Introduction
The Chicago Blues harmonica howls, whispers, and songfully spits its notes.
It embodies Chicago Blues’ urban earthiness.
Chicago Blues started in the first half of the 20th century.
During this period, American music entered a new phase of development.
This phase was totally unprecedented.
The harmonica was one of the primary instruments that made this change possible.
Blues musicians from the south migrated to Chicago where they reformed their musical sound to fit into the urban context.
Pivotal to this new sound was the harmonica.
Not only was it easily transportable, its expressive power was a fit for urban musicians.
On it, Chicago Blues players like Little Walter and Big Walter Horton developed new art.
They used amplification and distortion.
They employed a vibrato technique to produce a deep, eerie sound.
This characterized the new Chicago Blues aesthetic.
Because of its expressive capabilities, the harmonica can sound like human voices, full of pathos, sorrow, and joy.
It was the first portable instrument with a sonic range to capture the soul of Chicago Blues musicians.
The instrument’s wailing notes have a sweet sound.
Followers of the city’s blues scene called it the ‘urban howl’.
Today, most blues music can’t be considered complete without the sound of the Chicago Blues harmonica.
The Roots of Chicago Blues Harmonica
The origins of the Chicago blues harmonica can be found in the rural South.
The roots of this do-it-yourself, kit-built instrument run deep through the musical history of the rural South.
Southern African American musicians transformed the harmonica into a ‘freak ‘n’ scream’ instrument.
It produced a visceral and soulful sound.
Sonny Boy Williamson I was a significant figure.
Born John Lee Curtis Williamson in 1914.
He moved to Chicago in 1934.
There, he developed a distinctive style that inspired many.
He recorded prodigiously and helped popularize the harmonica in the blues.
One innovator was Little Walter.
He was born Marion Walter Jacobs in Jackson, Mississippi in 1930.
He moved to Chicago in 1945.
He pushed the Sonny Boy style of amplified harmonica to new extremes and worked with Muddy Waters, recording many classics.
Little Walter’s aggressive style set a new bar.
Big Walter Horton was another giant, providing the harp with an expressive, lyrical voice.
Many of today’s players trace their roots here, too – Horton worked with Willie Dixon and Johnny Shines.
Another key figure was James Cotton, the famous protege of Sonny Boy Williamson II.
Cotton moved to Chicago in 1954, and he soon wowed audiences with his ferocious, raspy harp playing.
He later enjoyed a long career working with Muddy Waters and, later still, in a solo career.
From African American migrations to Chicago, the blues developed a flourishing scene.
The harmonica became the instrument of Chicago blues, a world-class variation of this American musical genre.
The first pioneers developed harmonica-playing techniques and left behind an impressive legacy.
New blood is added from time to time, but little has changed since the early days.
Almost a century later, the harmonica lies at the heart of the Chicago blues tradition.
The Sound of the City: Harmonica Techniques and Styles
The character of a Chicago Blues harmonica tone can be described as former: distinctive and forthright.
Other styles of harmonica, like Delta Blues, also feature a distinctive tone.
Yet, the associated techniques and styles separate the two.
One such technique is the ‘overblow’, which creates loud and piercing tones beyond the instrument’s natural range.
Another characteristic is the use of amplified harmonicas.
Earlier, the finer nuances of tone, character, and phrasing were simply not captured.
Standard amplification caused clipping and distortion.
When microphones and amplifiers came on the scene, everything changed.
Players created a ‘gritty’ distorted harmonica tone.
This became a signature of Chicago Blues.
Another hallmark style is a cross-harp technique, which is playing in a key other than the harmonica’s key.
This is performed in a bluesy and soulful way.
For instance, a C harmonica is played in the key of G.
The notes are bent to create an almost raw tonal quality.
Perhaps the most critical skill in playing Chicago Blues harmonica is the ability to bend notes.
Bending alters or raises the pitch giving a wavering, wailing sound.
Bending is a key to injecting an atmosphere of deep sorrow and emotion into the music.
A good player will use their tongue and breath to articulate a bent note with a vocal-like effect.
Tongue blocking is also essential.
The tongue closes off some of the holes.
It isolates single notes or groups of them into chords.
This complements the lips.
This is how some complex, rhythmic patterns are developed and how the sound is fattened up a bit.
The ‘train whistle’ and ‘chugging’ effects are also important.
Both closely imitate the sound of a train, a blues staple.
