The Harmonica Club

of Huntington, WV     founded August 2001 

The West Virginia State Harmonica Championship begins 5pm, Saturday July 28th at Downtown Huntington's Pullman Square

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Championship Rules

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PAST  CHAMPIONSHIPS

2012 Championship
The Harmonica Club will hold the Sixth

West Virginia State Harmonica Championship.
Saturday August 25th 2012
part of The Diamond Teeth Mary Blues Festival
and the First Harmonica Quadrathlon
Championship cash prizes
1st Place $40
2nd Place $30
3rd Place $20

Quadrathlon Grand Champion $50

Plus prizes from Seydel Harmonicas
and a custom harmonica from Elk River Harmonicas

Our goal is not to find the best harmonica player, but to meet and share with as many harmonica players as possible. Naming and rewarding the best players is just a bonus to the event. We want players of ALL AGES,  ALL STYLES, ALL STATES,  AND ALL TALENT LEVELS to come and perform.

The 3rd Diamond Teeth Mary Blues/Arts Festival 2012
Friday August 24th and Saturday August 25th in Huntington, WV
Featuring  PHIL WIGGINS and
Genava Red's Original Delta Fireballs

a FREE event for everyone

Fri Aug 24th on the main stage
At 6:00 to 6:45 Big Rock and the Candy Ass Mountain Boys
At 7:00 to 7:45 C&S railroad featuring
Mark Cabell 2011 WV Harmonica runner up
At 8:00 to 8:45 Jill West and Blues Attack
At 9:00 to 10:00 Ray Fuller and the Blues Rockers

AFTER JAM at Holderby's on the river with The Harmonica Club

Sat Aug 25th  On the gazebo
At 11:00am Phil Wiggins harmonica workshop
At Noon to 1:30 Geneva Red Honher harmonica workshop
 with free harmonicas for the first 30 people
At 1:45 to 3:45 the 6th WV State Harmonica Championship followed by the 1st Harmonica Quadrathlon (no entry fees)
At 3:45 to 4:45 Lascivious Deacons featuring
 Scott Gray on harp the 2011 WV Harmonica Champ
At 5:00 to 6:00 Izzy and Chris featuring Chris Nacy on harp

On the main main stage
At 6:15 Mother Blues
At 7:45 Geneva Red's Original Delta Fireballs
At 9:00 Liz Pennock and Dr Blues

AFTER JAM at Holderby's on the river with The Harmonica Club.



The festival is an outdoor street event, featuring art vendors, food vendors, plus beer and wine. The festival will be held Friday August 24th and Saturd
The Harmonica Club will hold the Sixth

West Virginia State Harmonica Championship.
Saturday August 25th 2012
part of The Diamond Teeth Mary Blues Festival
and the First Harmonica Quadrathlon
Championship cash prizes
1st Place $40
2nd Place $30
3rd Place $20

Quadrathlon Grand Champion $50

Plus prizes from Seydel Harmonicas
and a custom harmonica from Elk River Harmonicas

Our goal is not to find the best harmonica player, but to meet and share with as many harmonica players as possible. Naming and rewarding the best players is just a bonus to the event. We want players of ALL AGES,  ALL STYLES, ALL STATES,  AND ALL TALENT LEVELS to come and perform.

The 3rd Diamond Teeth Mary Blues/Arts Festival 2012
Friday August 24th and Saturday August 25th in Huntington, WV
Featuring  PHIL WIGGINS and
Genava Red's Original Delta Fireballs

a FREE event for everyone

Fri Aug 24th on the main stage
At 6:00 to 6:45 Big Rock and the Candy Ass Mountain Boys
At 7:00 to 7:45 C&S railroad featuring
Mark Cabell 2011 WV Harmonica runner up
At 8:00 to 8:45 Jill West and Blues Attack
At 9:00 to 10:00 Ray Fuller and the Blues Rockers

AFTER JAM at Holderby's on the river with The Harmonica Club

Sat Aug 25th  On the gazebo
At 11:00am Phil Wiggins harmonica workshop
At Noon to 1:30 Geneva Red Honher harmonica workshop
 with free harmonicas for the first 30 people
At 1:45 to 3:45 the 6th WV State Harmonica Championship followed by the 1st Harmonica Quadrathlon (no entry fees)
At 3:45 to 4:45 Lascivious Deacons featuring
 Scott Gray on harp the 2011 WV Harmonica Champ
At 5:00 to 6:00 Izzy and Chris featuring Chris Nacy on harp

On the main main stage
At 6:15 Mother Blues
At 7:45 Geneva Red's Original Delta Fireballs
At 9:00 Liz Pennock and Dr Blues

AFTER JAM at Holderby's on the river with The Harmonica Club.



