I just got a call from a regularly gigging reggae band around Portland Oregon called "Earl and the reggae allstars" I was at a party doing a one man band thing and the lead singer was there and he wanted to get some harmonica stuff into his band. SOOO, has anybody played reggae harmonica? Just soliciting for general/specific advice if anybody has any.
If you think blues is supposed to be behind the beat, reggae is even further behind the beat and a lot of the phrasing is gonna be off the 3, and you don't want to play very bluesy as the lines need to have a more happier sound and the groove is something that has to be more dominant rather than the soloing and having a very heavy handed approach is not gonna cut it in that genre. ---------- Sincerely, Barbeque Bob Maglinte Boston, MA http://www.barbequebob.com CD available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/bbmaglinte
Play third position major, major 7, major 9 etc scales. You gt the bend sounds without the notes yu dont want. Hope that helps. ---------- "Blow as thou pleaseth"
Also, anticipate the next chord as Bob says either beofre or slightly in front of the beat. I've been experimenting with reggae harp... http://jamminjasounds.blogspot.com/2007/05/harmonica-in-jamaican-music.html http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMsuZSp-QcQ ---------- "Blow as thou pleaseth"
Check out Errol Linton, a harp player/singer from Brixton, London There are a few clips on youtube, and both albums (if you can get them) are worthwhile. I cover his reggaefied cover of Howlin for My Darlin
In front is ahead of the beat, and that's playing rock, and reggae is much farther behind the beat than blues is and if pushed too much like the way most rockers play, you're ahead of the beat and it completely loses the groove like that and it makes it sound too white. It's very important to pay attention to the groove. The one instrument that drives reggae is the bass, and in most real reggae bands, that's always the loudest instrument on the bandstand. Make sure you listen and work with as much of it as possible before making any attempt on the bandstand. ---------- Sincerely, Barbeque Bob Maglinte Boston, MA http://www.barbequebob.com CD available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/bbmaglinte
I used to play a lot of reggae stuff years ago. There is big book with the Bob Marley tunes with accurate bass lines and it show all of the different rhythms used in reggae. I usually played with the rhythm guitar for comping. You might want to use two harmonicas for chords. For major stuff the major pentatonic scale cross harp works great. The minor stuff you can try playing 2nd or 3rd position blues or try a minor harp. That line in Three little Birds I may have played in first position. No Woman No Cry I think I played with chromatic and doubled the downward moving bass line and did a solo on chromatic.
I play on occasion with a reggae band here in N.J. called No Disipline.They have been together on the jersey club/bar scene for about 20 yrs.I played yrs ago with one of the bros who formed the group in a classic rock band back in the early 80.s my point being that he invited me to sit in on a # or two on a festival we shared yrs ago him knowing my capability,yet his horn players looked at me when I got up on stage like whats he going to do with that little toy.When I started grooving with them,myself being a avid reggae fan they looked again with the Holy S thing,bottom line harp works very well with reggae especially if you have a feel and love for that style music.About a month ago I sat in with them for an hour set without horns in a smaller venue and the crowd loved it as well as myself as I don,t get to play to reggae that often unless they come into town.Our group plays a blues roots rock style so to play something different for me is a blast.Reggae On Harmonica;No Problem.
A lot of reggae is in natural minor keys (for example, "I shot the Sheriff") for which I'll use fifth position. Besides the beat being turned around, the reggae form is stretched out, so be patient and don't overplay. Pick your spots. Repeating 3 note riffs based on chord tones can work if put in the right spots. Even a one note riff, repeated using an appropriate chord tone for the single note can work.
Minor pentatonic scales seem to work well, for the most part. If there is a keyboard, pay attention to what the keyboard is doing and don't step on the keyboard lines--play alternating lines with the keyboard if possible. But DO NOT overplay. Leave plenty of space and let the rhythm do the work. Less is more. Space it O-U-T...and let the music breath.
Search the archives here for a thread about reggae harmonica from sometime last year. There was a link to a website where you could download an hour-long podcast of reggae songs that all featured harmonica. I have it on my hard drive, but it's too big to e-mail. If you can't find the original host, I can put it up on my website for you to download... ---------- ------------------ The magnificent YouTube channel of the internet user known as "isaacullah"
I was in st thomas virgin islands about ten years ago and i saw a west indian guitar/harp player that played accoustic harp through an eight inch sided metal triangle enclosure attached to a neck rack that created his own reverb and it was loud- kind of like a megaphone effect. he played calypso and reggae. ive never seen that since.
I used to play drums so my rhythm is well developed in terms of ahead/behind the beat. I really like what popper was doing I think he's using some effects. Or else his double stops are just really sweet. Either way, seems like a fun first gig for harp.
