12 Bar Ramblin’ #12 ‘Blues Harps’ with Stefan Matussek

Next to the Guitar, the Blues Harmonica (otherwise known simply as blues harp) has to be the most iconic instrument of the Blues genre. When Hohner started selling easily affordable Richter-tuned harmonicas in the United States in the late 19th century, many poor black Americans purchased and mastered the instrument. They made it their own by developing many unique techniques such as “cross-harp” and “tongue-blocking”. The instrument was played in ways it was never designed to be played, adapting it to blues music and creating a very distinct sound that has been constantly built upon over the years.