Brendan Power - The Drunken Landlady - www.candyrat.com

[HeadMinerve]

Wow, I used to play this on the guitar, never heard celtic trads on the harmonica. I love this guy. Definately. :p

[LackadaisicalE]

Not my style, but the dude has awesome control of what he is doing on that harp!

I like him from the Gaither vids too, he has a nice manner about him, reminds me of a former professor in medieval Scandinavian forestry practises I once had :)

[ambarish3884]

I saw Power playing live at 1st guwahati international music festival,India !!! He is amazing!!

[MrFireHarp]

I've played harmonica for 29 years, and this guy totally inspires me to not quit!

[korkiwi]

Brendan Power is my harmonica role model.

[88Kamikaze69]

That was a true pleasure to listen to, simply amazing.

Reminds me of when I was a young kid and used to go hiking into the mountains with the old ones for some reason, simply soothing to listen to ^^

Btw, anyone have any idea of the cost of an introductory level cross harp like this?

Prefferably not one with a wooden comb.

If I could play like that I'd be a happy man, this kind of music embodies how I wish to feel all the time ^^

[panchitocolombia]

20 people doesn´t have an harmonica

[RevDelbert]

@panchitocolombia I'm guessing the same 20 have no soul either!

[BobrovMike]

this makes me want jump out of my chair and yell at the top of my lungs "OPAAAHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

[keetonbob]

3:52 my ass! I swear at least 12 minutes went by while listening to this song.

[NEWPAGE92]

he has 4 lungs...

[bulkyboo71]

first heard this chap on radio 2 a couple of weeks ago............i'm hooked brilliant

[agustinalesso]

I feel I'm the shire with Frodo...

[rafstani]

Muzyk broni się sam... :))

[schwarzwaldfrequenz]

i wanna hear "crossing the minch" that way^^ great !!

[HeyTina]

refreshing

[conradbaker]

freakin amazing!

[TheGhostace]

best thing ever

[BlueVooch]

I keep coming back to this, over and over. I've watched an awful lot of harp playing on Youtube. Technically demanding and beautifully expressed, This is one of the best examples of harmonica musicianship. Thank you for posting.... and Thank you Brendan

[SoldatSolutrea]

Power's an incomparable Celtic harmonica player, especially with the higher register, just beautiful

[cata129]

Superb



[Islamfromallah]

thenoblequran (Ctrl+Enter)

[adzash]

@Islamfromallah why?

[Whatsisname3529]

What kind of chromatic is he playing?

[MurchisonFalls]

@Whatsisname3529

I suppose he's playing a Hohner Meisterklasse?

[Whatsisname3529]

wow. Impressive.

[Timothydlol]

jesus....

[jenevastorme]

What's the second tune he's playing?

[echoceleste]

@jenevastorme The Wind that Shakes the Barley

[echoceleste]

@jenevastorme 2nd is The Wind That Shakes the Barley. Dunnoo the 3rd

[carrigtwohill33]

@jenevastorme 3rd tune the MIGHTY BUCKS OF ORANMORE BRILL

[jenevastorme]

@carrigtwohill33 : Thanks, that was bugging me. ;-)

[TheUros1996]

its like pirate song :D

[CanfieldSuccess]

...we have the same shirt on. Nice style, Brendan.

[cbwd40]

THATS FOR SURE HES BAD ASS>>>>>>

[thehighway69]

my exploded...thats how awesome it is!!!

[tnt6977]

My idol.

[rainwizard55]

I'm amazed

[rmcdaniel423]

Hands down, one of the very best harmonica players I've ever seen. "Sweet Bulgarity" is one of my favorites. In fact, I think I'm gonna watch it right now! :-)

[Lisnageeragh]

Fine job!

[TheVampireSteve]

Holy balls. Never thought i'd see the day the harmonica could be something other than a toy parents give their kids so they can be a pain in the ass

[Muzikman127]

@TheVampireSteve watch?v=NdUkGV7pGzg

[honeydawg]

No circular breathing, none of that. Just a lot of practice loool.

[piratebri]

@honeydawg As I said, was only a guess. "loool"

[piratebri]

He probably uses circular breathing, similar to didgeridoo players. Only a guess though.

