Phil Duncan and Mel Bay
Anyone out there have a copy of Phil Duncan's Mel Bay Presents Blues Harp for Diatonic and Chromatic Harmonica?
Was sorting out stuff on a shelf and found a copy I must have purchased when I first bought a harmonica, going on 8-9 years ago. Copyrighted 1982.
Now, Phil Duncan is a well-respected player, author of many books, and an interesting interviewee of David's on this site.
But I gotta' wonder about things like:
"To produce a single tone for blues, tongue blocking should be avoided." (p. 4)
"A new harmonica is stiff and you will have trouble bending the sound. (p. 17)
"It is DRAWING the sound ... with much pressure that causes the sound to bend." (p. 17)
"Remember, you will need to draw your breath about twice as hard as normal [to bend a note]" (p. 17)
"If you own a wooden harmonica, soaking it will help bending notes ..." (p. 18)
Hmmmm. Makes one wonder if Mel Bay just reprinted a bunch of harp myths and added Duncan's name.
And my copy is free if anyone wants it.
Winslow:
As always, great insight.
Back when I was trying to learn rock & roll guitar and bass in junior high and high school (we're talking like starting 60 years ago), with no internet, no guitar equivalent of David Barrett, a local rec department that only taught classical guitar, a copy of The Nick Lucas Guitar Method and an old turntable from a portable PA system with a variable-speed turntable, I was exposed to a lot of guitar and bass myths. But at least I could SEE my hands, the strings and the fretboard!
Thanking my lucky stars that I didn't take up harmonica until about eight years ago!
I took up harmonica 55 years ago and there was very little information. I was lucky in that I was able to figure it out for myself withou falling into bad concepts or habits.
Well, what Phil wrote 40 years ago reflects many current ideas about harmonica from even longer ago, and not just from him. I think if you looked at his current writing you might find that his views have changed.
If they just put his name on a collection of bad lore, they'd have to pay him. And I imagine he'd have something to say about what went out under his name.
But boy, I'd hate for that to be the first thing a new player read to figure out how to play.