Chromatic Harmonica Guide (www.angelfire.com/music/HarpOn/)
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+Reference Vision Gratitude Contents Harp Resources Harp On!
+For Starters Which One? Tips
+For Sale Instruction Books CDs Chrom Diato
+Links Communities Harp Commerce Retail Manufacture Harp Links G's Stuff Player's Websites Jazz Ladies of Harp Classical Vaudeville Eclectic Useful Links
+ChromaticHarmonicas Typical Chrom 12 Hole 16 Hole 10 Hole 8 Hole 14 Hole Customising Other Harps Slide Harp Chromatic Short Harp Layout with OBs Valved Diatonic Layout with Valves How & Why Valved Diato's
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+OrchestralHarmonicas G Bass E Bass 48 Chord Double Bass Chord Harps
+Holding Chrom Classic Hold Alternative Hold Cupping Volume & Tone Wah Wah Tremolo Playing Mic'ed
+Playing Chrom Embouchure Tongue Block Pucker
Groove Tongue Playing Draw Hole 2 Single Notes Button Use Breath Control Use Your Diaphragm Control Your Uvula Corner Switches The Next Note Whats Next?
+Chrom Technique Octaves Mouth Tongue Moving Trills Vibrato Tongue Throat Diaphragm Bending Notes
+Exercise Timing Breathing Education Routines Practise Improvising Learning a Song Reading Music Jamming
+ Education Program Basic Skills Resisting Reading Keep Abreast Positive Environment Steps To Be Taken
Important Areas Encourage Analyze Reasons Final Thoughts
+Harmonica Reviews Commercial Hering Hohner Huang Suzuki Tombo
Custom Harmonicas by G Brendan Power Mike Easton Hands-Free Chromatic Polle
+Chrom Maintenance Starting Notes Do's & Don'ts Why Bother ? Carry Cases Prevention Harmonica Repair Hohner Repairs Inside the Chrom Basic Tools Repair Cracked Comb Replace Wood Comb Assembly Chrom Assembly Hohner Wood Comb Reassemble Hohner Plastic Comb Reassemble CX12 Disassembly Mods & Cleaning Reassemble Hering Disassembly Reassemble Cleaning Guide to Cleaning Food for Thought Daily Cleaning Monthly Cleaning Slide Assembly Windsavers Polishing Metal Sanitising Chroms Diatonics Windsavers Intro Repair Buying Replacing Teflon Windsavers In Addition
+Pat's Musings Solo Layout Tuning Approaches Tuning Bias MoLT MoLT Tunings Wholetone Diminished Augmented Altered WT McKenzie Layout Conclusion
+Music Theory I Music Theory Sites Introduction Qualifications Chromatic Scale The Octave Diatonic Major Minor Music Reading The Staff Starting Out Week 1 Week 2 Signatures Week 3 Week 4 Exercises Postscript Tablature ASCII Harp Tab
+Music Theory II Transposition Modes Changing Modes Introduction to Chords Chords Triads Sevenths Inversions Sequences Chrom Chords Progressions Terminology Chord Scales Tonal Harmony Diatonic Triads Secondary Dominants Chord Progression Map Circle of Fifths Modes, Chords & Jazz Blues on the Chrom Other Scales
+Music Theory III Basic Theory Sheet Music & MIDI Jazz Theory Resources & Aids
+Chrom Layouts Key of C & Tenor C Key of D Key of Eb Key of E Key of F Key of G Key of A Key of Bb Key of B 16 Holer in C 14 Holer in C
+Chrom Scales C Maj, A min G., E min D Maj, B min A Maj, Gb min E Maj, Db min B Maj, Ab min F# Maj, Eb min F Maj, D min Bb Maj, G min Eb Maj, C min Ab Maj, F min Db Maj, Bb min
+Amplified Playing Amp'd Mics for Chrom Clean Amplification
+Studio Recording First Session Studio Setup The Engineer The Sound Guy Overcoming Fear The Advantages Critism The Advantages Last Tips
+Creative Stuff Harp Vs Guitar Proof Micropore Tests Healthy Harps Getting There The Lost Harp Dogs Howl @ Harps RE:Meanest Rig More Jokes Intelligent? Harmonica Hell A Poem "Blue Kiss" How to Sing the Blues TB Warning
-Doug's Playing List -Debbie's Book List
Harp On! By G. Chromatic Harmonica Reference Harp On! by G.
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Established 25th November 1999
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Instructive Material
Vision of Harp On! Chromatic Harmonica Reference Harp On! Chromatic Harmonica Reference is f or the education of chromatic harmonica players, enabling anyone who desires to learn the instrument to have immediate access to a ll the knowledge they need.
Expression of Gratitude This website took around three years to create, soaking up a huge number of late evenings and weekends, requiring a lot of effort. Yet all its contents remain free, I don't get anything for keeping it up, and up to date. I do this because I believe in the instrument, and want to make sure no one else has to struggle to find chromatic harmonica education the way I did. If you find this website useful, or ask me a question and find my reply beneficial, there are a few ways for you to express your gratitude: Clicking the "Make a Donation" button is one way to give what you think is appropriate for what you've gained from Chromatic Harmonica Reference, via PayPal. US$5
You decide!
US$25
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You can purchase stuff from Coast to Coast Music or Amazon.com following links from this website, giving me a small commission, at no extra cost to you.
And a thank you email, is always welcome. :)
Contents <------------------------ Clicking the links below will bring up the topic in the contents frame to the left (or the contents page if you aren't using frames)
Introduction This page.
For Starters The beginners primer to the harmonica.
For Sale Harmonica instruction, music books & CD recommendations & referals.
Links Harmonicas, music theory, instruction, resources, online shop sites, harmonica player links and more.
Chromatic Harmonicas What is a Chromatic Harmonica ?
Orchestral Harmonicas The Bass & Chord Harmonicas.
Holding Chrom How to get a grip and use hand techniques
Playing Chroms embouchure & approaches to playing.
Chrom Technique "How To" of techniques & effects.
Exercise routines, suggested exercises, goals to aim for and Breath Control.
Education Program reprinted article by professional tutor Richard Martin
Harmonica Reviews What's out there & what harpists think of their instruments.
Chrom Maintenance How to maintain your chromatic harmonica.
Pat's Musings One of the world masters of retuning discusses his thoughts on altered layouts.
Music Theory I Music Theory Primer for the Chrom.
Music Theory II Intermediate Music Theory.
Music Theory III Music Theory Resources.
Chrom Layouts Chromatic Harmonica Solo Layout in different keys.
Chrom Scales Scales on 12 hole Key of C Chromatic Harmonica
Amplified Suggestions for finding a rig for yourself & your harp and setting it up.
Studio Recording An article on what to expect on your first studio recording venture.
Creative Stuff Harmonica related creative & humorous writing.
Doug's Playing List A list of recommended classical music to learn on the chromatic harmonica. Debbie's Book List A list of books about the harmonica or music.
Click on the underlined text to select the item on the Contents bar.
Harmonica Resources
Harp On! Harmonica Resources Growing resource of harmonica information and education free for your use. Harmonica Maintenance articles, Altered tunings, Amplified harmonica, technical tips, tricks and tuning techniques, more articles, great harmonica links, etc. http://www.patmissin.com home of Fairly Frequently Asked Questions, Altered States, A Brief History of Mouth Blown Free Reed Instruments, extensive documentation on retuning, altered layouts and much more for the harmonica. For diatonic harmonica education, references and information refer to The Diatonic Harmonica Reference, Harmonica Lessons or any number of other Harmonica Links on the internet. Ten Hole has loads of information about playing short harps using overblows at including instructions on how to set up your harmonica to enable smooth overblows, in addition to an altered layout Java program. S.P.A.H. is the largest international harmonica organisation, and is a tremendous clearing house of links & resources for the harmonica. Email list groups Harp-L, HarpTalk & alt.music.harmonica newsgroup have a great deal to offer to the rising neophyte harmonicist. The archives of each group contain a fantastic wealth of information. Together they are a great bunch of friendly and helpful harp musicians. Its a great way to learn about the harp and much more besides!
Browse through the LINKS pages for more leads to online harmonica & music resources.
And theres Music Instruments List for other leads.
For Starters Harmonica Instruction, Books & CDs, CD Players, Minidisk recorders. HOME
Which Harmonica Should I Start On?
This is in response to countless emails asking the same question "Which harmonica should I start on?"
These are the majority of types of harmonicas you can buy today: •Diatonic harmonica
has ten holes, no button, fits in the palm of your hand, come in twelve keys, great for blues, pop, rock, country & western or even bluesgrass. Bob Dylan, Neil Young, John Popper from Blues Traveller, Sugar Blue, Magic Dick from Canned Heat, Charlie Musselwhite, Little Walter, Walter Horton, Charlie McCoy, and countless other musicians play diatonic harmonica. When people are talking about harp or harmonica this is usually what they are talking about. They are also known as Blues Harp, Short Harp, Missippi Saxophone and many more names. •Slide harmonica
Slide harmonicas are the larger family of harmonicas that incorporate a slide to select different notes, usually the button for it is to the right of the mouthpiece, they have two sets of reedplates which the slide selects between for the different notes, the instrument is bigger than most diatonic harmonicas because of the extra reedplate and the mouthpiece & comb design. The chromatic harmonica is a form of slide harmonica. Some chord harmonicas with slide(s) to select chords are another form of slide harmonica. However there are Richter Layout 10 hole slide harmonicas laid out like a regular blues diatonic harmonica. The slide effectively gives you a s econd diatonic harmonica a semitone higher. Strictly speaking not a chromatic harmonica, although these models have almost all the notes available. These are generally referred to as slide harmonicas and are usually what is meant when people refer to the term even though chord harmonicas and chromatic harmonicas are also in the slide harmonica family.
•Chromatic harmonica
This is what Harp On! Chromatic Harmonica Reference has primarily been written for. They are a family of slide harmonicas designed to play in any key. They come in 8, 10, 12, 14 or 16 hole sizes. Stock chromatic harmonicas almost always come with "Solo" layout which is covered later in this site. Another name for chromatic harmonica is the word "chrom". Chromatic harmonicas or chrom's are popular for classical and jazz music, but not limited to those styles. •Double reed harmonica
Double reed harmonicas are either Tremolo or Octave. Tremolo harmonicas are popular in Asia and in folk music. Each note has a tremolo effect because there are two reeds playing slightly different notes. Both types come in a number of keys, but also can be bought in pairs (eg. C major and C# major) as they can be played together as a chromatic harmonica by continually swapping between the two harps. The octave harmonica is very similar to the tremolo harmonica except the two reeds are tuned an octave apart giving a full voice.
Here are links to sites that discuss these instruments: Coast 2 Coast Richard Hunter's site by Ted van Beek
•Bass harmonica
These are all blow harmonicas that are big and heavy and they play very low notes, usually played as a back up instrument for orchestral or ensemble music. They are a chromatic instrument as they have all the notes, but typically called a bass harp. Look under Orchestral Harmonicas for more information. •Chord harmonica
These instruments vary in size and shape, they are used for playing chords, some are HUGE harmonicas (measured in feet), some look like strange chromatic harmonicas with one or two buttons. Like Bass Harmonicas they are usually played as a back up instrument for orchestral or ensemble music. They are a form of chromatic instrument as they have all the notes, but typically called a chord harmonica. Look under Orchestral Harmonicas f or more information.
So!? Which one? First a question for you: "What style(s) of music do your prefer or want to learn on the harmonica?" If your preferences are amongst Blues, Rock, RnB, some Pop, Folk music, Country & Western then I highly recommend purchasing a diatonic harmonica and exploring the vast resources available for the instrument, such as Diatonic Harmonica Reference which will answer just about any question you have. Then again if you are more inclined towards Classical, Jazz (in its many forms), Ballads, Vaudeville, and Standards then I would say the chromatic harmonica is a good starting point for you.
Chord or Bass harmonicas I would recommend only to those who have found a teacher for these instruments and have an ensemble they can take part in.
Tremolo harmonica are very popular in Folk music like Asian, Scottish, Irish and Québecois. F or a beginner music. they can be a lot of fun to play around on. Asian's also use Octave harmonicas in their
These are my opinions and not the be all and end all, you may feel differently or have other ideas and recommendations, I wholeheartedly encourage you to think independantly about your choice. Perhaps you play Irish and find a slide harmonica is better suited to your needs, perhaps as a Jazz standard player you can get away with using altered layout diatonics, but for a beginner its a complicated enough decision as it is.
A final word: If you are in doubt, buy a diatonic harmonica (since they are the cheapest harmonica) and have some fun, later maybe you'll decide what type of harmonica will better suit your tastes & needs.
What I wish I knew when I wanted my first Chromatic Harmonica.
Having decided to learn CHROMATIC harmonica, here are some tips,
Chromatic means "adj.1. of colour; 2. Music. of scale proceeding by semitones". Chromatic harmonicas are designed to be able to play every tone found in every oc tave similar to a piano.
There are 12 chromatic tones in an octave. Generally a diatonic key you play guides you as to which of those twelve tones you can play in a song.
Chrom Harp is another name for Chromatic Harmonica. The Chromonica and also the Chrometta are Hohner models of chromatic harmonicas.
There are several different types of chromatic harmonicas, but the most common have 12 holes or 16 holes and a slide button which raises the pitch of any hole by a semi-tone.
Chromatics usually come in key of C. But for some makes and models you can get them in other keys too. The difference here is which holes play which notes. They still have all 12 tones per octave.
On a typical chrom you can play 4 tones on one hole with the help of the slide. A 12 hole chrom has 48 tones. A 16 hole chrom has 64 tones. This is because for each octave the beginning blow note is the same as the end blow note, and there are two lots of enharmonics or tones that are for all intents and purposes the same.
For diatonic short harp owners: a chrom's note layout (with the slide out) is the same as holes 4 to 7 repeated every four holes side by side. The slide makes the harp play a semitone higher.
The above is true except: Sometimes the very last hole draw, slide in is a semitone higher than blow, slide in. This is to give a bit of extra range.
You can bend notes on the chromatic harmonica, in fact you can bend all of them. The difference is they are valved bends and have a different quality or t imbre than a standard diatonic harmonica bent note.
There are a number of good books & education kits on learning how to play and look after the chromatic harmonica. Larry Adler Hohner Chromonica Endorsement
10 hole slide harmonicas are not neccessarily the same as normal chromatic harmonicas. The Koch and the Hohner Slide Harmonica are both different from regular chromatic harmonicas because they have the same note layout as regular diatonic harmonicas. The Hohner C hromonica 260 and Chrometta 10 are both 10 hole chromatic harmonicas and only different in that they have a 2 1/2 octave range. Check this out before handing over your money. Most shops will not accept a harmonica back after it has been used.
Even the best chromatic harps need a little maintenance and cleaning occasionally, because they have moving parts. This means you will need to pull the harp apart occasionally. This is a necessary part of owning a chromatic harp.
Chromatic Harmonicas have windsavers or valves which are used to save breath and quiet the reed opposite the one you are playing. They are usually made up of two white strips of plastic, one soft, with a shorter stiff strip holding it against the reed plate. They are very useful for helping create clean notes and s aving your breath.
Valves can wear out or get damaged. You can tell when you start hearing buzzing while playing. Or if you play a hole and the note is slightly muffled until you feel something give, and the note comes out cleanly, known as "popping". Another symptom is getting an irritating metalic ringing when playing a note. All of these symptoms will require you to take your chrom apart, even partially. With a little practise and care this is not hard and all the above symptoms can be fixed.
You will eventually need replacement windsavers. You can get replacement valves from Hohner but they don't accept credit card. It is possible to make your own valves.
Chroms with wood combs are harder to maintain and clean that chrom harps with plastic or metal combs.
Chrom models are either straight tuned or cross tuned. Look through the mouthpiece with the slide out. If the top of all the holes are open its s traight tuned. If the exposed part of the holes alternate top & bottom its cross tuned.
Cross tuned chroms were designed to make it easier for beginners to play lower bass notes. They also arguably allow more air get to the reeds allowing better volume. Some argue that c ross tuning creates more airleakage by design. But these are contentious points at best. The only sure thing is a straight tuned chrom slide has a shorter distance to travel than a cross tuned chrom slide and physics says the less distance to travel the less energy required to get to your destination.
Breath control; Embouchure; how you hold the harp; and cupping is all important to playing chrom harp well.
The difficulty of any playing technique or musical run has absolutely no relevence to its effectiveness in a musical context, but the more techniques you learn the more flexibility you will have at any given moment as a musician.
Don't apply machine oil, WD40, CRC oil, instrument slide lubricant or any ma chine lube into the mouthpiece or slide, they are poison and make their way into your mouth, tongue & s kin. Food oils and CRC 808 food grade silicon spray go rancid after a while. If you must lubricate the only safe suggested lubricant is a minute even layer of paraffin liquid or the colourless/tasteless variety of chapstick. couple of tasteless, colourless non-toxic on themigrate market to such teflon liquid, There but in are theaend no matter HOW LITTLE is used any of lubricants these lubricants theas reeds and windsavers causing response problems, collect dust and muck, allow bacterial grow or go off.. Generally people who use safe lubricants for a while usually realise that water is THE BEST lubricant for chromatic harmonicas. If the slide is sticking regularly you need to clean the mouthpiece and slide. Quickly dipping just the mouthpiece in water, can help to free the s lide up. Alternatively with most harmonica models you can dip the button in water and tip the harmonica button pointing up leaning the mouthpiece holes slightly down and work the slide as the water works its way down the slide. If you use force to free a sticky slide you can easily wreck it.
Don't eat and drink beverages when playing a chrom harp. It will mean you have to clean and fix your harp more often. Cleaning your teeth before playing is recommended too.
Playing harp gets easier the more you practise. PRACTISE MAKES PERFECT!
For $ale
HOME Instruction for Harmonica & Music Theory
The following are recommended instructional books & courses for harmonica players & musicians.
The Tommy Reilly Harmonica Course Devised and written for Chromatic Harmonica by Tommy Reilly, with James Moody (Piano) Reproduced by kind permission of Mrs Ena Reilly This edition by Douglas and Barbara Tate "The ring bound book contains 28 lessons with over 80 mins of audio support played by Tommy accompanied by James Moody on the piano. It is s uitable for beginner to intermediate level students and it teaches music reading and theory alongside harmonica technique." Douglas Tate is the author of two very useful books. Play the Harmonica Well Techniques & methods spelled out by Chromatic Harp v irtuoso Doug Tate. Harold Leonard order number (The world wide distributor) HL 0000244. ISBN 1-57424-061-7 "This book tells you how to actually play to get the most out of your harmonica... it DOESN'T teach you music, notation etc, it tells in great detail the various techniques needed for musical playing, wide tonal and volume range. It also allows helps you t o achieve long life in your instrument whilst playing with these added dimensions." THIS BOOK IS STILL IN PRINT Find it here! Make Your Harmonica Work Better To see the current price and to order a copy click on the title. How to maintain & improve the c onstruction & assembly of your harmonica by the codesigner & maker of the amazing Renaissance Chromatic harmonica. Harold Leonard order number (The world wide distributor) HL 0 000238. ISBN 1-57424-062-5 "This book describes in detail how to improve your harmonica... it is written on three levels, Things which don't require surgery, things you can do with a few very simple tools, and things which require time and patience. The techniques are all the things I used to do when setting up Larry Adler's instruments... plus some others." THIS BOOK IS STILL IN PRINT Find it here!
The Harmonica Educator by Richard Martin Who is a harmonica teacher as well as the Editor and Publisher of The Harmonica Educator publication, and the author of a number of Harmonica Course books.
The Harmonica Educator Book 1 (100 Pages) : For Beginning & Intermediate Level Chromatic Harmonica Players : Musicianship and Performance Skills
AND The Harmonica Educator Book 2 (135 Pages) : Beginning, Intermediate, and Advanced Level Chromatic Harmonica and Bass Harmonica Players: Musical Exercises, Duets, and Ensemble Music And Advanced Level Chromatic Harmonica Players: Musicianship and Performance Skills Click This for the complete contents list of contents by Richard Martin Visit The Harmonica Educator website for prices, information on how to order books from Richard Martin, or to arrange to have lessons, no matter where you are in the world. Richard has written several other music books for Harmonica: Scales, etc. Exercises for Chromatic and Bass Harmonica Golden Oldies for Harmonica Ensembles More Golden Oldies for Harmonica Ensembles Hymns for Harmonica Ensembles Christmas Music for Harmonica Ensembles Duets, Trios, and Quartets for Harmonica Ensembles
Jerry Portnoy's Blues Harmonica Masterclass From the long time veteran of The Muddy Waters and Eric Clapton bands. The definitive blues harp instruction method is here. 3 CD's and book in a boxed set. US$59.95 "The most thorough, detailed and comprehensive instructional method ever done for the blues harmonica, yet the easiest to follow and understand. Whether you're a total beginner or an experienced player looking to sharpen your skills, this course has everything you need -- from establishing solid fundamentals to the most sophisticated techniques of tone, phrasing and sound production."
Available at Jerry Portnoy's Website or Coast to Coast Music.
Jazz Harp by Richard Hunter. Instruction for learning Jazz on the harmonica, published in 1 980. Includes vinal with 6 cuts. ISBN 0.8256.0229.7 Order No. OK 63727 To see the current price and to order a copy click on the title.
"Excellent book for beginning Harmonica Jazz Players. Richard Hunter is an excellent harmonica player a nd his contributions to the harmonica community are well received. Jazz Harp was published in 1980, it comes complete 6 cuts which are used with practical examples through out the book... BUT, the cuts are on Vinal, so be warned. This book is written f or BOTH chromatic & diatonic harmonica.
I'd recommend purchasing additional good music theory book & jazz theory book for seriously indepth music theory studies. Richard also recommends finding teachers, and asks that you find
the tracks given in each chapter so that you can follow his explicit references. This is a good book, well written and presented. If you are starting to learn Jazz on the harmonica: this is the one." (c)2001 Amazon.Com Book extracts from Review by G.
Jon Gindick Offers a range of diatonic harmonica education books. Jon is a great harmonica player in his chosen genre. His writing style is captivating and easy to read, his motive is to draw in and teach people music on the harmonica. His books and CDs do this effectively. o
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Country & Blues Harmonica for the Musically Hopeless Is a very easy book to get anyone started on harmonica. Americana Harmonica All time American classic songs and full instruction for the beginner. Includes 2 CDs. Rock & Blues Harmonica Aimed at the young and young at heart, a very entertaining read that teaches music, harmonica & Rock and Blues style. Includes 2 CDs.
Visit Jon at http://www.gindick.com. For Jon's free lessons visit http://harptunes.com.
Alan "Blackie" Schackner's Complete Book of Chromatic & Diatonic "State Of The Art" Repairs US$12.95 Harmonica Virtuoso Alan Schackner gives useful instruction for the new owner on windsaver repair/replacement, reed tuning/replacement, improving compression, etc.. available only from F&R Farrell Blackie also wrote "Everything You Always Wanted To Know About The The Chromatic Harmonica" with CD US$15.95, which apparently is good. Also available only from F&R Farrell Band in a Box An excellent software tool for musicians. Mac and PC versions available. Easy to use, gives full backing to any changes you w ant to learn or practise. Any instrument combinations. Ear training and many features. Good deals available at Amazon.com. I also recommend you take a look at the Links pages to find other instructional websites.
Books about Harmonica & Music
The Musicians Handbook The New Rules for Getting Gigs, By Randy Singer ©2004 This eBook is designed to show you how seek out the hidden opportunities for performance and make the changes to put yourself in these money making and career enhanced gigs. 20 years in the making, you can benefit from the real life examples today and even be gigging next week. - Book Description.
Lentil (Picture Puffins) by Robert McCloskey A charming story about young Lentil, his harmonica, a sour old coot and the leading citizen of Alto, Ohio. (For kids of all ages). The Worst Band in the Universe by Graeme Base Australian author and illustrator Graeme Base's books are all musical, but The Worst Band in the Universe (and CD) clearly trumpets the loudest. With lessons most musicians could learn from. Effortless Mastery : Liberating the Master Musician Within by Kenny Werner. "Mastery is available to everyone," providing practical, detailed ways to move towards greater confidence and proficiency. - review extract.
The Inner Game of Music by Barry Green, W. Timothy Gallwey (Contributor). ... here's a book designed to help musicians overcome obstacles, help improve concentration, and reduce nervousness, allowing them to reach new levels of performing excellence and musical artistry. - Book Description.
Harmonic Experience: Tonal Harmony from Its Natural Origins to I ts Modern Expression by W. A. Mathieu Explaining the science & physics of music in plain English. A practical guide with exercises for you to gain real experience from. The Just Intonation Primer By David B Doty. Do you want to start making music in Just Intonation, but don't know where to begin? Have you tried to read other books or articles on Just Intonation, only to be baffled by arcane terminology and strings of numbers? Or do you just want to find out what all the talk is about? The Just Intonation Primer will give you the information you need, in a succinct and readable form. With 84 pages of text and over 50 charts and diagrams, The Just Intonation Primer explains the essential concepts of Just Intonation in terms that practicing composers and musicians will understand.
You may also be interested in the Just Intonation Network.
On the Sensations of Tone By Hermann Helmholtz, English Translation by Alexander J Ellis. This book reprinted more than 90 years after its first publication, is a magnum opus of one of the last great univeralistes of science... The Sensations of Tone is still required reading for everyone who wishes to prepare himself for work in physiological acoustics, and the musician who finds in it unexhausted treasure if he wishes to understand his art.
- From the Introduction, by Henry Margenau.
Improvising Jazz by Jerry Coker. This book, published in 1964, is awesome. It's packed with insight and applicable techniques regarding improvisation that are as fresh today as they were nearly 40 years ago. Patterns for Jazz - Treble Clef by Jerry Coker. Jerry's book is excellent for jazz instrumentalists. It logically guides the player through patterns and sequences that form the constructs of jazz improvisations. The Jazz Theory Book by Mark Levine.
This highly recommended mammoth ring bound 522 A4 page book is on Jazz Theory.
To see the current price and to order a copy click on the title. Thanks to Omer Rauchwerger for his review
Rhythmical Articulation by Bona. Rhythmic exercises for all musicians to build up their timing & rhythm reading & playing skills. Thesaurus of Scales and Melodic Patterns by Nicolas Slonimsky. Systematic documentation of just about every possible succession of tones. Me & My Big Mouth By Larry Adler. Instant Chromatic Harmonica The Blues/Jazz Improvisation Method by David Harp - Book - for beginners. Harmonicas, Harps and Heavy Breathers by Kim Field
Blues, Rock, and Jazz Improvising Made Easy by David Harp Progressive Harmonica Chromatic and Diatonic 21st Century by Oscar Fransaw Harmony & Theory A Comprehensive Source for All Musicians by Keith Wyatt, Carl Schroeder 88 Songwriting Wrongs & How to Right T hem Pat Luboff, Pete Luboff(Contributor) Theory & Harmony for the C ontemporary Musician by Arnie Berle (beginner to advanced)
Harmonica Music CDs You Can Buy Now!
