He uses a Hohner Special 20 harmonica

really? for sure? That's the exact kind, type, and one he used in The Blues Brothers for sure? Where would i find this harmonica? anybody know?

Yep, he uses a "Special 20" in the key of C, so make sure it's a C... You can get it at pretty much any music stores that carry harmonicas. It's a popular type.

Thats really cool...

Elwood doesn?t use ONLY a C harp...He uses a lot of harmonicas, like in Messin?with the Kid (E harp), Everybody needs somebody to love (F), B movie or Almost (A).Also,the band never played all the tunes in G (If you use a C harp the band will play in G)
I made the info about what harmonica to use in the blues brothers tune for my web. I checked the songs, and try to reproduce the exact harmonica. I think is ok.
Check it if you want: www.terra.es/personal2/bluesz/

As a harmonica player myself, and an Elwood Blues in a tribute act, the songs you mention are in different keys, but you are not required to play a different harmonica each time, only play in a different position. Let's take Messin with the Kid for example. Elwood plays on the 1 position for most of the song, then goes up to the 5 position for the solo in the song. My point.... just because a song is in a different key doesn't mean necessarly that you need another harmonica, you just move down or up to the appropriate set of notes. It's what Elwood does! Oh, and it says in Wired that's what he plays....

You tell my about in one song the chords change and the kind of playing harp is different...Of Course! for example,A,D,A,C in the guitar,you will play all the song in D.But Elwood didn?t employ the same harp for all the songs, because if you play a note in a F harp and you listen Everybody needs somebody to love sounds like elwood,but if you plays a A harp in Everybody needs somebody doesn?t sound correctly.if you play B MOVIE with a A harp,you will notice that is the same note of the harp who dan uses.

Maybe I can?t express the best that i could, but I have a regular english vocabulary...

I see what you mean, but you can play any song that the Blues Brothers do (accept "From the Bottom" where he does change harps) on a C. I do, and it works, and it's the same notes he hits. He does play one different than a C on "The Return of the Blues Brothers" video.

I?m interested on your tribute band...do you have any mp3s of your band? I want to do a small gig in a X-MAS Festival as the Blues Brothers (I?m Elwood) :)

I don't have any MP3's, we're not that hi-tech, lol. I can give you a song list if you would like, it's about the best I can do. Hope that helps!

any pics of the show? You can post the setlist too...
The project of the small gig will include Can?t turn you loose,Flip Flop & fly and Everybody needs somebody to love.Only.

Here?s two pics of me as Elwood:
www.terra.es/personal2/bluesz/yoelwood04.jpg
www.terra.es/personal2/bluesz/yoelwood04-2.jpg

I?ll buy a REAL black hat, but here I can?t find anything. I must use the train to search in other places.

I was looking for the make and model of the harmonica just by Elwood Blues in the movie.

I tried to search this site but it is difficult and I could not find the FAQs. If you can help with this also it is appreciated.

VERY INTERESTING SITE!!

It?s the HOHNER (Marine Band)SPECIAL 20 harp. :)
Hope this helps...

What key was it in? Yes your answer did help.

Thanks

on the soundtrack album, Made in America & Briefcase full of blues these wher the keys

1978: Briefcase Full of Blues
Opening: I can?t you loose
Hey Bartender F
Messin?with the kid Eb
(I Got everything I need) Almost A
Rubber Biscuit
Shot Gun Blues A
Groove Me D
I don?t know C
Soul Man B
"B" Movie BoxCar Blues A
Flip, Flop & Fly Eb
Closing: I can?t turn you lose

1980: The Blues Brothers
She Caught the Katy Eb
Peter Gunn
Gimme Some Lovin? A
Shake your Tailfeather
Everybody Needs Somebody To Love F
The Old Landmark
Think
Theme From Rawhide
Minnie The Moocher
Sweet Home Chicago A
Jailhouse Rock A

1980: Made in America
Soul Finger
Who?s Making Love
Do you Love me?
Guilty
Perry Mason Theme
Riot In Cell Block Number Nine F

Green Onions
I Ain?t got You A
From The Botom D
Going Back To Miami C

Holy cow....you da man. Thanks for the help.

also, elwwod does not use just one harp in the movie, in the scene where curtis tells them that the orphanage is being sold, elwood has three harmonicas on the table

Thats true and everybody says Elwood use's C all the time,he use Eb the most.If you don't belive me watch Live on New Years Eve,The Best Of The Blues Brothers or Story Of The Blues Brothers,he packs away into his case ,6-9 harmonica's!

