I am a musician, and I can piece together instruments in a brass section, like what notes each instrument group is playing, and other things. I can even come up with good instrument combinations for genres of music, that makes it easy to listen to.
But there is one instrument that can sound good or painfully bad to my ears, depending on how it's played, and its overall tone quality (timbre). I'm talking about the Harmonica.
I have had a love/hate relationship with this instrument since I was 7, when I first heard the original 1991 recording of Life is a Highway. I was accustomed to the 2006 cover by Rascal Flatts, as I loved the movie Cars, which I still do to this day. I thought that version was gonna play, but lo and behold, I heard Tom Cochrane's death horn screeching...
"BA-BWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE-WEEERRRR!!!!! WREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEER-WRREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEER!!!"
I was understandably upset. I thought I was listening to a knockoff, but NOPE, THAT VERSION CAME OUT 15 YEARS BEFORE! Thanks Rascal Flatts for improving the original by using a smooth electric guitar instead of a screechy harmonica.
There are some times where a harmonica is a good addition. I like the one in Piano Man. It has the same tone quality, but due to the softer nature due to its piano-heavy instrumentation (obviously, it's called PIANO Man, for Pete's sake), it's a very welcome addition.
Most harmonica solos I like are of the bluesy kind, where the higher frequencies are muffled, making it have an almost clarinet-like tone. Take for instance, the themes of Roseanne and The Connors.
I really despise country-style harmonica, because the higher frequencies drown out the main note you're supposed to hear in the solo, giving it an extremely metallic and sharp sound that to me, sounds like a small, very thin titanium knife poking and prodding at my eardrums. It's a terrible experience.
Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a good day!
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