Brendan Power: Harmonica player and inventor

Brendan Power is famous internationally as a phenomenal harmonica player in many genres and also as an instrument innovator. He’s invented many unique harmonicas to increase the expressiveness and range possibilities of the instrument family, and is constantly experimenting. Brendan also has a fascinating personal story in that he discovered the harmonica in his university years, and changed his life in order to master it. He is completely self-taught and you may have heard his playing on albums with Sting, Kate Bush, Van Morrison, movies like Shanghai Noon and Atonement, or over 20 of his solo albums. I was thrilled to have this opportunity to speak with him! During the episode Brendan demonstrates a few of his harmonicas in different styles, and I’ve added timestamps below.

The video version (transcript will be added soon) is: https://www.leahroseman.com/episodes/brendan-power-harmonica-player-and-inventor

Brendan Power's website is: https://www.brendan-power.com/

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Timestamps:

(00:00) Intro

(02:12) Amazing Grace on the AsiaBend harmonica

(03:15) Discussion of the AsiaBend harmonica and different musical traditions, including Indianization of

different instruments

(07:58) Bulgarian music

(10:10) How Brendan started developing different tunings

(10:58) Brendan’s start in music, hearing Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee

(12:56) Brendan’s family influences, early playing opportunities in New Zealand

(15:27) how Brendan learned by ear, understanding of harmony

(18:32) Brendan early years in England, winning the All-Ireland

(21:39) getting hired by Sting for the Ten Summoner’s Tales videos, playing with David Sanchez, Vinnie Colaiuta

(24:04) Internet history: a CD of Ten Summoner’s Tales sold in 1994 was the first secure transaction on the internet

(24:59) Lucy Randall

(25:26) Irish music Corner House jig into a reel

(28:01) retuning harmonicas, developing different harmonicas

(29:45) History of the harmonica

(31:27) using iPad for music effects, MIDI, Akai EWI, SWAM Audio Modeling

(35:43) Richter tuning, development of bending notes in the Blues, Paddy Richter tuning

(38:10) the number of harmonicas most serious players have

(41:38) pros and cons of the chromatic harmonica

(43:46) how to alter a chromatic harmonica for more expressive possibilities

(45:54) discussion of the SlipSlider and new innovations

(49:07) pros and cons of MIDI harmonicas

(51:21) Brendan’s early years learning on his own