[Shooster]

Hey all,
I'd like to start by saying I've enjoyed all of your various postings and knowledge on all the guitar stuff,and I thank you kindly.

My reason for posting today is that I'm beginning to goof around on the ol' harmonica, and I'm wondering if anyone could point me in the direction of some Pigpen stuff.

Being confused on the whole cross-harping vs. straight-harp thing, I'm just trying to get the hang of it still, so any advice on it would be helpful.

Right now I'm doin' some Neil Young and Dylan stuff (poorly) and it's a hoot, but some Pigpen would blow my mind.


thanks

[WSPHead]

I have been messing around with this carpy harmonica lately too. Mainly with Heart of Gold. I could use some help too

[BlobWeird]

Tried to learn it and Im afraid it just isnt happenin lol. But for pig how about The Rub (Aint It Crazy). Particulary 5-15-70. He tears it up for a minute on the harmonica.

[MattGator]

http://www.angelfire.com/tx/myquill/

I bookmarked this link back when I wanted to learn to play. I'm not sure whether it's helpful or not because I gave it up pretty quickly. Good luck though.

[Django]

Try this site:
http://www.harmonicaclub.com/phpBB2/index.php

This is the link to the forum.

[germfisk]

I can't really say that I am a "pro", but I consider myself to be a good harmonica player. Harmonica is typically what I play when I play out with other people.

Anyway, I would be happy to share whatever nuggets I can. Is there anything specific that you are wanting to know, or just generally how to get started?

[Shooster]

Hey there,

I've basically just fiddled around with it enough to be able to pick up simple harmonica parts (Neil Youngish) but I was looking for a hand up on some Pigpen stuff... barring that, even simple tips on technique, tricks, cool licks would be very much appreciated!

[germfisk]

Well Shoos,
this could get kind of long. No one has ever asked me for tips or anything before, and I am kind of fired up to share what knowledge I have. Like I said, I certainly don't think of myself as a pro or anything, but I have been playing harp for about 6-7 years.

When I first started playing, I had about a 1 hour + commute to work, and I would find a song or solo or riff and just listen to it and play with it until I got to what, to me, sounded right. Usually I would work on 1 part of a solo at a time and break it down that way.

The best advice I got when I first started was to get some Little Walter and learn every riff you can. I don't think I remember any Little Walter now, but it definitely help my dexterity and ability to improvise, which based on the fact that you are on this site, is what I would guess you are looking for.

As far as Pig, most of his stuff is deceptively easy, at least to me. Just try to get your hands on anything from the late '60's. I feel like I really got a lot out of the Fillmore East and Fillmore West '69. I love Pig and his harp playing, and like I said, I found it to be alot easier than it sounded.

Cross harp vs. straight harp is almost like modal guitar playing. Take your C harp. All of the notes on the C harp, without bending, are notes in the C scale. Your roots (C) would be 1 blow, 4 blow, 7 blow and 10 blow. If you are playing straight harp, that is were you would concentrate. Cross harp is when you are playing one 5th up from the key of the harp, in this case playing in G. Your roots would be 2 draw, 3 blow, 6 blow, 9 blow. The reason for this is that when you play cross harp, you can do the different bends and get that dirty, bluesy tone.

Sorry the post was so long, but I hope this helps. If I can help you anymore, or answer any questions, let me know, either with a post or private message.