The festival is an outdoor street event, featuring art vendors, food vendors, plus beer and wine. The festival will be held Friday August 24th and Saturday August 25th in Huntington, WV on 11th street between 3rd Ave and Veteran's Memorial Blvd. Friday's program will run from 5pm to 10pm. Saturday's program will run from 11am to 10pm.

For more information  email jrumbaug@live.marshall.edu


Rules for the Harmonica Quadrathlon

overview:
Up to 5 people will get to take turns playing a solo during 4 songs. The songs will be played and sung by The Harmonica Club of Huntington. The solos will be one verse long. Each song will feature all the players, each playing one solo. After all for songs have been performed, the judges will choose one Grand Champion.

The players will be selected from the players in the WV State Championship. The 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners get the first privelege to be part of the Quadrathlon. The judges may select other players from the competion, up to 5 total.

Below are links to practice songs for the 2012 Quadrathlon

Wreck of Old 97 in C with "Freight Train" intro

Dust My Broom in G, (blues tune)

Summer Time jam track in A minor via Band in a Box

Have You Ever Seen the Rain in G (major scale tune)ay August 25th in Huntington, WV on 11th street between 3rd Ave and Veteran's Memorial Blvd. Friday's program will run from 5pm to 10pm. Saturday's program will run from 11am to 10pm.

For more information  email jrumbaug@live.marshall.edu


Rules for the Harmonica Quadrathlon

overview:
Up to 5 people will get to take turns playing a solo during 4 songs. The songs will be played and sung by The Harmonica Club of Huntington. The solos will be one verse long. Each song will feature all the players, each playing one solo. After all for songs have been performed, the judges will choose one Grand Champion.

The players will be selected from the players in the WV State Championship. The 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners get the first privelege to be part of the Quadrathlon. The judges may select other players from the competion, up to 5 total.

Below are links to practice songs for the 2012 Quadrathlon

Wreck of Old 97 in C with "Freight Train" intro

Dust My Broom in G, (blues tune)

Summer Time jam track in A minor via Band in a Box

Have You Ever Seen the Rain in G (major scale tune)

2011 Championship
5th WV State Hamonica Championship 2011, 1st place Scott Gray.



5th WV State Hamonica Championship 2011, 2nd place Mark Cabell.
1 of 2


5th WV State Hamonica Championship 2011, 2nd place Mark Cabell.
2 of 2


5th WV State Hamonica Championship 2011, 3rd place Shane Swezey



2010 Championship

Allen Hatten won first place in the 2010 4th annual WV State Harmonica Championship


David Payne took 2nd place

Raymond Horsley took 3rd place


2009 Championship

A Picasa account with 40 pictures of the 2009 WV State Harmonica Championship. Check them out.

http://picasaweb.google.com/jim.rumbaugh/2009WVStateHarmonicaChampionship#

Here's the edited recordings from the 2009 3rd Annual WV State Harmonica Championship.

If you listen to the recording you'll hear:

DRUMS: Brent

GUITAR: Richard, Tom (bass)

HARPS: Jim Rumbaugh(me), Paula Stewart, Mary Tate, Toni Cherico, Geoff Riffe, Dick King, David Payne, Steve Williams, Darrell Brown, Bob Maxwell

1st place Geoff Riffe

2nd place David Payne

3rd place Dick King.

everyone else recieved the Bear Award ............ ( sometimes the bear gets you ...)

