I know this is a Blues Harp Forum but I'm sure we don't all play Blues all the time. I was wondering if any of you guys know of any really nice haunting melodies that you may play when chilling out. Some that I play regularly are:
Summertime. Scarborough Fair. Put Your Sweet Lips. (a little Closer to the Phone). Autumn Leaves. Only You. Tennessee Waltz. El Condor Passa. Aura Lee. Amazing Grace. Danny Boy. (Londonderry Aire). Careless Love. Crazy.
I would like to find more stuff like these, so any suggestions welcome please.
Angie Cowgirl in the Sand Diamonds and Rust Forever Autumn Hey Hey My My House of the Rising Sun I Honestly Love You I Love How You Love Me If You're Going to San Francisco Lalena Last Date Lights Little Girl Blue Love Hurts Mean Mistreater Midnight in the Desert Mrs. Brown, You've Got a Lovely Daughter Never My Love Nights in White Satin Somewhere Over the Rainbow The Mummers Dance The Odd Couple (TV theme) Time of the Season What a Wonderful World White Bird
All these and over 5,000 more tabs can be found at www.harptabs.com. Some of them have links to sound files.
Last Edited by on Nov 18, 2008 3:52 PM
I play 'Summertime' and 'Dannyboy' all the time still, they were some of the first tunes I learnt on harmonica. I now have the song 'The Butcher's Boy' going round in my head so I play that quite a bit too...
And yes, harptabs.com was very useful and fun when I was just starting out.
M
Guest
Nov 19, 2008
5:25 AM
I like to play "So Lonesome I could Cry" by Hank Sr. I am also learning "Fur Elise". It's a tough one. I play it in 3rd position, and there is alot of advanced bending and a couple of overblows.
There's a beautiful Irish song called "As she moved through the fair" which I brought up on and which I try and play every now and then. Some of you might know it from the start of the Simple Minds song "The Belfast Child". Its been done by many artists. It's my favorite "haunting melody" and always reminds me of my childhood as my dad used to sing it.
Hallelujah - Leonard Cohen Summertime - Gershwin I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry - Hank Williams Lost Highway - Hank Williams Desperado Danny Boy Bridge Over Troubled Water. Georgia on My Mind Shannendoah Aussie Medley - I Still Call Australia Home, I Am Australian & Waltzing Matilda. Classic Medley - Jesu Joy of Mans Desiring, Humoresque, Ode to Joy, Traumerie & Air on a G String Amazing Grace Come Back to Sorrento. I use an assortment of different keyed harps, different play positions and some alternate tunings incl Harmonic Minors, Natural Minors and Melody Makers.
Trueblue
Guest
Nov 20, 2008
8:11 PM
One everyone should know ie real easy but beautiful when played well & just right for the next month - Silent Night.
Wow! I don't think I saw "St. James Infirmary"--is that possible?
Almost any tune becomes 'hauntingly beautiful' if it is slowed down and played with a lot of feeling--I sometimes just slow any old thing down and play it with a ton of vibrato--just to practice the vibrato--sometimes the result is pretty cool. . .
OW- re St James Infirmary its one I strike some trouble with ie because I cant get the tune into my head. Have heard Satchmo sing/ play it but for me it remains somewhat elusive. Tabs don't help. Do you use a natural minor harp?
I actually haven't really worked on this on the harp--but it's one of my favorite old haunting type melodies--I used to do a knock-down version of it singing and playing lead guitar many years ago--when I had a good back-up for it.
Here is a version I like by Arlo Guthrie
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sa1pV81p1So
Here is another version that tells the key (Am)--which is the key I use to play it. It seems like an Am natural minor (which would be a Dm played cross--I think we had this discussion once before) would be a good way to jam to this link--I'm gonna go try it and I'll let you know.
Thanks OW. Have looked at the Arlo Guthrie link -great. Have the right key harps so tune for this week is St James Infirmary. Need some music in our lives right now as our suburb( The Gap - Brisbane) experienced massive storm damage last Sunday evening with follow up storms on Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday. 180kph winds, torrential rains and golf ball size hail. Thousands of properties sustained huge amounts of damage with 300 plus houses losing their roofs. Our Suburb is now like a disaster war zone but everyone great. Have a look at what our storm was like on :- http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=skrnDGl1LxQ
Last Edited by on Nov 22, 2008 12:56 AM
That is one mother storm! I lived down in Florida for about 5 years--so I have witnessed some pretty hairy storms--I have experienced seeing a roof fly past--so I can commiserate with you--I'm glad everybody got through it OK.