Here the sound is created by rhythmic breathing and alternate notes.
For example, two famous harmonica players, Little Walter and Big Walter Horton, represent two early strands of Chicago Blues.
Little Walter used overblowing and controlled notes exceptionally well.
Big Walter emphasized fat tone and subtle note bending.
Both helped propel the harmonica into a starring role in blues music.
Chicago Blues harmonica wasn’t just notes.
It was feeling and drama.
Amplification, cross harp, bending notes, tongue-blocking, and other techniques helped to set the sound of the Chicago Blues harmonica.
They came together in a dissonant urban howl.
Iconic Harmonica Players
The harmonica is Chicago blues perfection.
Little Walter, Junior Wells and James Cotton — all pioneers of the Chicago sound — all play harmonica.
Little Walter
Little Walter, whose real name is Marion Walter Jacobs, created a new and raw sound.
He did this through the amplifier of his harmonica.
Many players have learned from him.
They discovered his novel way of playing the harmonica.
Some of these players would go on to work with great bluesmen.
Little Walter, in 1948, got into Muddy Waters’ band and brought fresh blood.
‘Juke’ was now a blues classic by Walter.
Walter has been a giant outside the blues.
Rock and roll harmonica players since have often thanked him for having set their own musical trends.
And all this before he was 30.
Junior Wells
The harmonica-player Junior Wells – born Amos Wells Blakemore Jr – came along at around the same time.
He had begun playing in the 1940s and was an excellent actor.
He worked with Muddy Waters and Buddy Guy, and Hoodoo Man Blues is one of the great classic Blues albums.
Wells’ playing melded old Blues and an entirely new sound.
He played quite innovatively, and the music sounded fresh and new as he performed up to his death.
James Cotton
Born in Mississippi, he was playing with Howlin’ Wolf at the age of nine.
He later joined Muddy Waters.
There, he honed his harmonica playing.
He did this by copying, if you will, Sonny Boy Williamson II great solos.
Cotton was an accomplished singer.
And he wasn’t a newcomer on the button accordion either.
Yes, he played great harmonica and built the instrument into a mighty soloist of the blues.
He was a successful solo artist.
His album, Deep in the Blues, won a Grammy.
He also has popular Studio One live recordings of his high-octane performances.
But it’s Cotton’s talent that we have passed down.
These three harmonica players are Chicago blues savants.
They all brought a different sound and innovation and made the harmonica the beating heart of the blues.
Their legacy inspires new generations.
They’re the sonic blueprint for the blues.
The Role of Harmonica in Urban Blues Bands
Like those in Chicago Blues, the harmonica is almost essential for urban blues bands, adding through-the-solo, wailing broadsides and cries.
Its high notes and melodic flourishes are fantastic, adding emotion and expression.
Vocals, piano, and guitar are deepened.
The harmonica becomes another voice blending with and complimenting the other instruments.
It captures the essence of a vocal line with sweet, tremulous, nasal cries.
It can also add an extra melodic riff.
These all add color and vibrancy.
Largely because they have to compete with amplified electric instruments, harmonica players are almost always amplified as well.
Chicago Blues in particular showcases the raw, straining sound of the harmonica.
It highlights how variation on a single-note scale, sometimes called ‘overblown’ notes, can produce expressive and highly distinctive three-note chords.
The form and intensity of the distinguishing ‘ growls ’ and ‘bends’ refer to the urban experience.
They create a gritty and frustrated effect that becomes the special hallmark of the main discussion.
Finally, the harmonica solo or ‘break’ in a Chicago Blues song often becomes the high point of the song.
It draws particular attention to the quality of the harmonica.
The skill of the player shines through.
The creative imagination produces the musical ‘show-and-tell’ moment.
The harmonica became widely available due to its portability and affordability.
This democratized blues.
It allowed a whole new range of players to participate in the blues scene.
Some of the most iconic harmonica players in history were both known as Walter.
Little Walter Jacobs and Big Walter Horton transformed and innovated on the blues harp.
They found new ways that lit up the Chicago Blues sound.
Their innovations inspired and informed many generations of musicians to follow.
The harmonica adds authenticity to a band with a touch of sadness.
It fits nicely in a band of 4 or more people.
It fills the space effectively and adds great emotion to the music.
In solos, the guitars often step back from playing chords, allowing room for improvisation.
The sound of the harmonica blended with Chicago Blues gives the genre that sound people love.
