• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Harp players

D

DataDan

Mar 18, 2013
75
0
Reading,pa
#1
How does your band interact with harp players? What do you as a bassist enjoy about a 'good' harp player and what habits bug you about these harp players?

:We have a harp player that does 5 or 6 songs with us when we gig. He brings his own mic and has a harp for each key. We have practiced with him a few times. I just let him know the Key before the song and he can jam to it pretty well. There are a few songs we always do with him on stage (long train runnin' comes to mind) and we get a good reaction from the crowd. He isnt part of the band and doesnt ask for a cut of the money.

things I notice about harp players:
•To me a good harp player's best quality is to know WHEN to play. dont play over the vocals in most cases, take turns with the guitars for the leads (or get with them on it).
•how quickly they can setup and jump into a set. if they are coming on 3 songs in we dont want a long pause for them to get ready. Our guy can be on stage with his harp ready to go in about 1-2min. There were some times where he was dragging his feet and delayed us a little.
 
#2
But a harp player that over plays .... especially blues licks...
I can do without.

Now good chromatic players or those in the style of
Toots (Thielman?) or Stevie Wonder.... I dig it.
 
#3
I can't stand playing with harp players. As has been said before on other TB threads, most harp players don't know when to stop. My experience has been that most harp players want to play during the whole song and play over the vocals and lead solos.
When asked by a band member not to play over the vocals and guitar solos they tend to get very offended and even obnoxious. Just sayin.
 
#4
Stewie26 said:
I can't stand playing with harp players. As has been said before on other TB threads, most harp players don't know when to stop. My experience has been that most harp players want to play during the whole song and play over the vocals and lead solos.
When asked by a band member not to play over the vocals and guitar solos they tend to get very offended and even obnoxious. Just sayin.
Click to expand...

I would think if they dont already know they will be offended to hear it on the spot.
 
#6
I've been playing bass for only about six months, but I've been a harp player for 25+ years. Your points are pretty spot-on. An important thing for any harp player to practice is to not just worry about what he's going to play, but to really listen to what the rest of the band is playing. Unlike bass, the harp player does not have to play in all parts of the song.

If you know that you will be bringing the harp player up during a particular set, you can actually have him set up before the set or during a break. Then he can just walk up and play when you call him with no delay.

For any harp player, I'd suggest listening to a lot of Muddy Waters. Muddy was picky about his harp players and you can learn a lot from the way they did it.
 
#7
I'm the harp player in this band. It really helps that I only play on two or three songs, and that I play other instruments. No one ever gets sick of my playing! The main thing is to have a set sound. I use a special mic and PA channel for harp, and I set the tone and effects a certain way. I think of the harp as a lead guitar, and never use it when inappropriate.
 
#10
At our last gig, we finally got our lead guitarist to NOT play during the breakdown in the middle of BEG (yeah, I know, but it was a request).

Wouldn't you know it, as soon as everybody dropped out for me to play my little bit, the harp player stepped all over me.

:scowl:
 
#11
I guess I have been lucky, but all of the harp players we have had sit in have been great. One in particular really stands out: Lame Buffalo. But Ottawa used to have a huge blues culture and maybe they just learned to do the right thing. The ones that didn't got weeded out.
 
#15
mellowinman said:
I'm the harp player in this band. It really helps that I only play on two or three songs, and that I play other instruments.
Click to expand...

Your type of harp playing is cool and adds a lot to the band's dynamics in a very positive way. In other words, you are a real musician/bass player who happens to pull out a harp for a few measures here and there. I enjoy listening to that type of playing. The guys that I dread are the "Hey dude, I only play the harp" type of guy that shows up with a breif case full of harps at a open mic night, or worse yet, wants to sit in at your gig. I have had this happen on quite a few occasions and we have had to get a hook to remove the player. After the guy is removed it always leaves a bad vibe on stage for the next few songs.
Sorry for the rant.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back