I checked out the natural minor harp with St James last night--it works out very easy to play--nothing even as exotic as a bend to get the melody--I'm working on jazzing it up a bit though--I even started reviving it on the guitar--but it's hard for me to sing as high as I used to--might have to change the key. . .
Nice one tookatoota. I guess this is third position ie 4 draw being the root note on an A harp would be in Bm ? Sounds good to me. Few other golden oldies/ favourites are: -Believe Me If All Those Endearing Young Charms -Beguine the Begin -Over the Rainbow -Music of the Night from Phantom. -Cherry Pink & Apple Blossom White -Ghost Riders In the Sky -Leave Him In the Longyard -King of the Road -When the Rain Tumbles Down in July I know this is a blues harp forum but isnt it great that we all play such a versatile challenging pocket sized instrument that suits all genres.
Last Edited by on Nov 22, 2008 9:15 PM
If you are still working on St James--I found that the third position works very well too--if you don't have a natural minor in the right key. This is good for me because I have been trying to work on third more anyway. . .
Thanks OW spot on can really make St James come to life well in 3rd position on an A harp (Bm) and on a G Harp (Am). Much better with the bends on 6 draw giving it more feeling than on a natural minor. Its a hauntingly good melody.
Tried your link OW but it took me to some 'domestic violence' website? Would like to check out Wayfarin Stranger as I can't recall the melody but the name rings a bell. I like 3rd position.
I just checked the link again and it took me right to Emmylou--maybe you'll have to just go to YT and do a search on Wayfaring Stranger--there are a lot of versions--one by Joan Baez and her sister--but I like Emmylou's version the best. . .
Do you play Summertime in 3rd position as well as in 2nd position? If not, I recommend it, especially since (some of) the blowchord harmonies go well with it.
Last Edited by on Dec 13, 2008 12:07 PM
Yeah, Tooka--Wayfarin' Stranger--St James--Summertime--Scarborough Fair--all really similar--it's easy to get a little lost and start on one and end up on another--could probably be made into a good medley pretty easily. . .
Glad to hear that others experience what I thought was all my problem! Having now learn't Wayfarin Stranger, I find that I sometimes end up mixing in some St James Infirmary & vice versa!! Summertime I have no problem with & Scarborough Fair I have yet to try. Was having problems getting started on Wayfarin Stranger & found some tabs on HarpTabs.com which were for a Melody Maker G 2nd Pos. I transposed the tabs to a G Harp first in 4th Pos ie key of Em & then to 3rd Pos key of Am. Of all the positions 3rd position for me comes up trumps. Lovely tune thanks OW. As for Summertime I use a G Melody Maker in 1st Pos (Am) + an Am natural minor in 2nd pos and mix it up. Another haunting melody that works well on a G Melody Maker is Song of India by Rimsky Korsakov.
Hey Aussie--are the Melody Makers the Charlie McCoy tuned ones--with the raised 5 draw? I haven't tried one of those yet--but might retune a junker to see if I like them. . .
Hi OW the LO Melody Makers are labeled in cross harp key. ie key of G harp has 3 changes:-
C E (A) C E G C E G C 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 D G B D (F#) A B D (F#) A
I have one in G and one in D. I dont use them much but occasionally I find certain tunes on them work better for me. Desperado works well on the D wheras I have not been able to nail it on other harps. On the G I play: Today I Started Loving You Again - similar to Charlie McCoys version. Summertime. Song Of India. Ghost Riders in the Sky.
