Consideration on Vibration Consideration on Vibration #1 Presented in the Friend Town No.12（1997/6） It has been over 30 years since I started playing a chromatic harmonica. When I was a sophomore in the university, I entered to the harmonica society. After one month later, I bought a chromatic harmonica at Eastern department store for the first time. It was 3 octave chromonica and its price was 3,600 yen. There was still a harmonica trio in the society and they practice "Galloping Comedians", "Perfidia", "Caravan", and "Tiger Rag" beside our orchestral practice. As I was very much impressed about "Galloping Comedians" among them, I asked the senior to let me see the score. I borrowed it and copied by hand. There weren't photo copy equipment at those days. Thus my first practiced music with the chromonica was "Galloping Comedians". Of Course it is a very hard music to play, I don't feel I could play well until recently. In the orchestral play, there was a part with "vibs" in the score, and we made vibration by moving a harmonica fore and back. With my progress as a junior and a senior in the university, I played some chromonica solo. I made a vibration by moving the chromatic, as same as our orchestral play. However, when we heard the tape at the after concert meeting, there were no vibration on my solo play. I wasn't satisfied to my play, but the time had gone and I graduated the university. After the graduation, I only play sometime at marriage parties of my friends. There aren't much improvement until I visited USA for my second long stay, or rather retrogression that I can't play very fast passage anymore. Thinking back now, I probably didn't like to practice the slow ballads because I couldn't make a beautiful vibration on my chromonica play. In USA, as I describe in other manuscript, I met Mr. Dick Gardner, one of the bass player of the great Harmonicats. He said "Richard Hayman uses throat to make vibration." Since I heard the sentence, I had been playing the cromonica with throat vibration for about a week in my apartment room. Then suddenly, yes, suddenly, the throat started vibration continuously, and I got a wonderful vibrated sound. The I felt every slow music a vivid, though I thought they are damn until then. "Annie Laurie", "moon River", "Red Dragon" ! they turned to be very good music to me. I remembered Mr. Hidero Sato's words, "Slow music are felt good after getting old !" I had never trusted the words, but the words felt deeper to me now. I shamed myself about my sound until then. After I returned to Japan, Mr.Tsuruta of famous trio No Brands introduced me of "Picnic Concert" at Sanshi No Mori at our university OB party. After I played on the free stage of the concert, Mr. Hirose asked me to join to Harmonic Omnibus. Joining the band s was my restart at the harmonica area. Since then I could communicate with various foreign harmonica players with the introduction of Mr. Saito and his wife as an interpreter of French. I had more chances to get another sort of vibration from the communication. I will introduce at the next time about these stories. There are many Japanese players with beautiful vibration sound. But they are all the superstar, and there are only a few followers. May be because that I, an old player play with vibration, there are many people who is interested in making vibration recently. It is a very good situation, I think. I wish they get the techniques someday. Well, the slow ballads are felt to be good music ! Consideration on Vibration #2 Presented in the Friend Town No.13（1998/7）. The first foreign harmonica player I met since I restarted in harmonica area was Mr. Pete Pederson. After the ensemble part of the forum of All Japan Harmonica Federation, a recording of a tape music had been taken place at Studio Harp.. I took a vacation and joined to the recording as an interpreter. After the recording, we took a dinner with Mr. Saito, his wife, Mitsue Murao who was a university student at the time. During the dinner, I learned various harmonica techniques from Pete. One surprising technique was to play notes with 1 octave difference alternatively by simply moving the chin. This technique is a mandatory on to play Brazilian musics. I understand it but I still not be able to play in this way. The vibration of Pete was gentle and I thought he can pair with Jerry Murad. I rather thought he is good at the improvisation. His "Sweet Georgia Brown" was so splendid that my eyes kept open for a while. One years later, Mr. Claude Garden came to Japan. He had Claude's seminar at Studio Harp and I took it of course. He is, to me, like a god because my friend had his records of classic and jazz when I was a student. When I entered to the studio in the evening, Mr. Fujiwara, a jazz harmonica player was training the vibration. Claude asked me in my turn, what do I want to learn. The interpreter was the wife of Mr.Saito. I required without hesitation that I want to learn the same vibration technique as Mr. Fujiwara learned. Thirty minutes later, my belly started vibration slowly, which never had vibrated before. There were another seminar one week later with the same contents. I once again studied the same technique so that I won't forget it ever. This one hour lesson made my question clear which I had been questioned for quarter a century long. Of course it didn't change my sound rapidly. My belly only vibrate three times in a note. The sound in records vibrate 4 times in a note. The dog walking time at every night became my practice time since then. I always carry a 10 hole diatonic harmonica in my pocket and walk towards the rice field area with my dog. I played "Annie Laurie" many times in a dark so that my belly vibrate four times in a note. Was it half a year later that my belly had started vibration? But it still not perfect. Some day some times it vibrates or it doesn't. Some one may have seen I was practicing the belly vibration upon rehearsal time of a concert. I don't have my belly vibration naturally. I've got it with my daily practice. I need practice before the performance. Otherwise it won't vibrate during the real performance. It is still true even it is now tree years since then.. By the way, I had once found in a flute text book of only 800 yen the same method as that Claude taught me. In addition, when I taught my students the same method as I learned from Claude, they start play with belly vibration in thirty minutes. I sadly cry "Hey, hey, you do it only in thirty minutes, while it took me over twenty five years! What was my quarter century?" Thus, the belly vibration isn't difficult if suitably taught the right way, although the control of the vibration speed isn't easy. In contrast, the vibration speed of 4 times a note in case of throat vibration isn't so difficult that it vibrates automatically. These two ways of vibration make quite different sound. Choose the better one for the feelings of the music. Many god class players such as Larry Adler, Chen-Bur Huang and Lee Oscar visited Japan at the '95 Yokohama International Harmonica Festival two years ago. I asked whenever possible how do they make vibration, or I observed which part of the body actually moves. Each player establish his own method for his sound. I understand Larry uses his tang and hand, Chen uses hand cover with two finger, Lee uses a deep belly vibration. I presented the result of the observation at a "Harmonica Experimental Factory" last year. My effort for vibration until now was to simulate other players and to produce the similar sound. From now on, I should try to produce my own sound, my original sound. When I admired Claude's sound, he was only 28 years old. I am already 51. I did the late start but I keep thinking I should produce some Sanada tone. |
 To Top Page |
 To Topics |