[shillaily]

@piratebri Probly not though cause harmonicas make a sound when breathing in unlike didgeridoohickeys. You can see when his cheeks are puffed he's blowing and and when compressed he's suckin'. At least that's what it looks like.

[Muzikman127]

@piratebri yo uneed to- you naturally inhale and exhale whilst playing harp as some notes are draw some are blow.

[HandiAce]

Brendan Power?  More like Brendan LUNGpower.

[Levatron]

WHICH HARMONICA ARE YOU PLAYING AND WHAT KEY?

I presume it is a Suzuki ??? in C

Seamus

[suupildur]

Brendan,please come to Pärnu again!!!

[dabigjokeoftheday]

WHOLE LOT O BLOWIN AND SUCKIN GOIN ON......

[JetJoeStudios]

WHO LIVES IN A PINEAPPLE UNDER THE SEA?!

[xuxalixa]

@JetJoeStudios YOUR DAMN GIRLFRIEND ! :D

[EdvinErikssonMovies]

@JetJoeStudios wrong video dude... :P

[GhostOfRockyHorror]

wish i could do that! =(

[chamungo]

Did he even breathe..? Really awesome.

[Muzikman127]

@chamungo the whole time he was playing- harmonicas play on both the inhale and exhale :)

[lauta17rengo]

genio

[dunl0p1]

Voice Of the God

[SuperFujiki]

ou my good

[simon8132]

River dance!

It's fantastic!

[jobdav]

what harmonica was this and what key. amazing performance. precision and control

[brianrayrich]

this guy is soooo great

[CoyoteBuddy]

Brilliant!

[ARTQPID]

Awsome!

[ireland4lyfe]

wow..... a harmonica hurrancanrana!

[Jacopovico]

18 dislike... Bieber's fan are anywhere...

[johnnylovesmilk]

@Jacopovico quality

[CE750]

I have a Suzuki Fabulous as well.... and that's where our similarity ends! Absolutely brilliant!

[bonzo]

very brilliant

[avgsitizin]

Brendan you are truly amazing, which im sure you already know this, but nice work, its not very common where you see such control over notes and someone doesnt play more than one note at once, and it was also very cool to see that your right hand didnt really for the most part do hardly any sound control but pretty much just kept rythem with your tempo, up till the the end when you added dynamics for the lower notes. Very nice, you are THE GOD OF THE HARP

[tomlaid]

attended your workshop at balmain/sydney a few years back i didn"t think you could get any better but you have and to become one of the finest exponents of the harmonica in the world today ... kiind regards tom

[CaosProphet]

now I know for sure thet the harmonica is an entirely underestimated musical instrument O.o

[dreamline7]

Good kiwi lad! Did some magic work with Sting too.

[mmbspeedm]

incredible..

[thezooga]

insane little salors tune!

[patcloonan1931]

Brendon Nice job on the tunes - Mach Weiter so keep it up --- slan ---pat

[SiggiNebel]

This makes me think that Brendan (in addition to his splendid mastering of other music) is actually the only one who knows how to play an IRISH harmonica and to make it sound as just as traditional as any harp, fiddle or flute. There are, of course, a may people who play Irish music on a blues harp and often quite well, too, but to my ears all those I've been listening to had a foreign, usually American, accent in their playing.

[this praise has been owed, but it's honest]

[ProneToIgnorance]

ummmmmmmmmmmm........ uhhhhhhhhhh..... WTF

THAT'S A F*$%&ING HARP?

That's it I'm starting a blues band....

Who's got that guys number?

[raslerdude152]

I LOVE IT. You rock good sir

[Basjuhdeuil]

my god this is truly amazing!

[TheTsine]

Great gerat great great ~!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!111

[PTNMusic]

Nice. Would be really good with some beat boxing! :P

[MysticalGandy]

This is Amazing... could have swore it was a squeeze box of sorts... Excellant.

[stavedthumb]

How on earth do you learn this kind of stuff! Absolutely incredible!

[southboundtraveler]

Speechless...

[LoafofCat]

i reckon i wouldve passed out around 0:45

[tatervader502]

This reminded me of toast..

[EMTdrummer]

Loved it... sounds a lot like accordian but a lot more work to play!! Great job!