Some good songs selected here. Have started to put some slower songs on YouTube such as 'The Water is wide''Albatross' 'And so it goes' 'An Irish Lament from Riverdance''Summertime' 'Amazing Grace' 'Angel - Sarah McLachlan' 'Little Wing - Hendrix' 'Beat it - Michael Jackson!!?' 'Yesterday' 'When Somebody Loved me' 'St Louis Blues' 'King of Pain - Police' and my current favourite: 'I can't make you love me' by the great Bonnie Raitt
Let It Be Yesterday Hey Jude In My Life Bohemian Rhapsody House of the Rising Sun Oh What a Wonderful World Oh Where Oh Where Can My Baby Be Hush No Me Barnie Memories
Lots more that I'll think of as soon as I hit submit.
edit: And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda Flowers of the Forest Molly Malone An arrangement of a Robert Herrick poem we did in choir years ago. a couple things I wrote
And if I may add to the list these Irish tunes: Dirty old town The star of the county down
I wonder: would someone have something to say about relation between the Blues and Irish tunes ? I guess there is an evolutionary connection through country music. How about song structure, themes and so on ?
Well the largest group of European settlers in Appalachia were from North West England, the Scottish borders and Northern Ireland. Pretty heavy Celtic influence; and there must have been a mutual influence on the music of the black and white folks. Appalachia gave birth to its own variety of blues music. If you watch Scorsese's Blues documentaries there is one segment that shows blues music in Appalachia being played on what are more or less fife and drum.
Last Edited by on Sep 07, 2010 5:07 AM
EQUINOX by John Coltrane. C natural minor. Lays out perfectly in Fourth Position.
AFRO BLUE also by Coltrane (although written by Mongo Santamaria). I like playing it in Fourth Position.
LITTLE WING. E natural minor. Lays out perfectly in Fifth Position.
NORWEGIAN WOOD. Lays out perfectly in Second Position if you can hit the necessary bends.
I've always thought ST. JAMES INFIRMARY was a natural minor. I've been playing it in Fifth Position, but I might not be playing it right. But, anyway, in Fifth Position you can get the bend on 3 draw for the flat 5th the same way you can bend 6 draw for the flat 5th in Third Position.
Last Edited by on Sep 07, 2010 4:04 PM
I see Little wing is mentioned by a couple of you guys.....................are you playing the melody (vocal line), the progression or the guitar solo give us a clue where to start on what harp too assuming the backing track is in Em
To ianharpo: I'm improvising around the melody line and trying to get a surreal sound using a Golden Melody harp in C thru a Shure 5200 DX mic and Vox DA5 amp with Blues 3 setting and Rotary Reverb. The reverb puts the pitch out of whack slightly. If you click on my username, I have posted a few videos there including Little Wing.
I was just spending a bit of time here at my desk awaiting a contract revision to bounce back into my Inbox and was reading back over some of the posts.
While not exactly "haunting", I (like most) have several "go to" tunes that I fall into more or less as warm ups, or simply familiar tunes that I can limber up with, or fall into by default when I'm driving or simply want to have a little harp-wank.
In no particular order (non-blues):
Dead Flowers -- Richards/Jagger Mainstreet -- Seger Vincent -- Maclean No Woman, No Cry -- Marley It only Hurts Me When I Cry -- Yoakam Bein' Green -- Raposo Seven Spanish Angels --Nelson/Charles St Thomas -- Rollins Malaguena -- Trad Big Chief/Basin St Blues/Bourbon St Parade -- medley
@ianharpo: Little Wing, E natural minor 5th position on a C harp, melody (vocal line) starts on G (the fifth) which is 3D. Opening measures: 3D 4D 5B 5B 4D 4D 3D 3D 4B 3D 3D** 3B 2B and go from there.
You don't need to "approximate" or avoid any parts of this tune. It lays out perfectly note for note. And, of course, you can improv over it, too.
btw, ET harps do sound unquestionably more in tune for playing in 5th Position (or any other position above 3d for that matter). Greyowlphotoart was talking about using a GM which is ET. But, I happen to think ET harps sound more in tune for playing in any position. By "in tune" I mean sounding in tune WITH THE REST OF THE BAND. Personally, I play only ET harps for this reason.
Last Edited by on Sep 12, 2010 10:49 AM
Take A Closer Walk With Thee in 1st. Starting on 2d. ---------- "You will never get every possible thing out of an instrument, but the instrument will get every possible thing out of you" - Ray Charles.
@greyowl thanks for albatross tab love that beautiful melody by the original fleetwood mac tho love peter greens playing I believe danny kirwan played lead guitar on that one
