Harmonicas, Harps, and Heavy Breathers

by Kim Field

Book Overview

The harmonica is a portable, inexpensive and versatile introduction to music-making. It also has an honoured place in the repertoire of every kind of professional music, from country to classical. The... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 067179633X
• ISBN13: 9780671796334
• Release Date: November 1993
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Length: 344 Pages
• Weight: 2.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.1" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Important Unique Work

Very inspirational to me and others who keep trying to swipe my copy. This is so well written and organized that I keep reading much of it over and over again. It is one of those books that you savior every word. It is very inexpensive for such a valuable, meaty, entertaining resource. Mr. Field, thank you for this tremendous read. This material would make a great PBS Ken Burns type documentary.

An Accomplished Work

Hats off to Kim Field! This is a great book and a much needed one. His excellent research is augmented with great writing. Every harp player in the land should own one.

A definite must-have book for harmonica players!

Mr. Field has written a book that no self-respecting harmonica should miss. It gives a comprehensive overview of the harmonica's rich and illustrious history. I learned more from a single reading about my instrument and it's players, than I did in the previous twenty years. Mr. Field should be applauded for a most outstanding effort.

Generations of harmonica players waited for this superb work

Generations of harmonica players waited for this superb book. Nothing like it existed until its first publication and now it has been republished (thank you Cooper Square). It is certain to become a classic. Field is a wonderful writer with a great eye for detail and a journalists instinct for interviewing his subjects. To some the harmonica hardly qualifies as a musical instrument, but to millions of others blowing into the pocket-sized "tin sandwich" is the breath of life. The Dutch call it the "moothy", the Scotch call it a "gob iron" and American's call it a "harp," shortened from "French Harp," the label on early imports of the instrument [from Germany]. Field's book can leave no doubt that the harmonica is a serious instrument on which one can make great art. From the Grand Old Opry to Carnegie Hall, from Little Walter the pioneer of amplified blues harmonica to country great Charlie McCoy to classical concert musician John Sebastian (Sr.), Field covers them all with zest and style. All that's missing is a musical CD to illustrate the styles! Let us hope it stays in print for many years.

Comprehensive, often surprising, highly enjoyable

"Harmonicas, Harps, and Heavy Breathers" is a comprehensive, authoritative, well-written examination of the harmonica's role in musical culture. The author seems to have heard and understood the work of every major harmonica player of this century and many of the lesser-known ones, regardless of style or idiom. The book surprises us often simply by reminding us of the ubiquity of the instrument, as when the author points out that 3 of the Beatles's earliest hits featured harmonica prominently. The book is heavily illustrated with photos. It is likely to serve as the standard reference for its subject for years to come. Anyone who wants to learn about the traditions of harmonica music should have a copy.