'98 Harmonica Masterclass Workshop
Photos by Mark Fenichel

Final jam at Legends Of The Blues Harmonica '98

Rick Estrin	Lee Oskar	Mark Ford	James Harman

Charlie Musselwhite signing posters after performance.	Mark Hummel	Billy Boy Arnold teaching the history of the blues harmonica at his Saturday workshop session.

Family shot with Rick Estrin, Mark Hummel, Charlie Musselwhite, Charlie's son Chuck Musselwhite, James Harman, and Charlie's Grandson.	Harman gives out all of his trade secrets on harp amplification during his workshop.	A map showing 29 states represented in  the '98 workshop.  Another map was displayed showing participants from six  countries.

"Subject: My 1998 Masterclass Notes (LONG!)

Date: 6/15/98 2:13 PM

"I thought I'd share some of my reflections from the Masterclass. It's hard to describe all of the impressions, lessons, experiences, etc. but here goes...

Evan Meagher and I drove down a little early so we could hook up with other Harp-Lers before the MasterClass got started. We met up with my longtime Harp-L friend, Ray Beltran, who is even nicer in person (and plays a mean blues harp to boot!). We got our Harp-L name tags and headed for the bar to get some dinner and troll for other harp players. Getting to know the Harp-L attendees was a special treat for me and only served to reinforce my feeling that harmonica players are a special bunch, and Harp-L is a rare community.

You could hear harp snippets here and there throughout the bar, as players traded licks in small groups and got acquainted. We knew at that moment that we were in for a special weekend. The reactions of the other hotel guests in the bar were interesting to watch: everything from bewilderment and mild amusement to fascination and genuine appreciation. We saw a harp at the next table that looked suspiciously like David Fairweather's "Toni" whole-tone chromatic, and the holder looked suspiciously like David Fairweather (I'd seen his photo on the web), so we said Hi and invited him over. Nice guy and a great player. He demonstrated the Temptation-tuned diatonic as well. Very interesting.

Friday night's jam session was quite a show. They played the same set of eight or so songs over and over, so people picked the song they wanted to play along with, and then three players went up at a time. Participants ranged from beginners to seasoned performers, and it was a lot of fun watching everyone "show their stuff."

Saturday morning's workshop by Dave Barrett was very helpful for me, full of information and lots of tidbits to work on and think about. Dave is a killer player, not only technically, but I was impressed by how he could "get down and dirty" with his blues. Mark Hummel's workshop followed, and he was, in my opinion, one of the more articulate performer/teachers. I remember being impressed with him last time, and my admiration for his playing continues to grow. James Harman was a kick, a real character and the kind of performer who really lives his music. He showed us a home-brewed electronics set-up (looked like a stereo receiver) that he uses to correct the signal so that, regardless of what kind of system he's playing through (and he plays through all kinds of sound systems in his travels) he still get his signature sound. He even had a switch so that if he loses his Astatic, he can just plug a standard voice mic into it, flip the switch and the signal is changed to an Astatic. Cool. Rick Estrin is a fabulous player, but didn't seem as comfortable in a workshop setting as the others, so Dave Barrett helped direct the flow of the workshop by asking questions, providing comments, etc. Contrary to his on-stage persona, Rick is likely an introvert by nature, but his acoustic harp playing really does the talking for him. Rick's mastery of the Rice Miller/Sonny Boy II style of play is nothing short of incredible.

The Saturday night concert...well, what can I say? Absolutely, positively the most amazing assemblage of harp talent imaginable. Dave Barrett opened the show and was as great a performer as he is a teacher. He more than held his own up there on stage with the other masters of the instrument. Mark Hummel did his "audience walk" with a driving version of "Hand Jive" that had me yelling for more. The music just kept getting better and better, like a nine course meal, where they just keep the treats coming. The finale, ohmygosh, nine players on stage at once, with Charlie Musselwhite at the center, playing a 20-minute closer that had us all on our feet. Evan Meagher and I got our posters signed by all of the performers, and mine is now framed and proudly displayed in my office. I got home at 12:45 in the morning and took another 45 minutes to come down off the adrenaline rush.

