than 5 months.

I always love a challenge though

Every Newbie’s Mistake

Just learnt a nugget of wisdom from my teacher today, something which I kinda always knew but needed reminding once again. Like all musicians starting out, you always think that the next great way to “level up” your sound is to grab that extra effects pedal, or to covet after that beautiful rosewood covered Japanese-crafted 12 hole chromatic (G-48W). I was raving about all these great choices of harmonicas to my teacher, asking for his opinion for which to get as a performance instrument, when he said (in Chinese): “You shouldn’t think too much about buying a new instrument. Work on your tone. What you have is already enough.”

Damn. I felt like Ewan McGregor after being reprimanded by Qui-Gon Neeson. It’s not the lightsabre that makes a great jedi, it’s the jedi that makes a great jedi. Uh-huh.

Things Not To Do: Eat Hakka Food Before Playing

Was in Kuala Lumpur over the weekend, and had the privilege of enjoying some awesome Hakka food on Sunday for lunch. It would have made a very happy story if it ended just there, but the genius that is me went on to play a few tunes on my harmonica after we got back to the hotel room.

Now for those unaquainted with the fineries of Chinese cuisine, Hakka cooking tends to use a lot of garlic. Yup, you probably know where this is going already. I picked up my harmonica yesterday and realized the draw notes tasted of Sunday’s lunch.

I guess this is one of the downsides of playing the mouth organ — its really very inadvisable to practice after meals, especially if they are of the Hakka variety. Even after some thorough cleansing, I can still taste the remnant of garlic inside my harp. Eww.

The Man That Started it All

I was sitting in a car when I first heard it. My family used to do long road trips around Thailand so having the right collection of CDs was essential; and this particular time, we decided to load a then unfamiliar record for me – The Glory of Gershwin, an album that featured various famous artists doing Gershwin songs, and of course, the one and only Larry Adler. I remember listening to Rhapsody in Blue wondering what instrument the lead was playing. Even after I was told, I could not believe that the sound came from an instrument as humble and as small is this. But it was true:

Now get this. When I asked my teacher, Mr. Yew, about his past and why he eventually decided to play the harmonica professionally, he mentioned one of the motivating factors came in 1965, when Larry Adler came in Singapore to perform. As a young man, when he saw Larry Adler took the instrument to a whole new level, he was sold. Mr. Yew is 67 this year, and I’m 21, so that’s about three generations worth of inspiration coming from the same guy.

Truly, if there was no Larry Adler, there would be no chromatic harmonica.

Growing in a Diminished Way

I’ve recently been thinking of purchasing a new harmonica to add to my collection. Currently I’m using two models, a CX-12 and a Super 64x, so I was thinking of getting either another 12-hole or a 14-hole, since I don’t have one yet. The models I were thinking about were the new ones from Suzuki, namely the G-48 and the S-56S; reviews for them have generally been superb so it’s hard to go wrong with either. The only problem is that the new Suzukis are rather pricey, averaging about S$500-700, and if you want to get it at the cheapest price, you’ll have to order it directly from Japan, where the translation barrier can be rather painful.

A new option appeared, though, when I came across Winslow Yerxa’s article on alternate tunings, which in turn led me to Pat Missin’s advice on tuning chromatics. When it comes to harmonica hardware, Pat’s really the absolute man, his “altered states” (i.e. a compilation of all the various alternate tunings posssible) a thing of internet legend now. The one tuning that stuck out for me was the diminished. Let me quote from the man himself:

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Diminished Tuning

If you set up the harmonica so that adjacent notes are a three semitones apart you arrive at a diminished tuning. These layouts have been patented by both Salvitz/Beauregard (US pat# 5166461) and Dr. John Yeadon (UK pat #2259802) and can take several different forms. Perhaps the commonest is this one:

Hole	1	2	3	4
Blow	C	Eb	Gb	A
Draw	D	F	Ab	B

This tuning is quite easy to make from a standard solo tuned chrom, but even easier is Dr. Yeadon’s favorite version:

Hole	1	2	3	4
Blow	C#	E	G	Bb
Draw	D	F	Ab	B

As you can see, this is very similar to the standard solo tuning, requiring a minimum of retuning and relearning. If you have the slide set up to raise each note by a semitone, then there are only six altered reeds per octave, although having the slide raise each note by a wholetone is another possibility.

As the diminished chord repeats itself every three semitones, then any phrase can be played in all 12 keys by learning only three patterns. Actually, if you tune the harmonica so that the slide raises all notes by a semitone, then there is a fourth alternate pattern for three of the twelve keys, as the draw notes with the slide held in are the same as the blow notes with the slide out.

These alternate patterns can be used in a similar way to using B# and E# on the solo tuning. This tuning gives all twelve minor third intervals available as trills, ideal for the blues or jazz player. Better yet, if you realise that the diminished triad can be viewed as a dominant seventh chord with the root omitted (C#dim = C# E G; A7 = A C# E G) then you have twelve partial 7th chords available – another plus for the jazz player.

Jazz players will also like the tritones (all 12 of them) that are available as double-stops. Octaves are played with a five-hole span as on a Solo tuned chrom. This is probably my favorite MoLT-based tuning and I’ve built several of them for my customers. (As well as using this tuning on a slide chromatic, there a few players using the first diminished layout on a diatonic harmonica. In this case, the chromatic scale can be played without overblows, by the pattern blow; draw bend; draw; move right; blow; etc.)

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Once my eyes hit the words “ideal for the blues or jazz player”, I was sold. The advantages are just too manifold. I can now shell voice in any key (playing the 3rd and the flattened 7th for 7 chords), and I can trill for almost any note.

At least for now, I’m forgetting the Suzukis. Based on advice from the helpful people at Slidemeister.com, I’ve just placed an order for a Seydel Deluxe with a diminished configuration. Let’s hope it delivers the goods..