CLICK HERE to HEAR the 2009 WV State Harmonica Championship

The Jam Before the Event

http://hhcwv.com/mp3/wv2009/saints.mp3

http://hhcwv.com/mp3/wv2009/SweetHome.mp3

http://hhcwv.com/mp3/wv2009/sunshine.mp3

http://hhcwv.com/mp3/wv2009/DustMyBroom.mp3

9 people played harmonica

http://hhcwv.com/mp3/wv2009/1PaulaStewart.mp3

http://hhcwv.com/mp3/wv2009/DickKing.mp3 3rd place

http://hhcwv.com/mp3/wv2009/ToniChirico.mp3

http://hhcwv.com/mp3/wv2009/SteveWilliams.mp3

http://hhcwv.com/mp3/wv2009/BobMaxwell.mp3

http://hhcwv.com/mp3/wv2009/MaryTate.mp3

http://hhcwv.com/mp3/wv2009/GeoffRiffe.mp3 1st place

http://hhcwv.com/mp3/wv2009/DarrellBrown.mp3

http://hhcwv.com/mp3/wv2009/DavidPayne.mp3 2nd place

The Jam after the event

http://hhcwv.com/mp3/wv2009/FlipFlopFly.mp3

http://hhcwv.com/mp3/wv2009/Happy.mp3

http://hhcwv.com/mp3/wv2009/Freight97.mp3

http://hhcwv.com/mp3/wv2009/Automobile.mp3

http://hhcwv.com/mp3/wv2009/BossMan.mp3

http://hhcwv.com/mp3/wv2009/Mojo.mp3



2008 Championship

The complete recording of all 12 participants

http://hhcwv.c om/mp3/wv2008clips.mp3

Participant #00 Dale Cross

http://hhcwv.com/mp3/wv2008/wv2008_00.mp3

Participant #0 Forrest Hatten

http://hhcwv.com/mp3/wv2008/wv2008_0.mp3

Participant #1 Gary Jordan SECOND PLACE

http://hhcwv.com/mp3/wv2008/wv2008_1.mp3

Participant #2 David Shope

http://hhcwv.com/mp3/wv2008/wv2008_2.mp3

Participant #3 Randy Shafer

http://hhcwv.com/mp3/wv2008/wv2008_3.mp3

Participant #4 Ferdinand Carson THIRD PLACE

http://hhcwv.com/mp3/wv2008/wv2008_4.mp3

Participant #5 Geoff Riffe

http://hhcwv.com/mp3/wv2008/wv2008_5.mp3

Participant #6 John Van Kirk

http://hhcwv.com/mp3/wv2008/wv2008_6.mp3

Participant #7 Dave Payne

http://hhcwv.com/mp3/wv2008/wv2008_7.mp3

Participant #8 "Ragtime" Charlie Hall

http://hhcwv.com/mp3/wv2008/wv2008_8.mp3

Participant #9 Paula Stewart

http://hhcwv.com/mp3/wv2008/wv2008_9.mp3

Participant #10 Gary Riffe FIRST PLACE

http://hhcwv.com/mp3/wv2008/wv2008_10.mp3

Jam session at end of championship. 4 tunes, 20 minutes



2007 Championship

Click to hear recordings of what was played
 WV STATE CHAMPIONSHIP 2007 full 32 minute program
Contestant 1
Contestant 2
Contestant 3
Contestant 4
Contestant 5   3rd Place
Contestant 6
Contestant 7   1st Place
Contestant 8
Contestant 9   2nd Place
Jam Session after Championship

Brian Salters get 1st place trophy
Brian Salters recieves first place trophy

Our Judges
Our judges from left to right
Kevin Morris, singer from The Messengers
Bill Murray from WSAZ news
Larry Strickler from Marshall University
Dave Ball , bass player for The 1937 Flood

Jam session after awards

After the awards we had an open jam session for members of  The Harmonica Club and contestants  from the championship

Here's an editorial that apperared in The Big Sandy News, written by Tim Preston, one of the contestants.

08/03/2007 - I can't say I felt cheated during last weekend's West Virginia Harmonica Championship. I didn't win and I didn't place, but I got beat by some top-notch players and find no shame in that.

The best part was hearing so many different approaches to the same little instrument. That becomes an important theme later in this column.

While not shamed by my performance, I did, however, mess up in a royal manner with my strategy for the contest. As I've mentioned, I was unsure what song to play to qualify for the "recognizable melody" part of the competition. In classic "reporter" style I started looking for the magical song with less than 24 hours remaining before the contest. I went through dozens of possibilities, and landed between Stevie Wonder's "What'd I Say?" and the classic "Orange Blossom Special" (which I would've played with two harmonicas as taught by Johnny Cash on his TV show in the 60s).

Instead, I decided to take a real gamble. I chose "Amazing Grace," as my opener, offering it in the form of a chord melody instead of the single-note style most people are familiar with. I started rehearsing the song somewhere between Louisa and Huntington, and even found a bittersweet lone-note for the "me" in the line ending with "wretch like me."

My performance before the crowd and the judges, however, had little to do with grace or anything remotely amazing. Making it worse, I think three other harmonica players also chose "Amazing Grace" as their first selection, and each of them played it far better than I did. One guy in particular, who I believe may have won the big trophy and title, had us all hanging on his every note. I honestly can't imagine anyone doing the song any better on any instrument.