-Lee

are Eb common? tryin to see wich harps i can find eesily, i only have C, and my cuzins got one that duznt have a key (he won it down the shore)

Yeah you can normaly get it sraight away in stores on the shelf

-Lee

are all keys easy to get?

yeah normaly it depends in a big music store it should i think D,B,A & Eb.I Don't know in the USA im in the UK we can get a speacial "The Blues" harmonica for only a ?5 im not sure in USA.

-Lee

JAKE_E_BLUES, you got the info from my page! :P
Well, I found an error in it...It?s ShotGun Blues, is in Eb...sorry,I will put it correctly in the web very soon. :)

you can buy the hat at the house of blues

Hey - I was wondering if a 1896/20 Marine Band harmonica in the key of A would be any better than one in Eb as a harmonica to learn to play on (for a total beginner). From jake_lee_blues' post, it seems like that's Elwood's second most popular key to play in.

Well, A is pretty good; many blues songs are recorded in E key (so the harp is in A). The A key provides more bluesy tone than a F key,for example...

Ps: Sweet Home Chicago is in A harp...

Yea, I played "Sweet Home Chicago" with a band last month, and I used my new A harp, and it sounded cool, better than the C in my opinion.

Cool. Thanks for the help!

I just wanted to make a correction - I thought that the 1896/20 Marine Band harmonica was the same as a Special 20, but after doing more research, I've realized that the one that was the kind Elwood plays is the Hohner 560/20 Special 20 Marine Band.

What type of harmonica did elwood use? im sure i saw it somewhere (quite possibly on this site) but i cant find it again, any help appreciated

it was a Hohner Special 20

ah cheers, thats what i thought it was, wasnt 100% tho

Ok yall, yes i am a newbie here but a BB fan for a while. Lately ive decided to take up the harmonica, (ill have to say i think i may sound pretty good when i play with the BB band on CD but without em i sound like crap) But onto my question...I was wondering what kind of harmonica does elwood use? I am still pretty musically stupid or ignorant. So if anyone who knows music (can read it and all) could tell me what key the harp should be in most of the BB songs or even what kind of harp Elwood uses i know im dying to know.

And this part of my question is pretty much to everyone...Are there any really good blues bands that have almost the same kinda of sound that the BB have? The Chicago style horn section with the New orleans kachunk kachunk shaking blues sound? (least that is how i head Dan Aykroyd describe what makes the BB sound the way they do)

Like i said, kinda a long 2 parter question for yall, but yall are the experts in BB so gotta go to the masters in this...

Thanks in advance yall.

Elwood uses a Hohner Special 20 (its a plastic one, i prefer the wooden Marine Band myself, i just got a plastic Hohner Hot Metal harp, and now even when i clean it it doesnt work)

i think he uses A most of the time, as for other bands, i like Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett, and Sam and Dave as far as ones that sound close to Blues BRothers songs, John Lee Hooker is a good kachunk kachunk 12 bar blues guitarist,,,,


The Blues BRothers only did Covers of Songs (Everybody - Solomon Burke, Soul Man - Sam and Dave, Love Light - I think it Grateful Dead, She Caught the Katy- Taj Mahal) so you might wanna check out the origional artists

hope this helps

j

by the way, does Zee Blues play harmonica on any of the BB recordings? I don't have any recordings with him, but in the movie K9-3 James Belushi plays a harmonica! yes, and did you see him dressed in HOB sweater in 'K-9II' when he plays with Jerry Lee?

Hohner's rock man! I have one, but it's not the greatestthing in the world. Harmonicas rock!

what type is the hohner special 20 diatonic, tremolo, octave tuned etc.

hi im new to this forum blues bros. rock

Diatonic Special 20 by Hohner.

tnx alot
i wanna get 1 cos dere cool

wot key was elwoods harp

A lot of people asks for the harp keys, so please search on the board the topics about this... I did some posts answering the question.

Hope this helps...

ChAnOoD_bLuEs i was rehearsing with tith the BRB (BLACK RHINO BAND) on Friday and saturday we were playing Jailhouse and i noticed Elwood was playing on a G. Im not sure if you have got the song key rong or we have. In Blues We Trust.

It's in the Key of C also.

Does he have special attachments on it? I have a couple honer Blues harmonicas and I want to play them like elwood does what do I need to do?

Hello
I just barely started playing the harmonica(I,ve got some honer piedmont harmonicas)and I would like to be able to sound and play like elwood does for my band. What can I do?

