Da Niu, the Harmonica playing begger

Harmonica - An instrument, also called the "mouth organ", which consists of reeds in a casing which channel the air blown into the instrument through channels and out holes on the side of the instrument. The harmonica was invented in 1821 and is used mostly in folk music

It has been a while since I last played the harmonica. In fact that was freaking 18 years ago. You see, back then I was just an ignorant 14 year old kid and dying to learn guitar. Guess the rock star in TV show must have got me and I always think that playing guitar and singing love song will always impress the girls. But then I hesitated to join any more music class due to my phobia and bad experience left by my first music tuitor.

I had a really bad experience earlier when I was only 8. My sis used to go to piano lessons back then and I was really annoyed (errr......amazed) by the way she plays piano at home. So the little boy thinks that playing piano is cool.

Yeah! Yeah! Little boy thinks piano playing is cool!!

I started asking my mom to send me together with my sis to the piano lesson. On the first day, I learned how to write stupid musical symbol. Damn! I don’t even know what it’s called. On the second lesson (each lesson lasted for 2 long hours) I learned to write this symbol thing AGAIN!!. On the 3rd lesson, there is a fierce looking old hag (errr...i think she's around late 30s, but to me back then, very old liao) giving me a book and asking me to play. Poor me. I barely know what the notes are. Anyway, it’s just a stupid ‘twinkle twinkle little star’ I was playing and I was scolded so badly and repeatedly that I memorized the keys and played the tune after many times being whacked by the ‘teacher’ on the same day. Finally she released me from her grips after she has done enough torture to my brain with a cheeky smile on her deformed face.

The old hag finally released me after she's having enough fun.

From that day onwards, I swear to GOD, Amen! That’s it. No more music lesson for me. Enough is enough. A boy’s gotta do what a boy’s gotta do.

Then again, when I was 14, there are music classes, teaching people how to play guitar and harmonica in church. (I’m still a fun loving Sunday school going boy back then ok?). Told my mom that I wanted to join the guitar class. Seeing my friends plucking guitar chords was too much to bear for a little boy like me. And yes, she enrolled me to the class happily, only to find out later that she has enrolled me to the freaking HARMONICA class. Damn!! Playing harmonica is really so not cool at all. The first impression that jetted to my mind was, Geee! If I don’t get a job later in life, I can still be a harmonica playing begger in the streets. (Oppss! Sorry to all harmonica fans! I swear, previously all street walkers in Sibu play harmonica). Sigh!

Da Niu happily playing his harmonica for a living.

Mom happily bought me a China made ‘Hero’ harmonica with silver cover which costed around 6 bucks back then and i have to drag my sorry arse to the first class.

I'm not surprised to find only 3 of us in the class when more than 60 people turned up for the guitar lesson next room. What an ironic sight. In fact I was thinking to myself, "see lah, see how long can this class stands"; while giving others a sheepish smile. 2 guys and a girl with the tuitor (Mr. Mao Wei De) Well, being an obedient boy back then, guess I would just have to stick with the class then. Mr. Mao started to lecture us some basic rules on the maintenance of a harmonica, played a tune with his harmonica and leaving all of our jaws dropped in amazement. Then he started with the very basic thing; playing from 1 (Do) to 1 (Do). Basically, playing harmonica is all about sucking (drawing would be a polite word to use) and blowing (mind you! All dirty minded cheeky bastards out there!). That was easy for me. I can do that. So I formed my lips into a small kissing shape of ‘O’, blew into hole no. 8 and Voila! I played my first ‘Do’. Then I drag my harmonica with the subsequent ‘draws’ and ‘blows’ and completed my Do to Do. No sweat! Oh boy! I was overjoyed with the achievement.

Now put the harmonica in your mouth and play 'Do'

Playing harmonica is never an easy task. Mr. Mao once said, "besides learning the playing tehniques, you still have to learn Qi Gong, as you got a lot of sucking and blowing to do". Wait a minute! I thought i was going for my music class, not the martial arts though!! Well! He succeeded in scaring the living daylight out of us.

