Hi All!
My father is naturally musical and has always played a variety of instruments very well -- Hawaiian steel guitar, mandolin, fiddle/violin, banjo, etc.
In utter refutation of a genetic link for musical talent, I play...the radio. Perhaps the CD player. I am most expert at the MP3 player.
Still, it has sometimes seemed appealing to make my own music while touring, especially when alone in my remote camps. If nothing else, an instrument -- much like my singing voice -- should go far toward repelling bears.
This all bubbled to the surface today when I came across a long-forgotten little package from the year I spent working in the American South. Casting about for something to do on my day off, I had just visited Evis Presley's birthplace in Tupelo (word of warning to those who pay for the tour...his childhood home has only two rooms. Savor them before going through the door to what you think is the next room. It instead leads directly Outdoors and you have to pay to re-enter). After perusing the replica newspapers and available memorabilia (bottles of "Tupelo honey"?), I found myself near a music store with the idea of finding a small instrument I could take with me on my travels.
The first was a jaw harp (
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jew%27s_harp ) that appealed greatly to the 8 year-old boy living deep within me. He/I was delighted to find near-instant results on the proffered showroom example (and tried not to think of how many had tried it before me...). It worked and my teeth didn't feel too loose afterward, so that went to the "buy" side of the sales counter.
Next to attract my attention was the harmonica case. This moved me several rungs up the ladder of musical production, from "Boing-boing" to something resembling real notes. There was a dazzling array of beautiful mouth harps, all by Hohner of Germany. I didn't see anything small enough to meet my needs, so I asked the proprietor if he had anything else, and he reached in and removed what I at first took to be a small sign for the Hohner display. Grasping each end, he pulled open what turned out to be a harmonica case and presented a truly miniature instrument -- a Hohner 39C Little Lady (
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/folk-traditional-instruments/hohner-39c-little-lady-harmonica-key-of-c ). When I asked if it actually worked, he spat once, popped it to his mouth and promptly played several tunes. Figuring I'd already consumed half the town's spit on the jaw harp, I added the now-used harmonica to the tab and had a lot of fun playing it on the 45-minute drive home. It was so small (I had to be careful not to inhale it) but it really did work and I had fun. "Work" meaning it made noises, some of which resembled notes. "Fun" meaning I didn't care if the notes weren't recognizable and made dogs howl in sympathy.
I put it away for the move home and haven't seen it in the last 20 years or so till this afternoon, when it unexpectedly came to light in a box of old books. It still sounds sweet as ever, and it was a real thrill to produce the first six notes of "Mary Had A Little Lamb" (after some work, it resembled that). I'd forgotten how small it is or how much sound it can produce. It is a four-hole diatonic harmonica covering one octave on the C scale. It has 8 brass reed plates, an engraved brass cover on its pearwood comb, and is 3.5cm long to the end of its little hang-tab (you could wear it as a necklace to prevent loss). It weighs all of 8 grams bare and 11 grams in the case.
How cool is that?
Do any of you take a musical instrument with you when cycle-touring? If so, what is it? Do you already know how to play it, or have you set yourself the goal of learning as you travel? I'd love to hear from the more or less musically talented among you, and whether and how you've managed to blend your musical and cycling interests. I have seen people touring with smallish guitars, but always wondered how they handled rain. Recorders and flutes of various sorts are sometimes used, and I once heard a penny-whistle played to very good effect.
Best,
Dan.
