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2005 World Harmonica Festivalby David BarrettDownload this Article.
About a year ago Joe Filisko said to me that I should make the journey to Trossingen Germany to the World Harmonica Festival (http://www.whf-2005.de/) to both meet these players and have the opportunity to tour the Hohner Harmonica factory as well as the German Harmonica and Accordion Museum (http://www.harmonika-museum.de/). In his words, "it would make it all seem more real." Joe has been an integral part of the American and European blues education scene for many years and was instrumental in putting in a good word for me. Steve Baker, a fine performer and educator of blues harmonica in Germany (and fellow Mel Bay author), handled the artist roster and helped to secure a place for me. In November of 2005 I had the pleasure to participate in this festival as a judge, instructor and performer. Here are some of my experiences and impressions.
That evening I met up with Steve Baker and had a wonderful Italian meal at the Hotel Traube. We had the opportunity to drink and listen to good music with the owner De Giosa several times through the week. Steve is one of the most well known blues harp players and educators in Europe. It was a pleasure to get to know him and have the opportunity to see him perform as well as play with him on a number of occasions during the event.
After checking in I took a stroll around the facility. Up stairs there was a number of displays depicting the history of the harmonica. This was just a taste of what was available for viewing at the museum (more about that later). There was also a room for harmonica merchandise sales.
 Some of the highlighted harmonicas from the museum chosen for this traveling display
By this time all of the musicians had arrived and it was a pleasure hanging out with them and enjoying the relaxed atmosphere of the event. While the night was still young I hung out in the Havana Bar at the Hotel Baren. The Havana Bar was a stylishly decorated room built for the purpose of hanging out and enjoying a drink. The owner of the establishment, Hans-Joerg Letters, was there with us every night, making the mood very relaxed and fun. The jams to happen as the event went on would go until sunrise the next morning. He was a good sport to stay with us into the wee hours. When I arrived at the Cabana room Wednesday night there were three participants of the festival jamming, one playing guitar and rack harmonica. It was fun listening to them and being invited to play with them. It wasn't until the next day that one of the jammers found out I was to be one of their judges in the following day's competition.
In the afternoon was the Solo Diatonic competition that I was to take part in. This was held at the Kesselhaus. The Kesselhaus was where power was generated for the Hohner factory. The building was converted into a nightclub, retaining some of the old generators and mechanical workings for a very interesting atmosphere. Contestants performed on stage with myself, Joe Filisko and Eddie Martin at a table in front of them with an audience behind us of about forty people. Joe Filisko is the father of diatonic harmonica customizing, an amazing blues harmonica historian, educator and performer. I have had the pleasure to work with Joe and build a friendship over the last couple of years. This was the first time I had met Eddie Martin, though I have heard of his name before. Eddie is a fine guitarist, singer and rack harmonica player. He's made a name for himself as a performer, producer and instructor. The judging panel was highly skilled and it was a pleasure to be part of the team. Contestants either played unaccompanied or with a jam track. Each contestant had five minutes to play their song or selection of songs. The competition was specifically for Blues, Rock, Folk and Country… and that's what we got, a very large cross section of styles. There were 18 contestants. Contestants were judged with a set criteria. Technique, feel, tone, timing, dynamics and stage presence were all considered, with technique having the largest amount of points to award. After six contestants would play, the three of us would speak of each player and make any adjustments to our scores. At the end of the contest we went into a private room for about an hour and a half to tally scores and debate any ties. The young guns stole the first five places. The amount of information available to players today is much larger than it used to be ten years ago. I feel this mostly has to do with the availability of information on the Internet as well as better quality books. For new players of the instrument, many of the roadblocks that I and other players had are no longer an issue. It was clear that these young players made use of that information and worked very hard to achieve the skill level that they did. The top placing players I would assume to have an average age range of twenty years old. I was very impressed with their skill and song writing abilities (they all performed original compositions).