The following include excellent listening material.
Chromatic Harmonica Albums Eivets Rednow by Stevie Wonder Toots Thielemans
Man Bites Harmonica!
Footprints
The Brazil Project
The Brazil Project, Vol 2
Chez Toots
For My Lady
Aquarela Do Brasil
The Live Takes, Vol. 1
1955-58 Live - Toots
Only Trust Your Heart
Verve Jazz Masters 59
Airegin
The Silver Collection
Yesterday & Today
Sophisticated Lady
Best of Toots Thielemans
Larry Adler
The Best of Larry Adler
Genius of Larry Adler
Harmonica Genius
Harmonica Virtuoso
Harmonica Virtuoso (2nd ver)
Golden Era, Vol. 1
Golden Era, Vol. 2
Piano Roll Recordings
Live in Australia
Jerry Adler
Harmonica Magic of Jerry Adler
Mike Turk
Turk's Works
Beans Taste Fine
Brendan Power
Brendan Power Plays the Music From Riverdance
New Irish Harmonica
Tanks Aloft
Blues Harmonica Albums
Super Harps
The Essential Little Walter
Essential Blues Harmonica - House of Blues
Blues Masters, Vol. 4: Harmonica Classics
Blues Masters, Vol. 16: More Harmonica Classics
Now You Can Talk About Me - George "Harmonica" Smith
Sonny & Brownie
Little Walter
The Essential Little Walter
Confessin' The Blues
The Blues - Volume 3
Blues Legends (Laserlight)
Blues with a Feeling: Chess C ollectibles, Vol. 3
The Blues World Of Little Walter
Down Home Harp
Hate To See You Go
His Best : The Chess 50th Anniversary Collection
Quarter To Twelve
Best Of Little Walter
Best Of Little Walter, Volume Two
Big Walter Horton
Fine Cuts
Big Walter Horton With Carey Bell
Can't Keep Lovin' You
Johnny Shines With Big Walter Horton
Little Boy Blue
An Offer You Can't Refuse
They Call Me Big Walter
Vintage Thunderbird
Mouth Harp Maestro
Sonny Boy Williamson
The Bluebird Recordings 1937-38
The Bluebird Recordings 1938
The Essential Sonny Boy Williamson
His Best
Sonny Boy Williamson V.1, 1937-38
Sonny Boy Williamson V.2, 1938-39
Sonny Boy Williamson V.3, 1939-41
Sonny Boy Williamson V.4, 1941-45
Sonny Boy Williamson V.5, 1945-47
1937-1939, Volume 1
Vol. 2 1940-42
Paul Butterfield
East-West Live
An Anthology: The Elektra Years
East-West
The Legendary Paul Butterfield Rides Again
The Original Lost Elektra Sessions
The Paul Butterfield Blues Band
The Resurrection Of Pigboy Crabshow
Strawberry Jam
Sonny Terry
Whoopin' The Blues
Sonny Terry & Brownie Mcghee
The 1958 London Sessions
At Sugar Hill
At The Second Fret
Back To New Orleans
Blowin' The Fuses
California Blues
Giants Of The Blues
Going It Alone
Just A Closer Walk With T hee
A Long Way From Home
Midnight Special
Singing Reverend
Sonny And Brownie
Sonny Is King
Sonny Terry
Sonny Terry: The Folkways Years, 1944-1963
Sonny's Story
Whoopin'
Wizard Of The Harmonica
Chain Gang Blues
Climbin' Up
Last Night Blues
Po' Boys
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Holding Your Chromatic Harmonica
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How to Hold Your Chromatic Harmonica Techniques to get a grip on your axe, and getting tone & effects using your hands.
The Classic Technique Thank you to Doc Harmonica for the use of his photos. Holding a harmonica is more than j ust getting the instrument to your mouth and operating the slide button. To get the full tone and wide variety of sounds from a harp you need to learn how to create a seal around the back of the harp and use your hands to control the tone and volume of the harp. Having said this, flexibility and learning to get a feel for how to mould the tone is important. Try using an approach where you are willing to experiment (when practising) combining your playing techniques with holding and cupping techniques to find effective combinations for various voices, tonal effects, emphasis & feeling. With the slide to the right, holes facing you and hole numbers visible on the top cover take the harp with your left hand gently holding it between you index finger and thumb, both f inger & thumb pointing to the right side of the harp. Start out by getting the webbing between your finger and thumb against the back of the harp (to the left of) where the cover plates starts to open up. Your left index finger should sit on top of the top cover, towards the back pointing to the right in parallel with the back of the harp. This is your starting point for a good seal.
Hold the chrom between your left index f inger & thumb
Bring the base of your right thumb, meat and palm up to support the bottom of the harp, slip it behind your left thumb, and point your right thumb and fingers towards the slide, this should all go towards creating a seal along the bottom cover. Also your right wrist will be almost at right angles to the harp. Put the pad of the end of your right index finger flat on the button, and keep it there. Whether you use the button or not, when playing a chrom your right index finger must always have solid contact with the button.
Form a seal around the harp. The right index finger lives on the button Now curl the second finger on your right hand to rest against the back of the harp just where the cover starts and rest it against the top cover near the back. To finish the seal you need to get the fingers on the top cover to meet solidly.
Alternative Hold
Some chromatic harp players use a n alternative method to hold the chromatic harp, where the thumb is used to press the button. Personally I find this method akward, the thumb being what it is works slower than my index finger and effects my playing as a result, also on a 16 hole harmonica I simply don't have the reach in my thumb to get a good solid cup on the lowest octave and use the button at the same time.
The description given to me: "Hold the harmonica in both hands, the left pinky through the index finger of the right hand lying at an angle under the same fingers of the left hand across the top of the harmonica. This creates a hollow at the back for cupping effects, while allowing the right thumb free to work the slide." Charlie Musselwhite operates the button with his thumb, so it is an effective method. A spin on this is to press your hands against your face while playing with tongue block, and use your face to complete the seal around the front of the harmonica giving a fuller tone.
Cupping Your hold on the chrom can now be turned into a good solid cup. A harp by itself does not have a particularly large sound bell, which simply consists of two open backed covers. By itself it's pretty tinny a nd bright, and doesn't have much range for emotion. But by surrounding it with your mouth, your throat, and your hands in the right way, y ou can create a larger sound bell, allowing for deeper and more emotional tones. All of these things are dynamic and when controlled give a lot of possibilities to your playing. A cup can be used to bring the tone and feeling from your harp, it can be used to give feeling, to change the attitude of your tones used in conjunction with the shape of your mouth & embouchure, the position of your tongue, and the s trength of your breath. Push the meat of your left thumb & palm against the meat of your right thumb and palm forming the base of a cup. The last three fingers on your left hand should be free. Gently squeeze these fingers together and finish forming a 'cup'. The last two fingers on your right hand should also be free, finally gently squeeze these together and rest them on your left hand fingers. With a bit of practice using this technique you can form a comfortable, tightly sealed cup. When you form this cup and blow and draw a single clear note in the middle register you will be able to feel the push and pull against your hands as the air escapes in & out. This is easier to do on 12 hole chromatic than a 16 hole because of the size difference. The pictures are based on holding a 12 hole chrom. When cupping a 16 hole chrom you can focus on getting a good tight seal around the range of holes to be played for a tune. If the whole range of the harp is needed then you will need to occasionally shift your hands to move the focus of the cup and seal. Try to minimize this by getting as big a c up as comfortably possible without compromising the seal.
Volume and Tone Using the free two fingers on your right hand and the free three fingers on your left hand you can change the shape of your cup, and you can open and close the cup to varying degrees. Try playing with this while playing notes to find out what effects this has. For instance going from a good sealed cup to opening your right fingers up a bit goes from a mellow soft tone to a slightly louder, brighter tone. Opening your hands right up gives you the ability to play loudly and brighter.
Also a few harmonica players have commented to me to bring the palms closer together behind the harp (around the bass notes), and open up the fingers around the higher notes allows for a more consistant and better projection of volume across the instrument. Combined with the strength of your notes you can get a lot of feeling into your tones using your hands. Remember though, a lot of tone control also comes from how you play the harmonica, it isn't just in the hands.
Wah Wah This is similar to an effect horn musicians can play where the sound is varied repeatedly between muffled and loud & clear. By going quickly from a good cup to open hands and back to a cup repeatedly you get the wah wah effect. Do this by lifting your free right fingers, followed immediately with your free left fingers in one smooth motion, and reverse the action back to a sealed cup. Experiment. Try varying the speed that you open and close your cup, vary the distance you open your fingers up. Try increasing and reducing the strength of your notes with your breath in time with opening and closing your cup on the harp. With cupped microphone you can get away with just using a finger or two.
Hand Tremolo This is a far more subtle motion than the wah wah. It can be good for varing a long note, or for a bit of effect to add feeling in a tune. Start with a good cup, then simply flutter your free right fingers to slightly open and c lose your cup. Try experimenting with the speed and extent you do this. See what effect not quite closing the cup has versus almost slapping your fingers closed. With cupped microphone you can get away with just fluttering a finger or two. Its far too easy to use too much of this effect, use with discretion.
Techniques with a Microphone There are a few ways you can play using a microphone:
Acoustic. Vocal/Instrument, or even a Bullet mic mounted on a mic stand, or hung from the studio ceiling. You can play normally, but you need to concentrate on playing to the microphone, and you want to make sure that you aren't too close or too far. However, you can use this to your advantage by closing in on it for more volume, and backing away for fade effect or for backing purposes. Lapel Miked. Probably the easiest way to play amplified. A standard lapel mic is clipped on, and you play per normal. The main thing to watch out f or is to avoid bumping or scraping the mic, and if you have a lead not to trip on it or to pull it out or off. What you hear is pretty much what the lapel mic will pick up. Some hand effects will be a bit muted compared to acoustic miking.
Hand-Cupped Mic. I'm thinking of small harmonica microphones like the MicroVox mic, MadCat or Harmonica Honker. These can be used almost the same as playing normally. However a couple of things to be aware of: The tighter your cup, the more volume and depth of tone you will get. The more open your hand, the less volume you will get. In other words it's pretty much in reverse to playing acoustically. Cupping a mic can create feedback, however these mics are designed with this in mind. Cupped Bullet Mic. With a chromatic harmonica this requires quite some doing. It also requires a whole new set of skills for bringing as much of the harmonica tone into the microphone, and finding new ways to wah wah, vibrato & control tone. Also, this technique has a number of issues with creating feedback. Some players prefer to mount their Bullet mic on a stand to overcome this.
Always make sure the amplified sound is not directed from behind you. For more on rigs look under Chromatic Amplified.
Playing Chromatic Harmonicas
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How To Play The C hromatic Harmonica
There is quite a lot more to playing a chromatic harmonica eff ectively than initially meets the eye (or mouth). It is an encouraging feature of the harmonica that a beginner can simply pick one up and be able to play recognisable notes that sound okay, this is certainly an affirmative way to begin playing an instrument. However to develop good tone; to learn to execute different techniques effectively; and to master different tonal & musical effects requires a lot of effort and time. With the Playing Chromatic Harmonicas page I hope to arm you with the knowledge you need to put into practise and master as a harmonica musician. Make no mistake the playing techniques on this page are all beginner material and are neccessary to play the harmonica properly. None of them can be considered advanced or special techniques
Embouchure noun. Music. a. the correct application of the lips and tongue in playing a wind instrument.
To obtain good clean clear notes from the harp starts with good technique, followed by a lot of practice. On this page there are three embouchure techniques discussed: Tongue Block, Pucker & U-Block. Of all the embouchures tongue block has a number of tangable advantages over the rest. Like all other techniques all tone control & bends are available to the player. With your tongue on the mouthpiece, it is feeling a number of holes and you can keep track of where you are more easily. It also opens up the door to a lot more techniques, such as corner switching which any chromatic player can learn eas ily enough, octaves and quick tongue slaps with minimal effort. Having said all this, I do not recommend tying yourself to one embouchure, learn the others, find what works for you overall, keep an open mind and give it a chance, they all take time to learn and become familiar with. My recommendation is to aim to get to the stage where you seamlessly slip from one type of embouchure to the next as they are required in the music piece you are playing. Eventually you will get to the point where you no longer think of tongue block, pucke r or U block, it becomes your...
EMBOUCHURE.
To start with hold the harp and place your mouth over four holes. Your lips should form a relaxed seal around the holes s o air going through your mouth should only come in and go out through four holes each time. Practise playing four hole chords. If you are having trouble with air escaping or not quite getting all four notes try gently pushing the harp further into your mouth, relax your lips a little, they should be gently touching the covers.
Shift around the harp playing different f our hole chords using this embouchure. You may find that your lips drag a little on the mouthpiece. Let off a little when shifting, and it can help to use a little saliva to wet the mouthpiece occasionally so that you can slide more freely. Now try this only covering three holes, simply reduce the spread of your mouth to a cheive this and practise playing only three notes at a time.
Tongue Block Thanks to both Richard Martin & Douglas Tate for their advice and input on this section.
Having achieved a good embouchure you are ready to start playing single notes. With your mouth over the harp place your tongue against the left most holes and leave only the right most hole clear to play a single note. This known as right tongue block because you play through the right side of your mouth. Now again with your mouth over the harp place your tongue against the right most holes and leave only the left most hole clear to play a single note. This known as left tongue block because you play through the left side of your mouth. In either tongue block, if you find you are straining to pull your j aw or mouth away from your tongue, then stop straining, instead practise pushing your tongue to the correct spot, and get it used to sitting in the c orrect position. Be patient, and relax. Being able to play out of both sides of the mouth using flexible tongue blocks although not immediately necessary simply opens up more range in playing style, techniques and c an allow you to play faster and smoother later on. Being able to switch from one side of the mouth to the other quickly allows for quicker note changes that are a distance apart, and is essential for quick corner switching and playing couter point. On a personal note: after playing exclusively right tongue for several months, I found learning to play tongue block on both sides a fustrating process. To begin with I simply struggled to stop myself playing right TB, eventually I broke the habit, its an ongoing exercise to become familiar with playing both sides, since I can "fall back" on what I'm used to. However I can see this is severely limiting me from playing in many other techniques (for corner swithching for instance). In my opinion it is a good idea to start learning to play both sides as soon as possible and become equally adept at both techniques to give true flexibility. They are no more or less difficult than each other. Its the individuals experience and preferences that make a difference.
There are variations on how to go about tongue block. The following descriptions are given in regards to right tongue block for practicality. Please apply it to left tongue block as well.
Typically instructions on tongue blocking I have come across in harmonica pamphlets and some instruction books are generally vague and simply say cover four holes with your
mouth and block the three left most holes with your tongue, accomapanied with a simple diagram showing this.
A number of notable professional chromatic harmonica players cover only three holes (or sometimes only two holes) with their mouth while blocking the left most hole(s) with the front of their tongue.
The position of the tip of the tongue and exactly where it sits on the mouthpiece varies depending on who you talk too: o
Richard Martin explains "...the tip of the tongue just touch[es the left side of] the lower hole with part of the tongue extending to the next lower hole.". IE. The tip of the tongue is gently placed on the left side of the middle hole (just to the left of the hole being played) and the front of the tongue completes the seal over the two blocked holes. I have been informed that this technique is used by Tommy Reilly, Tommy Morgan and Cham-Ber Huang.
On this technique Richard has published further clarification for beginners: Where holes 3, 4 & 5 are the three holes covered by the mouth and the single note played through hole 5:
"...Make the tip of the tongue small, so the tip of the tongue (right front part) will just cover (block out) the lower hole (hole 4), and part of the tip of the tongue will extend over on hole3. The right front tip of the tongue should feel the indentation of hole 4. ..." Courtesy of Richard Martin, Editor of The Harmonica Educator. o
Another professional approach explained to me is to achieve an almost symmetrical configuration with the tongue block, keeping the tip of the tongue centered. So with a three hole embouchure y ou would place the extreme tip of the tongue on or slightly to the left of the bar seperating the left two holes being blocked.
If you were to use the four hole embouchure then of the three holes being blocked you would place the tip of the tongue in middle of the second hole, blocking the other two with the front of the tongue.
Meaning that you then have minimal movement when you w ant to play double stops, octaves counter point, etc.
With many techniques there are a number of ways of achieving the end goal and just as many schools of people who will take various stances on their usefulness or validity.
I recommend you try out the various techniques, find the ones that work for you in different situations and stay open & flexible in your approach.
Tongue blocking needs to be done in a relaxed fasion, if its not coming together simply start again with the basics and perhaps shift your mouth and tongue around a bit to see what feels more comfortable and works for you. Using right tongue block try blowing and drawing clear clean long notes from hole 4 while blocking holes 2 & 3. As a starting exercise simply draw 4, blow 4, then shift right one hole so that you have holes 3 & 4 covered with your tongue and play through hole 5... draw 5, blow 5, s hift back to your srcinal position draw 4, blow 4. And repeat until you can do it comfortably. Using left tongue block try blowing and drawing clear clean long notes from hole 4 while blocking holes 5 & 6. As a starting exercise simply draw 4, blow 4, then shift left one hole so that you have holes 4 & 5 covered with your tongue and play through hole 3.. . draw 3, blow 3, shift back to your srcinal position draw 4, blow 4. And repeat until you can do it comfortably. There are a couple of traps with using tongue block.
When playing on the left most holes on a harp with right TB or on the right most holes with left TB, you don't need to change much in the way that you maintain your embouchure, willmetal find when playing second third left/right mostyou holes will be mostlyyou on the of course, and when& playing the end hole willyour find tongue for the most part you don't need your tongue in place and you may even need to reduce your embouchure to avoid the edge of the mouthpiece. It is best to simply avoid this by changing to the opposite tongue block when approaching one side of the harp or the other. Failing this then keep your tongue in place so that you avoid having to reposition it when you shift back towards the middle of the harp.
When shifting from hole to hole you want to avoid dragging your lips on the mouthpiece or covers and scraping your tongue along the hole edges. This is part of why you need to maintain a relaxed attitude to your embouchure and keep your tongue relaxed, it means that little effort is required to shift from hole to hole because you don't need to let off your embouchure as much to move about the harp. Again a moist mouthpiece allows your tongue and lips slide better along the harp.
If you find yourself favouring one side, purposely favour the other until just as comfortable with it. When you're starting to get single notes, its time to start thinking about breath control and developing it. See the "Exercises", "Breathing Exercises" for more on this. Finally comes tone. If you strain, if you are tense, if you are fighting with the instrument, you may find your tone is tinny, thin or strained. The trick is to Relax your tongue, your mouth, your jaw, your neck, your chest and stomach. Relax your shoulders, drop your arms, loosen your elbows, wrists and hands. If you are standing bend
your knees slightly, and loosen up your ankles & feet. Relax Lift your head high, straighten your back, open up your throat like your head is lifted by a puppet string from the sky, and play from your gut. Be patient, it takes lots and lots of practise, so enjoy the ride. Feel the notes rising from your toes, all t he way up through your body, resonating in your chest & head, flowing through your throat, your mouth, over your tongue, out through your harp & hands ! Breath the music through your body !
Pucker Also known as lip block, this is another popular embouchure for playing harmonica. Simply think of blowing and sucking through a st raw. Place your lips around the hole (or holes if you are playing chords) and blow or draw on the hole. Also the holes are not as small as they may seem as you have the divisions between the holes to place your lips around.
Pucker Some people find pucker easier to use to begin with. Myself included. You can open it up to include more notes when playing chords or partial chords. As the tongue is free in the mouth some find this an easier method for learning how to control tone and bend notes down. However when it comes to using techniques beyond this, tongue block becomes more appropriate. A side note from the Harp-L archives: 4/9/98: >>Pucker - The lips are pursed and the harp is pushed >>deep back into the mouth.
>But not as deep as for tongue blocking or U-blocking. Notice >the teeth. For pucker and lip-block, the harp is in front of the teeth. >For [tongue block] and [U-block], it is loosely between the teeth, jaw >open.
Groove Tongue Thankyou John Thaden, for your permission to use your material. John is a strong advocate of Groove Tongue. After reading his material I saw his point. Only marked sections are direct quotes, the rest are my words. This embouchure is also known as U block or tongue roll. You can play single notes by placing the tip of your tongue underneath the played note, in other words using a U-block. Your lips usually enclose three holes. The played note is usually centered and the outside notes blocked with the left and right edges of the tongue, which form a U shaped groove. The tongue tip is on the lower coverplate or just under the reedplate edge under the hole(s) to be played. Push the relaxed tongue forward so the inside of the cheeks "u" it up to block the side holes. The U shape sort of naturally happens when the tongue is pushed forward slightly (and perhaps upward), because the tip stays anchored below the played note. As with tongue blocking, the key is relaxation and light pressure on the harp. The following quotes are from a variety of emails and responses by John Thaden, I've tried my best to keep them in context and true to his meaning. They were sourced from Harp-L archives
"the reason I [John Thaden] prefer that name (or Leo Diamond's term, groove tongue) to tongue roll, is because in fact you don't have to have the genetic gift of tongue-rolling to be able to do it, at least the looser roll, or U version that I use. It is the inside of the cheeks that support the tongue's U shape, as it is pushed slightly forward. I've taught two people U -blocking who cannot roll their tongues at all." "As with tongue-blocking, the teeth are opened enough so the harp fits between them. The lips cover anywhere from 3-5 holes. T he cheeks generally are not permitted to 'pooch' out and in as you breath, and in fact as you'll see, it is the inside of your cheeks that actually help the tongue form the 'U' shape. The tip of the tongue is below the mouthpiece, under the hole or holes to be played. Try some variations: Sometimes I have the tip just beneath the mouthpiece or exposed reedplate edge, sometimes further down onto the lower cover plate. Sometimes the tip is between the lower front teeth and the harp, sometimes inside the teeth. See what works for you. "Push the relaxed tongue slightly forward. Because it basically has no place to go and because the tip is 'trapped' under the mouthpiece, the e dges of the tongue will contact the inside of the cheeks, be forced up into a shallow U, and block the outer holes. That's all there is to it. The end result you should strive for is a very relaxed embouchure with very light pressure of the t ongue on the harp, so you can easily move on the harp, and do tongue slaps and chording. "If the above description doesn't get you there, then try this modification: With the harp and mouth positioned as described, tip the harp so the mouthpiece rolls down against the top surface of the tongue and all the holes are blocked. (This may force your teeth slightly further apart, but don't worry about it -- this is only a learning exercise.) Now roll the harp back slightly and notice which hole sounds first. It may well be the center one. If so, you are on your way to U-blocking. You are really there when you can do it with the harp level, both side-to-side and front-to-back, which is how I hold it."
"...it's advantages as being speed a nd accuracy, low fatigue factor, rock-steady bends, and identical harp position to tongue-blocking, resulting in both a tone more s imilar to tongue blocking than puckering, and quick, easy switching to tongue-blocked corners and octaves." "... The key to both U-block and tongue-block bending is controlling the size and position of the opening (aperture) dividing the cavity of your mouth/upper throat from the rest of your airway. In other words, the action happens back in the throat. Exactly where depends on the note being bent and the tone you want, but concentrate on those areas where you would form the 'k' sound, the hard 'g' sound, and where you w ould clear your throat or cough. A combination of aperture control and airflow control is what forms the bend; the tongue is therefore perfectly free to maintain the embouchure, do slaps and chords, articulate notes, or -- with very subtle changes in shape and position --fine-tune the bend and embellish it with vibrato and effects. T he word 'solid' somehow describes bends done in this way. "... Articulation is the way one note is divided from the next. The available methods while Ublocking include the glottal 'minicough' championed by Douglas Tate, the consonant sounds 'g' and 'k' and 'L', 'modified' consonants 'd' and 't' ( but using the center instead of the tip of the tongue against the upper hard palate), the badly-named 'bite' technique (where the upper lip leaves the harp to break the air seal), and of course changing air direction, and moving from hole to hole." "[with] u-blocking ... you can do s witches. With it and standard tongue-blocking, you now have three positions among which to switch (more actually because the u-block can itself be swept across several holes). Specifically, the left, center, right legato move ... requires no motion of the harp in my mouth when the center hole is open in a u-block. If I play it with a pucker (spit), I have to pull the harp out of my mouth a little from the tongue-block, which is too slow."
Getting a clean note from Draw Hole 2 Many beginner's have trouble playing a clear note on Draw Hole 2
When you have this problem you are unintentionally pre-bending the note, for some reason on most diatonic and chromatic harmonicas draw hole 2 is the most prone to this problem. Harmonicas are heavily reliant on your mouth for their tone and shaping notes. Its tempting to want to fault the instrument, however every instrument has typical beginner problem spots, eg. saxophone beginners find the bell notes "flubber" until they learn how to shape their embouchure and use breath support for good clean low notes. Its not much different for learning to play clean draw notes at the bottom end of your harmonica. The lower the key of your harmonica, the more important it is f or you to learn how to control your embouchure. A way to show yourself the notes are working fine is to play chords including the notes you are having trouble with. Another way is to use your index fingers to cover the surrounding holes leaving hole 2 open, place you mouth over your fingers and draw air to play the note. To work towards obtaining clean notes you need to become aware of your embouchure, your mouth, your toungue (not just in your mouth but down your throat), your larynx, everything. Make a point of feeling what is going on back there as you try different things.
BREATH the notes gently, rathering than blowing and drawing them actively and trying to force the note out. The air should come from and go to your diaphragm and chest, not from your mouth. Block or pinch your nose and try playing the note that way. If that doesn't work try letting a little air through your nose. You eventually want to be able to play w hile not letting air through your nose, but by manually blocking your nose and/or by letting a little are through you are involuntarily shaping the back of your throat and tongue to a shape more condusive to playing a clean note. Try playing while shaping your entire mouth with an "EEeeee" and then again with an "Ohhhhh", then "Uuuuuuu", while keeping a good embouchure on the hole. This is about shaping your mouth, not your lips after all. Experiment changing the shape of your embouchure (your mouth), the back of your mouth and your lanrynx. Go gently, patiently, slowly, observe any changes, try to feel whats happening inside you. As you feel whats going on you can work out how to reproduce that shape and feeling without having to pinch your nose. Learning to control your breath and uvula will help with this. As with anything practise and more practise will get the results you want.