It creates a sound that is as smooth as you please.
It’s a perfectly unique instrument for a great-sounding band.
The Influence of Chicago Blues Harmonica in Other Genres
The Chicago Blues harmonica was hugely influential in many genres.
It introduced new musical techniques and emotions to music lovers worldwide.
Above all, it gave the harmonica a distinctly urban sound.
In the world of rock and roll, harmonica players mined the Chicago style for its raw sound power.
Players like Mick Jagger used its techniques, adding a blues-inflected depth to early rock.
The Chicago Blues harmonica adds greatly to country music.
People use this beautiful instrument to send out so much emotion.
This way, you get a mix of both.
Meanwhile, jazz musicians latched on to the Chicago Blues harmonica.
Its range of emotions made it practical for improvisation.
Harmonica players like Toots Thielemans drew from the blues for their jazz sets.
It was laced in the Chicago Blues harmonica.
Welded onto rhythm and blues, it added a gritty, soulful laminate to the music.
This was true for everyone who used its techniques.
Examples include Stevie Wonder telling the story of a young man’s death and Ray Charles announcing: ‘What’s goin on!’
Even in the confines of pop music, Chicago Blues harmonica found its way in.
Its expressive domain introduced a moody experience unheard of in mainstream hits.
With more genres in tow, the harmonica’s sound developed an even wider following.
The harmonica history started with the Chicago Blues.
It has progressed in a unique way.
It has intermingled with various musical styles and genre-bending.
The harmonica has become the first multigenre instrument.
It has gone global and returned to where it started.
The interplay between the instruments and the players proves that the blues is the most powerful and universal musical genre.
To conclude then, it is now clear that the Chicago Blues harmonica’s techniques are a valuable contribution to instrumental practice.
Harmonica players are a vital part of rock and roll.
The very essence of the harmonica has become a fundamental ingredient in modern music.
Modern Harmonicas and the Legacy of Chicago Blues
Now, as then, the harmonica stands on the shoulders of Chicago blues.
Young players stand in the long shadow of blues legends while bringing new energies to the instrument.
Vintage sounds are scooped up, turned on their heads, and then exchanged for sounds blasted from hallowed toothpicks.
There are modern players, like Jason Ricci and Brandon Bailey, who stick to it.
They infuse much more rhythm and an impressive blow-draw technique.
Their music includes sprinklings of rock, jazz, and electronic music.
Yet, it remains a constantly evolving urban soundscape with a strong Chicago blues influence.
Chicago blues harmonica is a direct and emotional style.
It features bends and textures.
Icons like Little Walter and Sonny Boy Williamson founded this style.
It is a huge challenge and inspiration to anyone playing harmonica today.
Chicago’s blues scene revolved around a school of playing.
Over the decades, it has come to represent ‘authenticity’ in all its grittiness.
It also has a strong link to urban life.
It carries that smell of freshly opened drainpipes; of wet asphalt and cold.
This sets it apart from the jazz-inspired strains heard further south along the Mississippi.
These strains are closer to New Orleans.
Today, these aesthetics survive mostly in the academically inclined efforts of ‘roots musicians’.
It’s this dirty factor that modern players strive to emulate in their own performances.
Harmonica technology has changed as well.
Customizable harmonicas and electronic effects allow players to broaden and refine the instrument’s sonic palette.
These tools make it easier to imitate new sounds and styles while affirming tradition.
The legacy of Chicago blues harmonica is a continuum.
It affects and is part of most of the harmonica music made today.
It stretches across the divide between past and present.
And it offers us a window from here to there, a way to make connections and bridges gaps.
It is ancient, yet it is eternal and present.
It thrums in the living breath of the harmonica players we will remember.
They will be the ones who carry the torch of Chicago blues harmonica for the next generation
Conclusion
Central to this sound is the harmonica, a precise and expressive accompaniment to the gritty, urban themes of the genre.
With the influence of players such as Little Walter, it had also become a lead instrument.
Its techniques, groans, and vibrato helped to define the sound, transforming the music of Chicago into something unique.
The harmonica became associated with the city with its raw and rousing tone.
Thousands of artists would come to Chicago, try their hand at this raw instrument, and leave marked by it.
Outside of Chicago, the possibilities of the harmonica spread across popular music, bringing new influences to the Rock.
The harmonica’s microtonal techniques contributed to its popularity in rock, jazz, and modern pop albums.
Its warm timbre also made it favored in these genres.