Friday morning Eddie Martin and I headed off to the guided factory tour of the Hohner Harmonica factory. I was looking forward to this tour very much. It's not often you get the opportunity to see how every part of a harmonica is manufactured and assembled. No cameras were allowed at this point, so I'm sorry to say I don't have any pictures from this part of my journey. The fascinating part of the manufacturing process to me was the tables used to tune the harmonicas as well as how the reeds are manufactured. A plate of reed material is fed into what looks to be similar to a wood plainer which cuts the reed profile on the plate surface. From there the plate goes to a The tuning of the harmonicas was also fascinating. On Wednesday I saw the old tuning tables at the harmonica museum. This table consists of a foot-actuated bellows that blows air through an area where the reed plate (which held the reeds to be tuned) is fastened. The table has a reference reed that can be sounded by the pulling of a drawbar.
  After the big concert it was time again to go to the Kesselhaus for the late night performances and jams. I performed that night for a half hour set with the B-Sharp Rhythm Section. I did a number of instrumentals, some old and some new. Steve joined me for a Rhumba-that was a blast! Steve was killer. Joe joined me for a duet of "Walter's Boogie." Joe and I traded licks from the original song, as well as some new stuff and some harmony parts that added a nice change of sound for the end of the tune. That was a lot of fun. After my set the jam started and Joe started his acoustic jam again. This time we both didn't leave until 4:00 a.m. in the morning. As we headed to the hotel with little energy left, we found almost the entire group of performing musicians hanging out in the Havana Bar jamming and having a good time! Eddie played guitar as we jammed around the room. Marko and Lars took turns playing the upright bass, with the drummer from their same group adding some nice snare work, which happened to be in the room (planted by our host?). What a fun evening.
After a good knap I headed over to the concert hall for a performance from Harmonica-Chor Laakirchen (Austria), Julian Jackson (England), Harmonicamento (Germany), the Hong Kong Harmonica Association Harmonica Chamber Orchestra and Le Blue featuring Beata Kossowska (Poland). All the groups were very fine (though I had to miss Le Blue due to the need to leave early for the Kesselhaus). My favorite group was Harmonicamento. Harmonicamento included some of the fine ladies that performed earlier in various harmonica groups as well as the organizer Gerhard Muller on solo chromatic. The jam at the Kesselhaus was extremely well performed this evening. All of the jammers were more relaxed and into having a good time for the last evening of jamming. Each player that came up really stepped to the plate and offered up some nice selections. I thought the show presented by the jammers could have easily stolen the show at the main concert hall!
The final performance of the day was at the Kesselhaus featuring Steve Baker, Abi Wallenstein and Martin Rottger. Their group was called "Blues Culture." I was very impressed with their music and it was clear that the music was really felt by all in the audience. Martin Rottger played an interesting percussion instrument that was basically a wooden box with a pickup. Armed with a high-hat and various small percussion instruments, he added a great feel to the music. Steve was kind enough to invite Joe and I for the last couple songs. It was a nice end to a wonderful weekend.
Though the World Harmonica Festival only happens every four years, Steve Baker and the town of Trossingen hold the Harmonica Masters Workshop every year. I was invited to be a main instructor of this class next year (November 1-5, 2006) and look forward to meeting more players eager to study the blues harmonica. Steve Baker, Joe Filisko and Marc Breitfelder will also be instructing, with Dick Bird again available for accompaniment during workshops and jams. It should be a very good class. About the Author David Barrett |
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Ever since I started playing the harmonica at the age of fourteen, my playing has always focused on the American tradition of blues harmonica. When I started to teach at age eighteen, my focus was, and still is to this day, traditional or traditional-based blues harmonica. As the years went on I heard more and more about players from the European community who excelled at the blues… most of whom studied the masters, but had an interesting approach that made their music uniquely different and fresh. As I started to conduct workshops in the United States it was common for participants to fly in from around the world to study blues harmonica. Some of these players were very proficient at playing the style of harmonica prominent in their region-styles that were soaked in the musical traditions of their geographic area.