Playing Single Notes Once you understand how to hold and play the chrom you need t o practise and work on getting clean clear single notes. Start out by simply playing single notes across the harmonica. The C maj or scale is the simplist of scales to play on a C tuned chromatic harmonica. (The number is the hole to play. + for Blow, - for Draw)
C Major Scale. 5+ 5- 6+ 6- 7+ 7- 8- 8+
Click on score to play scale. While learning the chrom, learning tunes more fun. The first song I and everpractising learnt to play was Ohstart When the Saints in to keymake of C it Major. Oh When the Saints. 5+ 6+ 6- 7+ 5+ 6+ 6- 7+ 5+ 6+ 6- 7+ 6+ 5+ 6+ 56+ 6+ 5- 5+
5+ 6+ 7+ 7+ 7+ 66+ 6- 7+ 6+ 5+ 5- 5+
Click on score to play along to the tune.
Using the Slide Button It takes a bit of co-ordination to play with the slide button on a chromatic harmonica. When the button is pressed in it raises the notes a semi-tone. The one exception is when drawing on the right most hole, where it raises the note 3 semitones giving an extra high note at the very top end of the harp.
Practise pressing the button while changing notes, making sure the slide is all the way in or out before blowing or drawing the note. Watch your tongue when using the slide ! You will learn quickly to keep your tongue out of the holes when the slide is moving.
At this point if you a re having difficulty getting smooth easy motion with the button, you can try using the pad of your index finger between the first and second knuckle. The A major scale is played as follows. (The number is the hole to play. + for Blow, - for Draw, ^ means push the slide IN.)
A Major Scale. 3- 4- 5^+ 5- 6+ 6^- 7^+ 7-
Click on score to play scale. Try playing Oh When the Saints in A major as an exercise in button control as well as getting used to different sequences of holes to play the same tune.
Oh When the Saints. (A Major) 3- 5^+ 5- 6+ 3- 5^+ 5- 6+ 3- 5^+ 5- 6+ 5^+ 3- 5^+ 45+ 5^+ 4- 33- 5^+ 6+ 6+ 6+ 55^+ 5- 6+ 5^+ 3- 4- 3-
Click on score to play along to the tune.
Breath Control One of the most important fundamentals of playing harmonica is learning to control your breath.
Two parts of your body that aid you is to use your diaphragm to control your breath, and learning to control your uvula which is the gate to your nasal passage.
Use Your Diaphragm Good harmonica playing relies on good breath control. Y our lungs are your air bellows, but the chest muscles & lungs by themselves are slow and cumbersome. However your diaphragm, the muscular membranous partition roughly between your chest and stomach, can be used to fill and empty your lungs rapidly. To gain precision and control over your breath you need to develop your diaphragm. You need to become aware of it, to practise controlling it and to develop its strength, while also increasing your breath capacity to give yourself the best chance to become proficient at harmonica. For exercises that increase your breath capacity and develop your diaphragm strength go to the Exercises page. When playing the ideal is to maintain a gentle pressure from your diaphragm so that it is supporting your breath at all times. This way it is ready to respond in drawing or expelling air from your lungs as soon as you ask it to. If it is not kept ready it takes more time to first pick up the
slack. Another benefit is that when you support & breath from the diaphragm, as your playing develops so does your tone. Y ou learn to resonate with your instrument, your diaphragm can act like a sort of drum skin drawing you into the music in a very real way as you vibrate with your music.
Control Your Uvula This is about learning to control air through the nasal passage. Some people can do this straight off. If you can play harmonica without air escaping in and out through your nose, if you can choose to let air through your nose w hen playing then you don't need to give this a second thought. If you haven't got this control then thats what you need to learn to do: You need to control your Uvula. The picture here is an open mouth with the pink tongue, at the back is the Uvula in red . The dangly flap at the back of your throat that blocks or opens access to your nasal passage. Look in a mirror when its dangling free your nasal passage is open and you can breath through your nose. While looking in the mirror say "Ahhhhhh..." just like at the Doctors, it should recede back and up - now it is closed. That is what you want to learn to do voluntarily. An exercise to learn to do this is to balloon your cheeks out. Keep the pressure on them by gently pushing from your diaphragm and lungs. Don't just by block the pressure at t he back of your throat. You will know you a re doing it right by simply relaxing your lips to let the air go, doing this means you will immediately exhale most of the air from your lungs, without anything shifting at the back of your throat. If you can do this then you are successfully blocking your nasal area with your Uvula. This is because the pressure that wants to escape from your lungs has only two ways to go, your mouth and your nose. Do it a number of times, practise. A further exercise is to balloon your cheeks, breath out through your nose, stop the air out your nose making your lips balloon immediately. Feel whats going on at the back of your throat as you're attempting this. If you can do this you're well on your way. If thats working you're well on your way. then balloon your cheeks, w ithout forcing the air, gently let a smidgin of air out of your nose, then s top it, your lips & cheeks will momentarily relax then balloon again if you do this right. When you succeed at this, then you're ready to do the same when you are playing harmonica. Try the same techniques when playing harmonica, When you can choose when to let air through your nose, then you gain control over your tone and become much more efficient with y our air. When your lungs begin to fill up through the course of a musical passage, on the blow notes you can leak extra air through your nose. While if you are getting short on air, when you c ome to a draw note by opening your uvula you can draw m ore air in. With practise and active awareness through your early years of practising harmonica you will
be increase your ability to maintain a comfortable level of air in your lungs to negotiate increasingly more demanding music.
Corner Switches This technique is based on tongue blocking and enables a harmonica player to play across several holes with a minimum of effort and movement. Simply put corner swithes are when you are playing from one side of your mouth to playing from the other side of your mouth. They can be done by:
Relaxing your tongue keeping it where it is, and shift your mouth to the opposite side by a hole letting yourself fall into the opposite tongue block position. Flicking your tongue into the opposite tongue block position. Gently move the harmonica towards the open s ide of your embouchure, left for left tongue block, right for right tongue block. Using your hand to push the harmonica over, keeping your mouth where it is, relaxing your tongue and let your embouchure be shifted into the opposite tongue block.
These will all come into play as you get better at it and start considering their place in each piece of music you play. When you've practised this technique long and hard enough, muscle memory & habits will set in making it easier to move around the harp, that is when all the hard hours of practise and effort will begin to reap rewards. I find tongue switches useful for:
Leaping over the "octave hump", on key of C chromatic this is where you find the three C notes.
Making rapid and/or wide changes.
When reaching the harmonicas left or right end holes
Giving me more options as to how I can play the next series of notes, meaning it can make life easier in the long run.
A couple of little exercises I use once I could play smoothly just as well using left or right tongue block, is tongue switching every note up and down scales in a single register. Quickly switching sides, and either staying on the s ame hole, or moving to the next hole whatever is required. Try chromatic scale runs up and down the chromatic harmonica, one note per side up and down. Lastly try different corner switches for one hole, two hole ... up to five hole changes, and back again. Even try playing scales in the lower and upper register counterpoint, low note left side, same note an octave higher right side, next note left side, same note right side (octave higher) etc.
"The Next Note" Playing one note is dead simple, its the next note thats the killer.
This is where you start to really think about how you're going to approach the next note in your tune before you get to it, you need to get to the point that you are thinking one, two, and eventually many more notes ahead of what you are doing. By the time you are playing a note, its a done deal, its too late to think about it anymore, you s hould already be planning what you are going to do next. A mantra you need to be working on is: Maximum Results for Minimum Effort. Consider this short example:
10+ 7- 10- 7+ The number is the hole to play. + for Blow, - for Draw, ^ means push the slide IN. Play each note as a quarter beat at a comfortable pace for you.
If playing with a fixed single note embouchure like pucker or sticking with right tongue block, th is looks like pretty formidable little piece and requires three moderate leaps. However using both left & right tongue block with a bit of practise it becomes a lot easier to do with a small shift of the mouth:
Start by covering three holes 8, 9 & 10, with a right tongue block to blow hole 10. Relax your tongue, keep it where it is, and shift your mouth to t he left by a hole letting yourself fall into a left tongue block across holes 7, 8 & 9 to draw on hole 7
Roll back to right tongue block over 8, 9 & 10 and draw on hole 10
Roll back to left tongue block over 7, 8 & 9 and blow on hole 7
Practice this until you can execute it smoothly, then play around with similar patterns and have fun with it. The left, right, left rolling motion as you do this is something to work on and develop, as you bring the slide into this movement you want to include the same feeling of rolling side to side. For example:
10+ 7^- 10- 7^+
With this brief example only the harmonica needs to move a fraction at each change:
Covering three holes right tongue block to blow hole 10 (slide out). As before relax your tongue and keep it where it is, but instead of shifting your mouth to the left we're going to perform a different trick: keep your mouth & slide where it is and gently shift the harmonica to the right until the slide is fully in. The harmonica mouthpiece should take your tongue with it, automatically shifting it into the left tongue block position covering holes 8 & 9 with hole 7 ready to play. Play draw 7 slide in simply by drawing breath. Another trick, relax your tongue, let the harmonica push itself away from the slide until its fully out, the harmonica should shift back to its srcinal position, and again your tongue should go with it, so you are back in your srcinal position, over hole 10, slide out. draw on hole 10. Last time lucky, bring the harmonica to the right which puts everything as it should be, left tongue block over hole 7.
Draw hole 7.
Repeat this until comfortable with the a ction.
Obviously my examples are contrived, but it demonstrates how a potentially complicated piece can become very easy. After getting used to this, do the same example with only pucker and compare how smoothly you can do it. One last example to hit home the principals of corner switching and thinking about how you approach "the next note".
10+ 7^- 6^+ 5^- 8^- 6- 9+ 10^+
Break this down step by step, and take it slowly because the first "few times around" it isn't easy.
1. Right Tongue Block over 3 holes to blow 10 2. You know this one, push harmonica into the slide, left tongue block over three holes draw 7 with slide in 3. Keep the slide in, shift over one hole to the left, but keep the right side of your mouth where it is and let it stretch to allow the left side of your mouth to cover the extra hole, your tongue should also be exposed to more of the mouthpiece s o that its covering hole 7 with a minor adjustment. And BLOW hole 6 with left tongue block covering thre holes. 4. Keeping the slide in and maintaining the four hole embouchure shift over another hole to the left, draw hole 5 with the left tongue block covering four holes. 5. The slide is still in, keep it there. Gently move the harmonica to the left using your r ight hand to push the harmonica over, keeping your mouth & tongue where they are your embouchure should be shifted into a right tongue block but still covering four holes. DRAW on hole 8 slide in. As you are playing 8^- quickly pull in the left side of your mouth to block hole 5 r educing your embouchure to cover 3 holes, your tongue should adjust accordingly. 6. When the note has finished gently let the slide out by releasing the button AND SIMULTANEOUSLY flick your tongue into a left tongue block exposing hole 6 and blocking hole 8. Draw hole 6 with the resulting left tongue block covering three holes. 7. Flick your tongue back to a right tongue block and blow hole 9. 8. Press the button in AND SIMULTANEOUSLY shift your embouchure two holes to the right keeping the right block and blow hole 1 0. Go slowly through this exercise until you get it, and practice until you can play it smoothly at an even tempo, every note should be the same length, and the changes should be very quick. Remember the rolling motion. With practise this will come true. This certainly isn't the ONLY way to play this piece. But it demonstrates a number of techniques which I'll explain. 1. The 3 hole right tongue block embouchure is a set up for the next hole you're going to play. 2. Easy enough, this is what you were setting up for: roll to the left the slide goes in and everything is good. 3. Now these next two steps are a continuation of the roll to the left . But this step maybe puzzling to some. A quick experiment will show that draw 6 with the slide out gives the same note, why not just do that ? A look at the next step will show why, it would've required four slide movements for four steps. Each slide movement is provides a chance for air leaks. The other trick with this step is that the right side of the mouth is extended a hole. There may not appear to be a reason to do it now, but by not moving the slide you are free to
concentrate on extending your embouchure ready for step 5 . So we play t he enharmonic with the slide in with a wider embouchure. 4. Rolling to the left another hole still, thats all we need to do because the button was left in and the embouchure is already extended to four holes ready for the next step. So play hole 5 with the pleasure that you can relax here. 5. So now we roll over to the right by pushing the harmonica to the right. You see the button has to stay in, by thinking of it this way instead of concentrating on the left hand to move the harmonica, then you only have to think of the right hand. If you did think of it as moving the harmonica with the left hand, well you'd then have to consider the right hand anyway! The button has to stay in for the next note. By the way its the intent behind the motion, theres nothing drastic, its not a running marathon through central LA at lunch hour. You want this to flow along smoothly more like a quiet stroll through a forest park. You'll see from step 3 is that we are avoiding unnecessary air leakage and having to think about releasing the button by keeping the slide in, playing 8^- is the same as 8+. While playing the note, pull in your embouchure to reduce it to a three hole t ongue block. This is to set yourself up for the next note. Another approach would be to let the slide out while corner switching and blow hole 8, which would w ork, although why create more airleak and movement ? Another thing here is w e could've played 9+ instead of 8 ^-, but that would've required even more movement instead of a simple roll to the right AND releasing the button. However it would've eliminated the need to reduce your embouchure for the next step. But by doing the example as I've demonstrated it you've done away with moving the slide at all, you've reduced your movement to a little roll to the right, AND reducing the embouchure can be done while you're playing the note you don't have to think about anything else. Maximum results for minimum effort. Some people maintain some consistancy between the three enharmonics at this point by limiting themselves to blow 9 (holes 1,5,9,12,etc). I do not recommend this approach, and hopefully you already see why. Okay, so after all that the note has been played and we're ready for another roll.
6. NOW you let the slide out SIMULTANEOUSLY flick your t ongue across to the right and form a left tongue block. This is another way to corner switch. Its true that the slide action could've been done in the previous step, but w hy not do it now while you're moving your tongue and air pressure is lost anyway? Also the smaller your embouchure the easier it is to flick your tongue from one s ide to the other, thats another reason to reduce your embouchure rather than playing 9+ in the previous step. Anyway draw 6- with a left tongue block covering three holes. A valid alternative is to have left the slide in and blown the enharmonic 6^+. 7. By now you've drawn three notes, the slide is out and you're ready to let some air out. Roll to the right keeping the three hole embouchure which brings you to blow hole 9. Of course, if you'd played 6^+ then full lungs w ouldn't be a consideration, the slide would be
in and you could've simply flicked back to play 8^-, but the next step is hole 10. B y playing hole 9 you're only a step away, and tongue flicks do lose air pressure. 9+ is played. 8. The final step! keep the harmonica firm with your left hand as you shift your right tongue block embouchure to the right one hole, and SIMULTANEOUSLY push the button in... and blow. The point of the last example was to raise your awareness to the many considerations there are to playing the chromatic harmonica properly.
breath requirements
the impact moving the slide has on your playing & concentration at any given moment
economising movement
techniques available to you
the boon & bane of the three tonic enharmonics. IE. A 12 hole key of C c hromatic has 3 C's around holes 4 & 5 and 8 & 9.
Rolling action as you play.
And most important consideration for "the next note"
Added to all of this you should have perfected your embouchure, keeping time, your tone, articulation, phrasing, tonal expression, yourpossibly parts and/or readingof the music score, possibly watching for queues from band remembering m embers or even your section the orchestra and the conductor. What I haven't included above is places where pucker and U block could be used. It is possible with practise to play all the notes clearly and easily across five holes with a minimal amount of movement of the harp or your mouth, by using your tongue. Hint: use 4 hole, 3 hole left and right tongue block and U Block for the center hole.
Its a long hard road to getting it right, and even more so if you want to be reasonably good, playing an instrument needs to be s omething that comes from the heart, and you can really truely enjoy doing because if it isn't your passion, you may as well sell your harps.
Whats Next? You now have the basics to playing the chromatic harmonica. Its up to you to keep practising regularly (little doses lots is better than big doses not often), quietly and patiently teaching yourself and your body as you explore your instrument and grow familiar with its landscape and the relationship of the notes to each other and how to navigate smoothly among them.
There are many Chromatic Harmonica Techniques you can learn to increase your vocabulary of self expression. Read up on Exercises which will get you underway with practising what you are learning. Why not make a start on Music Theory I and embark on the four week music reading course?
Chromatic Harmonica Techiniques
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Chromatic Harmonica Techiniques There are many harmonica techniques you can learn to add colours and texture to your pallet of self expression.
Octaves Playing octaves is when you play two notes that are a full octave apart. Its a rewarding technique and usable in any key and the the note layout of the chrom is perfect for this technique. Octaves can add punch & richness to the higher register, and definition to the lower register. The only exception to this is the right most draw note with the slide in, as its octave counterpart is only four holes to the left. There are three things to be aware of when learning octaves:
Stretching your mouth over five holes comfortably
Positioning your tongue to get one clear clean note from each corner of your m outh.
Keeping it together when moving around the harmonica.
Stretching Your Mouth Comfortably I have an average sized mouth for an adult male and up until now have found stretching over 5 holes very difficult to do. I tried pushing the mouthpiece into my mouth deeply, but this left little
room for holding the harp, slowed me down and was quite uncomfortable. Eventually I figured that one way to make your mouth stretch is to SMILE, using facial muscles to stretch the mouth wider. (gently now) The more relaxed your lips and jaw the easier it becomes to do. You may find your teeth clacking on the coverplates to begin with, pull your lips j ust over the edge of your teeth to cusion them, this improves embouchure seal too. Having got all this, practise maintaining just the right stretch to cover exactly five holes By the way, this is a very rich chord to play. Work to stretch your mouth a little more or relax it a bit as you may be not getting all the holes, or getting too many. Keep this in mind as you work at getting clear octaves. With practice you'll train your body the correct setting to get an octave range.
Tongue Technique in Octaves Now you have the spread you're ready to work on getting two clean notes an octave apart. The trick was how to place my tongue over the holes I didn't want. With tongue block the tongue is placed s ide onto the mouthpiece one way or the other. One technique that works is to us e right or left tongue block normally, and then stretch your mouth just a little more on the opposite side to what you're playing. However you canPush takethe a different by placing of your the bottom the the middle hole. front ofapproach your tongue against the the tip three holestongue gently on leaving only theoftwo end holes open to play. Be gentle, experiment, practise and relax.
Octave Tongue Block If you find you are getting a bit of a chord (usually unpleasant) it means you're not properly blocking the middle holes, or your embouchure is too wide, try concentrating your tongue a bit more to the offending side, and/or relax it more so it can spread wider over the holes.
Moving Around the Harp with Octaves This is like learning to play w ith tongue block all over again: When shifting from hole to hole you want to avoid dragging your lips on the mouthpiece or covers
and scraping your tongue along the hole edges. This is part of why you need to maintain a relaxed attitude to your embouchure and keep your tongue relaxed, so that as little effort as possible is required to shift from hole to hole. Once again a moist mouthpiece allows your tongue and lips slide better along the harp. However this is more difficult than simple tongue block because you also need to maintain your stretch over the five holes and blocking the middle holes just so. If you find you are getting the wrong notes, stretch your mouth a little more or relax it a bit you may be not getting all the holes, or getting too many. Keeping it all together consistantly and on demand can only come from lots of practise. In my opinion this is definitely a worthwhile technique.
Trills Some songs can be ornamented with an the occasional well placed trill on a holding note, or to punctuate a point in the song. To get a basic trill, rapidly but evenly press & release the button on the note you are playing. When starting out practise getting an even in/out motion with the button. Speed will come as you practise this. As you are gaining rapid motion if you are having difficulty getting smooth easy motion with the button, you can try using the pad of your index finger between the first and second knuckle. These types of trills are just the beginning, and in truth are usually musically incorrect (out of key). Musically correct trills work between two notes that lie on the scale you are playing in. To find all the variations a number of techniques & approaches are required, you can try flicking your jaw from one hole to the next. Perhaps its as easy as moving the harp into the button keeping the button still so the slide goes in as you change holes. Being very aware of where all the enharmonics are can be the difference between a choppy trill and a smooth trill. Using corner switching may be all thats r equired. As you become more and m ore familiar with your harmonica and where all the scales lie and the little tricks of getting from one note to another as effortlessly as possible using all the techniques here and more besides (be creative) you will find out little things that work for you. Being able to play all trills equally well is a long term goal, focusing on this will lead to being very familiar with your c hromatic and playing across scales well. It takes time and practise to get used to playing in different keys, and to co-ordinate the button slide changes at the c orrect time. So be patient with yourself, it'll come with time.
Vibrato and Tremolo
Vibrato is the slight, rapid and regular fluctuation in the pitch of a note. Tremolo is variation in amplitude, taken to the extreme a rapid repitition of a note or rapid
reiteration between two notes. I know of three techniques other than hand tremolo using: Tongue, throat and diaphragm.
Their difficulty to learn increases in respective order. Good vibrato/tremolo is played in time (double time, quadruple time, or fas ter) with the music you are playing.
Tongue Thankyou Bill Price for teaching me this technique. Really simple to do. When you want to vary a long note go: "OOOOeeeeOOOOeeee". .... rhythmically.
Throat Thankyou Paul Farmer for teaching me this technique. This takes some practise & developing but its quite doable with a months worth of practise. Start by simple opening your mouth and using the back of your tongue against your throat to say "K'...K'...K'..." like you're about to say "King" OR "Gh...Gh...Gh..." like you're about to say "Goat" OR "'ch...'ch...'ch" as in the "Lochness Monster". Whatever works best for you. Try to keep a slow rhythm. Practise regularly. When you can keep a constant rhythm going for a half minute or so its time to speed to soften it so that the harsher part of the consonant is lost, but without losing the definition of the vibrato. As you keep practising try to increase your pace. Increase it to a point where you're just about tripping up, and keep at that for a week, and so forth.
Diaphragm You need to be well on your way developing diaphragm (breath) control before attempting this. Its a lightly controlled "pant pant pant..." using your diaphragm or gut to create a tremolo. This affects the note in a deep tonal way and is desirable for that. Like throat vibrato its a matter of starting slowly and developing a rhythm and practising to increase your speed and keeping rhythm whilst doing so. Try using a metronome and panting in time with it.
Check in on Breathing Exercises on the exercises page for working towards better strength and control.
Bending Notes On a chromatic harmonica you can bend notes. For example:
Album: "Larry Adler Harmonica Virtuoso" Toots Thielemans : "East Coast West Coast"
Brendan Power : "Tanks Aloft"
At the very least one can get a minimum of a semitone bend down from every single note on the chromatic harmonica. Having said that: often the top two or three holes are the hardest to bend as the reeds are generally very small at the top end. Sometimes they do not have valves m aking some of the bends simply unavailable. One can remedy this simply by adding soft windsavers to these holes. The tongue technique is a good starting point f or learning how to bend notes on the chrom. Once you have this technique working for you, then you can extend it into discovering how you are holding your mouth, tongue & throat and learning to hold the bent note without wavering. A lot of this is learnt by trial and error.
With valved bends only one reed is being effected, the other reed is stopped by a valve of course. Brendan Power, Stevie Wonder & William Galison sometimes remove some windsavers on their chromatics to allow bends that sound and act similar to bends available on short harp, which has a more gutteral tone since two reeds are interacting in such a bend. T he quality of a valved bend sounds and feels different requiring a different approach and technique to bending short harps or unvalved chromatic. A gentler touch is required with valved bends than with unvalved bends, as it t akes less change in embouchure, less cavity area in the mouth to get the same range of pitch change. Valved reeds are more airtight by their nature and so are easier to play on a leakier chromatic than an unvalved bend. A leaky chromatic would make unvalved bends problematic. Once valved bending technique is learnt its readily available just as for those who learn how to bend notes unvalved. The whole tongue tends to get involved with bends, but more so with groove tongue & pucker unless one is working for using only the cough spot (where you feel a cough starting). If you are using tongue block, most of the work will be happening at the back of your throat in the cough spot. For high notes bent down you'll find it closing in reducing airspace, on bending low notes down you'll find it opening up to increase airspace. With groove tongue or pucker you ideally use the cough spot but may tend towards using the back of your tongue in the 'K' spot (when pronouncing the letter 'K' its where you feel it begin at the
back of your throat. Again the principals are similar for bending notes, the higher the note played the less airspace required, the lower t he note, the more airspace required. A lot of practise, observation, trying things out & patience will bring about results, blow bends & draw bends feel different, and its quite a trick learning to control the bend so you don't end up choking the poor reed. Again, less motion, less change in your embouchure for a valved bend compared to an unvalved bend (like on short harp). Approach gently and use a lighter and smaller changes when figuring this out. The more leaky your harmonica the more control it will require from you. At the time of writing Hering Chroms are easy to bend notes on because they are built airtight and the reeds are soft making them very responsive. Stock Hohner chromatics however require more puff to play therefore more care & thought is required to acheive bends, yet Larry Adler played them bent a lot of the time.
Chromatic Harmonica Exercise
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Exercise for Improving Playing Your Chrom Recommendations regarding exercises & practise routines.
TIMING! First and foremost! With or without your instrument, PRACTISE TIMING! I cannot make this clear enough. Without good timing you have nothing, its like building a house of cards on a windy s and dune, one gust and you're out of the game. With a well developed sense of timing you can trip up, yet easily step right back in again with the beat. With well developed timing you can fit in with most song styles easily. With well developed timing, you're more likely to be respected as a musician. For six months make it a habit to tap in time to anything that has a regular beat. The radio, Television, Movie theme song, tap your toe, the CD you're listening too, your metronome, puff air in & out in time, advertisement jingles, walk to a beat, click your fingers to a rythm, Muzak in the lift, irritating dripping of water, a horse walking along the road, tap your finger, the annoying click of the stone s tuck in your car's tyre, click your tongue, washing machine through all its cycles... absolutely anything with a regular beat. Do try different rythms, swing, shuffles, tango, rock & roll, a variety of rythms, keep an ear out for styles of music outside your norm, even just for their rythm or groove and try and work with it in your head, or click your fingers with it. Then when you've got a regular beat to practise with, try working in that rythm into it, or work in a different groove to that beat ... and keeping it going, work on maintaining it for a period of time so your body has a chance to learn from it. I promise you if you make this a commitment to yourself, musicians will commend you on your timing at the end of it. The overnight secret that changed me f rom a struggling beginner to a performing musician was that you can play a bunch of really bum notes throughout a song, but if your timing is impecable... it will still sound great. I have personally found this is something requiring ongoing maintenance, if your playing lapses, do keep some sort of timing exercise in your routine to maintain a sharp edge.
Breathing Exercises Breath Control is a very important part of playing harmonica well. It pretty much comes second to timing because your it is so closely linked limits to it. how long you can hold a note or how strongly you can But in addition breath capacity play a note. Your ability to control your breath limits how gently you can play a note, it controls how quickly you can play a complex pattern of draws & blows in a fast run. Without good breath control you cannot keep time and play what you want to how you want to. You must develop your diaphragm control & strength as well as increase your breath capacity so you may become a good harmonica player. Especially if you want to enjoy it!
In "Creative Stuff", "Healthy Harps" is an article on the positive effects of playing harmonica on people with athsma or respitory ailments.