Charlie Musselwhite's session on Sunday morning was very enjoyable; it was nice to experience the man behind the legend. He demonstrated his command of the first five positions, though I thought he really shined on first through third. His most interesting comment, I thought, was something to the effect that, "Hey, no matter what note you hit, it's no more than a half step away from a note that'll work, so that's OK!" It's that kind of attitude of discovery that has enabled him to advance the instrument as he has, and it's what makes Charlie, well, Charlie!

The high point of my weekend, in a sublime sort of way, happened after Charlie's session, when Scott Gold (Harp-L's Haiku Harpman) instigated the "first annual Harp-L MasterClass jam session" in the lobby. Larry Eisenberg's session on overblows was taking place, but I decided to join the jam instead, and I'm glad I did! This my the first time at a jam like this, so I was a bit nervous. But as the jam progressed, I found myself not only able to keep up but to contribute. The enjoyment only grew when Mark Ford wandered by, liked what he heard, and joined us! What a rush that was! He could have easily blown us all away, but instead he just found the groove, added some tasty touches, took his turn at solo, and elevated everyone's playing in the process. I thought, how cool is this? Jamming with Mark Ford!

The Sunday afternoon session on tone was very enlightening. Gary Smith, Andy Just, Mark Ford, Dave Barrett and Rick Estrin were on the platform demonstrating various hand, breathing and mic-cupping techniques that contribute to tone. The biggest contributor: a good airtight seal on the mic. But there's airtight and there's airtight. Using the same amp and mic, everyone got fat tone, but Andy Just's tone was very clearly a cut above the others, to the amazement of the crowd. Mark Ford admitted that Andy has always had the fattest tone around. He has these monster hands that fit his face so tightly that absolutely no air can escape and hardly any sound can, unless he wants it to. He tight-cupped his harp, blew hard right into the voice mic and it was so faint that it sounded like he was playing on the other side of the wall! Honest. Try as they might, the others couldn't replicate Andy's super-fat amplified tone, though Dave Barrett came really close. When they switched to acoustic harp (a la Sonny Boy II), Estrin got the most interesting and varied tones, using his hands and fingers to shape the sound in amazingly expressive ways. The way he waved his hands, he looked like a magician casting a spell over his harp, as well he may have, given the music he got out of it!

Some things I took away from the MasterClass (for the most part these are old lessons re-learned):

1. Focus. Pick one or two things to work on, and work on just them until I get them. Then move on to the next thing.

2. Be deliberate. Tentative playing, which all too often characterizes my public harp playing, negatively impacts the music and my confidence.

3. Keep it simple. I shouldn't worry if my playing doesn't dazzle anyone. I should not try to stand out, but rather to fit in. Play it clean and play it well.

4. Relax, be confident. Why should I feel bad if someone hears me make a mistake? If I'm not into harp for the joy of it, why play at all?

5. I don't need any more harps. I need more harp time. Well, OK, maybe a natural minor :-)

6. I might benefit from one of those 9V mini-practice amps like David Fairweather had. It would let me work on my amplified playing without bothering the family. When I'm holding back so as not to disturb others, my playing becomes tentative (see point #2).

7. Set realistic goals. My expectations should not exceed my investment. My progress will be based on my God-given talents, the time I spend, and the passion and intelligence with which I pursue it. If Mark Hummel dedicates 45 minutes a day to perfecting his tongue-shimmer technique, it's absurd to assume that I'll even come close to his playing with 10 or 15 minutes of unfocussed playing each day.

8. Build a basic repertoire of riffs and phrases. I need to learn enough riffs to build some very simple 12-bar solos in a handful of blues styles, so that I can play along in any jam situation. Nothin' fancy.

9. Jam. I must, I simply must, play more with other musicians. Period.

10. I have a plenty good amp and mic; no need for more gear. What I need is a nice, airtight (yet comfortable) cup on the mic.

11. Harp-L is the best. I mean it. To a person, the Harp-L folks were just the greatest, and ever nicer and more enjoyable in person than on-line.

In summary, it was, as I expected it would be, a breakthrough experience. The breakthroughs came in interesting and unexpected ways, to be sure, but that made the weekend just that much more memorable. I hope this gives you a sense for the weekend. I'm still thinkin' about it."

David Barnes
California

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