I'm completely lost on the thing he is holding on to.. I think it sounds like a harmonica... anyone know? You can see him playing it in "Everybody Needs Somebody to Love " It has a gold/bronze color to it. thanks allot.

Elwood played a hohner special 20 harmonica with a harp microphone. The microphone had a green colour on it. :)

What key is the harmonica in? And does Elwood use the same harmonica in other songs or does he change it?

You can find the harp keys in the harp section of the forum, harp keys topic. In Everybody Needs Somebody To Love Elwood uses a Special 20 in F.

Hope this helps :)

he has also been known to use one in the key of A if I am not mistaken don't ask me what song.

B Movie, Sweet Home Chicago and Almost are some songs in A, because the guitar is in E.

Hello folks!
I`m your white blues brother from Russia, and I do play harmonica as well. There is only one question that bothers me ever since I`ve started to play harp. What was the harp that Elwood played?

Elwood played several harps over the years, but it's well known that he played a Hohner Special 20 during the 70's.

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B0002D00RS.01-A3ET1CHCB2RN4K._SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg


Click here to see a Hohner Special 20 (Marine Band) (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/redirect?link_code=ur2&camp=1789&tag=stargatestore-20&creative=9325&path=tg/detail/-/B0002E51RQ/qid=1129043987/sr=8-4/ref=pd_bbs_4?v=glance%26n=507846)

and

Click here to see other Hohner Special 20 harmonicas (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/redirect?link_code=ur2&camp=1789&tag=stargatestore-20&creative=9325&path=http://www.amazon.com/gp/search.html/ref=xs_ap_sai5_xglna?index=mi%26node=11965861%26ke ywords=hohner%20harmonica%2020%20c)


(NB: I have only included the harps in the key of C, you can find others by searching on Amazon.com)

Thank you very much! Certainly I know this harp very well as it`s one of the most popular harps in Russia. As I remember John Popper plays Sp20 as well. Frankly speaking I prefer Hering, but Sp20 will be my next harmonica to buy. Thank you again.

Aha, both dan and john popper plays honher special 20... These harps have a strong sound...

I have this harp and it's a beauty to play,nice clear notes!!!

Does anyone know which key Dan's harp is in?

I purchased some "harmonicas" from Guitar Center in Orange County, Califrornia, and they are in some weird key that sounds nothing like Dan's "Harp."

I would appreciate it if you would help me out... Thanks!

Oh- forgot to mention...

That really does look like Elwood's harp. You never see a close-up of it in the movies but you do see (in the first movie) when he pulls it out of the blues briefcase, he holds it up in the air to show the Palace Hotel audience.

It is very metallic and silver.

I think Dan favoured an Eb harp.
Anybody feel freee to tell me off if i have this info wrong!!!
Hope this helps but you should choose a C harp to begin with as this is the easiest harp to learn with!!!!

it could be a hohner hot metal which is what i play

Dan mainly used a Hohney Special 20. In the BB2K DVD insert, there is a very clear picture of Elwood and the others on stage and in his hand: yup, its a Special 20. Ive been played Special 20s for years and theyre my favorite harps of all.


ANYWAY, he used different keys for different songs. an A Harp was used in a few songs and supposedly an F Harp was in Somebody TO Love. Dotn quote me on that however. A fits in about 5 songs. Ive played along with some and theyre pretty spot on,

Does anyone Know what kind of harmonica Elwood used? And what key.

Hohner Special 20.

You can found a topic with the keys for each song in the harmonica forum. And as Syd-Blues said, the model is the Hohner Special 20.

Great harp!!

Maybe the site needs a harmonica page?

That be nice.

What would you like on it?
I could do it, but so far I think all it would have is:

Elwood's Harmonica

Elwood Blues played a Hohner Special 20.
Click here for a photo.




Not really worth a page, but I welcome any ideas on how to add to it :)

Maybe something to help people get one of their own (links and/or advice on where to look).

If there was a page dedicated to Elwood's harmonica, the picture should be on the page itself. Clicking for a larger picture would be ok though.

Either the tabs for all the songs, or links to sites that have the tabs for the songs if that sort of thing is copyrighted.

Somewhere around this site I saw the keys for all the songs.

You cound explain the difference between diatonic and chromatic.

And your opinion on the best harp an key to buy!!

Well, everyone should start off with a C harp considering many books are in C and they're right in the middle so they sound nice.

That's what i started off with,nice and easy to learn with!!

If you're going to get the same harp, you'd better get the Shure 520DX Green Bullet microphone to go with it. :wink:

Only if you're gonna play 'lectric.

