Confessions of a Gusser

Gussing is the term used for when a harmonica player jumps up on the stage and starts playing with the band without being asked or asking in advance. I always referred to it as a drive-by.

The Story

"Have you ever gone to see a band and someone from the audience will start singing along really loudly and it totally distracts you from the show? Have you ever seen someone do that, but instead of singing along, they take out their own instrument and start playing? This is such a common problem in the harmonica community that it has its own name: gussing! This term was coined in 1996 on a harmonica message board called Harp L, where it was officially defined as:

v. 1. To force one's way into a musical performance against the wishes of the scheduled performers. 

2. To remain onstage for longer than appropriate when asked to accompany previously scheduled musicians.

 Gussing is named after some guy named Gus from a story that a user named Barry Bean told in this message board. The post has been archived, so here's the full story. 

My man Gus walks onto the stage, whips out his harp and says "Oh, Susanna, boys!" after three or four verses of "Oh, Susanna" later we thank him profusely and start to vamp on the next song. Before we can get into it Gus announces that his next number will be "You are My Sunshine." Again, we thank him and try to start our next song, but Gus isn't leaving. He says "one more boys!" and launches into "Blue Eyes Cryin' In the Rain." Finally he leaves the stage and we get back on with the show.

 30 years later, in harmonica spaces, an important rule of etiquette is still no gussing. I often wonder if musicians outside the harmonica world ever deal with this or is it unique to harp players? Like do we think we can get away with it because we have a small instrument? Do other genres or instrument communities have an equivalent term for gussing? Do they even need one?" --Elise Brown

Gussing Through the Years

Having played harmonica for over 50 years and probably being a bit neuro atypical I have participated in a number of gussing incidents which I am going to confess to here.

My most obvious gussing incident was probably in the late 1990s. There was a biker bar called My Place which happened to be across the street from the gay bar called Scooters, which I always wondered how they got along at closing time since they seemed a little like polar opposites. One evening I happened to stop in at My Place because I heard a band playing. I recognized the guitar player as Leif Peterson, who had been a friend of my brother in Junior High and had been in one of my favorite punk bands called "The Commercials". The place was packed, and the band was crammed into a corner near the entrance. I don't think there was a stage. They had a woman as the front person who was the lead singer. As I watched, they started playing "Train, Train" by Blackfoot. I had been playing the harmonica part of this song with another band for a couple of years now, and I could see there was no harmonica player. Usually this song is played in the key of E, but there have been some occasions where a band will drop tune to Eb or something. So I approached Leif while he was playing, flashed him my harmonica, and pointed to his mic with a questioning look in my eye. He had an uneasy look in his eyes. Then I wanted to make sure it was in the right key, so I held out three fingers sideways like the letter E. I think he may have nodded. Anyway, when they got to the harp solo, I played it as usual and then went back out into the crowd. Later the woman who seemed to be the leader commented to me, "I didn't know you knew that song; I would have had you play." I mean, I had no idea they were going to play it.

There are certain songs that just really need a harmonica. I can't stand watching a band play "What I Like About You" without a harmonica. I once saw a girl band playing "What I Like About You" by the Romantics. I had a harmonica in my pocket, and I had played the harmonica solo for this song on many occasions. I was really tempted to gus them, but I remained seated and listened to their keyboard player play an awful version of the harmonica part on the keyboard. I think I died a little inside listening to that.

Probably one of my earliest experiences with gussing would have been in the early 1980s at the Mays Barstow Tap, or it might have been Gallagher's, which is what it was called after Mike Gallagher bought it from May. They had a number of blues performers play there, including local favorite Howard "Guitar" Luedtke. I was friends with Howard's drummer at the time, Bronson. I know I played with Howard because on Howard Luedtke's website, they used to have a picture of the band that showed me with a harmonica listed only as an unidentified harmonica player. James Solberg was a frequent performer, but I don't remember ever playing with him.

When I was in college in 1980 or 1981, a friend had scheduled a protest at the UW Eau Claire student union, Davies Center. I don't remember what we were protesting, but I was supposed to play harmonica for a few minutes until the band showed up. It turned out the band never showed up, so I ended up playing for about an hour.