You must perfect the art of Qi Gong before you start playing Harmonica

In fact, being one of the 3 pupils who graduated (Serious! I have a cert to prove), definitely I left my guitar learning friends in green pools of envies and jealousies as I am among the only fews who can play harmonica.

From there onwards I started to feel the fun and joy of learning an playing harmonica especially after a new song was learned. As the harmonica is relatively convenient to play. Basically you just stick it into your mouth and "breath" regularly. Ha, ha, ha...sounds like the routine briefings by the air stewardess on the breathing apparatus right? Back then, i would practise my harmonica every once in a while. Open my music note and trying to perfect the art. Music note for harmonica (numerical) is rather much easier to understand and learn as compared to those written in "tau geh". Just hope that i didn't scare or perhaps annoy my neighbours with my midnight harmonica recitals when i was having insomnia.

Here it goes again! The neighbouring "siaw lang" is practising his wolf howling, freaking harmonica again!!

Later on I corrected my perception on beggars playing harmonica and amazed seeing people playing Mozart with harmonica. Chromatic harmonica to be specific. Well, I’m not into blues and jazz with harmonica. Sorry folks! That kinda music make any sense to me. What I would enjoy best is still playing all the folk songs and the Ah Mah’s Chinese love songs from the 60s or perhaps 70s.

Throughout my life, I have collected many different harmonicas. Mainly from China. I used to have an octave harmonica from Hohner where you have higher pitch on the upper holes (reeds) and lower pitch at the lower holes (reeds). Dad got me that as a sourvenir when he went to Taiwan. Since it’s gold in colour and with a curved structure, I would happily refer it as the banana harmonica. Lost it somehow when we moved around after i finished my form 5. When i tried to search for it again in the open market, geeeees...60USD. My holy MF goodness!! Only then i realised harmonicas from Hohner is freakingly Expensive!!

My first "banana" harmonica!!

It’s kinda hard to get different variety of harmonica, especially when you’re living on Borneo island. Therefore, it never stops amazed me when I bumped into some really long harmonica in a musical instrument store behind kotaraya when I studied in KL. Well, couldn’t afford it back then. Buying one would mean spending 2 to 3 months of my allowance. Only after so many years, i realised there are so many variety harmonicas. For instance, Chromatic harmonica, Diatonic harmonica, 10 holes (blues) harmonica (obviously for the blues and cowboys), tremelo harmonica, octave tuned harmonica, bass harmonica, chord harmonica and cutest of all, a 4 holes (key chain) type harmonica. Bought myself a VCD on harmonica playing by Mr. Chong Ah Kow (the President of Malaysian harmonica society). Oh boy! You should really see how that Ah Pek plays. Simply just stuck the his cute little 4 holes harmonica into his mouth and played wonders. Needless to say, I am bedazzled again! This Ah Pek is doing wonders with his harmonica in fact he's the Champion of the 2nd world harmonica competition in Germany 1989 and he has been organizing many classes, talks and even many international harmonica competitions here in Malaysia. In fact, he is doing so good that he even recorded his own CDs / VCDs and even own a harmonica shop (Harmonica World Sdn. Bhd.). Malaysia BOLEH!! ... Gees! Don't even know when i would get a chance to record my own CD.

Mr. Chong Ah Kow posted in 2nd Asia Pacific Harmonica Fest in Taipei.

Come to think of it, playing harmonica is pretty simple though. But to master it, its gonna take some time. I won't say it's difficult though. Normal beginners would learn to play a single tune on a single harmonica. Novice like me, have learned to play 2 tunes concurrently (using tongue). Pretty basic though! But grandmasters / experts like Mr. Chong Ah Kow (KL Ah Pek) and Mr. Zhen Xian Wen (Kuching Ah Pek) can play 3 to 4 tunes all together concurrently with his single harmonica. Geess... These Ah Peks kick arses man!! Should feature them in "Majalah 3" if not "Ripley's Believe it or Not".

Special features this season.