• NEWS
  • REVIEWS
  • INTERVIEWS
  • EVENTS
  • VIDEOS

Subscribe to Updates

Get the latest creative news from Blues Scene about music & art.

Jefferson Berry Shares His ‘Dreams of Modern Living’

February 2, 2023

Photo Gallery/Review: Buddy Guy 16-Show Residency At His Namesake Legends Club

February 2, 2023

Full Winners List for 2023 International Folk Music Awards

February 2, 2023

New Orleans Suspects and Sol Roots Perform at The Hamilton Live

February 1, 2023
Facebook Twitter Instagram
Facebook Twitter Instagram Vimeo
American Blues SceneAmerican Blues Scene
  • NEWS
  • REVIEWS
  • INTERVIEWS
  • EVENTS
  • VIDEOS
American Blues SceneAmerican Blues Scene
Home»News»The Language of the Blues: HARP
News

The Language of the Blues: HARP

Debra DeviBy Debra DeviJuly 24, 20141 Comment3 Mins Read
Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email VKontakte WhatsApp
Share
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email

This is the latest installment of our weekly series, The Language of the Blues, in which author/rocker Debra Devi explores the meaning of a word or phrase found in the blues.

Grab a signed copy of Devi’s award-winning book The Language of the Blues: From Alcorub to ZuZu (Foreword by Dr. John) at Bluescentric.com. Also available on Amazon Kindle.  “One of the wittiest, bawdiest, most fascinating dictionaries ever.” (Reuters)

James Cotton at Benaroya Blues Crossroads (Photo: Carolyn Frye)
James Cotton at Benaroya Blues Crossroads (Photo: Carolyn Frye)

Harp is blues slang for a harmonica, which is also called a comb. Down South a harmonica is sometimes called a mouth harp or a French harp. Glenn Weiser, author of the fascinating book Blues and Rock Harmonica, told me this is because in the late 1800s, the Carl Essbach company marketed a couple of harmonicas (model numbers 22 and 44) with the name “French Harp” on the covers. The French Harp harmonicas happened to be especially popular in the South during the early part of the 20th century, coinciding with the emergence of the blues.

According to Weiser, the forerunner of the modern harmonica, the accordion, and the concertina is a free-reed instrument invented by Chinese Emperor Nyn-Kwya in 3000 B.C. Called the sheng, it was brought to Europe in the early 1800s.

Free-reed instruments use a reed framed in a chamber. The reed freely vibrates when air passes over it. These vibrations cause the characteristic warbly sound of the harmonica and the accordion. The sheng is the oldest known free-reed instrument. With fixed-reed instruments, in contrast, such as the clarinet, the saxophone, the Indian shanai and the Chinese sona, the air passing over the reed vibrates in sympathy with the reed, producing a clearer tone, less distorted tone.

African American musicians explored the limitations of the harmonica and played with the way that its notes could be lowered in pitch or “bent” by changing the pressure exerted on the reeds. W.C. Handy recalled hearing train imitations played on the harmonica by blues musicians as early as the 1870s. As Weiser notes in Blues and Rock Harmonica, “The ‘blue’ notes of the African vocal scale and the moans and cries of the field holler had been successfully reproduced on a new instrument.”

Pick up a copy of  Language of the Blues

Some Blues Harp Classics:
“Juke” – Little Walter
“The Creeper” – James Cotton
“Christo Redemptor” – Charlie Musselwhite
“Bye Bye Birdie” – Sonny Boy Williamson II

Video:
Sonny Boy Williamson – Harmonic Solo

James Cotton – “The Creeper – Live”

Blues and Rock Harmonica Glenn Weiser harp James Cotton The Language of the Blues
Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email WhatsApp
Previous ArticleLearn the Guitar from Ana Popovic, John Oates, Mike Stern, Dweezil Zappa at Montana’s Crown Guitar Fest
Next Article Mighty Mississippi Music Festival Announces Hit Lineup
Debra Devi
  • Website
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram

Debra Devi is a rock musician and the author of the award-winning blues glossary The Language of the Blues: From Alcorub to Zuzu (foreword by Dr. John). www.debradevi.com

Related Posts

Full Winners List for 2023 International Folk Music Awards

February 2, 2023

New Orleans Suspects and Sol Roots Perform at The Hamilton Live

February 1, 2023

Talking Heads’ Jerry Harrison, Adrian Belew Announce Additional 2023 ‘Remain In Light’ Tour Dates

January 31, 2023

IBC 2023 Winners Announced

January 29, 2023

Leave A Reply Cancel Reply

Advertisment
Facebook Twitter Instagram Pinterest
  • Home
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Interviews
  • Events
  • Videos
  • About

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.