I did something similar at a friend's wedding. They had a wedding reception but no band. It turned out the bar owner was a drummer and one of the other guests was a guitar player. We ended up playing the whole night.

Probably one of my worst gussing incidents was at a company picnic where they had hired the university jazz band to play. I invited myself to play along with them for several songs before they got rid of me. Near the end I asked them why all of the songs sounded similar and the band director informed me it was because I only had one key harmonica.

Gussing a Busker

One of my most effective strategies is gussing a busker. It goes like this. You hear someone busking guitar. You approach them, toss them a couple of bucks, show them your harmonica, and ask if they know any blues. If they are agreeable, you jam with them for a few minutes. I once did this at a wayside in the UP of Michigan. A woman came out of the bathroom and tossed us a $20 bill. Usually a harmonica and guitar will attract more attention than a guitar alone.

All By Myself

Most of the time now I just play in the park or sit on a city bench somewhere and play. That way, people have a choice whether they want to stay and listen. It's always a good idea to check the busking laws in a city or country before you play in public. I was playing on a bench in the Naval Yard in Washington, D.C., and later noticed that there was a rule against public performances. Barcelona has very strict licensing and busking rules. Even if you are walking around playing an instrument, they will confiscate the instrument and fine you. Greece, on the other hand, pretty much allows you to play anywhere.

Harmonica Physics

I was having trouble understanding how overblowing harmonica raises the pitch of the note and thought that maybe it acts something like a fipple where the air pressure raises the pitch. This was verified by a Mark Harper with the following equations:

This video shows the displacement of harmonica reeds during different states. This harmonica was a Low D Special 20 Hohner with the "Blow" reed plate removed and replaced by tape. The video shows the displacement of the reed during a standard draw and during an "overblow". The end of the video shows the reed displacement during draw bending.

Notice that the reed oscillates in approximately the same position during draw and overblow. Bending the note in both cases reduces the magnitude of the displacement.

The following site describes the current state of the theory of free reed oscillation.

Euphonics - Free Reeds

Euphonics

Comments on my post

Winslow Yerxa:

You can directly observe the behavior of a reed in both opening and closing reed bends.

• Take an unattached reedplate, and watch yourself and the reedplate in a mirror.

• Hold the reedplate vertically, so that the reeds are horizontal.

• Make sure that the reeds are facing away from you so that you can see them in the mirror.

• Choose a reed. Longer reeds are easier to observe visually.

• Play the reed first as a draw reed, and note the gap at the free end of the reed.

• Now bend the pitch down. Notice that the gap decreases as the pitch goes down. The bend will choke out and the reed will stall at the point at which it no longer emerges from the slot.

• Next, exhale to put the reed into opening (overblow) mode, sounding nearly a semitone higher.

• Then bend the pitch UP, sliding it upwards from the default opening pitch. Notice that the gap at the tip now increases as the reed flexes up and progressively away from the slot. The reed will cease to sound at the point where the reed no longer enters the slot.

Does this help with your idea of the reed acting as a fipple?

Mark Harper:

### The Physics of Harmonica Overblows: Mechanical Gating vs. Fipple Theory

The argument that an overblow functions as a "fipple" mechanism is a simplified heuristic. While the analogy captures the effect—higher pitch through forced air interaction—it misidentifies the primary vibrating element.

#### The Mechanical Mechanism

* **Fundamental Frequency:** A standard reed’s frequency is defined by its effective mass ($m$) and stiffness ($k$):

$$f = \frac{1}{2\pi} \sqrt{\frac{k}{m}}$$

* **The Overblow State:** In an overblow, the reed is forced against its slot, effectively "choking" its fundamental oscillation.

* **Forced Vibration:** The resulting high pitch is generated by the opposing reed, which is driven into a higher-order mode by the pressure distribution across the slot.

* **Frequency Shift Approximation:** The pitch increase due to applied pressure ($P$) can be modeled as a stiffness correction:

$$f_{overblow} \approx \frac{1}{2\pi} \sqrt{\frac{k + \alpha P}{m}}$$

* $\alpha$ represents the coupling coefficient of the fluid-structure interaction between the air jet and the reed.