A good start is to make it a part of your morning and nightly routine when you're waking up or settling down lying in bed: to do five minutes relaxed breathing exercises. 1. Gently fill your lungs completely, let your chest expand in a relaxed manner until bursting. 2. Now sip in a few more little snippets of air relaxing your stomach to accomadate the extra air. 3. Hold for 30 seconds or as long as you can without straining. RELAX! 4. Now slowly let the air out, however do it without letting your chest deflate o
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When you first let the air go it will want to come in a rush, use your gut or diaphragm to hold it back a little, as you the air comes out; like a balloon, it'll start to slow down, so now using your diaphragm gently push the air out of your lungs, try to keep it at a steady flow. Keep your chest expanded. As you reach nearly empty you'll need to start pushing harder to keep the flow steady.
5. When the last bit of airbut is gone, your chest w ill still be nearly totally expanded and your diaphragm nicely tight not straining. 6. Cough out the last bit of air sitting in your lungs. 7. Try and hold this for 15 seconds or so. Don't let yourself get dizzy or faint though. 8. Keeping your chest expanded and start to slowly draw air in, don't let it rush in though. 9. Use your diaphragm to draw air in continuing the steady rate. 10. As you get to the last bit you'll need to accomadate more & more so relax your gut as you did the first time. 11. Go back step 3. Keep at it for about 5 minutes. RELAX and enjoy it. T he first few days it is quite a strange feeling breathing without moving your chest, but you'll get used to it. You may find from time to time you need to cough up stuff. This is all the muck in your chest, its a good chance to let your body clear itself. If you smoke, well... you know. ;-) I also find panting a good exercise for developing an ability to keep rhythm. Another one is try using your diaphragm to fill up with air through your nose as quickly as possible. Then let air out through your mouth as slowly and as evenly as possible. After doing this a few times, try reversing
it so you draw in slowly through your mouth and expel air through your nose as quickly as possible. Be careful not to block your ears doing this.
Educational Material In the contents go to "For Starters", "instruction" and have a look at the books recommended. The Harmonica Educator series is focused on a thorough education for the harmonica as well as a full instruction method on learning to read music incluing many practise routines, advanced techniques and full range of ensembles. It is a thorough, serious contemporary approach to learning to read & play music. Play the Harmonica Well is a very well presented chrom education book, and easy to follow. All the books under "instruction" go several steps beyond this website. I highly recommend looking into them.
Routines Another suggestion is to work out your own routines and tailor them to your requirements. What are you learning at the moment. What are you having trouble with and need to practise. Make up a series of exercises that challenges you, pushes you but set your goals to an atainable level so you are encouraged by the end of each session. scales & appegio exercise books. You Scour musicnote shops & second hand stores forto woodwind want single instrument with abook similar range your chromatic. For instance flute has the same range as the standard key of C 12 hole chrom. Other suggestions are violin, oboe, clarinet. I even have such a book for the piano, naturally I haven't got the same range, but the exercises can be amended easily enough, I purchased this one for my 16 hole chromatic practises.
Practise Regularly It is better to practise for 10 minutes a day, than for four hours on Sunday afternoon. Ideally the more time you can practise on a regular basis the better. There is a lot to learn and especially when you are starting out you can actually overload your body & mind and actually stop learning if you keep at it doggedly. If you are tired, fustrated, feel soreness then stop and rest. Take it up later. Maybe intersperse your day with with short practise runs. Learning a song is a good way to give yourself an achievable goal. Start easy and work your way up in difficulty as you feel comfortable. I found keeping your chrom with you at all times is a great way to find time to learn, you can grab a couple of minutes here and there to practise a technique or a run. After a couple of months you'll be amazed how far you come.
Improvising When your timing is good, start noodling around scales and make stuff up without knowing what you are exactly doing. :-) Try putting on a CD you like on and use your air and see if you can work out what key its in by looking for the tonic note, if you're really stuck then fast forward to the end song and find out what the last note that the song effectively resolves on, giving it that complete feeling. That note is the key the tonic note the song is in, but then you'll need to work out the scale as well (see "Music Theory I & II"). Even if you don't know t he scale or key on your chromatic with trial and error, finding what notes fit and which don't with enough trys at it you'll start to find a series of notes you can play and sound good with the song. Have fun and play around with it, experiment.
Learning A Song Its quite something to really learn a song and 'make it your own'. This is my response to someone asking how to learn a song note for note:
Break the song down into easy to remember bits. Get each bit right on its own, then string them together... repeat, rinse & cycle. You'll find there are a lot of sections which are variations on others. Practise regularly... but not to the point of fatigue & wariness, that won't help. Theres no quick fix, you got to do the hard yards. Keep listening to every note of that song from the albulm until you can hum it note for note. If you're not sure of a bit of it, go back and listen to that bit until you can hear it in your mind. You should be able to hum the whole thing from beginning to end then it becomes really easy to remember how to play.
Learning to Sight Read Music When learning to sight read music (playing from music notation) its almost the reverse of learning a song note for note. It is to your advantage to have a huge collection of music sheets of songs you do not know. This forces you to read the score properly and to get your timing as accurate as possible. The only thing that makes this easier is PRACTISE.
Jamming
When you feel ready, find some people/friends/associates to jam with. Visit music s hops and look for adverts, hang around and talk to people about music. Eventually over time you'll start to meet people with similar interests, and if you're straight f orward with them and don't cop an attitude, you may find yourself invited for a jam. When starting out, hold back as its quite different to playing alone. And once you're feeling confident it can be all too tempting to just let rip because its so much fun. If you're not sensitive to letting other people solo, or play all over the singer, you'll become pretty unpopular pretty quickly. Just keep it casual, relax & enjoy. Smile! They'll give you turns & they'll be interested to hear you play. I found it less intimidating to start off jamming in a duet situation, its easier to communicate and accomadate. You can discuss difficulties in a more relaxed setting, stop & ask what key you're in and so forth. It took me a while before I got the courage to j am with a band, but I think I waited too long, because I realised that I'd missed out on a lot of fun! Music is a great way to make friends & meet neat people.
Remember to Practise Your TIMING! Harmonica Education Program (Reprinted from The Harmonica Educator Fall 2004 issue) This article is reprinted from the book called, "A Handbook For Harmonica Club: For Forming and Running and Harmonica Club" ©2005 Richard Martin
HOME By Richard Martin The following information is provided with suggestions for harmonica club members, on becoming a successful harmonica player.
What it takes to become a successful harmonica player Basic skills needed Music reading ability. In the future, more a nd more players will want to participate in a harmonica ensemble. Due to the c omplexity of ensemble musical arrangements, players must develop their
music reading skills to be able to play 2 to 5 part musical arrangements. Gone are the days, when "by ear music in the key of C" will be sufficient for playing these arrangements.
Resistance to reading music in all musical keys Realize that people resist change. N o matter how sincerely individuals may be convinced of the necessity for reading and playing music in all k eys, the natural emotional response, to this new requirement and the changes it will bring, is negative. No matter how acute the need to upgrade skills in musicianship and perform–ance, it will take a super effort on your part to sell it, implement it and win enthusiastic cooperation to upgrade these skills.
Everyone must keep abreast of the changes in the harmonica field Harmonica Periodicals, Harmonica Club Newsletters, And Seminars Are The Key Means For Harmonica Instruc–tors, Musical Directors, And Harmonica Players To Learn About And Stay On Top Of What Is Happening In The Har–monica Field.
Establishing a positive environment for the harmonica There may not be a consensus right now, but the writing appears to be on the wall. To change the way the public thinks about the harmonica as not being a serious musical instrument, then players will have to change to the way they are presenting the harmonica to the public.
Steps to be taken by the Harmonica Educator to upgrade the harmonica player's musicianship and performance skills 1. Provide opportunities for training to upgrade the soloist and ensemble player's musicianship and per–formance skill. 2. Focus on areas of harmonica instruction that will help upgrade the musicianship and performance skills of the soloist and ensemble player. 3. Target a market of players such as beginning players and by ear players, who are interested in playing as a soloist or in a harmonica ensemble. 4. Present a wide range of music to the public. One fac tor that will greatly influence the public's view of the harmonica, as a serious musical instrument, is for harmonica clubs and the musical public to hear a wide range of music from the early musical periods to the present performed by disciplined soloists and ensemble players. Make a practice of playing quality music arrangements from the musical score for solo music. Include musical accompaniment, string ensembles, vocal, recorder music for the public, and less of the practice of playing by ear arrangements of the same old songs in the keys of C or G. Target
a market of the musical public to hear quality music performed by disciplined soloists ensemble players. 5. Work at organizing the overall field of harmonica musical education, into an efficient musical program of training, in specialized areas of musicianship and performance for the soloist and ensemble player. Determine the specialized categories of musical training. 6. Provide a training program for the development of harmonica instructors and musical directors. Provide a week training seminar for potential instructors, to become familiar with specialized areas of harmonica musi–cianship and performance skills, for the soloist and ensemble player. 7. Provide workshops and seminars for ensemble players of the diatonic, chromatic, bass and chord har–monicas concentrating on understanding of technique, the elements of music, articulation, dynamics, tempo, balance, blend, intonation, phrasing, and style. Additionally, the workshops and seminars should place empha –sis on all players listening to the music performed, and to fellow ensemble players. Other workshops and semi–nars could emphasize the same for the harmonica teacher, as well as for the artist/performer playing with musi–cal accompaniment (see the section on harmonica s eminars, later in this book). Once workshops and seminars have been established, no matter how humble their beginnings, the recognized improvement in a participants' musicianship and performance skills is normally enough to keep the workshops and seminars going and growing.
Consider what are the important areas for study, and what are the obstacles to overcome for the beginning player a. Being able to play a variety of music from the score written in all keys. b. Playing music written for the soloist and ensemble player for flute, recorder, oboe, voice, and barbershop music.
Encourage harmonica club members to participate in the upgrading of m usicianship and performance skills of the soloist and ensemble player Encourage club members to select individuals, who are interested in training as harmonica instructors and musical directors.
Analyze some reasons why many players want to play the music, by ear versus the musical score For one thing, it is harder to play the music from the musical score for individual musical parts. This requires a high degree of musical ability to play as a disciplined soloist or ensemble player. Much of the better musical solo and ensemble arrangements are difficult to play. It is easier for
the average player to play the har–monica by convenience, rather than by the way the music wants us to play. It takes a lot motivation, effort, and practice to be able to play the better musical arrangements, for vocal, choral, recorder music, string ensembles, and solo selections with accompaniment. Because of this, the average player tends to occupy himself or herself with playing the music by ear, and in the key of C or G. As a result, these players tend to rely exclusively on their ears to learn music a nd get by up to a certain level, but a lack of reading skills restricts the level to which they could as pire.
Some final thoughts Until a great majority of harmonica music is played from the musical score, the fu ture is likely to bring a mix-and-match assortment of by ear harmonica music presented to the public. One factor that will greatly influence the public's thinking, about the harmonica, is for them to hear a wide range of music from the early musical periods to the present performed by disciplined soloists and ensemble players. Do not specialize in just one type of music to play to the public. Make a practice of playing a wide range of quality music arrangements from the musical sc ore, for solo music with accompaniment, string ensembles, vocal, recorder music for the public, and less of the practice of playing by ear arrangements of the same old songs in the key of C or G. By ear novelty music selections can be added to the repertoire. However, this is after the basic music repertoire is established. Target a market of the musical public and other harmonica clubs to hear a wide range of quality music, performed by disciplined ensemble players and soloists.
Commercial Harmonica Reviews
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Reviews of Commercial Chromatic Harmonicas Whats out there and what harpists think of their off the shelf chromatic.
Hering Chromatic Harmonicas Hering in Brazil produce a wide range of harmonicas. Hering USA
Hering 5148 Chromatic
Model 5148 (501/48) Available in keys of A, Bb, B, C, D, E, F, G. 12 holes, ABS Plastic comb, Round holes, Straight slide. Brian McInnis says: These harps have the thinnest tone of all the Hering Chroms. Despite this they are very responsive and very playable. In my opinion value for money these are one of the best Chromatics out there. Doug Tanner says: I like the 5148 better than the [now discontinued] Charlie Musselwhite - although they are very similar. I've used 5148 reeds to replace those in a MusselWhite and didn't notice any difference. I think the reeds are the same - only the reed plates are different. I like the lighter weight of the 5148 and I think they buzz less than 7148's [AKA Musselwhite] between the comb and the reed plate difference the 5148 seems to be more forgiving of temperature difference which results in less valve sticking and less buzzing. The slide seems to work better on the 5148 - there is a slight width difference - perhaps that's the reason - but I have used C, Bb and F in each m odel and find these differences to be consistent. I use the 5148's most of the time. I don't know why, but the Hering 5148 [slide] is the most forgiving of all , as long as I clean the slide every day or two it works great without valve problems, even with hours of playing in the car.
Hering 5164 Chromatic
Model 5164 (501/64) Available in key of C 16 holes, ABS Plastic comb, Round holes, Straight slide.
Brian McInnis says: The main difference between the 5164 and the 6164 is the fact the 5164 has traditional styled coverplates. I also find that the tone is slightly less thick and warm as the 616 4, I think this is because the reedplates are thinner. It is very responsive and quite easy to play fast runs on. The slide action is smooth & quiet and I haven't had any trouble with it jamming up yet. The wind savers on the low octave buzz a bit. But with a little bit of effort the buzz can be eliminated. Harplicks says: I love this big ol' beauty. It is modeled much the same way as the Hohner Professional 64 (model 280/64), with similar cover plate configuration & all-screw assembly. However it is straight tuned where the Hohner Professional 64 harmonica is cross tuned. I found it to be a wonderful instrument. Extremely airtight, very responsive across all four octaves and a very manageable 'bite' for small-mouth me. like the Hering Muss elwhite it features a thinner mouthpiece, round holes and possesses a brighter tone than the Super 64. This one tended to suffer from valve buzz, but was easily remedied (using thin strips of Micropore on the valves). A great harp for the money!
Hering 6164 Chromatic
Model 6164 (601/64) Available in key of C 16 holes, Clear Acrylic comb, Round holes, Straight slide. Brian McInnis says: This chrom is a wonderful sounding harp. IMHO it has the best tone of any Hering chromatic. I prefer a thick tone on a harp that gives you a little resistance, and this is the one. Even though it gives the player a little resistance, it is very responsive and quite easy to play fast runs on. Its sloped covers fit quite well in my hands, but like any 16 hole, it is hard to cup for a tight air chamber. You can order 6164 models from some shops that come with brass inserts imbedded in the comb. This saves a lot of time when it comes to maintenance. One can remove one coverplate and reed plate at a time if needed. The slide action is smooth & quiet and I haven't had any trouble with it jamming up yet. The wind savers on the low octave buzz a bit. But with a little bit of effort the buzz can be eliminated. This harp is my favorite 16 hole chrom. G says: A nice instrument, and its reasonably good value for money. The bottom end of the range is responsive enough for beginners to start out on. However several reeds began to fatigue after several months and I find the Hering mouthpiece rough on the mouth. I repaired it and sold it on.
Hering 6148 Baritono
Model 6148 (601/48) Available in key of Baritone C 12 holes, Black ABS plastic comb, Round holes, Straight slide. Brian McInnis says: This 12 hole chrom is the same as the first 3 octaves on the 5164. It has a thinner tone than the Musselwhite and the 6164. It is very playable and very responsive. One of my favorites. G says: An excellent beginner's Tenor C instrument, reasonable price, lovely tone, responsive enough for a beginner to learn on. I find the Hering mouthpiece rough on the mouth. It was one of my favourite harmonicas, but 6 months after receiving it brand new a number of reeds fatigued and died. I repaired it and sold it on.
Hering 1148 Velvet Voice Chromatic
Model 1148 Available in keys of A, Bb, B, C, D, E, F, G. 12 holes, Black ABS plastic comb, Round holes, Straight slide.
Hering 7148 Chromatic Harmonica
Model 7148 Available in keys of A, Bb, B, C, D, E, F, G. 12 holes, Clear Acrylic comb, Round holes, Straight slide.
This model used to be called the Charlie Musselwhite, but he has since withdrawn his endorsement from Hering. Brian McInnis says: A fine sounding playable harp. It is very similar to the 6164, but in a 12 hole size. I have one in the key of G, so I can not compare it properly to the sound of the 6164. The reed plates are plated (I am not sure with what). The Musselwhite has a nice thick tone and a dream to play. Harplicks says: This chromatic was my first Hering product, and I must say that after all my Hohners this was a marvelously airtight and super-responsive instrument. It's tone is quite a bit brighter than the Hohners, but it's responsiveness, bendability (softer reeds) and solid construction really makes up for it. It is a straight tuned harp that features all screw assembly, stainless steel cover plates with Charlie's name inscribed, and thicker reedplates. The mouthpiece is a tad thinner than Hohners and made for easy octave playing for this small-mouthed lad. The downside was a tendency toward valve buzzing (I fixed this with strips of Micropore on the valves). After one year I had a reed go south (John Infande replaced it and told me a ll Hering reeds are longer and thinner than Hohner's and tend to go flat easier). This is one hell of a harp and is the chromatic instrument I reach for first.
Hohner Chromatic Harmonicas Hohner is a long standing German company who provide a very large range of harmonicas. Hohner USA
Hohner Super Chromonica
Model 270/48 Available in keys of C, D, Eb, E, F, G, A, Bb, B & Tenor C Also available is the Super Chromatic Gold in k ey of C 12 holes, Wood comb, Square holes, Straight slide.
G says: Out of all the stock models and brands I have tried, the Hohner Super Chromonica 270 has a lot to offer and is my preferred choice. Solid design, lovely tone, good response, size and feel. Although I always prefer to customise and retune mine before playing. Harplicks says: This was my first real chromatic. It has a nailed construction and is straight tuned. I found the square holes a tad uncomfortable to tongue block on, but I got used to them fairly quickly. The nickel-plated covers tarnished quickly and I eventually rubbed some of it off & now bits of brass show in places. The harp seemed to be pretty breezy at first, but I did some mods (gleaned from Doug Tate's great book Making your Harmonica Play Well), and it is much better now. I've since purchased other Chromatics that are m uch more airtight, but none match the mellow, dark tone of my good ol' 270. A classic. And it's the only one of my chromatics not to suffer from valve buzz.
Hohner CX12
Model 7545 Black Available in keys of C, D, Eb, E, F, G, A, Bb, B & Tenor C Model 7545G Gold Available in key of C 12 holes, Plastic comb, Round holes, Plastic mouthpiece & covers, Cross tuned slide Harplicks says: I bought this harp several years ago (after reading all the reviews on Harp-L), and found it to live up to its reputation as being robustly loud, extremely airtight, bendable, and easy to maintain (you can take it apart without a single tool). Reed plates are fastened to the plastic comb with screws. The only one of my chromatics whose slide never sticks. The fact that it is cross tuned didn't bother me, But the real downside of this cool Darth-Vader-looking harp (I got the black ABS plastic model), is that I don't strictly care for its 'plastic' tone. I t seems to resonate plastic... Still, it sounds great amped. I also had some problems with a weird metalic after-tone on 2 notes that was solved by fastening little strips of Micropore to the valves giving them a little extra weight. Another downside I found is that it has a very thick 'bite' making it difficult for me (small mouth) to play octaves for extended periods of time. It's a marvelous instrument that looks very, very cool. In response to Lawrence Szenes-Strauss's newsgroup query: "Does anyone out there have any experience with the Hohner CX-12 chrom ? Is it really worth it to get a metallic body ? Or is that most of an aesthetic change than a tonal one? Also, has anyone tried the low C tenor version of this model?"
BrassHa'per wrote:
I think the reed plates may be thicker on the metallic colored ones. I have the tenor C. And to "How well do the reeds in the low octave respond?" Very well. It's an extremely air tight harp that plays well even w ithout the windsavers (though not on the bottom octave of the tenor). I'd judge the response to be a little better than the bottom octave of a 16 hole chrom like a Super 64X. I think the reeds are a little shorter on the tenor tuning than on the 64's which might have something to do with it. The CX-12 tenor isn't difficult to get good projection from on the low notes, nothing like a Hohner 270. Its a different design from other chromatics, as you probably know. The mouthpiece is much different, more rounded and taller by far. Not saying worse, just that if you're very used to a "normal" Hohner/Hering mouthpiece the CX-12 will take some getting used to. Doctor Harmonica says: The CX-12 I own I got as a gift from my local music store when I bought a piano from them. It is a black bulky hunk of plastic, but it plays like every harper's dream. The sound is very warm and round, with a twitch of plastic. The wide slots at the back make for a comparison with a horn, especially in the lower octaves. The volume is very good, strangely enough. This is not an instrument designed for extra volume, like the gold and s ilver models. The slide action w orks exceptionally smooth and of course the ease of taking this baby apart for cleaning is very pleasant. The big mouthpiece is not a problem for me. Doug Tanner says: I have found [CX12s] to be better for use in t he band i play in - in part because thier tone cuts better through the trombone and accordion thatare also in the band. In fact, recent experiments have shown that the Hering tone is so similar to the accordion tone that it's hard to differentiate them - thus my preference for the CX12 [for use in the band]. However, I find there are more valve sticking incidents with the CX12 than t he Hering. G says: An innovative design and overall a good instrument worth checking out. The slide design means the spring is unlikely to ever break. Although in stock form I f ound it quite noisey. On the w hole the instrument was relatively airtight and responsive. I have my reservations about the cross tuning design, however it something I was prepared to overlook because of the design benefits. Its a doddle to disassemble and reassemble making it easy to service, and a very practical option for players who use a number of altered layouts to swap reedplate/combs quickly, even onstage between songs as Brendan Power regularly demonstrates. Its large open cover design gives it a distinctive full mellow horn like tone. Unfortunately the plastic covers seemed to aggrevate problems with condensation and resultant valve popping. Its biggest drawback for me was the size of the mouthpiece which gave me a very painful case of TMJ (continually sore jaw joints). Despite all the benefits, this single major draw back makes the instrument completely impractical for me to use at all. If the Hohner R&D boys w ere allowed to finish their job on the mouthpiece design before it was rushed out it would be one of the best chromatic harmonicas available today. Its quite a shame really.
Hohner 64 Chromonica
Professional Chromatic. Model 280/64 Available in key of C 16 holes, Plastic comb, Round holes, Cross tuned slide G says: A good choice for anyone w anting a stock 16 hole chromatic. Sturdy design with a great tone, nice reed response, good slide action, and relatively comfortable. This is the 16 hole chromatic I generally recommend to new players. My only reservations are with the cross tuning, I prefer straight tuned harmonicas, and the mouthpiece is quite a job to fit in my mouth. I prefer the older str aight tuned Hohner 16 hole chromatics which seem more airtight and responsive as well as being less of a mouthful. Doctor Harmonica says: The 280 is my most recent acquisition. Only recently I had an opportunity to play this big battleship. The lower octave on the first four holes took some getting used to, but once I knew it was there, I wandered over there more often than not. The tremendous four-octave reach of this monster makes it worth the work you have to do to get this thing up to your mouth. Its bulky size and weight make this an instrument for adults, not kids. Even if the one I tested had a small defect, a leak in the high octave due to a worn bolt there, I consider this a very responsive harp with an extra octave that gives you the reach to go down if you want to and still play high. Only drawback on this baby is the size of the mouthpiece. A little too thick for my liking. But then again it's thinner than on the CX-12 and the round holes make for easy puckering.
Hohner Super 64 Chromonica
Model 7582/64 Available in key of C 16 holes, Plastic comb, Round holes, Cross tuned slide Franz Chmel's Instrument of choice. Harplicks says: My first 16-hole, four-octave harp. I bought it because it looks very cool. T he stainless steel cover plates go all the way to the ends of the reedplates. Unfortunately this all-screw assembly, cross
tuned harp ~leaked~ air like a sieve right out of the box and was nearly unplayable. I sent it off to harp tech Bill Rommel to go over and he did a great job of mostly tightening it up. The middle and upper registers played pretty well, but the lower s till sucked wind (due to a gap between covers and mouthpiece). I have since c aulked the gap using a thin bead of silicon compound and this did the trick. But then I had problems with several buzzing valves. This was remedied by fastening little strips of Micropore tape between the upper and lower halves of each valve. Now the harp plays like a dream!! I absolutely LOVE its dark, mellow tone, and, thanks to Bill's tinkering, it is quite responsive. Now, my only complaint is (once again) the thick 'bite' of the thing. I must say, though, that all the expense and frustration of getting this baby into shape was well worth it. It's a great sounding harp!
Hohner Super 64X
Model 7584/64 Available in key of C 16 holes, Plastic comb, Round holes, Cross tuned slide
Hohner Larry Adler Professional 12
Model 7534/48 Available in key of C 12 holes, Wood comb, Square holes, Straight slide 'G' says: Having serviced a quantity of these I cannot see much difference in assembly or quality between the Larry Adler 12 and Super Chromonica 270 apart from the embossed covers.
Hohner Toots Mellow Tone Model 7538/48 Available in key of C 12 holes, Wood comb, Square holes, Straight slide A fellow Chromist had his Mellow Tone customised: When I first listened to Toots Thielemans play on the Jaco Pastorius "Word of Mouth" album, I couldn't believe the music Toots made with his harmonica. Years later, I found Harp-L and after much research, I decided the Hohner Toots Mellow Tone was a chromatic I wanted to try. I discovered Custom Craft Harmonicas and after a phone conversation with owner Bill Romel, I decided to send him the Mellow Tone for his Forever Lucite comb upgrade. Bill puts threaded inserts in the Lucite comb that allow the reed plates to be screwed on. I also had him make a silver plated, round holed mouthpiece. T he mouthpiece is screwed into threaded inserts as well. Bill's custom mouthpiece is what really makes the harmonica a joy to play. It is so smooth on the lips a nd tongue compared to Hohner's standard, square holed mouthpiece. It is very similar in feel, to the Hohner Meisterklasse, my other favorite chromatic harmonica. Of course the Hohner Mellow Tone reedplates are terrific.
Hohner Toots Hard Bopper
Model 7539/48 Available in key of C 12 holes, Wood comb, Square holes, Straight slide G says: Very similar in quality and feel to the Hohner Super Chromonica. I didn't like the f eel of the chrome plated covers, they tended to slip in my hands and gave the instrument a slightly brighter tone than after I replaced them with 270 covers. I had the comb replaced with a clear lucite one with brass inserts so the reedplates are independantly mounted and tuned it to Cmaj7/Dmin7 for classical music. I look forward to many years of enjoyment from this harmonica. Doctor Harmonica says: This was my first real chromatic harp. The first real one, since I think a Chrometta doesn't count. I noticed the Hard Bopper and the M ellow Tone simultaneously and being a Toots fan since longer than I can remember I went for them immediately. Their prices were inhibiting me to buy the both, so I went for the "men's stuff" Hard Bopper. This is a very robust and airtight harp. The tone is loud, but a little on the thin side when compared to other Hohner chromatics, yet beautiful. The heavy, chrome plated reed plates make you really work when playing, but that does not reduce responsiveness. I am very satisfied with it as it is. The only thing I modified after some time is that
I scavenged a round-holed mouthpiece from another chrom and screwed that on the 'Bopper. The round-holed mouthpiece is more comfortable to play.