What would you like on it?
I could do it, but so far I think all it would have is:

Elwood's Harmonica

Elwood Blues played a Hohner Special 20.
Click here for a photo.




Not really worth a page, but I welcome any ideas on how to add to it :)

Maybe you can put the harp keys topic on it, and put it on the web as an "info page"... I don´t know, it´s just an idea...

8) idea!!

Thanks for the suggestions!
All great :)
I'll see what I can do.

Thank-you Chris!!

Thanks.

Maybe some little HArmonica teaching sound clips. Or just the hole numbers with s suck or b for blow signs.

On the first edition of the Best of the blues Brothers DVD was a film with a guy dressed up like the blues Brothers teaching how to play the harmonica.

On the first edition of the Best of the blues Brothers DVD was a film with a guy dressed up like the blues Brothers teaching how to play the harmonica.

I knew that the first dvd edition of that best of had a video of "how to play the harmonica". Do you have that edition? Can you put some caps about it? I´m curious about it!

Was the first edition only on vhs.Is it that one with Jake and Elwood on the cover and the red and blue background.

Was the first edition only on vhs.Is it that one with Jake and Elwood on the cover and the red and blue background.

I see the cover of the best of dvd with that video on it. It was a dancing pic of jake and elwood. It was a multi-region DVD, years before the new (and only region 1) DVD.

That's not true: they released a Region 2 version of the new DVD-version in germany (with english version on it too).

The harp-video on the old DVD isn't so great. It's just part 2 of a whole schooling-video. The guy in the BB-stuff is very unsympathetic and basicly just playing to a tape and every 5 minutes he says something like: "You can bend if you wan't t."
Also the picture-quality is very bad.


That's the old DVD:

http://image.allmusic.com/00/adg/cov150/DRT000/T005/t00589atjok.jpg

And that's the german Region 2 version of the new one:

http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B0001BUK7Q.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

Their is also an german-version (but in english language
) of "The Return of the Blues Brothers" that is called "Die coolste Blues Party", this one should run on all european videoplayers.

http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B00004RWVJ.03.LZZZZZZZ.jpg


Oh, and Chris you wrote (in the store) that Oscar Brown Jr. is apearing on in the video, but that's wrong. It's Leroy Osborn!! I now that on the video they wrote Oscar Brown Jr., but that's not him and on in video Elwood calls out Leroy Osborn.
To be honest Oscar Brown Jr. would have been much cooler. He's one of my favorite jazzsingers and Leroy Osborn is very boring.

and Leroy Osborn is very boring.


I agree. I skip that part on the concert. "The Diabolo in Me" is good, and the Steve Vai/John Popper solos are great!

Yeah John Popper is great but I really love how Buddy Miles sings "Hey Joe". It's very soulful!

Yeah, this is the kind of concert that SHOULD be re-released on DVD (with 5.1 surround etc).
But unfortunately it's not even available from Wienerworld.com anymore.

:mrgreen:

Thats me

does anyone know what brand and type of harmonica Dan Aykroyd uses as Elwood? :BB:

Hiya

Its a special 20 Hohner.

ANT

Hiya

Its a special 20 Hohner.

ANT

Yep, Special 20 for Hohner. Check the "Harmonica Chat" for more info as Keys for songs,etc.

What is the type of harmonica that elwood plays. the thing looks like it's a bigger than normal harmonica. I've been to the music stores in the area and they just have the regualr ones. Any help?

What is the type of harmonica that elwood plays. the thing looks like it's a bigger than normal harmonica. I've been to the music stores in the area and they just have the regualr ones. Any help?
That question has been asked many times here, so I merged as many as I could find into one thread. Your answer awaits you in the posts above.

Thanks for the help guys, i really appreciate it.

Hi from Russia! i`m play on "Lee oskar" harmonica now:P Harp-it`s really COOL!

He uses a Hohner Special 20 harmonica*whistles* Niiiice.

I love my Lee Oskar, though. I do have a Hohner... not sure what "kind" it is, though. I keep it in a nice box 'cos I like it clean and scratch free.

Wait, special... 20? Does that mean it's one of those big ones? There can't be such a thing as 20 holes, can it? Mine's got 10, but it has 2 keys, so technically 20 "sounds." I think the one I got at the House of Blues is similar, if not the same kind Elwood plays.

My hands are WAY too small for those big ones. :( I'll never get to play one. Damn Dan and his monster hands. :cool:

Special 20 as in 20 reeds, 2 per hole, blow and draw:D

Special 20 as in 20 reeds, 2 per hole, blow and draw:DOh. I have two of those. :eek: A Hohner and a Lee Oskar.

