Pat Missin joins me on episode 115.
Pat’s knowledge about the harmonica is unsurpassed, with his website at patmissin.com, a definitive source of information for over twenty years. He gives us an insight into some of this knowledge, starting with how free reed instruments were the predecessor of the harmonica and the questionable history of who actually invented the harmonica as we know it today. We also discuss various harmonica recording firsts, such as the first blues harmonica song recorded, the first second and third position and chromatic recording. Pat was also one of the earlier leading exponents on exploring harmonica tuning schemes and has released some song books for harmonica as well as some on other free reed instruments.
Links:
Website:
https://patmissin.com/
Free reed instrument history:
https://patmissin.com/history/history.html
Harmonica collection:
https://patmissin.com/gallery/gallery.html
Tunings:
https://patmissin.com/tunings/tunings.html
Vintage harmonica recordings:
https://www.patmissin.com/78rpm/78rpm.html
Harmonica reviews:
https://patmissin.com/index1.html
Magazine articles:
https://www.patmissin.com/articles/articles.html
Roger Trobridge’s Harmonica Archivist site:
http://www.the-archivist.co.uk/
Videos:
Pat playing at the NHL festival in 1999:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKOBtWLuV7E
Podcast website:
https://www.harmonicahappyhour.com
Donations:
If you want to make a voluntary donation to help support the running costs of the podcast then please use this link (or visit the podcast website link above):
https://paypal.me/harmonicahappyhour?locale.x=en_GB
Spotify Playlist:
Also check out the Spotify Playlist, which contains most of the songs discussed in the podcast:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5QC6RF2VTfs4iPuasJBqwT?si=M-j3IkiISeefhR7ybm9qIQ
Podcast sponsors:
This podcast is sponsored by SEYDEL harmonicas - visit the oldest harmonica factory in the world at www.seydel1847.com or on Facebook or Instagram at SEYDEL HARMONICAS
--------------------------------
The Harmonica Company. Use promo code: 'happyhour7'.
Email Jonathan at: sales@theharmonicacompany.com
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Blue Moon Harmonicas: https://bluemoonharmonicas.com
01:29 - Pat is originally from Hull in England, but has lived in the US for 24 years now
01:55 - Pat moved to the US to marry his American wife, who was one of his customers for his custom harmonicas
02:13 - Pat is renowned for his knowledge of the harmonica
02:22 - Pat lived near the Buckeye Harmonica festival when he first moved to the US, allowing him to make some good contacts
03:43 - Buckeye Festival doesn’t happen now, although something similar does
04:04 - Pat started playing various musical instruments to become a pop star, and the harmonica was the one that stuck
05:39 - Pat was ill for an extended period during his twenties, when it was easier to play harmonica than other instruments
06:24 - Learnt some blues guitar from listening to Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley, and heard some harmonica from Dr Feelgood
07:42 - Heard Little Walter’s Quarter To Twelve on the John Peel show, inspiring him to figure out how to play the harmonica
09:09 - Pat’s website is a tremendous source of harmonica information, including the evolution of free reed instruments into the harmonica
10:23 - Sheng is the predecessor of the harmonica, and the other free reed instruments that came before the Sheng
11:18 - History or free reed instruments has focused on Chinese instruments as they are the best documented, but there were instruments from other countries
11:56 - Standard history of the harmonica is that it derived from Chinese instruments, turned into the harmonica by Christian Buschmann and taken on by Hohner
12:40 - The first free reed instrument to be made in the Western world was developed by Christian Gottlieb Kratzenstein: a speaking machine to reproduce sound of voice
13:23 - How the reeds differ between the Eastern free reed instruments and the modern harmonica
16:02 - Christian Buschmann is usually credited with inventing the modern form of the harmonica, although this is contentious
16:40 - There is no documentary evidence, or any diagrams or instruments, for the patent Christian Buschmann is supposed to have been granted for ‘inventing’ the harmonica
17:14 - The evidence for Buschmann inventing the harmonica is from a book written by his family
17:38 - Early history of the harmonica in Europe is from Austria, rather than Germany
18:14 - Early history of European harmonica development in Germany is strongly associated with Hohner and Seydel factories from mid-1800s
18:38 - Hohner did an excellent job of promoting the harmonica in the US, and probably skewing it’s history in the process
20:14 - Other claims for nation which invented the modern harmonica come from Great Britain, the US and another German
20:24 - Gallery section of Pat’s website has various interesting harmonicas showing the many number of patents raised for harmonica designs, many of which were never made
22:34 - Pat also has a section on early harmonica players recordings, including various firsts, such as first blues, second position, third position and chromatic
23:10 - First blues harmonica recording is credited to Herbert Leonard, playing on My Doggone Lazy Man by Clara Smith in 1924, just over 100 years ago
24:21 - Henry Whitter is credited with recording the first song in second position: Rain Crow Bill Blues
25:38 - First third position recording is credited to Little Walter, playing Lonesome Day with Muddy Waters in 1951
26:18 - Little Walter may have stumbled across third position after taking up playing the chromatic and why third position wasn’t recorded earlier
28:18 - First chromatic recording was Hayseed Rag by Borrah Minevitch
29:20 - Another section on the website is about harmonica tunings, with Pat being one of the first people to share this knowledge and how his website first started
31:39 - Put some audio samples up of the different tuning schemes, including Just Intonation and Equal Temperament
32:09 - Pat’s website became a definitive early source for material on tuning schemes and the other information he created
33:16 - Did lots of harmonica reviews on his website
33:42 - Has written numerous harmonica articles, including for the NHL’s Harmonica World magazine, and The Blues Revue magazine
34:13 - Never set out with aim of building such a great harmonica resource through his website, was motivated to gain customers for his customisation business
34:57 - Was an important part of the UK’s NHL organisation when living in the UK, and probably the longest serving committee member
35:21 - Last part of NHL activity was as US co-ordinator
35:42 - Video of Pat playing at the 1999 NHL Ely concert
37:09 - Has written two songbooks for Harmonic Minor tuning
38:17 - Wrote another songbook: The Ultimate Miniature Harmonica Tunebook, for the one octave harmonica
38:49 - The songbooks were partly written based on Pat’s ability to understand how music scores can be translated onto the harmonica
39:24 - Ocarina players also bought this book as the songs fit well on that instrument, as well as other limited scale instruments
40:36 - Has written two books on how to play Chinese free reed instruments, the Bawu and Hulusi, which he self-published and have been surprisingly successful
42:58 - Decided to try self-publishing on a topic non-harmonica related first
43:33 - Similarities between the Bawu and Hulusi and the harmonica
45:38 - Next wrote a harmonica book with tunes for the harmonic minor tuning
46:08 - Driving North is a blues recording from Pat
46:35 - Likes to use drones as part of harmonica playing, inspired by interest in the sitar
47:17 - Has made some recent recordings with someone he was in a band with forty four years ago, Andy Welsh
47:40 - Is mainly retired from playing and recording now, but does a little
48:36 - Ten minute question
49:20 - Bohm miniature bass harmonica
50:00 - Walked around in youth playing harmonica
51:32 - Play along with a song off the radio or YouTube
53:00 - Harmonicas of choice is Lee Oskar’s, with many different tunings
53:16 - Been playing some harmonetta recently
53:35 - Different tunings: has recorded plenty using natural minor and others
54:31 - Uses overblows, discovering them for himself
55:55 - Embouchre: started using pucker, now uses tongue block as well
56:27 - Amps and mics: not so many amps nowadays, with a Pignose and an old Japanese tube amp
57:01 - Future plans include more updates to his invaluable website
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