The journey to the festival was relatively easy. After arriving in Frankfurt from a flight out of San Francisco the train system took me the rest of the way. Tuesday evening I checked into my hotel and had some daylight left to walk through the town. It was evident that Hohner had a huge influence on the town by the naming of buildings and the abundance of music-related facilities. Fliers for the event and concerts were plastered all over shop windows. There was clearly a sense of pride for this international event.
After a good night's rest, Wednesday morning I checked in at the festival office located at the Dr. Ernst Hohner Concert Hall. This facility housed a cafeteria, workshop rooms, practice rooms and the concert hall where the gala performances were held. This was the perfect place to hold the event with the integration of what all is needed for an event of this nature.
My only official role that day was to attend a meeting of all the judges for the competitions to be held during the week. After this meeting I headed out with Joe Filisko to the German Harmonica and Accordion Museum. What a treat that was! There are two floors packed full of harmonica history. Probably the most interesting displays are of early harmonica examples (before the Richter system was fully developed) from multiple companies developing harmonicas in that region. The museum also houses the machines used to manufacture and tune harmonicas. The stamps used for cover plates and the logbooks of box designs from the Hohner Company are particularly fascinating. Geographic history of where harmonicas were built and the companies that built them were nicely displayed as well as the companies involvement in the war years. This is a MUST SEE for anyone interested in the harmonica.
After a good dinner it was off to the opening ceremonies, held in the concert hall to welcome all the participants that came. The Hohnerklang Orchestra was the main performing act that evening. This group consisted of traditional harmonica instrumentation (bass, chord and chromatic) as well as accordion players and common modern instrumentation (keyboards, drums, etc.). Gerhard Muller (FIH President) was in charge of most of the organizing of the event and was the main speaker throughout the weekend. Others, including the mayor of Trossingen Lothar Wolfle, spoke and gave the event a very official opening. Speeches were in German and English. After the opening ceremony Mark Breitfelder (harmonica) with Georg Schroeter (piano and vocals) performed in the lobby. The Harmonica Hotshots (Al and Judy Smith) performed as well.
Festival workshops started Thursday morning. Listed below were all of the workshops offered over three days. I attended Steve Baker's class in the morning. This was an interesting and informative class on how breathing is used in playing funk-based riffs.
The evening performances at the main concert hall were focused on the ladies of harmonica. Featured artists were Naoko Takeuchi (Japan), Adler Trio featuring Michal Gronich (Israel), Kathrin Gass (Germany) and Hermine Deurloo (Netherlands). I was unfortunately not able to attend due to a quick rehearsal in preparation for my performance Friday evening at the Kesselhaus. After the main concert let out, the Kesselhaus went into full swing (around 11:30 p.m.) with Steve Baker leading the B-Sharp Rhythm Section featuring Dick Bird on guitar and vocals. After a short set, Steve started the late night jam where participants had the opportunity to play and sing with the band. 
Joe Filisko, playing acoustic guitar, held a more informal jam in an adjacent room. This was popular due to the relaxed atmosphere. Participants sat around in a circle and had the opportunity to play every tune. I stayed with Joe most the night (morning now!) and had a good time getting to know the participants. By the time I left it was about 2:00 a.m. in the morning and I know that Joe probably didn't finish until around 4:00 a.m. Joe dedicates all of his time to these events to ensure that everyone goes home with a fulfilled harmonica experience!
punching machine where the reed's final shape is realized. A reed is taken out and checked for pitch. If it's too far out of tolerance the process is repeated until the reed meets the proper specs.
The person tuning would listen to this reference pitch and then go to tuning the reeds on the harmonica reed plate. Each reed on the plate had a corresponding drawbar to allow air to flow through the reed for tuning. The amazing thing is that at the factory they are stilling using these tables with some small changes of innovation. The reference pitch is not just one reed, but an entire plate of reeds-a master tuning plate that's a model for the plate being tuned. This way the person that does the tuning has a reference reed for each reed they are tuning. I was impressed with how much of the process is done by hand. It's surprising to me that Hohner and other harmonica companies that make harmonicas in a similar way can offer so much hands on in the building process and keep the prices so low at a retail level.