[graham8299]

that was fantastic

[MissDeboraB]

it´s funny how the sound of a harmonica speaks to the imagination of people. Some imagine a cowboy on the prairie, some imagine girls dancing in white dresses in an irish landscape, some imagine pirates :)

Greetings from Holland

[Tahlorn]

Wonderful playing! You look like you are sitting in a confessional though :P

[silverdude3]

ahoy me mateys we be all pirates,, arrrggg, shiver me timbers.. who made a poop on the poop deck?

[lovelol3]

dude that's like magic:S

[vlam12]

its a profesional

[AnBhfacaTuMoBristi]

Great tune. Is he in a confessional though?

[DurtyHarrys]

CANDRYRATS IS THE BEST!

[Duhnata]

absolutley amazing. I had to put this in my faves.

[rayboutin]

makes me want to go out and buy a chromatic

[piperboystruan]

I might of Commented on this video before.... but it is truely amazing!

[shortattentionspan1]

.... awesome

[SequelToThePrequel]

some sort of Irish ditty?

[Fischj]

this guy is sic!!!!!!!!!!!! O_O?!

[StevenBoBeevin]

a bit more dynamics in tempo?? ahahaha

[japphan]

Yes. Accelerande, ritarando. Not being locked in a rythm. That makes me laugh too. Truly funny.

[pantsmatants]

crikey, sign me up.

[MrAlexPlus]

Sounds like a good ol' Irish drinking song, even if it isn't.

[bob26drft]

What key is his harmonica in? I know it's chromatic.

[guitarplayer222333]

cromatics are in C and when the button is pressed it goes to C#

[KiwiDave71]

He is playing a D chromatic harp

[bob26drft]

thanks.

[iFailAtSchool]

BREATHE!

[celticmarine1]

Wow, Brendan is a master. His accuracy with the harmonica is stunning!

[Sannosauce]

IRON LUNGS

[0011023]

Nah, you can breath in on a harmonica. Sorry to spoil it for everyone.

[Sannosauce]

the fuck would you know. doesn't mean the exertion is any less on the lung muscles when playing for this long & quickly.

[japphan]

It's actually quite easy to play that fast and for that long, what's hard is to keep that kind of precision for that long.

[StevenBoBeevin]

your pretty dumb man.

[SiggiNebel]

@Sannosauce

.... and still a feeling like velvet.

[LivArs]

@Sannosauce You do know that you don't just blow air out of there right?

[Methyl10]

@Sannosauce It seems me he use a special technique to breath ?!

[Braindestructor]

really cool!

[Cyclonebg]

I like how the end gets really bluesy :)

[ajfelix67]

I'm in awe. If I had an ounce of your talent....I'd die a happy man. Terrific....wonderful....excep­tional are just a few words that come too mind.

[Jan081]

Thanks for correcting me guys, I never realized there were chromatic harps without the slider-function. I have indeed found a type of harp that essentially puts 2 different types of harp on top of eachother to make a chromatic.

As far as sharps and flats... aren't they a basic shift from the base-tone (C to C-sharp isn't that much of a step :) ).

[byebyebirdie2]

Wow, and I thought Stevie Wonder was the only chromatic master,..nice!

[Upsilver]

dude!!! what are you talking about!! haha, please search for "Toots Thielemans"

[byebyebirdie2]

Just heard "Toots" ,..thanx 4 turnin me on to, pretty cool! didn't know he was the harp player for "Midnight Cowboy"

- dudette

[bartlettbooks]

It does more than shift tone slightly. It enables the player to play sharps and flats, same as the black keys on a piano.

The chromatic harmonica is laid out the same as a piano keyboard, but it doesn't have the range, although the 16 hole chromatic has a 4 octave range.

[Jan081]

Nope... you see the little knob on his right of the harmonica? It's used to shift tone slightly and is only found on so called chromatic harmonica's.

Diatonic harmonica's don't have that, and therefore can only produce 2 tones per tone, hence dia(2)tonic(tones).

This doesn't include the bending effect ofcourse :).

[blah11110]

no... they're called diatonic because you can play every note in a certain diatonic scale, that's why diatonic harps have keys. if what your saying was true then chromatic harps without the little knobs would also be called diatonic.

[Killaphobiac]

is this a diatonic harp?

[pingpongme]

I'm in that boot behind you, confessing you're the god of harp!

[fochie]

I second that. On the eight day.........

[Spirosaur]

Good God Damn that man can play !