Hohner Meisterklasse
(Photo by Dick Biow)
Model 7565/56 Available in key of C 14 holes, Metal comb, Rounded square holes, Straight slide, Mpc lengthened ends. Range low G to D
Hohner CBH 2016
Released 1975, Discontinued mid '80's Produced in Key of C 16 holes, Cross tuned slide, Plastic comb, Innovative design by Cham-Ber Huang. J.R. Ross wrote: First, what I like about this chrom. I love it's tone. Each reed is clear and precise. When you play a chord, there is no muddying, no blending of the reeds. True, this might not be w hat I want all the time, but it really gives the chords character and a crispness not f ound in most other harps (perhaps the isolating covers give it this crisp, clear tone). Also, there is a real sense of attack and responsiveness to the reeds. You have to be careful with your bends, as it's easy to go too far and kill the sound. This is definitely a good thing, as more bendability makes for a wider range of possible tonal variations. And then there is the shape of this chrom. I really like the wedge shape, as it fits smoothly in the mouth and is quite comfortable (note here that I tongue block--when I pucker I don't find it nearly as nice). The button is in the right place. It puts the hands out there, in front of the harp, j ust where they should be for getting a good cup. Truly, a design inovation which I would like to see
picked up in the future. So, with all this good stuff, why do I have the Rommel 6164? (and I'm not even talking about my custom 12-holers, which I tend to prefer for the smaller size and thus easier cuping and holding) Well, there are the negatives. The first I'll deal with is the mouthpiece. Yes, I know, I said it had a great shape, so what could be wrong. The material. It is somewhat rough feeling after playing it for a while. Also, it wears down with time, and this creates a nasty little edge where the mouthpiece hits up against the covers. But that is the minor complaint. The major complaint happens when t hat wonderfully placed and designed slide button (or plunger--it's still a button and even a normal slider acts like a plunger, but this is semantics). N ot only can you hear the a ir being driven back against the slider, you can feel it. This is the most sever backpressure that I have ever felt in a chrom. True, backpressure occurs in even straight-tuned chroms, but the amount of backpressure in the CBH is j ust ridiculous. I feel a rush of air into my mouth. And the noise really is quite distracting. So, do I play this chrom often? No. For me, the two flaws outweigh the positives. Well, actually I could fix the mouthpiece problem by having someone make a silver-plated metal mouthpiece, and I may do that someday. But it really is the backpressure which keeps me from using this chrom regularly. Perhaps it is the cross tuned slider which creates the backpressure. Perhaps it's the way that the slider ramps inwards t owards the comb chambers. Whatever the problem, it is too big for me to overcome. So, I read people saying that the CBH should still be made (including me), and I have to say that I find it to be no huge loss. Sure, there are aspects of the design I'd love to see continued: the shape; the button placement; the tone-chamber effect on the sound. But unless that backpressure problem is solved, I wouldn't be in any rush to go out and buy one, and I wouldn't really recomend anyone paying the price they go for on eBay unless you really just w ant one for the novelty--or only play non-slider 3rd position blues chrom. At least that way you get the positives without the backpressure becoming an issue. :) J.R. "Bulldogge" Ross And Snuffy, too :-)
Huang Inc Chromatic Harmonica
Huang Incorporated supply a single chromatic harmonica.
Huang 1248 Professional Chromatic Model #112 Professional 1248 Available in key of C. 12 holes, plastic comb, Small round bevelled holes, Straight slide. David A. Lovatto says: The Huang seems to have sound the (1/64" Suzuki maybe) Leghorn.It The opening the back is slightly larger on the frontheavier and back coverthan plates. is also a littleinsmoother in playing. I'd probably play the Huang at a gig, than the Leghorn. I have had the Huang over 11 years. And is a very nice harp.
Suzuki Chromatic Harmonica Suzuki, a Japanese company, offer a range of Chromatic Harmonicas including: the SC 56 and 64 models with 14 & 16 hole configuration respectively; and the less expensive SCX models 48, 56 & 64 with 12, 14 & 16 holes respectively. Only the SCX48 is available in keys of C, G, A, D and F. The rest are tuned to key of C.
Suzuki SCX-48 12 holes, Plastic comb, large rounded mouthpiece with rounded holes, cross s lide. Welded reeds. Mark Talaba wrote I only play chromatic harps, and until a couple of years ago, I had only played Hohners with wood combs. Then I got a Hering Super 48, and more recently, the Suzuki SCX-48. It's a very fine harp, and I think also a good value for the price. The fit and finish is excellent, and it comes in a better-than-average case. I found it to be very airtight and exceptionally responsive all the way up and down. Good volume, but the tone is not as robust as my Hohners (Toots Mellow Tone and Hard Bopper.) The slide on this particular Suzuki has a faint click that could probably be remedied. The only
downside I found is that the lower-octave windsavers seem to be very sensitive to excess moisture, which causes them to stick and/or buzz. So if you get one of these, I recommend that you always warm it up fully before playing, and try to play with a dry mouth. Since adopting that strategy, no further problems.
If you'd like to submit your review of a Suzuki chromatic harmonica, please post it in plain text format to G.
Tombo Chromatic Harmonicas Japanese Harmonica company offer an interesting range of alternatively designed chromatic harmonicas in addition to the more orthodox Unichromatic. Tombo are best known by Americans by their Lee Oskar diatonic models. Tombo have a reputation long lasting and accurately tuned reeds.
Tombo Unichromatic
Model No.1248 Available in key of C. 12 holes, Plastic comb, Square holes, Straight slide.
Tombo Unichromatic Gold
Model No.1248G Available in key of C. 12 holes, Plastic comb, Square holes, Straight slide.
Custom Harmonica Reviews
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Reviews of Custom Chromatic Harmonicas Although the harmonica industry put out playable instruments (they want you to come back you know), into todays world you have to sell commercially viable products. This means with chromatic harmonicas things are usually less than ideal s ince the amount of time & effort required to really fine tune chromatic harmonicas is prohibitive on an industrial scale. This has lead to the growth of a cottage industry of harmonica repairmen & customisers as well as a few made to order custom chromatic harmonicas of high workmanship. These are the people to go to when you reach a point where you want something more from your instrument.
Hands-Free Chromatic Harmonica!!
NO... ...slide ...button ...leaks
...hands! Instead of the button push, a short (5/32"), gentle (3 oz) downward motion of the moveable mouthpiece plays the sharps & flats.
Hands-Free Chromatic Harmonica For details. Vern Smith 3424A Calle Azul Laguna Woods, CA 92653, USA.
+1 949-380-7933 http://www.hands-free-chromatic.7p.com. Review by Pat Missin Vern Smith's Hands Free Chromatic and Ergonomic Neck Rack The diatonic harmonica is one of a very select group of m usical instruments that can be played without the use of the hands; all you need is some way of holding the harmonica to your mouth and your hands are free to play another instrument. The sight of the singer guitarist with his 10hole diatonic in a neck rack is a very familiar one, but things are not quite so simple with the typical chromatic harmonica, all because of that pesky button. Of course, you could put your chromatic in a rack and simply restrict yourself to tunes that require no sharps or flats, but if you are going to do that, you w ould probably be better off simply using a diatonic. Not surprisingly, there have been several attempts over the years to provide a way of getting the sharps and flats whilst leaving the hands free, most of them using a foot operated switch connected either mechanically or electrically to the button on the harmonica. Equally unsurprisingly, these devices have generally been noisy, clumsy or both. Finally, someone has come up with a nice simple solution which is quiet and efficient and also has some unexpected beneficial side effects. Vern Smith is a familiar name to anyone subscribed to the various online harmonica discussion groups such as harp-l and Slidemeister. As someone who plays both guitar a nd chromatic harmonica and wanted to be able to do both at the same time, Vern has put a lot of thought into the problem and his remedy is the Hands Free Chromatic (HFC). The HFC replaces the standard slide assembly with a one-piece plastic mouthpiece held in position by a spring at each end. In its normal position, the mouthpiece allows the natural scale to be played; to play the sharps and flats, all that is required is a slight nod of the head. It sounds like this might be an awkward technique, but after having played the HFC for a while I was amazed at how quickly it began to feel
very natural indeed. According to Vern the angle required to shift from naturals to sharps/flats is about 1.5 degrees and it takes about 3oz (85g) to push the HFC mouthpiece, compared with about 26oz (737g) to push a conventional slide button! With very little practice I found that I could play trills and chromatic phrases almost as easily as I can us ing the conventional push of the button. With some real practice, I'm sure the HFC could do anything that can be done with the standard chromatic harmonica. At the SPAH convention last year, j azz harmonicist (and no mean jazz guitarist) William Gallison blew everyone away with some dynamite playing on the HFC accompanied by his own guitar, within minutes of first seeing the instrument. At the same event, Douglas Tate also had the opportunity to try it out and had this to say: "Vern Smith, my long time friend and adversary... What an amazing instrument he has come up with. I was privileged to be allowed to play his new "Hands off, You Don't Need a Button, Just a Mobile Head" harmonica. Vern's HFC harmonica is beautiful... it works, is natural to play. I spent a happy few minutes playing duets with him on it... I would say that the average player who is used to the idea of playing sharps and flats would take a couple of minutes to suss it out and about half an hour to become so used to it that you could forget the technique. Vern's claims about the airtightness of the instrument are absolutely correct, it is tight." This airtightness is the unexpected benefit I mentioned earlier. As you probably know, the standard chromatic harmonica is a rather ineff icient machine. Much of the air that should be going through the reeds ends up es caping via several places, the slide assembly being the worst offender. Tighten it up to prevent air loss and the slide doesn't move freely; loosen it to achieve an easy slide action and it starts to leak again. A good technician can achieve a reasonable compromise, but the HFC sidesteps t he problem completely. The mouthpiece is held loosely against the front of the comb, but as s oon as you play the instrument it is pushed lightly but firmly into place, with no air leaks at all. For this reason alone, the HFC would be valuable to any chromatic player, even if they do not play a second instrument. Not having to push the button is very liberating in other ways - both hands become freed up to work on tonal effects or cupping a microphone, without having to make sure that one hand is in the correct position for the button. I also found myself playing with the HFC in my left hand, as I typed one handed at my computer keyboard! After working with the HFC f or a short while, I w as struggling to come up with anything negative to say about it. It looks like it may be quite flimsy, but it is surprisingly robust. If you were to drop it on a hard floor, you might damage it, but the same is true of any harmonica, or indeed any musical instrument. I can imagine some players will not like the plastic playing surface or t he round holes in the mouthpiece, but as a fan of the CX-12 I am very comfortable with both. About the only other thing can I say is that it would be nice to see a 4-octave version. Vern sells the HFC with a Hering body (key of C only) for US$300, or with a Farrell plastic combed Hohner 270 (key of C only) for US$350, US shipping included. They come with a six month warranty covering any defect of manufacture of the mouthpiece assembly. The warranty doesn't cover reeds, windsavers, or damage from dropping the harp. Vern includes one dozen loose replacement Teflon windsavers with every new HFC.
So, get one of these and all you need is a good neck rack to support the HFC as you play - and Vern has that covered too! Most neck racks currently available are rather flimsy affairs that look like they have been quickly cobbled together from an old coat hanger, many of them too small to hold a standard chromatic harmonica. Vern offers a heavy-duty, ergonomic harp holder that was designed with the HFC in mind, the catchall named Ergomonic Neck Rack (ENR). The ENR was made as adjustable as possible, allowing the harmonica-to-mouth distance to be varied, the height of the harmonica to be raised and lowered and the angle of the harmonica to be adjusted relative to the player's head. Hopefully this will put an end to a ll those strange contortions people seem to have to do whilst playing simultaneous harmonica and guitar (or piano, or concertina, or Theremin, or whatever...). The cost of the ENR is US$200, US shipping included. There is a $45 discount offered if you purchase the HFC and the ENR together. ©2003 P.R. Missin. Used with permission.
Ergonomic Chromatic Harmonica Neck Rack
Harmonica made by Georg Pollestad Georg Pollestad makes The Silver Concerto Polle Chromatic Harmonica
The Silver Concerto Polle
The Silver Concerto Polle, Available in any Hohner reedplate tuning. 12 holes, 925 Stirling Silver Comb, Square holes. A NEW PROFESSIONAL MODEL A combination of craftmanship and high technology to ensure lasting quality and performance
Slide movements and shock absorbers have been especially developed for smooth action and easy assembly.
Gold-plated mouthpiece.
Screws for the mouthpiece made i n titanium preventing galvanic sensations.
Production to order. Price and time of delivery available from: Polle Harmonica Workshop Georg Pollestad Mærbakkveien 15, N-4340 Bryne - Norway
Telephone: + 47 51 42 63 16 Fax: +47 51 42 79 32 In a letter dated August 18th, 1993, Tommy Reilly wrote: Dear Georg,I have now had time to thoroughly test your latest Concert Harmonica and I have no hesitation in saying that this is the last word in silver harmonicas. From now on I shall only play your harmonicas. There doesn't seem to be any doubt that when I first had a silver harmonica built (in London in 1967), it began a new outlook on the harmonica as a concert instrument. It was built in Germany for several years but unfortunately it was never developed. Thank goodness I became the regular teacher for the Norwegian Harmonica Seminar a nd met you. I knew what I wanted in a concert harmonica but not being a technical person I could not make the instrument myself. I cannot express in words how much I am grateful to you in making what is now the Rolls-Royce of all harmonicas. It looks better. It sounds very much better, and the slide movement is nothing short of a "work of art". I always had trouble with the slide sticking, but not with the one you have on your harmonica.
My sincerest thanks to you Georg. Sincerely, Tommy Reilly (sign)
Chromatic Harmonica Maintenance
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How to Maintain Your Chromatic Harmonica What is a chromatic harmonica composed of & how to maintain it properly. NB. This page currently does not cover Bass & Chord harmonicas despite their chromatic nature.
Do's & Don'ts Keep Your Instrument Happy and It Will Keep You Happy.
DO's
Love and care for your instrument.
Do warm your harp slightly above breath tempurature before playing. +
Do water the slide & moutpiece before & after playing. *
After drying out, store your harmonica carefully after practising.
Do maintain your chromatic harmonica regularly.
Think carefully before making any alterations to your instrument.
+ Warming your harmonica above breath tempurature before playing will reduce the chance of condensation forming on the reedplates which cause valves, es pecially blow valves, to stick to the reedplates. Suggested methods are holding it under your armpit or cupped in your hands for a while, put it on a small electric heating pad set to moderate, or wrap it with a hot/cold gel pack warmed for 2 mins in the microwave. * Point the button at the ceiling, dribble a few drops of water down both sides of the slide, then work the slide up and down to work the water all the way down the slide. Then draw gliss up & down the harp working the slide and sucking out extra water. Doing this before & after play mitigates a sticky slide. DON'Ts
Do not drop your harmonica.
Do not practise on the harmonica immediately following eating or drinking anything other than water or herbal tea. Do not handle harmonicas recklessly, especially when dismantled. Do not let inexperienced people play it without due caution. Preferably don't share your instrument at all as its akin to sharing your toothbrush. Do not leave it in direct s unlight or in your car on a hot day.
Do not use a hair drier, heater or oven to dry out sticky windsavers. Do not slam the slide into a hard surface in an attempt to unstick the slide.
Do not abuse or throw your instrument around if you want to use it again.
Why Bother ? Why should I open up my chrom ?
Quality instruments require continual care, love and attention for them to remain a quality instrument and to serve a musician well. Stringed instruments need retuning and replacement strings, woodwind instruments require replacement reeds and pads, drum kits need new drumsticks, skin retensioning and replacement. Wood swells & contracts, and it can warp easily when treated poorly, moving parts get dirty and start to stick & jam and eventually wear out. Maintaining and caring for your instrument will help to ensure that your instrument will serve you well. The hardest part for the new owner of a chromatic harmonica is overcoming the apprehension of damaging their prized possession and the possible intimidatation by what is hiding inside. Its important to overcome this, eventually with practise you will wonder w hat the mystery was. Please refer to the Recommended Instruction section of this site for recommended books on Chromatic Harmonica maintenance and repair.
Prevention is far better than the cure.
As a preventitive measure I suggest doing the following tasks roughly every month depending on how regularly you play.
Wash the mouthpiece & slide assembly
Clean out the comb
Clean every windsaver individually
Clean & dry the reedplates
The biggest motivation for doing all this is for health reasons. No matter how clean you may keep your mouth during playing particles will get into the harmonica. Combined with saliva which inevitably builds up inside its an invitation for things to grow. Also following this will prevent a sticking slide and continual windsaver troubles; the scurge & bane of the chromatic harmonica musician. In addition to the a bove list and related skills, in my opinion, learning how to do the following will enable you to handle most diff iculties that arise. Windsaver replacement
Retensioning Slide Spring
Regapping reeds
Fine tuning reeds
Adjusting off center reeds, and deburring
There is a lot more that you can learn, but that will enable you to keep your instrument in working order for years to come. I think the sooner the new owner of a chromatic harmonica becomes familiar with how their instrument is assembled and works, the better they can care for it and also have an extra sense of ownership.
Carry Cases Keeping your chromatic covered & protected when not playing it. Here are some ideas for how to keep it by your side safely.
One of the best solutions I've found for keeping a chromatic safely with me is to purchase a plain generic leather cellphone pouch that clips to your belt. These can be a little expensive, but its very convenient and even when I'm in the office dressed in a suit its a practical and stylish solution (often being mistaken for a cellphone). Alternatively there are a number of generic tool pouc hes, in either leather or canvas, some of these even fit 16 hole chromatics well. The main thing is to make sure they are a good fit and protect the instrument from incidental bumps. However these w on't protect them from being bumped around if you are relatively active, for instance a tradesman may want to consider other options. It maybe more appropriate to keep your instrument tucked in your coat pocket, briefcase, shoulder bag or handbag. You may find the case provided with your instrument is too bulky for this. One of the best options I've found for storing chromatics like this is Radio Shack car stereo face holders. They are a padded zip up pouch which is exactly the right size for a 16 hole chromatic in, and easily fits a 12 holer.
The Hohner harmonica leather pouches for diatonics happen to be a perfect fit for 12 hole chromatics, the exception being the CX12. I've bought one for each of my chromatics as they look neat and are very cheap. There are various 12 & 16 hole chromatic pouches available. If you have a CX12 you will need a bigger pouch due to its size. Finally, if you have a large set of harmonicas and/or related items (eg. microphones, leads, song books) you may want to look for a hardshell travel carry case, aluminium carry case or tool box of appropriate size or even an old briefcase would work well. You will still want to keep your instruments protected from being banged around. You c ould keep your harps in their srcinal cases or use some of the pouches mentioned above. Another method is to purchase a number of firm foam sheets in 1/2" thickness, fitting them in layers to the case and cutting out places for what you want to store. Hohner and some music stores offer cases specifically for this purpose and come fitted with packing.
Harmonica Repair & Replacement Parts If your harmonica is broken and in need of repair or replacement parts, it is worth getting in touch with your local music shop and asking to have it repaired under warantee. It is dependant on the national harmonica importer for that brand whether they are able to provide warantee repairs or sell replacement parts. Although they are under no obligation to do so, it's worth at least checking. There are a number of chromatic harmonica repairers and customisers around the world who can repair, retune, restore your instrument for a reasonable fee. Or you may want to learn to do this for yourself. This is section of the Chromatic Harmonica Reference covers basic maintenance. On Harp On! Harmonica Resources I include a number of Harmonica technical articles, tips and links.
Hohner Repair & Replacement Parts Hohner offers services in some c ountries
In New Zealand the Hohner harmonica importer and some music shops provide warantee repair & maintenance services. Inquire at the music s hop where you bought your instrument for more information.
Hohner Trossingen, Germany, Contact Mrs. Beatrix Huber, bhuber @ hohner .de Hohner Musikinstrumente GmbH & Co. KG Andreas-Koch-Straße 9
78647 Trossingen Tel.: +49 (0)7425-20 343, Fax: +49 (0)7425-20 232 Mo.-Th. 07.00-11.45 12.45-16.00 Fr. 07.00-12.00 http://www.matth-hohner-ag.de/en/default.asp
France, Hohner S.A. Zone Industrielle 21140 Semur en Auxois Phone: ++33 (0)380-973300, Fax: ++33 (0)380-972595 http://www.hohner.fr
United Kingdom, Sutherland Trading Co. Ltd. Bedwas House Industrial Estate Bedwas, Caerphilly, Mid Glam. CF83 8XQ Phone: +44 (0)29-2088-7333, Fax: +44 (0)29-2086-4503 http://www.hohneruk.com Japan MORIDAIRA MUSICAL INST. CO., LTD. 2-7-4, IWAMOTOCHO CHIYODA-KU TOKYO, JAPAN Telefon: 0081-338621641 Fax/Telex: 0081-338647454 http://web2.moridaira.com/hohner/
USA, Hohner, USA provide limited warantee for US residents only. Hohner, Inc. /HSS Harmonica Repair Department 1000 Technology Park Drive Glen Allen, VA 23059, USA http://www.hohnerusa.com/ For more information visit Hohner, USA Chromatics
Inside the Chromatic Harmonica A Lesson in Chrom Anatomy.
Essentially a chromatic harmonica is made up of the following components.
Comb
Reedplates
Reeds
Windsavers/Valves
Spring
Slide Assembly
Mouthpiece
Covers
Cover Struts
Comb This makes up the body of the instrument and what everything else is attached to. They are typically made of wood or some form of plastic. More expensive or custom models may have the comb made from aluminium, stainless steel or even titanium. The comb is specifically shaped for the type of reedplates and mouthpiece assembly used, and rarely interchangable with other models or makes of chromatic harmonicas without an amount of machining. Each comb cell or hole shares two reeds, draw & blow, the cell is shaped specifically for those two reeds generally to optimise the flow of air that passes them. Combs may be nailed into; they may have tapped threads into the material for screws; possibly holes drilled through for bolts to go through and attach to a theaded plate or bolt; or have threaded inserts fixed into the c omb which give a harder wearing thread for bolts or screws to attach to. Wood combs can crack, shrink, sw ell or warp if exposed to excessive moisture, heat or cold, and are easy to dent or damage which can reduce airtightness. Other materials are generally more durable and therefore desirable in my opinion. There is an ongoing debate between harmonica players as to the effect of the comb on the overall tone of the instrument. However no satisfactory conclusion has been drawn either way. Go back to the top of Inside The Chromatic Harmonica
Reedplates Typically any chromatic harmonica has two reedplates, one on each side of the comb. The reeds are aligned to fit two into each comb cell, one draw, one blow. For the majority reeds there is a windsaver attached to the other side of the reed hole. Reedplates are made normally made of brass. Some chromatics have the brass reedplates plated in chrome or s ilver to reduce corrosion or reaction to other metals used on the instrument. It is important to take care not to bend or twist reedplates as this will reduce airtightness. Go back to the top of Inside The Chromatic Harmonica
Reeds Reeds are essentially what makes a harmonica what it is, each reed produces a tone when air is passed over it. There are two reeds per comb cell, one for blow, one for draw for each hole on the harmonica. Reeds are attached to reedplates, typically riveted. Reeds should be made of the same material as the reedplate (usually brass), otherwise it will react with the reedplate and corrode quickly. A reed is described as having a root where it is attached to the reedplate, and a tip which is free to vibrate. Reeds are delicate and easily damaged, so take great care with them especially when handling reedplates. The hole that the reed sits over is designed to be a very tight fit for the reed without any point of contact beyond the root of the reed, this is to reduce the amount of airflow to make the reed work. If the reed catches any edges of the hole it will not play properly, so if the reed is not set in its hole properly or if there is any obstruction or burr sticking out from the reed or the edge of the reed hole this will cause problems. Reeds are tuned to a set pitch which they are designed to sound when they vibrate. This can be purposely altered in a number of ways, but retuning is usually done for a specific purpose and not something that is done more than a few times in the life of a reed if ever. When a reed eventually becomes fatigued it will slowly and almost imperceptually lower in tone until it is off -key. It can be retuned, but will soon break, at this time it is prudent to either r eplace the reed or the reedplate. Go back to the top of Inside The Chromatic Harmonica
Windsavers AKA Valves AKA Pallettes AKA &%^#(@-things!!
As its name suggests a windsaver conserves the amount of wind or breath required to play a note on the harmonica. They are set up on the opposite side of a reed hole to the reed so when the opposite reed in the hole is being played, the windsaver is pushed shut over the hole to stop air escaping through it. The valve covering the reed hole of a reed being played is pushed out of the way by the air that is playing the reed. Without windsavers a larger amount of air is required to make reeds sound, as a result on some chromatics both reeds in the cell may sound. Windsavers are a neccessary evil.
Windsavers or valves are normally made of plastic, but can be made out of anything. Valves are glued to the opposite side of reedhole to a reed at the same as where the root of the reed is attached. They can be constructed of two flaps: The bottom flap is soft designed to seal the hole and be pushed out of the way when its reed is being played, the top flap is stiff & springy, designed to push the bottom flap back to the reedplate. Also they can be made up of a single flap made of two components, the underside is soft which is firmly adhered to the topside is stiff & springy. Single flap windsavers are less prone to problems simply because they are a single component and cannot adhere to itself, also they are stronger and will probably last a little longer than the two flap variety. Valves are the cause of most problems in the daily life of a chromatic harmonica player:
If the windsaver of a reed comes back to rest before the reed stops vibrating it causes a buzz at the end of each note. If a valve does not sit flatly on the reedplate, it may not be able to form a proper seal when blocking a reedhole and vibrates with the air creating a buzz. A windsaver can stick to the reedplate either due to residue (dirt, saliva, etc) around the reed hole and on the windsaver or due to moisture effectively causing an a irtight seal between the two components. This causes a symptom known as popping where initially when a hole is played the note does not play or is muted, then as more breath is applied it suddenly pops and sounds properly.
A valve can stick to the cover or more rarely to the base of the comb, again due to either residue or moisture. This renders the windsaver useless until released with a pin or penknife blade tip.
Windsavers that are made of two seperate flaps can have the flaps stick together which stops it behaving properly either causing it to buzz and/or holds the windsaver away from the hole so it doesn't work properly.
Moisture, condensation, dirt and residue are the enemy of the windsaver. Windsavers should be kept clean, sit flat and align with the reedhole without gaps around the edges. There is a myth that windsavers inhibit the bending of notes. This is not true, if anything they help bending of notes, the problem is a different technique is required due to the design of chromatic harmonicas compared to diatonica harmonicas, also the average chromatic harmonica is by design usually leakier than a diatonic harmonica. Although this is not always true.
