Harmonica Class in USA [1] Presented in the Friend Town No.8（1994/12）. When I was in Minneapolis, Minnesota for 2 years with my job assignment, my family got back to Japan in the later half of the period because of the preparation for my son's entrance examination to the high school. I got be a single and had a lot of time after work every day. I found a guide to the harmonica class when I was looking at the advertisements for cultural classes. The first I tried to make an entry, it was canceled because of too few entries. Three month later in the winter class, I finally could join to it.. The entry fee was only $18 for three months(may be the city would have helped for additional cost). The music instrument used was a chromatic harmonica. About ten students were all beginners except me, and thus the course was just for beginners. I got be friend of a group of old ladies over 70 and asked, "Why do you have this course, you are not beginners at all?" I answered "Well, one reason is I have a lot of time since my family went back to Japan, and another reason beyond this is the teacher's sound, his (Jack Bacon's) vibration is so beautiful that I would like to learn it." I strongly would like to master the way to do it, because I hadn't mastered the belly vibration yet at that time. But I couldn't get the right answer from the teacher because he vibrate naturally without his conscious thus it's hard for him to answer. He taught me "Jerry (Murad) teaches like this, shuh, shuh, shuh." He acted like steam locomotion. Naturally speaking, I didn't master it only from this too simple information. Once a week for three months, we studied to read music sheet, blow and draw notes, how to use slide button for # and b, and to play several slow musics like "Amazing Grace". At last time, everybody played a music in front of other students. I talke a lot with that groups of old ladies and suplrized how they were actively challenge to everything. They said a lady was good at piano. She tried to play piano in the class (it was in a elementary school). Surprisingly, she played wonderful boogie woogie easily, although her walking was somewhat dangerous. I felt the cultural difference between Japan and USA. [2] There is an interesting story about Chromonica used in the class. The new 3 octave Chromonica was too expensive that the teacher introduced a harmonica shop where second hand harmonicas were sold. I thought it was a real shop and went there by car without reservation. I was surprised that it was an ordinary residential house. I hesitated but finally pushed the bell button. He welcomed me and led me to the underground room willingly. We talked and I found he, Dick Gardner, is one of the bass harmonica players in the famous Harmonicats, and the leading harmonica repairer in the USA as Susumu Tanaka in Japan. His relationship with second harmonica was that the professional players gave Dick their broken harmonicas and he repaired them and sold to beginners. For example, Richard Haymann's or Larry Adler's second hand harmonica could be bought from Dick. Dick told many other topics like Hayman only play Chromonica of A key, or Hayman used the throat vibration. I hereafter could use throat vibrsation. Another sorts of chromatic harmonica were Hering's repaired initial models. The brazilian vendor used insufficiently dried wood which causes cracks in the wooden body. Dick obtained such broken harmonicas cheaply and he repaired them with adhesive to sell.d. I was fond of these models and bought 3 octave and 4 octave ones, their price was $45 and $65 respectively. I still use these models. Hering's recent models are made of veneer board and won't crack any more. I visited his house sometimes since then and had good experiences to get copies of Harmonicats' old performances, to learn how to repair harmonicas. I asked about duo in the Harmonicats' performance whether it was multi-recordings. He mentioned about a good player named Pete. I didn't know who was Pete, but recently Pete pederson visited Japan and I understand who is him after 4 years from my first question. [3] Presented in the Friend Town No.9（1995/6）. The story of the harmonica class in Minneapolis, Minnesota continues. The teacher (Jack Bacon) told me "I organise a local harmonica society. Would you come to join to our practice?" I visited there with a map. It was very cold there since its latitude is the same as that of Wakkanai, Hokkaido. I wasn't sure about the situation, and I was waiting in my car after I reached there. Then some people entered into the building with long box. Then I saw the teacher went into the building, thus I also entered inside. The teacher introduce me to the people and they all shook my hand. Looking around, the contents of the long boxes were the chord harmonica. I was surprised because it was first time for me to see three chord harmonicas at a time. (Now I can see four chord harmonicas in my band the Harmonic Omnibus.) Dick Gardner of Harmonicats asked me to play some music. I started one of Harmonicats' repertoire "Sentimental Journey", then Dick followed with his bass harmonica.(He completely remember it!) I couldn't continue until its end because this is the difficult music. But Dick alone played up to the end. "You won!" "Do you have anythingelse you can play?" So I showed him my music note book. I copied all the notes from the record, even the glissand part. Dick was very interested in it and showed it to everybody. He said,. "Look! Even Jerry (Murad) doesn't write this much!" I guessed the originator plays somewhat roughly. They started their practice. There would be a concert in April 6th. I gave up to join in the concert because it would have been four days after I left USA. I still regret about that. The music was "Night Train". There was a nice inprovisation in the play. After the practice, I said to the player, "Wonderful! I was very impressiond by your play!" He (Alan Wood) replyed with shy, "Is that right! Actually I dont read music!" I was very much surprised. He only played improvisation part! In my case, I play like I improvise but it is written in the music. I do not improvise at all, althou