Is there really a HUGE difference between brands?

Special 20 is a brand name of a particular Hohner model of 10 hole harmonica - it's not a generic term for the diatonic harp even though the vast majority have that 10 hole design.

Lee Oskars and special 20s are actually very similar, but other brands and models of harmonica can be very different in tone, responsiveness, feel and lifespan. Try a few and find what you like.

Special 20 is a brand name of a particular Hohner model of 10 hole harmonica - it's not a generic term for the diatonic harp even though the vast majority have that 10 hole design.

Lee Oskars and special 20s are actually very similar, but other brands and models of harmonica can be very different in tone, responsiveness, feel and lifespan. Try a few and find what you like.Oh. But I still have a "20" or whatever. The point is, I can still play the same songs he's playing.

Harp players:

Did you learn from a book, video or "on the fly?"

I learned by playing along to blues records. I still think it's the best way. It's not that hard to figure out for yourself.

I think I'm going to have to dust off my Marine Band.....and try to relearn everything I've forgotten.

I started just playing along, then i started playing to tabs, but went back to figure out the notes myself.

Do you know some websites or video on youtube where is possible learn some basic things to play the harmonica?

Search for Adam Gussow, Jason Ricci and Jon Gindick. They are all top notch players who post free lessons (beginners and advanced) on Youtube. Harmonicaclub.com is a good place for lessons.

perfect...thanks a lot

Don't buy any harp that has the word " blues" embossed on it. They are made with wafer-thin reeds, that are easier to bend. They are also easier to break. Get yourself a marine band, any and all keys. Bending can take some work, but once you got, it's just like breathin', man---you really don't think to much about it. Let it come naturally.

I'll have to protest on that, i've had 2-3 "Hering Delta Blues", and they're GOOD! The reeds are prone to jamming, but a quick tap against a table solves that, i've never had a reed break on me on these.

Hering is a good brand. There are quite a few good quality harps with 'blues' stamped on them somewhere. Maybe Bender was talking about cheap, unbranded Chinese made harps?

No. FatJim,
Bender was talking about a "blues" Hohner I tried when I first started playing harp. Never heard of a Hering, other than a red one. Thought the
'blues harp" sounded thin and tinny. Didn't want to waste money on another one like it & stuck to what I knew. Thanks for the info. I like building up my arsenal.

Sorry to hear you had a bad experience Bender, but I can't accept that all Hohner Blues Harps are inferior.

The reason I say this is because the Hohner Blues Harp uses the same reed plates as other Hohner models. It just isn't true to say it has thinner reeds. Prior to the introduction of Hohner's modular system, the Blues Harp was built with exactly the same reed plates as a Marine Band, they just used a different colour sealant on the comb and different cover plates. After they went with the MS system, the plates changed to MS plates - the same plates as used across the whole Hohner MS range - including the top-of-the-range Meisterklasse harps. Hohner's list price on Meisterklasse harps is $110 (though most places sell at around $60-70) so I don't think Hohner could get away with using substandard reedplates there.

The 'myth' that the Blues Harp uses thinner reeds is a long standing one. If you don't accept what I say here, read Pat Missin's FAQ page on just this subject. http://www.patmissin.com/ffaq/q9.html Pat is highly regarded as one of the World's leading experts on harmonicas.

Bender, you say you had this bad Blues Harp experience when you were starting out. My take on this is that, like most beginners you wore your harp out quickly and your tone was still being developed. When you changed to Marine Bands, you also learned to control your breathing, bends and tone better. In your perception the Marine Band came out as a better harp, but in reality you had just become a better player. If you'd stuck with a Blues Harp you'd probably sound the same on those.

Thanks, FatJim.
I do like the Hohners. Back then I didn't have the money to want to take a chance, you know, 20 bucks is 20 bucks.
Your last paragraph was exactly my thoughts. I was trying awfully hard back then---lucky I didn't inhale the damn-thing sometimes. I've been playing since I saw the movie "Crossroads". I remember thinking to myself 'how in the hell did he get all that noise to come out of that little-bitty gizmo. Been hooked ever since. All my harps are Hohners,except for a Lee Oskar E---that one's pretty zippy.

I hope that's 'Crossroads' with the Karate Kid guy and Ry Cooder vs. Steve Vai finale and not 'Crossroads' the godawful Britney Spears movie!:-D

Only kidding!