#### Technical Conclusion

The "fipple" analogy is technically inaccurate because, in a whistle, the air jet vibrates while the fipple remains static. In a harmonica overblow, the reed is not acting as a fipple; it is acting as a **mechanical gate** that forces the air stream to excite a higher-frequency mode in the opposing reed.

---

#HarmonicaPhysics #Acoustics #ReedMechanics #Overblow #MusicTech #FluidDynamics #HarmonicaStudies

 Nikolaus Grill

I'd say that during overblows, (and in fact during bends, in which the same principle is at hand) the harmonica turns into a true free reed aerophone. During normal playing, the harmonica is not an aerophone at all, but an air-driven idiophone. The resonator of the aerophone during overblows is the oral cavity. In overblows and bending, the reeds function much like in a Sheng (but not a Hulusi, which due to its triangular reed functions as a single reed instrument rather than a free reed aerophone), even though in bending the opposite reed acts as an additional resonator, making continuous glissandi possible (or easier). So actually in overblows, our mouth becomes the resonator, and the player has to adjust rhe oral cavity to fit the frequency of the reed, much like the bamboo resonators do in Chinese free reed instruments.

 

Mechanical Gating vs. Fipple TheoryThere is a historical debate on the exact physical mechanism taking place during an overblow (or its draw equivalent, the overdraw).Mechanical Gating Theory (The Accepted Consensus): Understood as the standard acoustical explanation for the overblow, the reed acts as a physical gate. When overblowing, the player blows air while shaping the vocal tract to the resonant frequency of a higher pitch (for example, the note one half-step above the blow note on that hole). This specific air column limits the oscillation of the natural blow reed, forcing it to remain flat against the reed plate (choking). This sudden stop frees the higher-frequency draw reed to vibrate in the same direction of airflow.Fipple (Flute) Theory (The Oversimplification): Some early theories attempted to explain overblows by comparing them to edge-tone instruments like recorders or the flute's embouchure. In fipple theory, an air jet hits a sharp edge (the fipple) which sets a standing wave inside a tube. While altering the vocal tract shapes the internal volume, applying a fipple model to a free reed is an inaccurate analogy. Overblows are instead caused by aerodynamic reed-coupling and forced-mode vibrations.

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/13714801_Acoustical_and_physical_dynamics_of_the_diatonic_harmonica

How to Practice Harmonica

 How to Practice Playing the Harmonica (or any instrument) (or anything really)

Here are some techniques for practicing the harmonica.

1. Play slowly enough so you don't make any mistakes. Musical instruments rely on muscle memory and, if you make mistakes, your body will learn the mistakes.
2. Chunk it. Break a large complex piece into smaller chunks and practice each chunk. Once you have the smaller chunk down, work on linking it together with larger chunks. If you try to play the whole song, you may notice that you always make the same mistake on one part. If you practice like this, you are practicing your mistakes.
3. Work on the hard parts first. After you go through a new song, you will probably identify some parts that are harder. Work on those first, then integrate them into the song.
4. Spend some time learning new techniques like bending, vibrato, and overblow. As you learn new techniques, try integrating them into the song.
5. Play using a metronome or with a beat of some sort, although a metronome is probably better.

Tom Petty

Mary Jane's Last Dance (G Harp)

0:35 -6 6 -5 5, -5, -6 6 -5 5, -5 5 -4 (played loosely as chords)
1:31 -6 6 -5 5, -5 5 -4, -6 6 -5 5, -5 5 -4 4 -4
3:35  -5, 5 -5 5, -5 5 -4, -5 -5, 5 -5 5, -6 6 -5 5 -5, -6, 6, -6 6 -5 5 -5
Try playing the chords with a tongue block. That might make them sound better?