I am always wishing to improvise. He also played diatonic harmonica quite similar to Charlie McCoy. I've never thought he didn't read music! Although the level of the improvisation was super, the level of the band was about the same as that of our band the Harmonic Omnibus. I didn't think it's wonderful. There were some beginners in the band and lowered the skil of the entire band. The leader of the band was our teacher, and he sold the concert ticket later in the class. Back to the story of the class, the teacher wouldn't play for a model harmonica play. The very last day, however, he showed us a video tape of the international harmonica festival in Detroit. He was playing "Caravan" and naturally with inprovisation a lot. "Wah, American players are wonderful!" There was a play of students at the last day of the class. The beginners played slow songs they practiced in the class. In my turn, I played "Chardash Intermezzo" composed by French Harmonica player Albert Reisner. This music is a briliant one and I want to be one of the Hummingbird repertoir and we are practicing hard now. Look forward our play coming soon! At that time, I play alone. After the final practice, we visited a pizza house which belong to one of the old ladies. We ate and talked a lot. We promised to see again. However I don't have any chance to visit Minnesota again yet. I remenber it was rained and the temparature get down to below 10 degree F after rain. The road was sippery and very very dangerous. I wish I could see the teacher and Dick in the comming International Harmonica Festival in Yokohama, 1995. [4] Presented in the Friend Town No.10（1996/4）. The story in Minneapolis, Minnesota continues. While I had been taking the harmonica class, I was reading the advertisement courner of news paper, I saw a 5 line advertise, "Teach harmonica! diatonic, chromatic." I suddenly noticed that this is USA, the home country of blues! I didn't even think of this where as I was staying in this country for totally 5 years. When I graduated the university, I tried to play the blues harp as John Mayall did, but I had never learned to play it formally. I was thinking for half a day, and wanted to study 10 holes diatonic harmonica rather than chromatic, and finally decided to call via telephone. ( To decide to phonecall, it took me half a day!) "Hellow, do you teach harmonica?" "Oh, Yah!" "I like to study diatonic harmonica. I'm a Japanese person!" The conversation began and a found there were two ways of taking lesson, one in a music school and one at home. Home lesson would be better learned but it only was in the day time. I chosed the music school lesson and made the first appointment because I had to work at day time. I didn't like driving, I've never driven in Japan yet. Thus I drove to the music school in down town with feeling that I might have been killed. The music school was a small house in the rim of the downtown Minneapolis. There were 6 class rooms and each teacher would come day and time basis. I payed $180 for 10 times of lessons. Waiting for a while, a young guy came and I understood he was the teacher because of his voice. We entered in a class room, and he recomended to buy Hohner's Golden Melody. I love this model since then and I am still using it. Making sound was OK. Bending? I could bend chromatic harmonica, but felt something was different. I was surprised that the teacher played Do, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, Ra, Si, Do in very fast phrase. Chromatic's bend is somewhat countinuous. But the diatonic's bending wasn't continuous and non existing sound "fa" and "ra" came suddenly. Since then, a half of later lessons were spent for bending. When I blew strongly, it bended. But the teacher said the bending was not caused by the strength..Changing the angle of the bless would make it. No strong blessing was necessary, he said. [5] Presented in the Friend Town No.11（1996/11）. In the later half of the course, he taught me various technique such as the blues scale, trill, vibration, etc. as I asked. I extended the course twice, and studied how to improvise. I still couldn't the bending and asked the teacher about my trouble. He replied "You are number one among my students!" So I noticed everybody else might have the same trouble. I couldn't extend the course any more, since it would be my return date to Japan. In the last lessons, he asked whether I play chromatic. I played a little bit of the improvisation part of "Suzukake no michi" He mentioned it was a good phrase. The good phrase sound good to everybody, isn't it? If I stayed more, he could have taught me more about improvisation. He regretted and so did I. His target would be to be like Charlie Parker. I even didn't know who is Charlie Parker. I was surprised that I found Charlie is the founder of bebop after I returned to Tokyo. Also I admire he didn't mention about Tooth at all. Out of the lesson, I spent bluesful days such as visiting a bar where the teacher's band was performing,(only 3 guest there though), listening to the professional blues player (Corky Siegel) at a town theater I visited unintentionally, and visiting a blues bar nearby where I found in an advertisement in newspaper. After 6 months I had returned to Japan, I suddenly noticed that I could bend. Certainly I don't need draw strongly! Once I mastered, playing Do Re Mi Fay Sole La Is Do is a simple matter. Now I understand playing in the second or third position. People who have trouble in bend should not give up. There is a good example to master it after 6 months. Just keep try! I was sorry I didn't remember the teacher's full name, Clint who for long time. But when I was talking to an American blues player (a guy with Mr. McLaurin) who joined to Yokohama Festival and mentioned that I learned diatonic harmonica from Clint someone in Minnesota, then after thinking few seconds, he asked me "Clint Whoover?" I remember now after 6 years. "Yes,Yes, Clint Whoover is his name!, Thank you." "Oh yes, he is a very good player." He mentioned. Recently I keep wishing I can play even chromatic like Clint. |
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