[ugedemugede]

Maybe he would make a good film cowboy?

[Asenmacht]

You are the god of the harp.

[Hendik88]

@Asenmacht No dude, Toots Thielemans is. But, Brendan is indeed one of the best!

[HighGoat]

i'd pass out.

[meddieval]

i suddenly wanna dance OMG this guy is MASTER in  harmonica playing :D

[chirritutiplen]

Harmonica master!

[Janiski]

OMG I just love this stuff, watched this like 20 times already.

[59chti59]

Superrrrrrrrr

[57kristof57]

****** Stars! end the end :-)

[cajunsunflowerchild]

Wow that's so cool. It reminds me of Rose and Jack dancing below deck in Titanic! How does this guy BREATHE?!

[Andrexthor]

He probably has oxigen tanks connected directly to his lungs. lol

[danrlebert]

Harmonicas sound when you breathe in as well not just when you blow them!

[bugzyade619]

nice!

[jpowell52]

sounds so perfect its like a flute at some points. amazing. I second the jig worthy motion!

[kien105]

perfect

[NeglectedField]

totally jig-worthy

[Drummerbrah16]

Man hes gotta be lightheaded. But this is Sick!

[jaknife1102]

WOAH now thats some cool stuff. nice!!

[lechatdavid]

He's great-and built his own harmonicas!!!!

[OrangeVanillah]

this is absolutely amazing, but it makes me wonder why anyone would choose an instrument like this to master.

[twoflattires]

You wonder why someone would want to master an instrument like this? Probably because its an extremely versatile instrument with a unique sound. I'd much rather hear someone play something amazing on an instrument like this than hear yet another person who plays guitar. Not that I really have anything against guitar, but there are many great guitar players and I'm interested in hearing a little more variety in my music. I'm kind of getting of tired of bands always having the same instrumentation

[twoflattires]

I just clicked on your profile and saw you play guitar. I honestly didn't know that when I wrote my reply, so I hope your not too offended, I really do like guitar music. I had to laugh when I realised you played the guitar though, I just thought it was typical that a guitar player would think that his instrument is somehow superior to what someone else plays. I know you probably don't actually think that, but it kind of came across that way in your post.

[OrangeVanillah]

yeah, man, that's fine. i was only making a joke, anyways. I really do think it's a cool instrument, just kind of funny.

[darkfireblade]

aw no flame war :P

on topic:

really cool music video, the dude has some serious skills

[nvjharmonica]

magnificent awesome!!!!!

[LoafofCat]

Holy shit! My new hero!

[onearmfrog]

My thoughts exactly!!

[PlaceboTree]

Amen Brother!

[rmcdaniel423]

Astounding. I know nothing about harmonica playing, but I know enough about music to realize the tremendous skill he has. And when he's finished, he's not out of breath at all. Supernatural !!

[nikaosita]

genius!!!

[cesarscreamo]

this is so difficult!!!!

amazing! amazing!

[RaiseItToEleven]

Sounds awesome! Kinda looks like you're in a church confessional booth. lol

[agentasher]

i saw this guy play in oamaru and had to buy the cd, wish i could get sum lessons

[Kiefkidyea]

Id say lungs of metal lolz

[blackbook92]

i don't know what he's using but seems to have a button that let him go half step or something like that...

or it's like a vibrato shit xD

i rlly dunno XD

[olishant]

You're right, essentially it's just a button that "bends" the note like one would with their mouth on other harmonicas.

[TijnB42]

It's called a chromatic harmonica, the button moves the holes in the metal, so the air is directed to a different set of reeds, which is tunes half a step higher then the "normal" one.

[ivatimobil]

Hi, you are right about chromatic harmonicas, in general the would set the not half a step higher. in this case i think it is very likely that he is using a modified (by himself, lok up his webpage) harmonica that is not chromatic. It is tune in D (the diatonic major scale) and each time he presses the button the note goes to the next note in the scale. that is a D would go to E, and B woul go to C#. that is the reason that he can make so wonderful ornamentation.

[boguspurr]

It is a chromatic, but he has the slide set up backwards, apparently - the default position is the opposite way round from the factory setting.

[Jagmatah]

what scale of harmonica is this anyone know?

[Xozny]

Isn't it E? I really have no idea I haven't really checked properly.