Go back to the top of Inside The Chromatic Harmonica
Spring The spring's purpose is to push the harmonica slide out. The majority of chromatic harmonica springs are installed inside the comb and made of strong flexible metal. They are generally hairpin shaped and held in place to the c omb with a pin or dowel inserted at the apex of the spring. One spring arm is longer than the other and this extends out from the comb just far enough to hook through a small hole in the slide. Early chromatic harmonicas had an external spring that was a long rectangular shape and they arced from the right side of the comb and attached to the slide, or vice versa. These are said to have a smoother action than the internal springs of today, they are also a lot easier to access and work with than internal springs. However the spring is exposed and vunerable to damage and some people find them displeasing to the eye. Go back to the top of Inside The Chromatic Harmonica
Slide Assembly
By design when you move the slide back and forth it exposes alternate sets of holes on the comb, this is how the two sets of reed tunings are seperated and selected. Slide assemblies need to have close tolerances with minimal gaps to increase airtightness. Slide assemblies that have close t olerances tend to stick more readily which is remedied by regular cleaning, and dripping water through the slide assembly before and after playing, as described above. Slide assemblies that have more open tolerances don't tend to stick much, but makes for leaky instrument. In most cases the chromatic harmonica slide is a long thin rectangular strip of metal with regular holes punched into the main body, it has a tang at one end with a button attached, and a small hole drilled to fit the slide spring. There are also one or two oval holes, for the mouthpiece sc rews to go through. There is usually a backing plate that goes between the slide and the front of the comb. It has holes punched out that match the cells on the comb. Some chromatic harmonica slide assemblies have a flange sitting between the mouthpiece and slide. It forms a channel between itself and the backing plate for the slide to operate. All the Hohner wood comb 12 hole chromatics have this assembly. Other chromatic harmonicas have the flange integrated into the back of the mouthpiece, such as the Hohner 16 hole models. A few harmonica designs have a completely different mechanism for the slide such as the CX12 and the discontinued Hohner CBH 2016. Go back to the top of Inside The Chromatic Harmonica
Mouthpiece Usually a long thick strip of metal with holes for playing through, and a hole at each end where it is attached to the comb. Some mouthpieces are designed to be integrated with the slide mechanism and encompass the slide and connect with the backing plate. With any mouthpiece it is important it is smooth and friendly to the mouth & lips. Sharp edges, burrs and certain metal reactions and/or allergies can be the cause of discomfort, making the difference between a great instrument to play and an unpleasant experience discouraging the player. There are chromatic harmonicas made with plastic mouthpieces, also a few designs have the mouthpiece as an integral part of the harmonica cover in a single component to improve airtightness. Go back to the top of Inside The Chromatic Harmonica
Covers The chromatic harmonica covers form a protective shield around the reeds and valves primarily to protect them, and direct the sound out the rear of the instrument. Most covers are two plates of metal, one for the top and one for the bottom of the instrument and are attached to the comb with screws or nuts & bolts. Covers are typically made of stainless steel, plastic, or brass plated with: nickel, chrome, silver or g old. Chrome is hard wearing, as is nickel, silver is slick in the mouth and sticks to fingers, gold is soft and wears off easily. The front of the covers must fit tightly and form a proper seal at the front of the instrument by the mouthpiece to improve airtightness, to reduce vibration and in some cas es to avoid cutting the players lips. Sometimes covers are a single component integrated with the mouthpiece like the Hohner CX12.
Go back to the top of Inside The Chromatic Harmonica
Covers Struts Most chromatic harmonica covers need some form of support so they don't buckle. This support usually comes in the form of:
Four small metallic struts, two for each cover that are installed into two holes the back of the exposed reedplate. Most but not all of Hohner chromatics use this method. Two metal posts going through the c omb like Hering chromatics. Cover struts an intrinsic part of the comb design like Hohner CX12s. Or the back of the cover is designed to support itself, resting on the reedplate or comb at the back of the instrument, like the Huang #1248.
Go back to the top of Inside The Chromatic Harmonica
That is basically what a chromatic harmonica is composed of. However there are a number of specific differences in design from one make or model to the next.
Basic Tools What tools are required to work on your chromatic harmonica.
To completely disassemble/reassemble your harmonica, and to be able to repair/replace windsavers you will need the following tools
Small pocket/pen knife or Craft razor blades Essential and useful in so many ways. Primarily for fixing or removing windsavers and removing reedplates from wood combs. Smooth flat working surface preferably hard plastic, but wood will do and make sure it has a clean edge. The edge is so you can hang the button edge over the end without causing the slide to bend. A flat surface is very useful for checking and straighting parts like the slide assembly and mouthpiece. Tight fitting Screwdrivers. Purchase a set of jewelers set of screwdrivers from the hardware store, they are inexpensive and will save a lot of grief later on. They have a swiveling head which makes it easy to keep them in place while turning. In a ny case it is important each screwdriver fit tightly into any screw its used on avoiding any damage to the screw head and to reduce the chance of slipping.
Small Hammer for wood comb harmonicas to knock nails back in. Windsaver Glue such as all purpose craft glue or similar. For gluing windsavers onto reedplates. Small flat faced curved nose Pliers (optional) For holding small parts while working on them.
Repairing a Cracked Wood Comb Wood combs can warp and crack. A typical symptom of a cracked comb is two neigbouring notes become leaky and play at the same time. This is how to fix it:
Remove the mouthpiece and slide assembly, leave the covers, reedplates and comb assembled - this will hold the c racked comb in position. Use a small amount of araldite epoxy clear adhesive on the end of a toothpick or small plastic spatula and smear along the crack in the comb chamber - use enough to hold the comb in position once its set. NB araldite is a range of two part epoxy adhesives sold by various manufacturers around the globe, any araldite product appropriate for general use listing wood as one of the materials its intended for will work.
When it has set hard you can remove the covers and reedplates. The comb should be in one piece because of the araldite, but be gentle. Now you can finish filling the crack in with more araldite, smearing it into the crack and thinly over the surface. Wait for the araldite to degas and set. You may need to give the comb a light sanding to remove anything sitting proud. Ideally use a block of marble or 1/4" thick plate glass with moderate grain wet & dry or sandpaper taped down firmly or adhered to it.
Reassemble and play.
Instructions for nailed wood comb c hromatic harmonica disassembly and reassembly.
Replacing a Wood Comb You can purchase a new replacement comb from Hohner or HarpOnline.de and install it yourself. Put the new comb front face down (where the mouthpiece goes) on a flat surface such as a segment of polished Marble or better yet 1/4" thick plate glass. Start with one reedplate getting it so its flush at the front: Hold the reedplate down with your fingers at each end and make sure all the notes are playing. It doesn't matter at this point if they are slightly leaky. If notes are not playing shift the reedplate around gently until everything is w orking properly. Having found the ideal location, keep everything in place with one hand while pushing three nails in, one at each front corner and one center back. You will need to experiment to find the best way to go about this - but the principle is simple enough. Having done this double check that all the notes are playing, and check that the front face of the reedplate is flush with the front face of the comb (using Marble or 1/4" thick plate glass). If it isn't, fill in the three nail holes with the tip of toothpicks, snap them off, and gently press the filler flush with the comb surface using a small hammer or 2mm punch and start again. Having succeeded installing the first reedplate, you will now have enough experience to do the other reedplate more efficiently. Once both reedplates are installed and the notes are all working, tap in the rest of the nails. For this I use a 2mm punch and a small hammer.
If you cannot find a way to install reedplates properly with all the notes working, it is very likely that the wood comb you have bought has swollen. Its simple enough to visually check this by lining the reedplate up with the comb and looking through the front of the c hambers. There are two ways of fixing this: 1. shave all the tines down to make them thinner, you may need to do the same to the outside
walls of hole 1 & 12's chambers. 2. throw the comb away and find another solution.
You may want to give the front face of the comb/reedplates a very light sanding: Tape or adhere 400 or finer grit sandpaper or wet and dry of dimensions at least 3" x 8" to a very flat surface, such as a piece of marble or 1/4" thick plate glass. NB: [1]Remove any stickers that you may find on the back of the abrasive paper. I am talking from experience.
NB: [2]If the surface you adhere the abrasive to is not guaranteed flat there is no point in doing this as you'll only ruin the mating surface for the mouthpiece and slide assembly.
Place the front of the comb/reedplate assembly flat onto the abrasive paper at one end, use both hands to gently grip either end of the back of the comb /reedplate assembly and keeping it flat and even move it to the other end of the abrasive paper, pick it up, turn it around and repeat one more time only. Once you have assembled the reedplates to the new comb you will need to drill the spring pin hole. Use a drill bit that just fits through the reedplate spring pin holes (3mm). A hand drill is preferable to a power drill if you are inexperienced at this. Drill half way into the comb from the top reedplate, flip the assembly over and do the same again. Install the spring, the spring pin and finish assembling your instrument. OR Have a customiser fit your instrument with a plastic comb.
Chromatic Harmonica Assembly
HOME
How to Assemble Your Chromatic Harmonica
NB. This page currently does not cover Bass & Chord harmonicas despite their chromatic nature.
Chromatic Harmonica Assembly Instructions How to take your chrom apart AND put it back together again.
The following descriptions of how to disassemble and reassemble various Hohner & Hering brand chromatic harmonicas, but should cover most of today's available models. These descriptions are mostly based on my ex perience with some additional help from other chrom owners. I suggest keeping your harmonica fully assembled and only disassemble it when you are ready to work on it, always putting it together when you are finished this way you will avoid losing or damaging parts.
I recommend before disassembly that you arrange a clean flat surface to work on, devoid of dust, dirt and rubbish. Have your tools eas ily at hand. A tidy workspace will make your job that much easier and will help avoid extra hassles. Keep screws grouped together (I use the harp's case for this), and designate space for each part. The more care you take, the less likely you will lose or damage your instrument. If you are unfamiliar with the inside of a chrom start by reading Inside the Chrom in the contents
Hohner Wood Comb Chromatic Harmonica Disassembly Remove the Mouthpiece & Slide Assembly Two wood screws hold the three or four piece assembly that makes up the mouthpiece & slide assembly. When removing the screws and taking apart the assembly be careful.
The screws self tap into the wood, you want to preserve the thread.
Make a note of which screw came from which hole.
Avoid losing the two tiny plastic bumpers around the two screws.
Take the mouthpiece off very carefully, make sure the spring is released against the wall of the comb slowly, if you let it SNAP against the comb it can crack the wood. Keep track of where everthing slots in, especially which way up the slider assembly goes. When handling the slide assembly take care not to bend anything as this will c ause airleaks and make the slide hard to work.
By working on a flat hard surface you can lay the whole assembly out in order and avoid bending anything. With the slide make sure the button hangs over an edge so that if any pressure is applied the slide won't be bent. I work with a flat cloth on a hard surface to avoid anything slipping.
Remove Covers Simple enough, usually a nut and bolt at each end of the harmonica hold both covers on. Avoid letting the screwdriver head slip as this will inevitably end up with a sc ratch on the cover. I do this by holding the screwhead & screw driver between my fingers while working the screwdriver. There are four metal s truts inserted into the back of the harmonica, gently pull these out without wiggling and put somewhere safe. These hold the covers up and stop them being deformed by hand pressure. Removing Reedplates Use a wide blade pocket knife to remove nailed reedplates. Work along the back of the harmonica from end to the other avoiding the cells of the comb. Use a long smooth firm action. This is to avoid damaging the cell partitions.
Gently pry off the reed plate, being extra careful not to damage the comb. You can help matters by starting at each end so as to loosen the nails, then use a pair of side cutters to pull each nail out. Damaging the comb creates leaks which is not a good thing.
Keep the reedplate nails in a safe place. The bottom reedplate covers the spring pin's big tip, sometimes this can slip out easily so take care. I take off both reedplates at the same time, and reinstall them at the same time so if the comb swells or shrinks it remains basically flat. Remove Pin & Spring There is a thick blunt metal pin that keeps the slide spring in place. It is located on the right hand end of the comb. The pointed end of the pin goes into the hole first. Remove the spring from the exposed mouthpiece side of the comb, you can use small flat face pliers to do this, it should slide out easily.
Hohner Wood Comb Chromatic Harmonica Assembly Install Spring & Pin Place the spring in, longest leg to the outside of the comb. Have the comb right side up and line the spring's hole up with the pin hole. Replace the pin through the bottom hole, pointed end first and push until the end is flush with the comb face. Attach Reedplates to the Comb Replace the bottom reedpage first. Be careful to line everything up properly and place each nail part way in w hile lining everything up. Use a gentle but firm approach. Using a small hammer and a 2mm punch, work from the center nails to outside nails. You want a good seal and you don't want to damage the comb. Do not pound reedplate nails in. Replace the top reedplate in the same manner. If you've found the comb has swollen since you took the reedplates off, it's possible to shrink it back down in size. Hopefully you've removed both reedplates and the comb has swollen evenly without warping. To shrink the comb back down to size I use an electric heating pad with two preheated hot/cold gel packs, covered with a thick towel thats folded three or four times over. (I usually use this for heating harmonicas before playing or tuning.) You want a flat surface for the comb to sit on to try and keep it straight. What I do is use two small D clamps and two 160x25x5 mm flat lengths of wood, clamping them over the top and bottom of the comb to keep it straight. Then leave it for up to three days, checking on it twice a day to see if it's shrunk down enough. Once it's the right size, I quickly install the reedplates. It is possible to shrink the comb too much, assuming it swollen due to humid or damp conditions you should be able to leave it out and have it swell back to the right size. This can take 1/2 hour to a number of days depending on your environment, remember weather can have big impact if you don't have air conditioning or a heat pump. Check often. Personally I hate wood combs and think they're an inappropriate comb material in this day and age - they can turn a 10 minute repair job into a 3 day ordeal. Replace Covers Replace the little metal struts back into the wood, you may want to use flat faced curved nose pliers for this. Bolt the covers back on making sure the front of the covers line up with the groove along the front of the reedplate. Usually the approach I take here is to place the top cover on, drop the two bolts through the holes. Then slip the bottom cover on using the bolts as guides. Lightly screw both bolts on. Line everything up then progressively tighten the bolts a lternating to each bolt so that one is not too much tighter than the other.
Do not overtighten the covers. Overtightening causes airleaks which is a bad t hing. Replace Mouthpiece & Slide Assembly Make sure the slide assembly parts are the right way around in the right order. Point the spring's extended leg into the slide, place the mouthpiece over the lot, ensure the plastic stoppers are properly installed on the screws, and screw the assembly into place with care. I find replacing the moutpiece and s lide assembly a circus act. So this is how I approach it:
Put slide assembly back together.
Ensure that the slide is the correct way around and the as sembly is in the correct order
Add the mouthpiece to the assembly
Place the screws through the holes
Place the stoppers over the screws
Gently place the whole kit & kaboodle where its going to go
Whilst maneauvering the stoppers into position with the screws
Everything being equal usually at this point you can partially screw in the assembly being careful to follow the original thread.
Work on getting the slide fixed onto the spring After which you need to apply gentle pressure to keep it all in place while tightening the screws into place Finally make sure the mouthpiece is tightened enough to keep leaking to a minimum but not so tight the slide is meets resistance
If you find that the woodscrews are loose. Then remove the mouthpiece assembly. Get a dead match or toothpick and poke it into one hole, break it off even with the comb and use the rest to do the same with the other hole. Reassemble the mouthpiece and slide assembly.
Hohner Plastic Comb Chromatic Harmonica Disassembly Remove the Mouthpiece & Slide Assembly Two bolts hold the three piece assembly that makes up the mouthpiece & slide assembly. When disassembling the mouthpiece.
Avoid losing the two tiny plastic bumpers around the two screws.
Take the mouthpiece off carefully, make sure the spring is released against the wall of the comb slowly. Keep track of where everthing slots together, especially which way up the slider as sembly goes. When handling the slide assembly take care not to bend anything as this will c ause airleaks and make the slide hard to work.
By working on a flat hard surface you can lay the whole assembly out in order and avoid bending anything. With the slide make sure the button hangs over an edge so that if any pressure is applied the slide won't be bent. I work with a flat cloth on a hard surface to avoid anything slipping.
Remove Covers Simple enough, usually a nut and bolt at each end of the harmonica hold both covers on. Sometimes the nuts look like bolts and the heads have matching screw head. Avoid letting the screwdriver head slip as this will inevitably end up with a scratch on the cover. I do this by holding the screwhead & screw driver between my fingers while working the screwdriver. There are four metal s truts inserted into the back of the harmonica, gently pull these out without wiggling and put somewhere safe. These hold the covers up and stop them being deformed by hand pressure. Removing Reedplates There are a number of brass screws that go from the top reedplate and screw into the bottom reedplate. The main thing is to take care to use a tight fitting screwdriver to avoid slipping and damaging the screw heads. Avoid using unnessary force. A good approach t o undoing bolted plates is to lightly loosen all the reedplate bolts then finish undoing them working from the middle out leaving the corner bolts to last so that the reedplates are held in place until you finish. Put the bolts somewhere safe. Take Out Mouthpiece Bolts There are two bolts slotted into the comb which the mouthpiece screws bolt into. These are easy enough to take out. Remove Spring It is located on the right hand end of the comb. The spring is easily accessed after the reedplates are removed. It is fitted tightly around a plastic pivot from the comb. It isn't neccessary to remove the spring, and as this is tricky to replace its probably best to only remove it if absolutely necessary. To remove the spring from the comb you can use small flat face pliers and simply pull it up and and out of the channel lifting it off the pivot. Be very careful to avoid letting it spring free. Not only is it a hassle trying to track it down, but its a risk to the eyes. Put the spring somewhere safe.
Hohner Plastic Chromatic Harmonica Assembly Install Spring Place the spring into place longest leg to the outside of the comb. The difficulty is how to get the spring in place and get it inserted around the pivot as these springs are strong and push hard against the comb walls. Generally put it in legs first so it can extend out the front of the comb, being careful not to bend the pins. By placing it just so one should be able to manuever the apex of the spring over the pivot. This is easier said than done, I recommend using flat face curve nosed pliers and a lot of patience for the task. Replace Mouthpiece Bolts Put the two bolts back where you found them from. Replace Reedplates The bottom reedplate has sc rew threads so its easily identified. Start by lightly screwing the four screws into place so the reedplates are held in place. Then s tart installing the screws starting with the middle two screws (front & back), then the screws on the left, then on the right and so forth working from the center out. Don't tighten any of the screws properly. Once all the screws are in place, start tightening the screws working in the s ame middle to outside pattern. This is to encourage the flatest fit to the comb to minimise airleaks. Please email me if you have a better method.
Replace Covers Replace the little metal struts back into comb, you may want to use flat faced curved nose pliers for this. Bolt the covers back on making sure the front of the covers line up with the groove along the front of the reedplate if there is one. Usually the approach I take here is to place the top cover on, drop the two bolts through the holes. Then slip the bottom cover on using the bolts as guides. Lightly screw both bolts on. Line everything up then progressively tighten the bolts alternating to each bolt so that one is not too much tighter than the other. Do not overtighten the covers. Overtightening causes airleaks which is a bad t hing. Replace Mouthpiece & Slide Assembly Make sure the slide assembly parts are the right way around in the right order. Point the s pring's extended leg into the slide, place the mouthpiece over the lot, ensure the plastic stoppers are
properly installed on the screws, and screw the assembly into place with care. I find replacing the moutpiece and s lide assembly a little tricky. So this is how I approach it:
Put slide assembly back together
Ensure that the slide is the correct way around and the as sembly is in the correct order
Add the mouthpiece to the assembly
Place the screws through the holes to keep the assembly together
Place the stoppers over the screws
Gently place the whole kit & kaboodle where its going to go
Whilst maneauvering the stoppers into position with the screws
Everything being equal usually at this point you can partially screw in the assembly
Work on getting the slide fixed onto the spring
After which you need to apply gentle pressure to keep it all in place while tightening the screws into place Finally make sure the mouthpiece is tightened enough to keep leaking to a minimum but not so tight the slide is meets resistence
Hohner CX12 Disassembly Thankyou Doctor Harmonica for the following submission and photographs.
Removing the Slide Hold the harmonica upside-down, the back plate facing you. The bottom of the slide button is a seperate strip, that can bend inwards slightly. This strip should be depressed a little (1-2 millimeters) without excerting pressure on the slide button itself. The ideal way is to squeeze the strip by placing one finger on it and one finger on the opposite of the slide button. Depressing the strip releases the catch that holds it inside the cover housing. While squeezing gently pull the slide button outward. Once the button is free from the housing, pressure can be released. The slide now should come out easily. You can clearly see the coiled slide action spring now. Slide the entire slide assembly out of the housing and set it aside. Removing the Back Plate On the backplate there are two holes that are roughly 1.5 centimeter from either side of the plate.
Hold the harmonica mouthpiece-down in one of your hands, the mouthpiece resting in your fingers and the thumb of the same hand on one of the holes. Place your other thumb on the other hole, resting some fingers of the other hand on the mouthpiece. Now press both thumbs down firmly, forcing the back plate down at both ends as far as it will go. Carefully slide the back plate to either side of the harmonica. The catches that normally hold the plate in the cover housing will come free at the end you are sliding away from. Now gently release the pressure on the plate. Be careful not to scrape the loose end of the plate along the inside of the cover housing. If the small amount of plastic there damages, there is a chance the holes break outward, rendering the housing and thus the entire harmonica unusable. Removing the Body from the Housing The body of the harmonica is still seated in the cover housing. It is held into place by the four plastic struts you see protruding from the back of the comb. Holding the harmonica in one hand, mouthpiece turned towards your palm, gently tap it on a flat surface (a table top is just fine) with the open end. Be sure to hold the harmonica level with the surface you are tapping on, so that the force of the tap is devided over the entire edge of the open end as evenly as possible. Lifting the cover housing you will see t he body resting on the table top.
Hohner CX12 Mods & C leaning Thankyou Doctor Harmonica for the following submission.
Customizing the Back Spring Courtesy of Siegfried Naruhn Submitted by Doctor Harmonica
When you lay the back spring in front of you on a table top, the w ord "HOHNER" up, you see two shallow depressions machined out on either side of the spring, where it is supposed to catch under the housing material in the holes there. You will notice that the edges of the depression are square and slightly rough with 90-degree corners. These square corners damage the material of the housing any time you slide the back spring in and out of its recesses, weakening the material until the holes finally break out. As stated before this will damage the housing beyond r epair and leave you with a useless harmonica. FYI: replacement housings are available from Hohner, but they are expensive and take ages to be delivered. Using a precision file, carefully round the corners until the shape of the recesses matches the curve of the inside of the housing ends. Take care only to remove the material from the edge of the
recesses, not from the flaps that are a result of them. That would weaken t he material of the flaps with results just as destructive as a broken housing. By doing this c arefully, you will damage the housing less next time you remove or replace the back spring. Carefully clean the spring from iron residue before using it again. Do All That Voodoo You Do So Well Your harmonica is now disassembled and you can clean the housing under a running tap if you want to. Be sure to let it dry thouroughly before reassembling the harmonica. Do not clean the housing with agressive cleaning stuff or attempt to clean it in a dishwashing machine. This may cause irrepairable damage to the housing. The body, free of its housing, shows the reedplate screws. These can be removed the same w ay as any other reedplates, freeing the inside of the plates for windsaver maintenance. Also the slide can be cleaned now. If you choose to clean the slide in water, you may want to remove the slide spring. This is over a small white rod inside the button. It can be removed without excessive strain. If you need strain, don't remove the spring lest you damage it. Just carefully wiggle it until it comes loose. Do not attempt to remove the black plastic button from the metal part of the slide. It is not possible and it would serve no purpose anyway. Removing the "Hohner" from the Tension Bar If you do not want to go through the trouble of getting the "Hohner" on the back the right way around and still not look like a fool on stage, you can choose to remove the brand name from the back spring with sandpaper or paint stripper at any time it is out of the harmonica. But do not do this when the spring is installed, unless you want the risk of iron chafings or paint stripper inside your harmonica. For the same reason, carefully clean the strip after working on it!
Hohner CX12 Assembly Thankyou Doctor Harmonica for the following submission.
Replacing the Body in the Housing When the body rests on the table, holes facing up, you see the end where the slide button normally goes in. There is a small white T-shaped piece of rubber there. This is the slide bumper. Be sure that it is seated firmly and does not fall out. It can be removed, but that does not serve any purpose. If it is not seated well, use a small object like the tip of a flat screwdriver to reseat it properly. Once it is out, the slide will not realign with the mouthpiece holes properly once the harmonica is reassembled. Note: in the recess for the slide button the + shaped plastic strut that is facing the side
of the slide. This is the slide spring guidance strut. When replacing the slide the spring should circumfere this strut, or you will not be able to get it in properly and the slide action will not work the way it should. On the edges of the front end (with the holes) of the body you will see two pairs of notches roughly at the same distance from the edge as the wall between the first and second holes next to the slide button recess. T hese notches catch single corresponding notches inside the housing. Replacing the housing forcefully the wrong way will damage the notches, making alignment with the housing more difficult. Therefore correct alignment is very important. To assist in that you will notice that the struts at the back of the comb that support the housing are corresponding with small recesses in the housing. Be sure to align every thing very carefully and without using any force excess of normal gravity before excerting any pressure on the body inside the housing. If you are sure everything is aligned correctly (and there is only one way!) gently push both ends of the back of the comb and you will hear the body snap inside the cover housing. Do NOT excert excessive pressure here, the force needed here is only very small. If you feel you need more, it means you have to realign. Of course you also have to take care the recess for the slide button in the comb is on the same side as the hole in the cover housing for the slide button. Replacing the Back Spring Hold the back spring, that is curved along the length of it, with the sides curved outward from the harmonica. Carefully insert one end of the back spring in its holes in the cover housing and align it with the comb as much as possible. Now use the same grip you used removing the back spring and hold down the inserted end with your thumb on the hole as firmly as you can, keeping pressure away from the holes in the housing. With your other hand, grip the extending end of the back plate with your thumb on the hole and depress it as far as it will go. Now gently slide the back plate into the opposite holes in the side of the cover housing. Ideally this move is exactly the opposite of removing the back spring. Be careful not to slide too far, lest the end you first inserted slips out again. Before putting any pressure on the back spring, you may want to check the word "HOHNER" on it is not upside-down w hen you play the harmonica later on. So turn the harmonica, mouthpiece facing you and make sure the slide button hole is on your right hand side. Then turn it again and check if you can read the word correctly. Replacing the Slide Holding the harmonica mouthpiece down in one hand and the slide with the metal s trip on the bottom side and the coiled spring on the top side: Align the metal strip of the slide with the two slightly wider recesses in the button hole in the housing. Gently slide the strip inside. This should be possible without any force. If you feel you need force to get the strip inside the housing, you have misaligned. The front end of the notch holding the slide inside is slanted, enabling it to easily click in place. Be careful the slide s pring is as straight as
possible here, so that it catches on the guidance strut inside the comb at once. Once the catch reaches the cover housing, carefully excert some pressure on the slide button until it snaps in place. Turn the harmonica over and check the slide operation. Remove the slide immediately and check your reassembly work if the holes s eem misaligned, but allow for tolerances in alignment. They probably were there all the time without you noticing them.