In the afternoon I taught a one-hour class on blues improvising. This was a very short period of time, though I felt what I was teaching went over well. The room seated 35, though I had 51 attendees in the room! Both days of workshops were well attended. It was enjoyable teaching my concepts to a group of players from all around the world. Eddie Martin was kind enough to accompany me on guitar for this class. Steve Baker accompanied me on the Saturday class. This was a common current happening during the week-musicians happy to help and be part of what was going on. That was a great element. After my class I took the advice Joe gave me earlier in the week to grab sleep when I can, so I headed back to the hotel for a nap.
The concert that evening was focused on the diatonic harmonica, what they called the "Next Generation." Lars Vegas And The Love Gloves, featuring Marko Jovanovic on harp and bass performed first. Their music focused on early acoustic blues with a great twist of electric instrumentation. The band was great, and man could Marko blow (killer upright bass as well). Keith Dunn from Holland sang and played a couple tunes with the group as well (pictured singing at left). Keith had a great sound, presence and selection of songs. 
Eddie Martin was up next (pictured at right). Eddie specializes in vocal, guitar and harp-rack performance. Eddie could have been well known for his skills on either-but put them together and you have an impressive package. He played solo for a couple of tunes and then played with the backing of the B-Sharp Rhythm Section. Joe Filisko (pictured bottom left) then performed some numbers with the band, one of which included the song "Help Me." He also played a tune with piano player and singer Georg Schroeter where Joe played the voice of the women in the song-playing in the style of the "talking harmonica." Joe used a small tin can for added effect. His final encore number was performed without accompaniment, and as usual, took down the house. Steven de Bruyn performed next (pictured bottom right). He used a multitude of effects in each song-all of which were tasty and added to the song. So often players use effects and it doesn't have any real reason for being there, though Steven put them to good use. I enjoyed his set very much.
Going to bed when I usually wake up was a little rough to say the least. 9:00 a.m. came around a little bit too quick for me on that day. After my workshop in the afternoon it was obvious that the festivities would head into the wee hours again, so I headed back to the hotel for a much needed knap. I was looking forward to hearing Urich Muller-Frob (Germany), Yasuo Watani (Japan) and King's Harmonica Quintet (Hong Kong) in the afternoon, though it was obvious that sleep needed to take priority at this stage.
Sunday morning was the awards presentation. It was fun to see the anxious contestants await their names to be called, starting from lowest scoring to highest. It's always a thrill to see someone be rewarded for their hard work. I am not necessarily a fan of judged competitions, though I thought this was a valuable process for some. It's obvious that any type of public performance will inspire someone to practice hard to help them to improve their skills. Many people go to events such as this to see how they're doing in the big picture of the harmonica-where they stand. This competition was a good wakeup call for some to dig into their studies harder and helped confirm good study habits for others. Others I'm sure were upset with their ranking and possibly left upset. My only wish to improve the event would be to have the opportunity to make constructive comments from the judges for each person on their performance. This could be a simple sheet with remarks that's given in private to each individual. This would continue to place the event in a positive learning and sharing environment. Maybe for another year. I was glad to be a part of it. Pictured above is Tomi "Little Pigeon" Goluban from Croatia. Tomi placed within the top five of the competition and was one of the most animated performers to say the least.
Quickly after the award ceremony I was off with Joe to one of the last large Hohner manufacturing buildings still standing. Martin Haeffner from the museum is in the process of trying to save this historic building. Joe performed a number of tunes, finishing with Joe and I playing together.
As I lay down to bed that evening it was clear to me that all that happened throughout the week would take a while to digest. The harmonica museum and the factory tour were a definite highlight to me. The friendships made with other musicians and participants was priceless. Many thanks to all of the people I mentioned in this article and to the numerous others that I didn't get a chance write their name down.