Mean Old World Blues
Hello, Teach,
I'm always song-oriented. Meaning, I acquire new skills as needed to perform a particular song. That's how I learned to sing and play Star Dust, which was the first song I ever wrote out a chords and lyrics chart for ukulele for. I used to kazoo my way around the zoo as an instrumental break. But, when I began the process of retiring the kazoo in favour of the diationic harmonica, it broke my heart when I discovered that Star Dust is not playable on a diatonic instrument. With reluctance, I dropped it from my repertoire. It's taken me a few years, but I won it back, this time on jazz guitar, and with a hot chord solo, too.
I first heard Mean Old World as recorded by Chicken Shack, with Christine Perfect (as was, before marrying John McVie) on vocals and piano, with Walter Shakey Horton playing harp. That's the version that's been rattling around my brain all these years. Now I learn it was originally recorded by Little Walter. I'm determined to add it to the new guitar/harp repertoire.
Chicken Shack did it in A, no doubt for Christine's voice. But my voice needs it in E, same as Litlle Walter.
Here's a link to listen to Chicken Shack's cover of Mean Old World. The time code for the song is 32:43. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKjOTNhlQIM
Shakey played it on a D harp. And I knew I needed to play it on an A harp. The first thing I did was sit down and create a guitar framework for the 12-bar song in the key of E. That accomplished, I I turned my attentions to Shakey's harp riffs and solo. I sat down and invented my own tabulation system and tabbed it all out. It was working for me in the higher pitched D harp.
But, when I picked up my lower-pitched A harp, it just didn't work for me like I had hoped. That's when I realized I need to learn some new licks and tricks. That's really what has led me here.
I understand that part of my problem may have to do with the reality that the reeds of an A harp are a lot longer and slower to respond than those on a D harp. I had noticed this phenomena before. That's why I perform Love Me Do in C with the cross harp in F, when I'd rather sing it in D and use a G harp. But the long, low reeds on a G harp are just too slow to respond, and too dark sounding, too. I learned the hard way that the harmonica can dictate the key of a song.
Now, here I am banging my head against this wall again. So, I've a few questions for you, if you please.
Given that I have to keep the song in E, both for guitar and my voice, does this mean I should forget about how Shakey played it, because his D harp riffs aren't likely to ever work very well on a lower-toned A harp? Or, is that just me not used to playing in the lower register?
Or, will acquiring the ability to play using tongue-blocks allow me to eventually learn to play Shakey's riffs on an A harp?
Is my better option to find my own way to play it on my A harp?
Or, should I sit down and tabulate what Little Walter did with the song in E, instead?
Here's a link to Little Walter's version. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--cAkAml8Wk
I hope you don't feel like I am peppering your with too many questions. Rest assured I don't plan on making a habit of it. I simply want to know how I should proceed with Mean Old World, and then I'll head out to the woodshed with this song and your first lessons, and you won't hear from me for awhile, Scout's Honour.
Thanks, and Cheers, jj
Thanks Prof,
It's heartening to know I haven't wasted all the time and effort I invested in tabbing out Shakey's licks and solo in D cross-harp for Chicken Shack's Mean Old World in A.
I'll take your advice, and contintue to work through your Tongue-Blocking Studies.
At the end of a study session, I'll start applying newfound tongue-blocking skills to Mean Old World while I play along with Shakey in D. It's gratifying to know I've now got the green light to switch to my A harp, and that I'll eventually be able to tame and rein in its bigger horses, too. This promises to be a great song for busking. I always knew it would.
Cheers, jj
Hey Teach,
I've made some progress. Not as much as I'd like.
I viewed all the clips of the interview you did with Jimi Lee. He makes a big impression on me for two reasons. One, he plays on a rack, like I do.
When I visited his website I watched several videos of him performing that he's posted. So, the second reason he impresses me is that we both play a lot of tin pan alley songs, and jazz songs. Fly Me To The Moon is a prime example of a crowd-pleaser for both of us. But, I currently accompany myself on ukulele. Now that I've seen Jimi chopping out jazz chords on his guitar and playing in first position on his wood-comb Seydel, I'm busy writing out a six-string chart for me.