Hering Chromatic Harmonica Disassembly One Hering Chromatic is pretty much like another apart from the comb material and number of holes. The mouthpiece bolts thread into t he comb, and the reedplate bolts t hread into the bottom reedplate through the comb. Remove the Mouthpiece & Slide Assembly Two bolts hold the four piece assembly that makes up the mouthpiece & slide assembly. When disassembling the mouthpiece.
Avoid losing the plastic bumper from the the right screw. Take the mouthpiece off carefully, make sure the spring is released against the wall of the comb slowly. Keep track of where everthing slots together, especially which way up the slider assembly goes. When handling the slide assembly take care not to bend anything as this will c ause airleaks and make the slide hard to work.
By working on a flat hard surface you can lay the whole assembly out in order and avoid bending anything. With the slide make sure the button hangs over an edge so that if any pressure is applied the slide won't be bent. I work with a flat cloth on a hard surface to avoid anything slipping.
Remove Covers Simple enough, usually a nut and bolt at each end of the harmonica hold both covers on. With Herings the nuts look like bolts a nd the heads have matching screw head. Avoid letting the screwdriver head slip as this will inevitably end up with a scratch on the cover. I do this by holding the screwhead & screw driver between my fingers while working the screwdriver. There are four metal s trut pins inserted into the back of the harmonica's comb with rubber mounts around them, gently pull these off the rubber mounts. Then if absolutely neccessary the metal pins can be removed from the comb. Put all of these somewhere safe. These hold the covers up and stop them being deformed by hand pressure. Removing Reedplates
There are a number of brass screws that go from the top reedplate and screw into the bottom reedplate. The main thing is to take care to use a tight fitting screwdriver to avoid slipping and damaging the screw heads. Avoid using unnessary force. With the Hering design there are two very thin small screws at the mouthpiece, start by removing these first. T hen approach the remaining bolts by lightly loosening them, then finish undoing them working from the middle out leaving the corner bolts to last so that the reedplates are held in place until you finish. Put the screws somewhere safe. Remove Spring It is located on the right hand end of the comb. The spring can be removed after the reedplates are removed. It is fitted around a plastic pin which is part of the comb. It isn't neccessary to remove the spring, its probably best to only remove it if absolutely necessary. To remove the spring from the pin you can use small flat face pliers, you'll have to jimmy it up the pin bit by bit and then pull it out of the channel by the shorter leg. Be very careful to avoid letting it spring free, brace it with your fingers to stop it flying away. Not only is it a hassle trying to track it down, but its a risk to the eyes. Put the spring somewhere safe.
Hering Chromatic Harmonica Assembly Install Spring Place the spring into place longest leg to the outside of the comb and through the mouthpiece hole for it. gently push it into the channel until the apex & pin hole line up, then you'll need to use the flat face plyers to coax the shorter leg into place as you mount the spring onto the pin. Be gentle but firm as you push it into place. Replace Reedplates The bottom reedplate has sc rew threads so its easily identified. Start by lightly screwing the four screws into place so the reedplates are held in place. Then start installing the screws starting with the middle two screws (front & back), then the screws on the left, then on the right and so forth working fromDon't the center out. the two smallest screws go atare theinfront bystart the mouthpiece. tighten anyFinish of thewith sc rews properly. Once all thethat screws place, tightening the screws working in the same middle to outside pattern. This is to encourage the flatest fit to the comb to minimise airleaks. Please email me if you have a better method.
Replace Covers
Replace the metal pins at the back into comb (if removed), and replace the rubber mounts. The screws go through the bottom covers and the bolts from the top, the difference in hole size between the covers will see to this. Bolt the covers back on making sure the front of the covers line up just behind the front edge of the reedplate. Usually the approach I take here is to place the top cover on, drop the two bolts through the holes. Then slip the bottom cover on using the bolts as guides. Lightly screw both bolts on. Line everything up then progressively tighten the bolts alternating to each bolt so that one is not too much tighter than the other, but leaving it slightly loose until the mouthpiece is replaced so they can be adjusted. Replace Mouthpiece & Slide Assembly Make sure the slide assembly parts are the right way around in the right order. Point the s pring's extended leg into the slide, place the mouthpiece over the lot, ensure the bumper is properly installed on the right screw, and screw the assembly into place with care. I find replacing the moutpiece and s lide assembly a little tricky. So this is how I approach it:
Put slide assembly back together
Ensure that the slide is the correct way around and the assembly is in the correct order
Add the mouthpiece to the assembly
Place the right hand bumper into the hole
Place the screws through the holes to keep the assembly together
Gently place the whole kit & kaboodle where its going to go
Carefully work the right hand screw through the bumper, usually screwing it in works
Everything being equal usually at this point you can partially screw in the assembly
Work on getting the slide fixed onto the spring
After which you need to apply gentle pressure to keep it all in place while tightening the screws into place Make sure the mouthpiece is tightened enough to keep leaking to a minimum but not so tight the slide is meets resistence
Finish Adjusting the Covers Firmly push the covers so the front edges meet with the slide assembly, then give the two cover bolts a final tighten to hold everything fast. Do not overtighten the covers. Overtightening causes airleaks which is a bad t hing.
Chromatic Harmonica Cleaning
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How to Keep Your Chromatic Harmonica Clean
This covers everything from daily habits to a thorough clean, but please if you own a Customised Harmonica ask your customiser for guidelines on safe cleaning habits as they may have different design features that are vunerable to some products. eg. Bleach, solvents & detergents could be a problem for certain designs. * Bleach will ruin and discolour any silver plating or c omponents. * Some custom designed harmonicas rely on certain adhesives w hich solvents and detergents could ruin or remove. * Wood if submerged in water will swell, warp, and later on shrink and possibly split. * Some solvents (and solvent glues) can ruin certain types of plastic on contact. NB. This page currently does not cover Bass & Chord harmonicas despite their chromatic nature.
Guide to Cleaning your Chrom Treat your chromatic harmonica with respect. Keeping your harmonica clean keeps it playing better & you healthier.
I think it is important to thoroughly clean my chromatics from time to time f or health reasons, as well as to avoid a sticky slide action and reduce w indsaver problems. Thourough cleaning is especially important when you sell or purchase a second hand harmonica. By its nature the harmonica is an ideal breeding ground for little nasty cultures, when food debris
and sticky saliva is blown through with a players warm breath. In the past I have been disgusted by the green fuzz & other unmentionables I've found under the covers after a few months of playing. Hopefully that's enough motivation for you to get the c overs off your instrument.
Food for Thought An ounce of prevention is worth a ton of .... well you know. What you put in your mouth w ill end up in your harmonica when you play it.
Don't play during or after eating.
Avoid beverages while playing other than water.
Ideally brush your teeth and even floss before performing. I carry a little traveling toothbrush in my harmonica bags so I have no excuse. Failing that keep Wrigley's Extra Sugarfree gum with you and use a few before performing. Give the mouthpiece a little wash under a tap with the mouthpiece fa cing down after performing and wipe dry. Do not let other people play your harmonicas unless you trust them and have a means of cleaning your harmonica afterwards. Individual alcohol wipes are a good for this.
Remember: Confectionary foods are our number one enemy! IE. Roasted peanuts, chippies, popcorn... etc.
Daily Cleaning Unsticking the Slide, Errant Windsavers and Keeping the Mouthpiece Clean
When you go to play y our chromatic you may find the slide is stuck, usually its due to dried saliva and residue from playing that makes the slide stick. There are a few things you can do to free up the slide action:
Give a gentle but firm push on the button, but don't force it.
Play softly providing warm air & moisture to free it up.
Facing the holes downward at 45 degrees dribble tap water across the mouthpiece and angle into the button end of the slide. Alternatively dip only the mouthpiece (holes down) into water until the water level reaches just over the slide. T he moisture should help release it with a short soak. Give the button a few firm pushes t o free up the slide. Then shake out the excess water.
If a windsaver sticks to the reedplate, the comb, the coverplate or sticks up and you can get at it easily. Get a toothpick or pin and use it to pull it away from the stuck surface. If it is a two flap
windsaver then you can pry apart the two sticking flaps with the point. This is a quick fix until it becomes terminal and requires a better clean. After playing clean the mouthpiece with a little water after every practice. Either wipe it with a damp cloth or dip only the mouthpiece (holes down) into water until the water level r eaches just over the slide. Shake off excess liquid, give it a wipe with a clean dry cloth and let it sit for while before packing it away in its case, just so it can dry out.
Monthly Cleaning Cleaning the slide assembly & windsavers on a fairly regular basis will avoid problems. I figure about once a month is close enough, but whenever troubles begin is a good indicator anyway.
Cleaning the Slide Assembly When the slide resists pushing, sticks regularly or has sluggish reaction its time to give the slide assembly a good clean.
Disassemble just the mouthpiece & slide a ssembly as described above. You can use a damp rag, an old toothbrush dipped in water or paper tissues at your discretion. With each part laid carefully on a hard flat surface clean off any debris & goop that has collected. With the slide take care to ensure the button hangs over the edge of the surface to avoid bending the slide. Dry off each part with a clean rag or similar. You may want to do the same with the front of the comb & covers as a film does form here. If you are using a toothbrush take care not to poke it into the holes because of the windsavers & reeds.
Reassemble the mouthpiece & slide assembly.
As a general rule water is the best lubricant for the slide action. Other lubricants can be poisonous, and also can cause collection of food particals and bacteria. Its better to keep the slide mechanism clean and use a small amount of water. Cleaning Windsavers When you start getting regular popping and buzzing from your harmonica its time to give the windsavers a good clean. Following the disassembly instructions above, remove the covers & reedplates from your harmonica. (The mouthpiece & slide can stay)
Get an old toothbrush (relatively clean) & a mug of warm w ater and possibly a little dishwashing liquid, isopropal alcohol or a few drops of bleach. Do not mix bleach, with dishwashing liquid in water as it produces chlorine gas. Bleach will discolour any silver plating or components
With the reedplates and windsavers you want to take great care. I nitially clean the reedplates with gentle strokes from the center of the reedplate to the edge following the line of the reeds & windsavers, this way you don't mess up the windsavers or bust reeds. Soak the reedplates for two minutes in (prefeably distilled) water Put news print between the w indsavers & reedplates and very slowly pull the paper out, repeat a few times. This is to clean the remaining gunge out and help dry them off. If you have two flap windsavers you can also use this procedure between the flaps as well.
If you like give the comb a quick going over with the toothbrush as well.
Rince everything else except the reedplates under the tap.
The simply sit the reedplates by a dehumidifier or in the hot water cupboard and let them dry out naturally.
DO NOT PUT IN DIRECT HEAT! AVOID HEATERS, HAIRDRIERS AND HOT DASHBOARDS
Once dry gently pat off any residue.
Reassemble harmonica.
Polishing Out Corrosion The only times I'd recommend using a ny kind of polish on your harmonicas metal parts is if light rust is begining to form, or you are about to sell the instrument and want to give it a nice finish, and of course if you are customising or repairing damage. By no means do I recommend regular polishing as I have found out the plating eventually wears through. Anytime the covers are off I look out for any spots of corrosion on any of the metal work. If it can't be scratched off with your finger nail or a rag, only then us ing a fine metal cream polish (like AutoSol, Silvo, Brasso, etc) to lightly polish out the rust in the immediate area. Toothpaste used lightly in the same manner is a safer method of removing tarnishing and light rust. Thanks Ken However with Gold or Silver plated parts typically the mouthpiece, DO NOT use abrassives. You can safely use PURE lemon juice and water with a soft cloth, this can also remove mild tarnishing.
Sanitising This is a full blown routine I follow when I receive or sell a second hand chromatic harmonica. Its also good to do once in a while just to keep your harmonica healthy for you. The idea is to wash out or kill anything that can breed and make it nice & clean so it works smoothly. If you own a customised harmonica please ask your customiser on safe methods, some bleaches & detergents can cause problems for custom harmonicas. Don't use bleach with silver plating or components.
Get a relatively clean toothbrush and a big mug of warm water. Put in a short squirt of dishwashing liquid into the water. Alternatives are bleach (but don't mix w ith dishwashing liquid or silver plating or components) or better yet isopropal alcohol in a spray mister. The solution is up to you as long as its safe for the harmonica and you, but if it effectively cleans & sanitises the instrument then this is ideal. Take chromatic harp apart, covers, reedplates, mouthpiece & slide a ssembly, the spring & cover struts can stay. As described above. This is a good point to remove any sad looking windsavers, once the harmonica is clean & dry you can replace them before reass embling. Windsaver replacement instructions are in the Windsavers section. Any rust can be removed from metal parts at this point as described in Polishing Out Rust section above. Using the toothbrush & water s olution clean into the mouthpiece, covers & comb until clean, really getting into every nook and cranny. Refer to Cleaning Windsavers and Cleaning the Slide Assembly for instructions on how to clean these parts as they require a lot of care, use the toothbrush with the solution though.
Rinse everything off gently with clean water, except if you have used the distilled water routine with the reedplates then just let them be. Gently pat everything down gently with clean cloth to dry the worst off and leave everything out & apart to let the rest evaporate.
DO NOT PUT IN DIRECT HEAT! AVOID HEATERS, HAIRDRIERS AND HOT DASHBOARDS
Once dry gently pat off any residue. Isopropyl alcohol is especially effective if used in a spray mister. A light s pray over a disassembled instrument, give it 12 seconds to evaporate will kill any germs. Gently wipe off any residue and theres no after taste.
You can now replace any windsavers as described in the Windsavers section.
Reassemble the harmonica as described above ...And if you are selling it ... don't play it!
After using either dishwashing liquid or bleach solution, which leaves a s lightly odd taste for a short time, but its harmless and goes away. Dishwashing liquid and bleach produces chlorine gas. Bleach will discolour silver plating and components.
I do NOT recommend general use of Denture Cleaning Tablets on Chromatic Harmonicas
I have personally done my own experimenting as well as had personal discussions about them and found:
They remove windsavers from the reedplates, but not reliably or efficiently unfortunately.
It leaves a residue behind which is bad news for the slide & windsavers.
Possibly could react with the various metals & plating used with Chroms, especially in custom models.
However Denture Cleaning Tablets are useful for sanitising certain parts of the harp depending what they are made of. For instance a chrom plated mouthpiece would be a good candidate since matter gets caught in nooks & crannies. However I wouldn't put a silver plated components in with these tablets. If you're not sure, then don't do it.
Sanitising Diatonic Harmonicas As a side note, its a lot simpler to clean diatonic harmonicas:
Take diatonic harp apart.
Clean everything with a toothbrush & the solution described above.
With the reedplates gently stroke from the base of the reeds to the tips and on to the edge of the plate. If you go any other way you can end up loosing a reed (this is from experience).
AND
Rinse everything off with water, shake the comb & coverplates off. Let the reedplates drip dry. Isopropyl alcohol is especially effective if used in a spray mister. A light s pray over a disassembled instrument, give it 12 seconds to evaporate will kill any germs. Gently wipe off any residue and theres no after taste. Reassemble.
With plastic comb (non-valved) diatonic harmonicas: You can simply drop a Denture Cleaning tablet into a tub of water with up to six harps per tablet for about 20 minutes. Then rinse out the harps with tap water and pad dry with a cloth or drip dry. NB. This process discolours the brass.
Chromatic Harmonica Windsavers
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How to Replace Your Chromatic Harmonica Windsavers
NB. This page currently does not cover Bass & Chord harmonicas despite their chromatic nature.
Windsavers or "valves" save your breath and make the chromatic a much friendlier instrument to play. Windsavers are the consumable item of the chromatic harmonica, they are also the s ore point for many players. When they work well you hardly know they are there. But damaged, sticky or poorly installed windsavers are very noticable and ruin the response of the instrument. Windsavers are usually a neccessary evil to m aking the instrument playable. Because they are in direct f iring line of the player's breath they become w et, dirty & sticky. When windsavers are at their worst, they buzz, stick to the reedplate making popping sounds, stop reeds from playing, or stick open rendered inactive. Therefore it is vital for a chromatic harmonica player to learn how to clean windsavers (covered in cleaning), and especially how to replace windsavers. This isn't as scary as it first may seem, and it will save you a lot of fustration later on.
Windsaver Repair There are a few techniques that get sticky windsavers going again, or reseat windsavers down properly. In my experience I have found you can easily spend more time repairing a dying windsaver with limited results than just replacing it. Firstly you can avoid condensation in the first place by warming your chrom up to j ust above breath tempurature. cold metal & warm breath = condensation & sticky windsavers. warm metal & warm breath = a happy chromatic. If a windsaver is the two layered variety with a stiff top flap and softer bottom flap, the two flaps can stick together usually caused by residue or condensation, limiting the windsavers movement. Get a pin, or a small pen knive, or something equally small, sharp & hard and slip it between t he two flaps to seperate them. Or you can use a retracted pen tip, the end of a flat head screw driver, or edge of a brass implement. Press it against the tip of the bottom flap and push it carefully towards the base, just enough to cause it the valve to buckle slightly and force the top flap to release the bottom giving you a reprieve. B ut you'll eventually need to clean or replace it. You can prevent some of these two flap valve problems by sticking a thin strip of micropore between the two flaps of the offending valve, across the middle of the bottom flap. However I don't personally do this.
If a 2 flap windsaver has got it's top flap bent out of shape then use a pin or small piece of wire like a straightened paper clip, place 0.008" feeler gauge between the two flaps. Use the feeler gauge as support to slide the wire perpendicular to the windsaver running from the base to the tip under the top windsaver flap, applying pressure onto the top flap and pin with your thumb as you go. Rick Epping has come up with a very useful impliment for tensioning valves (2 flap variety) which I use on a regular basis. You can read the article on Harmonica Resources. This can be used to correct the problems mentioned above. After this if your windsavers a re still buzzing or popping, then I recommend cleaning, retensioning or replacement.
Buying Windsavers I recommend purchasing Hohner windsavers, of all the available brands they work very well and are readily accessible in any shop that normally stocks Hohner harmonicas. You can order a pack of replacement windsavers from Hohner directly, or through your favourite music s hop. You can find Hohner contact details under Hohner repairs. Hohner valves fit all harmonicas I'm aware of. This page used to have a section on making your own valves. However after some years of repairing harmonicas professionally, I now steer people away from this approach. Because at best
they perform poorly and create more problems than they solve. Hohner valves are inexpensive and perform much better when set up properly.
Replacing Windsavers Disassemble your chromatic harmonica until you have easy access to the windsaver you want to replace. If you have a wooden comb with nailed reedplates it's possible to avoid removing the reedplates for windsavers in the chamber. Instead remove the mouthpiece and work with tweezers for the windsaver & a toothpick for the glue reaching in through the mouthpiece hole. Use the counterpart reed hole on the other side of the reedplate to measure windsaver length. This is a plausible approach especially if you find wood combs swell when you take them apart. However in my experience I get better results when I remove the reedplates. Read the disassembly instructions carefully and follow my recommendations.
BE CAREFUL HANDLING REEDPLATES
Remove the old windsaver(s) and try to remove all the remaining debris as much as possible but be careful. You want a clean flat surface to stick the new windsaver on. I found the brass regapping tool that comes with Lee Oskar's toolkit excellent. Now I use a brass tool I make from a 1/8" brass rod, very similar in shape except it has a sharp straight wedge instead of a spatula which makes it easy to remove windsavers and gunk from the reedplate.
You want some form of glue to stick the windsaver down with. You want something strong enough to hold it in place for the duration of its life, but won't pose a problem when you want to remove it. I recommend super glue. Super glue is cheap, it sets quickly and it's easy to scrape off. You can buy blister packs of 5 to 10 2gm tubes for very little money. Get a small flat block of wood or similar specifically for super gluing valves. Apply a small puddle of super glue to the block of wood, then use a toothpick to apply the glue to the reedplate. But take care with super glue. Obtain a can of asetone and keep it and a rag on hand in case you get glue on yourself or somewhere it shouldn't be. Quickly dip the rag into the acetone and apply. While working with super glue, flex your fingers apart regularly to make sure you haven't glued them together, or the toothpick to your fingers. If you stay alert, there's no danger. I 've been using it for years, and only had to use the acetone once and it wasn't to myself. If you have any health concerns of using super glue on your harmonica, I've written an article on the topic. Other people's suggestions for glue include: Hohner windsaver glue (the srcinal expensive red messy stuff), Duco Cement ( weak & mediocre), Arts & Crafts general purpose glue (strong, stringy, smelly & can damage plastic on contact), along with many others. Always install the windsaver on the opposite side of the reed, and adhere the base end to where the reed's rivet comes through the reedplate. You'll see which way to orient it by looking at all the
other windsavers anyway. You may want to use a rotary tool to grind the tip of the rivet flush with the reedplate. Hohner's modern valves no longer have a dimple, s o it's worth spending the time to carefully grinding each tip flush, you only have to do it once per instrument. In the long term it'll ultimately be quicker and easier than punching a hole for every valve you replace. The more area that can be glued down, the better the valve will perform. Punching a hole through the valve's base to fit it around a rivet tip reduces it's stability and can c ompromise it's long term behaviour. Apply glue to the reedplate where the rivet c omes through, press the tip of the new windsaver to the opposite end of the reedslot from the glue. Covering less than 1mm or 1/32", shuffle it into position without letting it contact the glue, then reduce tension allowing the base to lower down onto the glue, and press it firmly home with your thumb or finger for a few seconds. It takes practice to install valves properly, and poorly installed valves mess up the response and fine tuning of your instrument. But please persevere, it's a very valuable skill! After I've installed all the valves, I use Rick Epping's impliment to retension their top flaps.
Teflon Windsavers Vern Smith wrote on Mon Jan 29, 2001 I "discovered" and tried teflon valves several years ago and shared my experience on harp -l. The harp-l archives should have a lot of discussion between me and Doug Tate about them. The material is made by DuPont and is marketed as "Bakeware Liner" with kitchen accessories. It is a little hard to find...I suggest that you call DuPont at 1-800-986-2857 to find out where to buy it. (or try NoStik® Permanent Oven Liner) I don't think it has been very successful as a kitchen product so when you find some, get enough to last you. I have what is for me a lifetime supply because I do not use it commercially and because I am old as dirt. The material is Teflon/PTFE coated on fiberglass fabric. It is used as a single-part valve. Douglas Tate suggests that if particular care is taken that it lies flat at installation, it will remain so. The non-stick properties of Teflon s eem to make it less s usceptible to sticking. The material is unaffected by moisture and different temperatures. The fact that it is single-part avoids the most common source of curling...the two parts stuck together by gunk. I have tried Micropore laminated on mylar (some purchased and some home-made) and had trouble with them curling away from the reedplate. I prefer the teflon v alves. I have successfully used just the .002" mylar without the Micropore against an engraved reedplate. My "belt-and'suspenders" way of avoiding valve problems is as follows.
1. Teflon valves. 2. Immerse (and do not rinse) the harp in a diluted solution of dishwasher no-spot "Jet-Dry" or equivalent surface-tension reducing liquid. This is the liquid that the machine dispenses a few drops to a load from a reservoir. It is NOT the detergent powder that you put in with every load. 3. From Bonfiglio and others... warm harp to about 100degF before playing. 4. Engrave/roughen the reedplate around the slot where the valve touches it with a pointed tool (sandpaper grooves are not adequate). The work is done not by the grooves but by the burrs raised by the tool. The burrs prevent condensation from forming a surfacetension seal by avoiding continuous contact of the valve edges to the plate.
In certain situations one of the above will solve your problem. Consistently using all four w ill give you a margin of safety. It is OK to publish the above in any non-profit medium for the benefit of all chromatic players.
Your mileage may vary! Vern
In Addition Douglas Tate said on Mon Jan 29, 2001 Further to Vern's post about the teflon valves. Vern is quite right in what he quoted me as having said. When these valves are well fitted they stay FLAT... the just DIE in place. Quite frequently this stuff comes in rolls. Inevitably, when you unroll it there is some curvature left. You can try to take the curve out completely of the whole sheet but we wait until the material is cut into 1/8" wide strips. After a LOT of experimenting we have found that a strip about 6 1/2" long is great...(the sheet is 13 inches wide.) We cut a couple of dozen strips and keep them in a stoppered tube. (easy to slide them out and they lay flat in there) To get rid of the curve in the material, if there is one, do this. On a piece of white paper draw a black, thin, straight line. If you now look down on the paper and hold the end inch or so of the strip on edge a few inches above the line you can see if it is straight because it will disappear into the line. For even more accurate 'measuring hold it a tiny bit to one
side of the line... it is easier to judge the straightness by the amount of white between the teflon and the black line! If you see that it is curved smooth out the curve between thumb and forefinger. and check again... ONLY work with a bit more than a reed length... then glue the whole strip onto the reed plate. When the glue is dry slice off the unwanted bit. **Tip** Slice it level with the corner of the reed pad next to the reed you are doing in the same hole. That is where the end of the slot is. This sounds fiddly... and it is. We have been putting these valves on Renaissance harmonicas for two years now. We have one VERY wet player who finds that they last many times as long as standard or micropore flaps before needing washing... and he finds them easier to wash. If you are a wet player you will stick ANYTHING in time :) I have got one valve that is starting to stick after two years and will wash it ...... tomorrow ... maybe. This information may be used in any non profit making way. Any alteration to the wording MUST be approved by me.
I have to repeat our debt to Vern for pointing us to this material and being kind enough to send us a sample in the first place. Douglas Tate ILUS Harmonicas.
Some Musings On Altered Tunings For the Chromatic Harmonica
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By Pat Missin Pat Missin plays harmonica, he has contributed a great deal to the harmonica community. Pat is an excellent harmonica technician and his harmonica retuning skills are highly sought after. Be sure to visit Pat's Website and if you are at all interested in trying different tuned harmonicas check out Altered States.
Solo Tuning First of all, let's look at Solo tuning, the typical layout of the chromatic harmonica. It is based on the following pattern, repeated in each octave: Hole
1
2
3
4
Blow
C
E
G
C
Draw
D
F
A
B
Solo tuned harmonicas in the key of C do not always start with C as the lowest note, but the pattern is essentially the same even regardless if it starts on C, E or G. Solo tuning was first used a few years before the first chromatics were made, being patented in 1908, as an "improvement" on the Richter tuning. Up until the 1950 s, 10-hole chroms were available as either Solo tuned or "Regular" (ie Richter) tuned.
