Blues Harp From the Crossroads (Gussow.026)

Another late night Mississippi conversation about the journey to be taken by any blues harmonica pilgrim in search of self-improvement: obsessional practice in the woodshed; which harp keys to start out with and which to add as you go; who to listen to and what to strive for. Brief examples from "Creeper Creeps Again" and "Key to the Highway."

Category:

Howto & Style

Tags:

• Mississippi
• blues
• harp
• harmonica
• lessons
• Satan
• Adam
• Gussow

[bbeddick]

Mr. Gussow, I still cant get enough of your videos. They have really made me much better that I thought I could be in just a short period of time. I love ones like this, just talkin, and spreadin some knowledge. I just picked up an A-harp before i saw this video and im glad i got some conformation.(Gonna play me some james cotton- slow blues). Thanks again for all your help Mr. Gussow, Im glad you can ignore fools like barrybryant. (what an idiot)

"A poor drunken hearted boy"

[KudzuRunner]

@bbeddick: Thanks! I probably wouldn't have the nerve, these days, to upload this sort of late-night rant, but I'm glad I had the nerve back then, and I'm really glad that you feel that it's helped you.

[GSUPanther2001]

Adam,

I'm really getting into your lessons here, and they've inspired me to further my study of the harp, and I'm working on getting a few to start off on.

Sounds like some great recommendations you've given on who to listen to as you progress along. The main artist I have available to me at the moment would be Howlin' Wolf. I'm curious as to your take on using him as a reference point.

[KudzuRunner]

Wolf played fairly simple harp, but brilliantly. Nothing fancy. But deep, distinctive tone--pull your tongue back in your mouth, down into your throat, for his vibrato--and I wouldn't change a thing.

[sboudreau1971]

Your story made me feel better! I'm 36 and been at it for 6 months now for 1 hour a day. I'm hoping to be half as good as you.

Merci beaucoup!!!

[KudzuRunner]

You've got lots of time to get good. (T'as plusieurs/beaucoup/trop de jours pour se transformer direction mieux.) Please forgive my bad French.

[KudzuRunner]

Of course my crossroads in the Mississippi hill country aren't "the crossroads." The problem is, I've forgotten more about "the crossroadss," as you call it, than you've ever known. I'm assuming you know, for example, that "the crossroads," marked by a sign in Clarksdale in the late 1990s, wasn't there when Robert Johnson was alive. Or that there are three other crossroads, scattered across the Delta, named by Steve Cheseborough in BLUES TRAVELING, as possible "the crossroads" sites? Silly.

[dalbyonemanband]

have you seen the black man at that ole crossroads yet?

[25rsboy]

thanks for all you do adam, keep up the good work!

[velocigecko]

For every hobby there's one AMAZING youtube personality. For firearms it's Nutnfancy, for guitar it's Sawlon, and for harmonica it's you Mr. Gussow. Thanks a ton.

[afrisbeetom]

C D A F Bb? G Eb

[hohner2010]

hi, first like many people i would like to thank you so much for your video uploads as they have pushed me alone a nice steady road, i have been playing a little over a year and half but have only really started teaching myself until last december when i got myself a proper harp, as i used to play a jack daniels plastic harp made for fun but that really was it for me, i quit tae-kwon-do, to play the harmonica as training in martial arts has gotten very expensive.

[dejko72]

Thank you man for all the work you ve done for me and all the people who want to play the blues (harp). I trained my self for several years and had to figure out everything by my self. It was realy hard at the beginning but when the blues came out I could not stop for a few years. :) but dont wory you teached me alot of extra stuff like repairing my harps. because I have like 15 harps in allmost every key keys because every time my harp stoped to work I bought a new one.

[black27696]

Get a harmonica in the key of C to start.

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[ganjalfx]

chucks his tele to 1 side, am totally likin yer style, man yer inspirin me keep it up dude,, i practised 12 hrs a day fer 12 yrs on guitar but i want more, i want funk i want feelin i want life thank you due yer an inspiration

didnt know i could play c harp till i heard this i can tap along wif vai on a ibanez but i fink you exude funk an blues am headed fer the cross roads , once again ty man