J-Sin
142 posts
Nov 23, 2013
5:36 AM
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Took me long enough, but it's finally ready and published. The first book about the history, influence and playing styles of the harmonica in Finnish! What started out as an academic project has turned into a commercially published book.
I haven't seen an approach quite like this in (admittedly scarce) harmonica literature before. Whereas Kim Field's wonderful book relies heavily on accounts of individual players (using the names of artists as chapter titles), this book is more on the ethnomusicological side and focuses on different musical communities and playing cultures. There are chapters like:
Fox Chases and Steam Engines
Showmen, Beggars and Jug Bands
Big Bands, Small Instruments
But What About Female Harp Players?
Black Keys (the brief history of overbending and position playing)
Towards a New Harmonica Culture
The book also covers subjects not so well covered in existing harmonica literature, e.g. harpboxing and hiphop, looper artists, the story of Rhythm Willie, female players, the unique playing styles of Finnish folk harmonica players, harmonica myths and speculations, ethnomusicological comparisons between the harp and other instruments.... Even if briefly mentioned in other sources, this is the first book I've seen to include such subjects between the same covers and discussed at length.
The book also includes a 40-page playing guide for beginners, a detailed description of the construction of the instrument, a discography, literature and a list of internet sites. It has a total of 256 pages, hard covers and lots of pictures.
My working title for the book was "The Story of the Harmonica". Together with the publisher we ended up naming the book simply "Huuliharppukirja" (The Harmonica Book), since there was no such title in Finnish. Trust me, it sounds catchier in Finnish, and this title should introduce itself better for all the people searching for books about the instrument. With a name like this, you simply can't avoid stumbling upon this book.
All we would need now is to get this baby translated so ya'll could read it!
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rbeetsme
1430 posts
Nov 23, 2013
5:50 AM
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Finally Finnished, congratulations. English version?
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Frank
3362 posts
Nov 23, 2013
6:56 AM
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Sounds like a sinfully tempting read :)
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kudzurunner
4395 posts
Nov 23, 2013
8:43 AM
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That's great news, J-Sin! Congratulations.
I think you should take a look at which American publishers have published other harmonica books and make sure you send them official notice of your book. Ask them if they would be interested in considering your book if it were translated into English. Before you do that, get an estimate on how much such a translation would cost. It's possible that they would pay for a translation.
Actually, what you should do is pay out of pocket to have the introduction and one chapter translated. That's all an American publisher SHOULD need in order to consider translating and publishing the whole thing.
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Eyeball_Kid
10 posts
Nov 23, 2013
12:24 PM
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I'm learning swedish right now... so close...
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jbone
1420 posts
Nov 23, 2013
1:48 PM
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That's just too cool J-Sin! Hope to read it in English one day. And I hope it does great in Finland!
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http://www.reverbnation.com/jawboneandjolene
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000386839482
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wa7La7yYYeE
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Philosofy
499 posts
Nov 23, 2013
8:58 PM
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Onneksi olkoon!
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BronzeWailer
1164 posts
Nov 23, 2013
9:23 PM
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Congratulations! Would love to read it...
BronzeWailer's YouTube
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WinslowYerxa
427 posts
Nov 24, 2013
9:14 AM
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@Eyeball kid - Swedish probably won't help you. Finnish is an unrelated language.
When I first saw this I thought maybe it would reveal an undiscovered trove of Finnish harmonica players playing their native music (they do exist).
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Winslow
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J-Sin
143 posts
Nov 24, 2013
10:19 AM
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Thank you guys! The book has been well received this far. I'll see what I can do about the translation.
@WinslowYerxa: There's a full chapter about the harmonica in Finland, from the native music players to harmonica orchestras (they exist in Finland too) and all the way to the blues and rock players.
Finnish folk harp players really are a breed of their own. Closest musical equivalent I could compare them to would probably be creole harpists. But it's a bit different from that too. The players have a chord vamping technique called "kielibasso" which translates as "tongue bass". It's a highly appreciated technique among the players. Finns have traditionally used Echo-harps and other double reed harps.
There's in fact a full CD of traditional Finnish harmonica music downloadable on iTunes. Give it a preview listen and buy, if you're interested! Highly recommendable for anyone interested in harmonica history.
https://itunes.apple.com/in/album/kielibasso-finnish-harmonica/id578224431
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WinslowYerxa
430 posts
Nov 24, 2013
10:28 AM
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Thanks, J-Sin! This is a very cool find. I'd seen a few of the Finnish old-timers on Youtube, and there was a Finnish guy in Michigan who made an album, but this looks very interesting!
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Winslow
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J-Sin
144 posts
Nov 24, 2013
12:43 PM
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And thank YOU, Winslow, for your wonderful "Harmonica For Dummies" book. I actually mention it in my book's playing guide, and highly recommend it for anyone with sufficient language skills.
I've also seen your video with Tuula Tossavainen on YouTube, great stuff. What's her story? Is she American with Finnish roots?
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Martin
533 posts
Nov 24, 2013
3:09 PM
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@Eyeball Kid: "I'm learning swedish right now... so close... "
Swedish most certainly won´t help you, believe me. As Winslow says, unrelated. Totally unrelated.
Now, if you pick up a bit of Estonian ...
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WinslowYerxa
434 posts
Nov 24, 2013
6:21 PM
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Tuula is American with Finnish parents. She grew up playing in her father's Finnish dance band in Berkeley, California. The first couple of cuts I listened to on the Kielibasso collection (Koiviston Polskka and Eevan Polskka) are ones I learned from her, although in different versions and with different names.
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Winslow
Last Edited by WinslowYerxa on Nov 24, 2013 6:26 PM
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Eyeball_Kid
11 posts
Nov 25, 2013
3:05 PM
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I meant locally, sorry for the confusion.
I know how they're related, i began to study scandinavian studies along with musicology and we also have a program called "finno-ugristik" witch means something like finnish and hungarian studies. I'm glad I decided to learn swedish it's a lot more simple (for a german native speaker)
But anyway, congrats on your book J-Sin!
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isaacullah
2575 posts
Nov 26, 2013
9:07 AM
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Hey man!!! This is great! I really hope you do eventually translate it to English, as I'd love to read it! Congratulations! Glad to know that you've been hard at work!
Is this related to your dissertation work, or a "side" project?
~Isaac
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YouTube! Soundcloud!
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Boyen
8 posts
Nov 26, 2013
9:44 AM
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Is the diatonic harmonica the most popular type or is it tremolo? The itunes link seems to be tremolo. For Irish trad it is also tremolo, though Brendan Power certainly popularized the diatonic variant..
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J-Sin
145 posts
Nov 26, 2013
12:38 PM
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If you guys want to learn Finnish, it should be easy enough, just read this piece of conversation and you're all set:
What Do You Mean Finnish is Difficult?
@Isaac: Yes, it started out as my thesis, and eventually took a path of its own. Knowing it would be published actually motivated me to continue. I still have to return the academic version, though :D
@Boyen: Yes, they use mostly tremolo/octave harps, but some play diatonics too.
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Last Edited by J-Sin on Nov 26, 2013 12:38 PM
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J-Sin
146 posts
Nov 26, 2013
12:59 PM
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...And of course nowadays, Finns passionately employ every instrument in the harmonica family.
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isaacullah
2577 posts
Nov 27, 2013
8:44 AM
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Having the thing published as book before you defend it in front of your committee ought to mean that they'll pass you with no argument! Get it done so you can join the small club of us "blues doctors"! :)
But seriously, get it done, man! :)
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YouTube! Soundcloud!
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