h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Beethoven's fifth (first movement) on three harmonicas.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6CTA8-mFAqI

What's weird is that the lead harmonica player appears to have his instrument back-to-front: he goes right for the low notes and left for the high notes. Nothing wrong with that, a flute can also be played either side (and often is in traditional music) but it points to the probability that he is self-taught.

That's pretty cool. I've never seen one of those big harmonicas before.

Now I've seen everything. Last week I played in a group for a girl doing a traditional fiddle exam; in one of her other pieces she was accompanied by her father, Pip Murphy, on harmonica.

They played two polkas, and since they were in different keys Pip brought on two harmonicas. He played with wonderful deft lightness and lively rhythm, and the sound of fiddle and harmonica in unison was gorgeous. But listen to this ... for the first one he played treble-on-the-left (the unconventional direction) and for the second he played bass-on-the-left (conventional).

I asked him about it after the exam was over, and he began apologising for it. I said no, it's amazing--does it make no difference to you? He said no, he just played whichever way it happened to be, and always had.

But he didn't make any splashes starting off; he went directly to the note he wanted. He was just like someone who can drive equally well on the left or the right.

I play tin whistle with right hand on top, and recorder with left hand on top, because I taught myself tin whistle and learned recorder from a book.

That would be a bit harder to change.

John Finucane used to play the clarinet with hands reversed when the music was brain-rottingly dull. That was when he was lead clarinet in the Concert Orchestra.