Thinking about switching to Harp after 15 years of bass..

[BassGreaser]

So after 15 years of being sololy a bass player i have been kicking around the idea of switching over to Harmonica. I have been messing around with harps for 6 months or so off and on. Now I love playing bass, but I'm just getting burnt out on it and want to play a smaller instrument, and I have always loved the raw tone the great blues Harp players get. I'm not looking at being the next hapr great just a great supporting harp player that does good tasteful solos here and there. what do you guys think..

[Yerf Dog]

Load in/out will be easier.

[mcKrueger]

thats for sure

[robgo]

I play both (at the same time), not seen many others doing so though.

Did my first gig with just the harp the other day - strolling up with a harp in your pocket, not carrying anything was mind-blowing.

[Lync]

Play bass and also harp at gigs (not Neil Young style with the headgear, but a few solos). People dig it.

[Rocker949]

The drummer from my first band has a brother who is a great harmonica player. There isn't much of a demand for that kind of thing, even if you are one of the best. At least not as a pro harmonica player.

[A440Hz]

Have fun over at TalkHarmonica.com.

Just kidding. I love playing harp myself. I got a TurboHarp before they shot up to $100. It's an incredible instrument. I was starting to get overblows within the first week. It's a diatonic, but with some work, you can be virtually chromatic using bends, overblows, and overdraws.

[i_got_a_mohawk]

You have to do it like one of the local blues bands to my home town. Old guy that plays the harp wears a bandolier of harps

I've a honher blues harp, not any good with it tho

[Jim Campbell]

Originally Posted by BassGreaser

So after 15 years of being sololy a bass player i have been kicking around the idea of switching over to Harmonica. I have been messing around with harps for 6 months or so off and on. Now I love playing bass, but I'm just getting burnt out on it and want to play a smaller instrument, and I have always loved the raw tone the great blues Harp players get. I'm not looking at being the next hapr great just a great supporting harp player that does good tasteful solos here and there. what do you guys think..

why switch when you can double....check out glen cornick on tull's song for jeffery,with the neck mount.....honestly almost every harp player i ever heard tends to fill up every conceivable inch of music with fills,and it can be annoying....

[BassGreaser]

well I am going to give harp a serious shot and see if I can make a living at it.. I will always be a bassist and will never stop playing bass fully. Its just that I will be moving out to Philly in a few months and I am just looking for a change in instrument and see if my brian can think more as a leadish type instrument than a supporting. Plus I would be able to just jump in with groups that already have a bassist and I can still make some money or at least thats my theory anyway

[Lync]

IMO...the more instruments you can play, the better. Go for it!

[SurferJoe46]

In this economy - it makes sense to open your fields of expertise.

One other thought - you can always go busking with a harp a lot easier than with a bass & amp & tin cup.

A very good, long time friend of mine is an El primo studio musician on harp. That was then - this is now, and things are getting tougher all over.

He played with some great blues bands, played Vegas and did a lot of soundtrack work for the movie studios and he's not playing for lack of gigs right now.

He has several books out with VHS & DVD videos teaching harp playing and was rated very highly in the Hohner Hall Of Fame.

Even with all his Hollywood connections, he's spinning his wheels. Maybe he's TOO good for his own good. I dunnow.

I've got a day set up for us to go to Santa Monica Beach and play some duets to help un-funkify him a little. I don't want to see him get all M-D and do something stupid.



Me? I'm stocking up on #2 pencils to sell on the street corners while I honk some blues on my Crossovers.

Oh - before I forget - I am no way anywhere as good as he is on the harp.

[groooooove]

bah. i thought you meant a real harp..

harmonica is pretty sweet, but you'd have to play real damn good for it to be your only instrument at the gig i'd immagine. unless your just sitting in.

[SMILEYSIXX]

Give it a shot playing bass AND harmonica. Stop in at your local music shop, I've seen some nice harmonicas for thirty or forty bucks. I considered it myself.

[Lync]

I've switched from Harp to Bass. Ale.

[totallyfrozen]

I've been into harp for years! I consider myself a student of it because I don't think I'm very good.

I think it's a good idea. Small, portable, fun...and people love to hear it. It's much easier to bring to a BBQ or camping trip than a bass. The only catch is that unless you get a chromatic harp, you'll need to bring several if you want to play along with a guitarist--unless the guitarist plays all the songs in the ONE key that you can play along to with the harp you have.

You can find lots of support, lessons, and a community of other players here.

[etoncrow]

Go for it man!!!! (can I have your bass stuff????)

[Jazzdogg]

If you emulate Stevie Wonder and Toots Thielmans by playing a chromatic harmonica you'll have a lot less competition; you can't swing a dead cat in blues circles without bumping into a [mediocre] diatonic player.

[Hoover]

Originally Posted by Rocker949

There isn't much of a demand for that kind of thing, even if you are one of the best. At least not as a pro harmonica player.

Ask this guy: http://www.modernbluesharmonica.com/biography.html

[Rocker949]

Originally Posted by Hoover

Ask this guy: http://www.modernbluesharmonica.com/biography.html

See SurferJoe46's post. He stated it more articulately than I did.