Sunday 10 November 2013

Harp talk, and an update

Hi, everybody. I'm back!

As always, I'm listening to heaps of music at the moment. I'm learning about lots of different music, too. That's one of the many ways that I can keep my mind active.

I love music! And I love discovering new, and different, albums or artists! It might be new material — or simply music that I hadn't heard before. (For whatever reason.) But there's always something cool, waiting for me out there, that I'm yet to hear. 'The quest' (my quest) to hear more cool music, keeps it fresh for me.

I enjoy learning about different subjects, too: the arts, history, spirituality, philosophy, music history, politics, and psychology. 
…And I love to write! So, writing about music is a wonderful way for me to combine two, beautiful things into one venture!

I've been learning to play blues harp for seven years, too. It's great; and it's a wonderful way to express myself. 

When I blow harp, I am personally connected to the music that I love so much! Being able to play — and practice harmonica is even cooler for me; because I didn't think I would ever be able to play a musical instrument, due to my Cerebral Palsy. But blues harp is a really good fit for me, musically!

I tried to play slide guitar — but I never had the necessary motor skills to do so. (Many other boys similarly dream of being a 'guitar hero'; so I wasn't alone!) Even so, it was mighty hard to accept that guitar wouldn't work out!

But blues harp fit me much better. It's small, and I can pick it up, and put it down again. I only have one arm to use, but there have even been great one-armed harp players, before. (Big John Wrencher, for example.)

The great harmonica players can get so many beautiful sounds and textures from that small, deceptive instrument! I love dipping into the music of the great players; and studying it! I try to practice often. Every day, or every other day.

Here's a short list of some of the guys/artists who I'm really enjoying, at the moment. (It's not exhaustive, definitive, or complete.) And it's not in order.

Junior Wells
James Cotton
Carey Bell
Gary Smith
Louis Myers
Big Walter Horton
Snooky Pryor
Bacon Fat
Rod Piazza
Little Walter Jacobs
Rice Miller (AKA 'Sonny Boy Williamson #2')
George 'Harmonica' Smith
Paul Oscher
John Lee 'Sonny Boy' Williamson (The original 'Sonny Boy Williamson'.)
Charlie Musselwhite
Howlin' Wolf

So that's it for now. I hope you enjoyed this post! By all means, let me know what you think. Tell your friends about this post, and the whole blog.

Mitch