And, another contestant played "Orange Blossom Special," with two harmonicas. I should've gone with the boogie magic of the Stevie Wonder song.

My second strategic mistake was rejecting an offer from a local guitarist who was willing to jump in and back me up at the last minute. The guy was good and played behind a couple of the other contestants, enhancing their performance considerably. Instead, I chose to play "Raw Dog Riding the Rails," which is my title for anything I do solo without rehearsal, just closing my eyes and waiting to see what comes out of the old Hohner.

As part of that, I maintained the chord approach and included the classic "train whistle" which is an essential part of any harmonica player's bag of tricks. I then sent the "chugga-chugga" sound of the engine's drivers into the microphone, hit the horn one more time and promptly derailed that whole locomotive straight off a curve and a thousand feet over an embankment into the river.

I'm not sure what happened ? I think I had a hiccup or maybe swallowed a bug. Regardless, my momentum was lost and there wasn't much I could do to redeem myself. The audience gave me a surprisingly enthusiastic response and I was just glad to say I'd gotten through it.

A real treat for everyone there was the performance by the guy who followed me, and ultimately claimed third place. He said his name was simply "Skinny Boy," and he came to West Virginia by way of Japan.

Skinny Boy gave us a taste of blues, bluegrass and Tokyo, divided into two fascinatingly different phases. Knowing he had beaten me before he even left the stage, I bought him a hot dog and we watched the rest of the competition together, cheering often for those who got our attention with an added flourish or riff. I just heard the raw recordings of it, apparently we were right beside a microphone because you can clearly hear both of us saying things like "Ya!" when someone slipped something extra good in there.

Another treat of the contest was a chance to share the stage with Eddie "Blue" Dawson and Jim Rumbaugh (among others) on "Big Legged Woman" during a jam session while the judges were adding up their scores. I don't know Dawson, but can attest the man can play the daylights out of his harp. In addition to having the most legit blues man's hat in the crowd, Rumbaugh also showed he had considerable blues harp chops.

Huntington's harmonica crowd gets together at a coffee shop on Tuesday evenings. After the championship, Rumbaugh sent me a message saying, "I'm counting on you to bring in some more good 'ole boys from down in Ky. I wanna hear some wailin'."

Odds are I'll never make it to Huntington on a Tuesday evening (one of two press nights we face every week). But we should at least send Kenny from Cornbread Orchestra down there to let them know what some of our better local musicians are capable of doing.



Players have 5 minutes to play  2 songs.


or mail your name and contact info to :

Harmonica Club
c/o Jim Rumbaugh
722 22nd street west
Huntington, WV 25704

or sign up the day of the event

Here's the LONGGG version of the rules, or click on the link in the left hand column.

RULES

The basic idea is that you have 5 minutes to do 2 songs


1.) EVERYONE, Pro or Amateur, is allowed to compete in this contest. The only entry requirement is that contestants must be able to play at least one recognizable melody on a harmonica. It can be either style of harmonica - diatonic or chromatic, and ANY tuning like minor or tremolo. Any brand or type of harmonica is permitted

2.) Each contestant will have 5 minutes in which to perform at least one recognizable melody along with whatever else the contestant feels will best demonstrate his/her harmonica playing skills. Contestants will be stopped when 5 minutes has passed. This may affect the points earned for your presentation. There are no deductions or penalties for performances lasting less than 5 minutes.

3.) A panel of judges will judge contest. You will be judged on in 5 categories. 20 points per category with a maximum of 100 points with 50 points considered average.

Techniques and Skill ( are you doing fancy stuff? )
Complexity, Difficulty and Mastery of music ( easy Vs hard tune )
Presentation, how enjoyable the performance (do you put on a show?)
Meter / timing / song interpretation ( do the song with feeling )
tone quality, and pitch ( do you sound good? )
4.) ANY type of music is permitted. NO PREFERENCE WILL BE GIVEN TO ANY ONE GENRE OF MUSIC. Gospel and folk players stand just as much chance at winning as do blues and rock players.

5.) Contestants must use only the sound equipment provided. No extra equipment may be used - just a contestant and his/her harmonica.

6.) No recorded music may be used.

7.) You may be accompanied by one other non-harmonica and non-amplified musician. Example acoustic guitar, accordion, or drummer

8.) The judge’s decisions are final

9) A 10-dollar donation must be given to The Children’s Oncology Unit of Cabell Huntington Hospital.