On the strength of his preference for Seydel, I bought two Blues 1847 Session Steel harps, today. I immediately notice that those steel reeds really do make a big difference! Bit pricey, though. I wanted to buy a wood-comb 1847 as well, but I just couldn't justify laying out damn near three hundred bucks for 3 harps. So, I settled for the two with plastic combs.
Jimi's style of playing didn't really come up for discussion in the interview. But, I'm guessing he uses a pucker embouchure when he's playing on a rack, for the most part. Am I right?
With regards to Big Walter's harp on Chicken Shack's cover of Mean Old World, I'm making headway there. I can now hear his use of splits and octave and slaps. I'm plugging away at it using a D Special 20 harp. (Tried it with the new Seydel today.) I realize there is no point in trying to play it note for note. As long as I can master a few octaves and slaps, that will be enough for me to start rehearsing it up in E, with the cross-harp in A.
In the Jimi Lee interview clip specific to playing on a rack, it's interesting to me that Jimi talks about having to play his guitar in an 'automatic' way, so that he can cognitively focus on harmonica. He mentions starting out with a simple twelve-bar blues progression in the key of E, and playing it on the three bottom strings. That's ironic to me, because that is precisely what I'm trying to accomplish with Mean Old World.
The problem I find with trying to use a tongue-block embouchure with a rack is one of proximity. I presume Jimi encounters this problem, too. In order to be able to look down at the uke/guitar fretboard, the harmonica must sit in the rack far enough away from the nose to allow the head to drop down, chin on chest if must needs be. That 'nose clearance' makes it awkward to try and get enough of the harp in the mouth to cover four holes, all the time. So, I think your advice to continue to pucker single melody notes and be able to grab enough of the harp for octaves is germane.
If ever I was to find myself wanting to play with a couple of other players who only wanted me to play some harp, I would indubitably start using more and more tongue-blocking techniques. Perhaps that day will come. But, for now, I just want to improve my harmonica, as I play it on a rack, and that means I have little choice but to continue to pucker up.
My first month here is nearly finished. Thanks, I learned a lot, and I want to steal a couple of songs from Jimi. Guess I'll have to renew my subscription for at least another month...
Cheers, Jimmy J
Evening Jimmy J. Glad you enjoyed the interview, he is a very good player. Jimi uses both pucker and tongue block... playing on the rack doesn't influence which embouchure someone uses. Part of being automatic on your uke is to not look at the fretboard. I recommend you dial in your uke parts without the harp and then add the harp to it.
No worries about muscle memory with my uke, Teach. I've been playing and maintaining my repertoire for years.
Still, I find I'm accustomed to keeping one eye on where my left hand needs to land next in any given song. I could learn to lift my uke/guitar neck up to bring it into peripheral range, I suppose. Or, maybe I could notch the side of the fretboard if I can't see the dots, anymore. Fretboard Braille, anyone?
I've also been playing my harmonica lines for years. I use a Hohner Flex Rack, which is expensive, as well as being a bit of a big, black face blocker. But it is adjustable in every way, as well as robust, and can hold any kind of harp, including the big chromatics. I could easily reset it to sit closer to my mouth, and lose the nose room.
Still, trying to switch embouchures is not proving to be very easy. My tongue has raised a big objection, for a start.
One of the reasons I'm trying out Seydel harps is because the Suzuki ProMaster Valved metal harps I've been playing for years are not well-suited to tongue-blocking because they are metal. Ergo, they taste like metal. And I don't like that taste on my tongue! If I'm to become a blocker, I have to switch to a plastic or wooden comb.
I could go back to Special 20s, I suppose. Another thing I've learned over the past month is that I've been wearing harps out by playing them too hard. I've learned to turn my harp mic up a bit, which gives me, and the instrument a break.
(Now that the cooler weather is here in Vancouver, ambient temperature is another reason to be kind to cold reeds. As a subway busker, I do have some protection from being totally exposed to the elements. Still, I've got my long johns on, and my fingertip-less gloves have already seen action in the past week. I busk year round.)
I do like the sound Jimi Lee gets from his Seydel 1847. Now that I have a Seydel Blues Session Steel in C, I realize Jimi Lee is using an 1847 Low C for Fly Me To The Moon.
But, I also realize another reason he is getting such a big sound is due to the wooden comb of an 1847. I think I may have no choice but to order one...