Anyway thank your lucky stars you only pay $20 for a harp - here in rip-off UK we pay at least twice that:(

Hey, FatJim.
God. I keep forgetting she made movies. Sorry if you were waiting for a quick reply. I'm at work and it's the night-shift (11pm-7am). Usually, there's no one on this site when I am. The UK, eh? Are the blues still as big there as they were in the old days? I'm a big John Mayall fan. The price of harps have been pretty steady here---under-rated and all. I Bought my first in '86 or so; Back when Ralph was still marketable.

Damn, John Mayall. He's awesome. He voice is a lil shaky, but that's cool. Only he pulls a pet peeve of mine on Hard Road With Peter Green.

Anyways, I buy my harps at a folksy guitar store, for about $15 for Hohners.

Hand-made bag for harmonicas with Beatles logo. "Love me do" was my first harmonica song.

That's really cool.

Mayall's great. I've got 3or 4 albums of his," behind the iron curtain" is my favorite. I think it's a bootleg tho. He also knows how to spot talent. Clapton played with him a bit. I'm also a big Clapton fan. I believe I have at least one album from every band he's ever played with.

Nothing wrong with a good boot, unless you payed for it.

So would a Hohner "Blues band" be a good harp for a beginner? I'm kinda new to all harps in general so it would be nice to hear some things on what one would be good for beginners ect.

A Hohner Blues Band is a very inexpensive harp - it'll do to see if you like it and want to learn. It's not a great harp though - cheap harps are usually not as airtight or responsive as the more upmarket ones. But if you don't want to fork out a lot until you decide whether you're going to take playing seriously, then it would be OK.

If you want a good quality harp - regardless of brand - you should expect to pay upwards of $15. Hohner, Lee Oskar, Suzuki, Seydel, Hering or Bushman are all names you can trust.

Thanks for the advice fatjim.

could anybody tell me how to find tabs for harmonica, i bought my first Hohner pro cause of the blues brothers movies and now i want to learn how to play their songs properly... thnx!

Check online for simple tablatures, and check out this book:

http://www.amazon.com/Masters-Blues-Harp-Note-Note/dp/0793572711/ref=pd_bbs_10?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1213031819&sr=8-10

However, I'm finding the tabs in the book to be very confusing. For example, I'm trying to learn Little Walter's "Sad Hours." Following the tablature -- and its accompanying musical notation -- leads you to believe that bar five in the second verse ends with a couple of sixteenth notes, but if you listen to the recording, the last two notes in the second bar are actually harp shakes (or head shakes, if you prefer to shake your head instead of the harmonica!) that last until the very end of the sixth bar. There is a "how to read these tabs" kinda thing in the beginning of the book, but it's not much help.

Joe Filisko's tablature method, though, is pretty easy, but lotsa luck finding those. Basically, Joe puts 12 bars on a page, and has sort of an elongated "M" simple for every beat. (Four "M"s per bar, that is.) Each of the down-strokes in the elongated "M" is a third of a beat, and the number below each of those strokes represents which hole; an up-arrow means blow, a down-arrow means draw. If there's an upward curvy line under the number, it means bend up into the note; a downward curve means bend down out of the note. If the arrow has a horizontal line through it, it means play the first bend of the draw; two lines means the second bend; etc. Really easy to follow.

thnx that was really helpfull...:BB:

does anybody know the key for Ghost Riders?

does anybody know the key for Ghost Riders?
It´s in A

...and if you play crossharp you need a harp in D...

Hey,

I hate C-Harmonica-standard:BB:

i know that he uses one in the key of C mostly... thats the most popular, what i have.

if you know a bit more about music you can get a chromatic harmonica, and you dont need more then one. thats for if you play maybe another instrument and know a bit more about music theory.

i got a case out of a catalog, keys A-G, and they have soul man engraved on them.

and wat key does elwood use in soul man? i saw someone wrote B, but wen i play i use C and it sounds closer, but if i could get someones opinion id appreciate that.

It's not B it's Bb (i.e. B Flat) when the song reaches the short harp break, the band is playing in F, so the crossharp key is Bb.

When you use a C harp you're playing in 12th position, which actually could work OK if you avoid the low notes or can bend accurately. It won't sound bluesey though.

I'm getting the impression that you are a relative beginner on the harp . I think really you have three choices:

1. Buy a Bb harp
2. Forget the harp solo (it's very short anyway)
3. If you are playing to a backing track you might be able to change the key (pitch) of the music.

If you can't or don't want to do any of those then use an F harp or a C harp