You Don't Know How It Feels (E Harp and A Harp)

0:05 (E) 5 -4 4 4 -3 3 3 -2 2 2 (play loosely as chords)
1:22 5 -4 4 -3 3 -2 2
1:36  5 -4 4 4 -3 3 3 -2 2 2
2:07 (A) -5 -3 3 -3 -[1 2] (blues style)
2:38 -5 improvise a bit
4:08 (E) 5 -4 4 4 -3 3 3 -2 2 2 x2

Learning the Harmonica

 Things I wish I had learned when I first started learning to play the harmonica:

• How to hold the harmonica: Grip it in your left hand between the thumb and forefinger and cup it with the right. For many years, I gripped with my right and cupped with both hands.
• How to bend notes while tongue blocking: For years, I would only bend notes while puckering.
• How to chord from both sides of the mouth: I usually play the note on the right and chord from the left, but you can play the note on the left and chord on the right too. And switch between the two.
• Blow-bending: For quite a few years, I didn't realize you could blow-bend on a harmonica. I wish I had learned that earlier.
• Overbending: I knew about this for quite a while, but considered it beyond what I could do. Now that I am more comfortable gapping my harmonica, and with a great deal of practice, I am finally starting to be able to overbend.
• Charlie McCoy style arpeggios, plant the tongue, and shift your lips.
• Bending notes to a specific pitch, like hitting the A on a 3 draw bend (C harp)
• Throat vibrato: I can do it now, but it could be better.
• Alternate tunings, especially the Melody Maker. My Melody Maker sat in my case for decades before I learned what you were supposed to do with it.

Things I'm glad I learned how to do when I first started playing harmonica:

• Pucker-bending: Very fast and easy.
• Learning a large number of songs. I must have learned hundreds of different songs over the years.
• How to trill. My trills were originally very fast. I'm still trying to get used to slowing them down.
• Chording: I learned this early on, and it has helped me adapt to other tongue-blocking techniques.
• Octaves: I learned this very early, along with chording.

Shape of My Heart

 

Shape of my heart (Harp Solo)
2:32 C#5 Eb5 E5 F#5 G#5 F#5 G#5
Ccr    5* -5*  6   -6*   7*   -6*    7*
D       -3  -4'  -4    5     5o    5      5o
Amm -3  -4'  -4    5    -5     5      -5 

2:45 A5 E5 B4 C5
Ccr  -7 6 -4 4
D     6 -4 -3" -3'
Amm   6 -4  3  -3'

2:51 C#5 B4 A4 G#4 F#4 E4 Eb4
Ccr  4* -4  -3  3* -2* 2 -1*
D -3  -3" -2 -2'  2 -1 -1'
Amm -3   3  -2 -2'  2 -1 -1'

2:57 C#5 B4 A4 G#4 F#4 E4 Eb4
Ccr  4* -4  -3  3* -2* 2 -1*
D -3  -3" -2 -2'  2 -1 -1'
Amm -3   3  -2 -2'  2 -1 -1'

If You Want to Get to Heaven

 

F Harp . indicates triplet
0:03 -2">-2~ 
0:07 -2">-2 -(1 2 3) (1 2 3) -2>-2" -(1 2 3) -(1 2 3) (1 2 3)(1 2 3)(1 2 3).
0:09 -3>-3" -(1 2 3) (1 2 3) -3>-3" -(1 2 3) -(1 2 3) (1 2 3)(1 2 3)(1 2 3).
0:11 -3>-3" -(1 2 3) (1 2 3) -2>-2" -(1 2 3) -(1 2 3) (1 2 3)(1 2 3)(1 2 3).
0:13 -3>-3" -(1 2 3) (1 2 3) -3>-3" -(1 2 3) -(1 2 3) (1 2 3)(1 2 3)(1 2 3).
0:15 -3>-3" -(1 2 3) (1 2 3) -2>-2" -(1 2 3) -(1 2 3) (1 2 3)(1 2 3)(1 2 3).
0:17 -3>-3" -(1 2 3) (1 2 3) -3>-3" -(1 2 3) -(1 2 3) (1 2 3)(1 2 3)(1 2 3).
0:19 -3>-3" -(1 2 3) (1 2 3) -2>-2" -(1 2 3) -(1 2 3) (1 2 3)(1 2 3)(1 2 3).
0:20 -3>-3" -(1 2 3) (1 2 3) -3>-3" -(1 2 3) -3>-3" (1 2 3) etc
1:16 -4~~ etc