That leads me to ask another question or two, regarding the wood combs Seydel uses in its !847s. Are they better able to avoid swelling from the moisture of playing than, say, Marine Bands? How long could I realistically expect a Seydel wood comb to last? (Or, perhaps these are questions that might be better addressed to another forum?)
Cheers, Jimmy J
Comb material does not affect the the sound of your harmonica (assuming the comb is flat, making an even mating surface for the reed plate to the comb), but it does affect the feel. Choices are commonly plastic/resin, wood and metal. The issue of wood combs swelling is less of an issue these days. The most notorious in the past being the Hohner Marine Band, but they're now triple-sealed. What you'll notice the most is the hole spacing, beveling of the edge and every now and again the height (thickness). The new Hohner Rocket has noticeably larger holes than the Hohner Special 20. The standard Hohner Marine Band has a very slight beveling of the hole edges, with the Marine Band Deluxe and Crossover having a much more noticeable bevel (though most don't notice it as a "bevel"... they just note the smooth feel in their mouths). The comparable Sydel 1847 has both a bevel and scooping, which is much more noticeable, giving the feeling of larger holes. In the end, experiment to see what feels best in your mouth.
Comb material does not effect the sound of the harmonica, you say. I'm surprised at that. I thought it did. Perhaps a music store clerk put that notion to me.
What does effect harmonica sound, then?
The reed material does, obviously. And the player's ability to resonate the sound of the reed via embouchure in the oral/nasal chambers seems rather obvious to me, as well.
But, if the comb doesn't have a bearing on tone, what does? Do the cover plates have a marked impact on sound?
You mention that I can notice hole spacing, size, and height between different makes and models. I'm a bit unclear as to what that means. My tongue could certainly notice dimensional differences, and I can likely see a few of them. But, do comb dimensions effect the sound as well?
You also mention Hohner made triple-seal improvements to their Marine Band. And I read that Seydel coats their combs with 'multiple layers of food-safe finish.' But, won't the wooden combs from either manufacturer eventually succumb to the wet salival environment they're subjected to? Won't all wooden combs eventually soak up moisture to warp and swell?
Sound waves are produced by the "puffs" of air of the reed entering and exiting the slot (your air that is chopped by the reed in the slot). This by itself makes very little sound... it's a very "buzzy," brassy sound. When the harmonica is placed in the mouth, the resonating chamber of your mouth cavity is what produces the tone we hear. Thin tone is created with a small mouth cavity and large tone from a large cavity (this is why tongue placement is so important... a raised tongue will create a small cavity, even if the jaw is dropped).
The cover plates have a strong influence on the sound to the player (enclosed like the Special 20 or vented like the Marine Band for example). The reeds and how they interact with the reedplate next, and then the comb construction (not material, but the actual shape of the comb).
In the end, all of the components create the composite sound of a harmonica, and this is why it's a good idea to experiment for yourself which one feels and sounds best to you. Harmonica models have different dimensions and shapes, and this is often expressed in the comb. Sealed wood combs will generally not swell. Some swelling can happen if you're playing the same harmonica for hours, which a beginner will do, or if you're working hard on a new tune with a particular key, but it's a non-issue for experienced players, since they're switching harps from song to song. I personally play wood combs and have not experienced a swollen comb, in over ten years. Students the same, though one came through that swelled badly, but it was a manufacture defect (probably missed the coating processes).
Hello JJ. The Chicken Shack version of the recording is cool… stay with that. He does use some tongue blocking, specifically slaps and octaves (Walter was a 100% tongue blocker by the way… there’s no question about that). This song does not require tongue blocking all the time though, so you can learn it with pucker, adding the octaves where he uses it (a song like “Walter’s Boogie” does require tongue blocking throughout, it can’t be played otherwise, but this one’s fine). Once you learn the technique of the slap, you can add it too down the road. I’ve written study songs for you… I recommend you start with Tongue Block Study 1 and walk through all of them. This will be your quickest and most thorough way to learn the tongue block techniques. Once you learn them from me, and reinforce them with your study songs, you’ll then be able to recognize when other players… in this case Walter…. is using them and you can then duplicate what he’s doing. Trust in the process, dig in, no need to flounder about, just get busy.
In regards to the A Harmonica, yes, it does respond a bit slower than the D, but not enough to warrant any changes. I recommend you practice it slowly, speeding the song incrementally until you can play it at full speed with your A. You’ll get it, just give it time.