The Richter layout (as used on a typical diatonic) was designed to play a simple major scale in holes 4 and above (with a note in the upper octave skipped), with a tonic chord and a dominant available in the lower octave, to accompany simple melodies. The point of the solo tuning was to give three full diatonic octaves, at the expense of the accompaniment chords - hence "Solo" tuning. OK, you can play C major and D minor and, with some clean double-stops, you can fake G7 and F major, but you lose the "instant accompaniment" of the Richter tuning - hence the name "solo" tuning, as it was intended to be a single-note instrument accompanied by something else, rather than being self - accompanying. As soon as you add the second reed bank to give you a similar layout one semitone higher, you have a complete chromatic scale and despite the instrument's limitations a lot of great music can be played, much more than the srcinal inventors ever expected. However, Solo tuning does have certain limitations and many folks have tinkered with it to extract other possibilities.
Chrom Retuning Approaches There are a number of common approaches to retuning the chromatic harmonica: The first is to alter the layout of the harp for a specific harmonic or melodic purpose. For example, Chamber Huang's Chordomonica tuning and John Infande's Boogie Tuning give chords that are not obtainable on the standard solo tuning. Brendan Power alters his chroms to give him slide ornaments that are likewise not possible with Solo tuning. The trade-off is usually that you lose some chromaticity, - for example, with the Chordomonica in C, you no longer have Db, Ab or Bb. You could also use the sldie to switch between, for example, a C reedplate and a G reedplate. This might be very useful for many traditional styles (Irish music springs to mind), but you lose even more chromatic notes. Similarly, in the 1920s, there was a "minor tuned" chromatic. This used the slide to switch between a major key and its relative minor key - with even greater los of chromaticity. The second approach is to retune the "redundant" notes, such as the paired Cs and C#s. For example, the BeBop Tuning replaces the first of the paired Cs with a Bb and the first of the #s with a B. William Galison retunes the C to A and the C# to Bb. This adds some nice possibilities without much of a trade-off and without having to spend much time making the alteration. A third approach is to reverse the "normal" operation of the slide, so that pushing the button gives you note lower than the open note, instead of higher note, favouring certain types of phrasing and ornamentation. This can also simply be done by turning the slide the other w ay around. In fact, I'm not sure that this s hould be considered a retuning in it's own right, particularly as it can be us ed in conjunction with any other retuning of the instrument, but it has become popularly known as Irish Tuning. The fourth way is to abandon the standard tuning all together and use something based on what is called "modes of limited transposition". Before getting into that, let me say that the so-called "chromatic" harmonica is not particularly chromatic!
Certainly, you can get all 12 notes of the tempered scale, but essentially, the solo-tuned chrom presents you with a C major scale and a button to provide the accidentals. (Alternatively, you could look at it as two diatonic instruments joined together, but let's not go there right now.) Similarly, you could say that the typical piano-type keyboard isn't really chromatic, as the white notes give you a C major scale, with the black notes "filling in the gaps".
Tuning Bias Even standard woodwind fingering does something similar if you take a tenor sax, close all the holes then lift each finger in sequence, you basically get a Bb major scale and use cross-fingering to get the sharps and flats. (OK - it's a simplification, but not an unreasonable one). This gives all of these instruments some sort of "bias". If you are only playing in a few closely related keys, this is no problem at all. However, if you are playing in a heavily chromatic style (jazz perhaps, or modern classical music) or you need to be able to transpose quickly and easily, it is less helpful. For example, to transpose from, say, Bb to B, you have to learn an entirely new fingering pattern, unlike a guitarist, who merely uses the same pattern moving it up one fret higher. The situation is even worse f or the harmonica player, because of the additional complication of the change of breath direction between blow and draw. This means that no matter how well you know your harmonica, or how much you practise, a certain phrase may be easy in one key, a little harder in another and sounds like hell in a third key. Douglas Tate's approach to this is to try to get everything as smooth as possible, then essentially to make every phrase as rough as your roughest phrase! (This may seem odd, but one of the things that stands out in most people's playing is that they make some bits sounds easier than other bits, which can make the overall performance seem uneven - but I'll leave that topic to Douglas Tate!)
Modes of Limited Transposition The use of "modes of limited transposition" (hereafter MoLT, to save my typing fingers) as the basis of a tuning, works on a similar principle. Instead of having "easy keys" & "difficult keys", you make all the keys equally as easy/difficult. So instead of basing the instrument's tuning on a given diatonic scale and adding accidentals, you divide the octave into repeating "shapes", each covering a certain number of semitones. The simplest MoLT are the ones which divide the octave into an equal number of parts. First is the chromatic scale, w here you simply progress semitone by semitone, dividing the octave into twelve.
In practice, there is only one chromatic scale - a chromatic scale beginning on C has the same notes as one beginning on Db (although the notes are "spelled" differently). The second simplest MoLT is the wholetone scale, where you progress two semitones at a time and the patterns repeat after two semitones, dividing the octave into six equal parts - for example, the C wholetone scale uses the same notes as the D wholetone, the E wholetone, the F# wholetone, the G# wholetone and the Bb wholetone. If you divide the octave into three equal parts of four semitones each, you get the augmented chord, repeating itself in major third intervals - Caug has the same notes as Eaug and G#aug. If you divide the octave into four equal parts of three semitones each, you get the diminished chord, repeating itself in minor third intervals - C dim has the same notes as Ebdim, F#dim and Adim. There are many other MoLTs, but these are the ones that can be most usefully applied to the harmonica. If you need more information on the general topic, you should read what Olivier Messiaen has to say about them.
MoLT Tunings Here I'm going to focus on the basic harmonica tunings derived from this concept. They all have similar principles in common. They are often described as making life easier for t he ear player, but Ibe might add that they also some make of it easier to read for the instrument. theItdownside, could described as removing the "personality" of the different On keys. all dependsthey on what you want from your instrument. First of all, you could build a harmonica where each hole contains a reed one semitone higher than the last. This is what the various Chromatica and Polyphonia harmonicas do. They are great for special effects, but only a few players have been dedicated enough to learn to play real music on them. However, they are similar to the guitar in that once you learn to play a C major scale on them, all you have to do to be able to play a Db major scale is simply to use the same patterns starting one hole higher. However, chords are pretty much out of the question and large interval leaps are tricky, to say the least. Even small intervallic leaps can be a problem.
Wholetone Next is the simple Wholetone Tuning where each note is a wholetone above the one immediately to its left and the draw notes are a semitone above the blow notes. An octave of this tuning would look like this: Hole
1
2
3
4
5
6
Blow
C
D
E
F#
G#
A#
Draw
C#
D#
F
G
A
B
A C major scale would be played by "blow, move right and blow, move right and blow, draw, move right and draw, move right and draw, move right and draw, move right and blow". A D scale would be played exactly the same way but starting one hole higher. Ditto for any major scale that begins with a blow note. Major scales that start with a draw note would be played by "draw, move right and draw, move right and draw, move right and blow, move right and blow, move right and blow, move right and blow, draw". So you can play any phrase in all twelve keys by learning just two different patterns. Each scale has the same number of breath changes and thus the same opportunities (and obstacles) for legato. At a harmonica convention, I once demonstrated playing all twelve major scales at high speed using this tuning and I don't think anyone believed me when I told them that I had probably spent less than an hour total playing time on that harp! This tuning was patented in 1950 by H.M. Stevenson (US pat #2511302) and several reworkings of it were included in Dr. John Yeadon's 1991 patent (UK pat #2259802). It's not really practical to retune a harp to t his layout without doing some major reed replacement, although you c ould take a solo-tuned 270 in G, raise the lowest note to a C and lower the highest note to a B, adjusting all the other notes appropriately. I've done it, but it's a hell of a lot of work. I have a slideless version of it based on a Special 20, as well one based on a Hohner 270 where the slide raises each note by a quartertone (I used it whilst toying around with some Arabic scales). In Richard Hunter's book "Jazz Harp", he mentions a similar tuning where the slide raises each note by a semitone, making each note available as either a blow or draw note, so entire scales can be played perfectly legato with no breath changes. The downside is that large intervals are still tricky and the harp has a much reduced range - my converted 270 now covers just short of two octaves instead of three. One solution to this is to set it up so that the slide raises each note by a perfect fourth or fifth (something I've been meaning to try out, but been too busy to do). Chords and double-stops are a bit limited and unless you have a big mouth and a square tongue, you can forget about playing octaves!
Diminished Tuning If you set up the harmonica so that adjacent notes are a three semitones apart you arrive at a diminished tuning. These layouts have been patented by both Salvitz/Beauregard (US pat# 5166461) and Dr. John Yeadon (UK pat #2259802) and can take several different forms. Perhaps the commonest is this one:
Hole
1
2
3
4
Blow
C
Eb
Gb
A
Draw
D
F
Ab
B
This tuning is quite easy to make from a standard solo tuned chrom, but even easier is Dr. Yeadon's favorite version: Hole
1
2
3
4
Blow
C#
E
G
Bb
Draw
D
F
Ab
B
As you can see, this is very similar to the standard s olo tuning, requiring a minimum of retuning and relearning. If you have the slide set up to raise each note by a semitone, then there are only six altered reeds per octave, although having the slide raise each note by a wholetone is another possibility. As the diminished chord repeats itself every three semitones, then any phrase c an be played in all 12 keys by learning only three patterns. Actually, if you tune the harmonica so that the slide raises all notes by a semitone, then there is a fourth alternate pattern for three of the twelve keys, as the draw notes with the slide held in are the same as the blow notes with the slide out. These alternate patterns can be used in a similar way to using B# and E# on the solo tuning. This tuning gives all twelve minor third intervals available as trills, ideal for the blues or jazz player. Better yet, if you realise that the diminished triad can be viewed as a dominant seventh chord with the root omitted (C#dim = C# E G; A7 = A C# E G) then you have twelve partial 7th chords available - another plus for the jazz player. Jazz players will also like the tritones (all 12 of them) that are available as double-stops. Octaves are played with a five-hole span as on a Solo tuned chrom. This is probably my favorite MoLTbased tuning and I've built several of them for my customers. (As well as using this tuning on a slide chromatic, there a few players using the first diminished layout on a diatonic harmonica. In this case, the chromatic scale c an be played without overblows, by the pattern blow; draw bend; draw; move right; blow; etc.)
Augmented Tuning If you tune the harmonica so that adjacent notes are four semitones apart, you get the augmented triad tuning. I prefer this to the more common name of "wholetone tuning", in order to avoid confusion with the wholetone tuning described above. I f you play any three adjacent blow or draw notes, you get an augmented chord, however the name "wholetone tuning" seems to have
stuck. Hohner produced a limited run of CX-12s in this tuning and Hering promised them, but failed to deliver. Customisers such as myself, Brendan Power and Siegfried Naruhn have built them and this is the tuning that jazz maestro Wim Dijkgraaf uses exclusively [Wim has since gone back to Solo tuned chromatics but only because you currently cannot buy Augmented chromatics off the shelf, given the choice he'd go back to Augmented chromatics in a shot - 2004, G.]. The basic layout is this: Hole
1
2
3
Blow
C
E
G#
Draw
D
F#
Bb
Usually the slide is set up to raise each note by a semitone (although, of course, it would work similar if the slide were to lower each note, or if the blow notes were tuned higher than the draw notes). This gives the most compact arrangement - twelve reeds are used to cover twelve notes, unlike the solo-tuning which uses sixteen reeds to cover the same range. Octaves are played with a more comfortable four hole span, rather than the five hole span required by the diminished and solo tunings. Just four patterns are needed to play in twelve keys:
a C major scale uses the same pattern are an E major scale and a G# major scale;
a C# major scale uses the same pattern as an F major scale and an A major scale;
a D major scale uses the same pattern as an F# major scale and a Bb major scale;
an Eb major scale uses the same pattern as a G.or scale and a B major scale.
This same idea has occurred to many people - in fact, this tuning has been patented no less than three times: in 1978 by Capper and Capper (UK pat# 2009999), again in 1983 by J. Okumoto (UK pat# 2120442 a nd in several other countries) and yet again in 1992 by Salvitz/Beauregard (US pat# 5166461). Similar ideas are also covered in Dr Yeadon's patent and discussed by James McKenzie, in the patent for his all- blow, twin-slide chrom (US pat# 3674910). I also recall that it has been discussed in Harmonica Happenings and more than one person has suggested it to harp -l, unaware of its past history. This tuningthe is most madereeds from aonRichter tuned chrom likeraised the Koch or Hohner Slide Harp. However, uppereasily four draw each plate need to be by quite an amount, so it may be preferable to replace them. Also, it's probably better to use a G harp as a starting point, as the reeds at the upper range will be a bit to high for their length. A 10 hole version of this tuning will give you a rage of three octaves and a minor third. A 12-hole version will give you a range of almost four octaves, but retuning is not really an option for this one - reed replacement is the only practical way to go, starting with a the lowest C of a tenor tuned harp. A 16-hole version is would give you a range of more than five octaves, but I'm not sure that it is practical to build one.
The most common complaints about this tuning are its lack of chords and the difficulty in getting a good legato. Well, nobody complains about a sax ophone's lack of chords! Besides, the only full chords available on a a regular solo tuned chrom in C are C, C#, Dm and Ebm. Great if you are playing "Malaguena" in the key if C, but a bit limited for general chord w ork. On hand, with the augmented triad tuning, you can fake tw elve major chords by playing just the root and third (C and E for a Cmaj chord) and twelve minor chords by playing just the minor third and fifth (C and E for an Am chord). As for legato, it is true that even the simplest phrases often require more changes of breath direction than some keys on the solo tuned harp (although the reverse is sometimes true)... Altered Wholetone Tuning ... There is one solution suggested by Dr. Yeadon: If the harp is tuned (in the slide out position) as follows: Hole
1
2
3
4
Blow, Slide In
D
F#
A#
D
Blow, Slide Out
C
E
G#
C
Draw, Slide Out
C#
F
A
C#
Draw, Slide In
D#
G
B
D#
The sequence C D E F on the typical augmented layout would require three changes of breath direction. Using the set-up shown here, it would require only one change.
James McKenzie Tuning Finally, for the sake of completeness, I'll include the tuning which James McKenzie set tled on for his twin-slide all blow notes chromatic. It is based on a repeating pattern of minor third/wholetone/wholetone/minor third. One way to lay this out on a regular chromatic would be: Hole
1
2
3
4
5
6
Blow, Slide In
C#
E
F#
G#
B
C#
Blow, Slide Out
C
Eb
F
G
Bb
C
Draw, Slide Out
D
F
G
A
C
D
Draw, Slide In
D#
F#
G#
A#
C#
D#
This has several choice notes (the same pitches available as both blow or draw notes), a fairly consistent breathing pattern in several keys, a variety of intervals for double-stops. Different arrangements of it would give you a different range of possibilities.
Conclusion Well, despite the length of this article, it has barely scratched the surface of this subject. If anyone has any more specific questions, I'd be happy to try to answer them.
Ask Pat a more Specific Question.
Harp On! Harmonica Resources has a large amount of information regarding Altered Tunings including layouts in all keys, where scales lie over them, articles on the benefits and draw backs, as well as references to other altered layout harmonica resources.
Music Theory I
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Music Theory for the Chromatic Harmonica Music theory in general can be a very baffling thing to the uninitiated. Broadly speaking it is a huge subject and something that you can continue to study & learn about for as long as one would care to. However there is a point at which you can start from and can be used in practice. If you have doubts about learning music theory and read music, Richard Martin has provided Chromatic Harmonica Reference with a reprinted article What it takes to become a successful harmonica player. This section is aimed at 12 or 16 hole Chromatic Harmonicas in key of C, Solo layout.
Recommended Music Theory Sites I highly recommend visiting the following links. They are very clearly presented with the beginner in mind: Ricci Adam's MusicTheory.Net This is about the m ost straight forward music notation & music theory site I have seen to date. Please take a minute to drop Ricci Adams and tell him what you think of it. Music Instruction By A Computer Has a good selection of topics about reading music & understanding basic music theory. Easy Music Theory Is a series of simple step by step lessons complete with exercises on reading music & understanding basic theory. Introduction to Reading Music Is a step by step section on how to read and understand music score. Very simple straight forward reading. Music Theory and History of Music , an extensive and informative website. Theory of Music: Online guides and lessons says it all.
These and other music theory sites can be found in the Music Theory III page. The remainder of this page was submitted by Vern Smith. Edited and updated by G
Introduction to Music Theory Submitted by Vern Smith
Music theory was formulated by observing repeating patterns in music literature and expressing them as "rules." It seems unlikely that early composers were aware of these "rules" when writing the music from which they are drawn. However the rules are extremely useful to the student seeking to quickly understand the structure of music.
Qualifications All of the rules have exceptions. For brevity, this summary presents the rules and leaves the discussion of the exceptions to others. This summary is intended for c hromatic harmonica musicians interested in Western Classical, popular, Blues & Jazz, and American folk music. Those interested in ethnic folk music, advanced Jazz, and the music of Eastern cultures will find a good basis to work from here, but will need to look f urther afield for additional comprehensive guidance.
1. The Chromatic Scale Modern Western music is based on the chromatic scale wherein all of the steps are equal and are called halftones. These are t he fundamental building blocks on which everything else is built, so you need to get very familiar with them. The audio frequency of each step is 1.059463 (the twelfth root of two) times the adjacent step below. A chromatic scale may be played on a piano by playing 12 of the adjacent, (black and white), keys in sequence. The ear wants to finish on the thirteenth note which is the first note of the next higher octave. Each note of the chromatic has one or two names consisting of a letter A through G and sometimes a halftone modifier; "sharp" (#) and "flat" (b). The pairs of note names are called enharmonics. Key of C Chromatic Scale C-C#-D-D#-E-F-F#-G-G#-A-A#-B-C or
C-Db-D-Eb-E-F-Gb-G-Ab-A-Bb-B-C
Click on score to listen to the scale.
Chromatic Scale Notes On a key of C Chrom Hole
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
Blow, Slide Out
C
Eb
Gb A
C
Eb
Gb A
C
Eb
Gb A
Blow, Slide In
Db E
G
Draw, Slide Out
D
F
Ab B
Draw, Slide In
Eb
Gb A
Bb Db E
C
G
D
F
Eb
Gb A
Bb Db E
Ab B C
G
D
F
Eb
Gb A
12 13 C
14
15
Eb
Gb A
Bb Db E
Ab B C
G
D
F
Eb
Gb A
16
Bb
Ab B C
On a 12 hole C harp, the hole-1 blow note is middle C on the piano. On a 16 hole harp, the 1st blow note is an octave below middle C. Some 16 hole harps are numbered from 1 to 16. For these hole 1 is an octave below middle C and holes 5-8, 9-12, 13-16 have the same layout as a 12 hole harp. On some 16 hole harps the first octave holes are numbered 1 to 4 with dots above them. The remaining holes are numbered 1 to 12 which are exactly the same as a 12 hole harp. Click here for a full music score layout of the 16 hole chromatic harp. (237 KB) Courtesy of Richard Martin
This arrangement (much despised by beginning students) is called solo tuning and is redundant and complex, but is the only one commonly available in today's market.
2. The Octave An octave consists of twelve steps of the chromatic scale. The audio frequency of any note is exactly twice that of the note an octave below and half that of an octave above. Notes separated by octaves sound alike but not identical.
3. Diatonic Scales About 99% of the music played on the chromatic harp is w ritten on the "major", and three types of "minor" scales. They each have eight notes and seven intervals per octave. Other types of scales exist but are not discussed here.
3.1 Major Scales The notes any"tonic" diatonic can beisdescribed as I, of II, the III, IV, V, VI &scale. VII (1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th,can 5th, 6th & 7th).inThe or scale "keynote" the first note diatonic A diatonic scale begin on any note of the chromatic scale. Where (--) is a wholetone interval and (-) is a halftone interval, the major scale is: I--II--III-IV--V--VI--VII-I The roman numerals name the notes in the diatonic scale. For example C Major: C--D--E-F--G--A--B-C
Click on score to listen to the example. This section on major scales is an amended version of Vern's srcinal submission - G
3.2 Minor Scales The distinguishing characteristic of all minor keys is that the third is lowered a halftone. This results in the following layout: I--II-III--IV--V........ The minor keys differ from one another by whether or not the sixth and seventh notes are lowered a halftone. The Natural Minor compared to the Major scale has a lowered third, sixth & seventh, giving the scale: I--II-III--IV--V-VI--VII--I This is the scale that results when the same major-key pattern of intervals is used but the scale begins on the sixth. A major key and the minor beginning on its sixth are said to be "related" (e.g.
C-maj and a-min). A major key and the minor resulting from lowering the third is said to be "parallel" (e.g. C-maj and c-min) For example C Natural Minor: C--D-Eb--F--G-Ab--Bb--C
Click on score to listen to the example.
Usually used in Blues, Rock, Country, Reggae & Jazz music.
The Harmonic Minor scale is uses the Natural Minor scale but raises the seventh, giving the scale: I--II-III--IV--V-VI---VII-I Note the unusual three-halftone interval between Le and Ti.
For example C Harmonic Minor: C--D-Eb--F--G-Ab---B-C
Click on score to listen to the example.
Usually used in Eastern European, Gypsy, Yiddish & Asian mus ic.
The Melodic Minor scale uses the Natural Minor scale raising the sixth & seventh, on the ascending notes only, giving the scale: I--II-III--IV--V--VI--VII-I but uses the Natural Minor scale as shown above (in reverse) on descending notes only. For example C Melodic Minor: C--D-Eb--F--G--A--B-C
Click on score to listen to the example.
Usually used in Classical music. You will find that music in minor keys consistently employs the lowered third, but the raising & lowering of the sixth and the seventh is at the whim of the composer. This section on scales is an amended version of Vern's srcinal submission - G
4. Music Reading For the Chromatic Harmonica As a general rule, readers use C-tuned chromatics. Learning to read music on this harp is little different from learning to read on any other C instrument. Click here for a full diagram & music score layout of the 16 hole chromatic harp. (237 KB) Courtesy of Richard Martin
Except for the first day or two, it is recommended that the student avoid tablature, those nonstandard systems that use numbers, arrows, colors, etc. This type of notation is much more difficult to read, especially when speed or complex note timing is involved. Besides that, reading standard the hopelesslynotation limited opens amount ofworld's music invast tabmusic form.literature to the player, as opposed to the
5. The Musical Staff Any music shop has a hundred beginning music books that describe the standard notation, the meanings attached to the shapes of the note symbols, and their locations on the staff. This notation is the same for all instruments. It relates to how the music sounds and not to what you do with the instrument to produce the sounds.
6. Beginning to Read Music First, we will consider only the "natural" notes of the C-major diatonic scale, C D E F G A B C on a 12 hole harp. 1. The spaces of the staff are named FACE, bottom to top. 2. The lines are named EGBDF (every good boy does fine), bottom to top. 3. The notes above and below the staff continue the same sequence wherein the line or space above is named for the next letter, and A follows G. Vice versa going down.
4. The note on the first ledger line below the staff is C, hole 1 blow on the harp and middle C on the piano. 5. Of these, CEG are blow notes and the others are draw. 6. The 1 2 3 4 holes of each harp octave cover CD EF GA B notes.
6.1 Week One Using these six simple rules, label all of the notes on some old or copied pieces of sheet music with the note name C D E F G A B , blow/draw, and hole number. At first go very slowly, consulting the rules as often as necessary. Continue until it becomes so easy that it is unnecessary to consult the rules and is pointless to continue. You are now past the need for tablature because you have been writing it!
6.2 Week Two Now find some sheet music of simple diatonic tunes in the key of C, (no # or b symbols anywhere.) Pick up your harp and sound the notes using the rules in your head. You will (particularly if you have played diatonic) find that if you concentrate on blow/draw, the hole numbers will take care of themselves. Go slowly, taking as much time with each note as is required to get it right... you are not trying to make music yet so don't rush it. Keep practicing in this mode until (without pushing yourself) it very gradually becomes easier, faster, and sounds musical. You are READING (albeit slowly) on the harp. Be patient, Rome wasn't built in a day.
Key Signatures The key signature is a set of # and b symbols that indicate which notes are to be raised or lowered a halftone to produce the diatonic scale of the desired key. The musical staff (lines EGBDF and spaces FACE) are arranged to represent the diatonic scale in the key of "C". Uneven-interval diatonic scales in keys other than "C" are mapped a cross the chromatic scale starting at the keynotes. Some of the diatonic notes thus fall on chromatic notes that are not shown on the "natural" staff and are not represented by the unmodified note-names ABCDEFG Our musical ancestors have solved this problem with the use of the commands sharp/# and flat/b in the key signature. These are "standing orders" to play the diatonic-scale note on that line or space a half-tone higher or lower. If there is to be a natural note played instead, then there will be a natural sign before the note cancelling the key signature sharp or flat to the end of the measure. Key Signature Chart
Minor
Notes Modified
C
a-min
None
G
e-min
F#
D
b-minF#
C#
A
F# f#-min
C#
G#
E
c#-min F#
C#
G#
D#
B
g#-min F#
C#
G#
D#
A#
F#
d#-min F#
C#
G#
D#
A#
F
d-min
Bb
g-minBb
Eb
Eb
c-minBb
Eb
Ab
Ab
f-minBb
Eb
Ab
Related
Major Key
Bb
Db
E#
Db
bb-min Bb
Eb
Ab
Db
Gb
Gb
eb-min Bb
Eb
Ab
Db
Gb
Cb
6.3 Week Three Find some sheet music in the "sharp" keys: G D A E. Whenever a # symbol appears on the same line or space to the left of a note, either in the same measure (called an "accidental") or in the key-signature at the left end of the staff, then PUSH THE BUTTON! The accidentals are dead easy because the # symbol is right there in the same measure. The key signature must be memorized. Start with G and w ork up to E. Most harp players encounter few key signatures involving more than 4 sharps or 4 flats. Really good musicians can play in all of the keys.
6.4 Week Four Find some sheet music in the "flat" keys, F Bb Eb Ab. Whenever the accidental or key signature indicates a flat (b), play the next lower diatonic note with the button pushed. To convert a flat (b) note to its enharmonic sharp (#) note by the old rules use this.
Db is C#
Eb is D#
Gb is F#
Ab is G#
Bb is A#
Approach these tunes as you did the "sharp" keys. Go very slowly at first and let the faster speed come gradually without consciously trying for it. At this point you are reading chromatic music in all keys. Nothing can stop you now! For recommended music pieces to learn c heck out Douglas Tate's suggestions.
7. Exercises
Before you start a new piece, play the diatonic scale up and down in that key several times. This will make hitting the sharps or flats in the key signature reflexive. I once met a harper who could play fluently by ear in any key on a C chromatic. In response to my question, "How did you learn to do that?," he answered, "Playing scales!" Starting on every note of the c hromatic scale, play an octave's worth of the chromatic scale up and down.
Postscript The writer hopes that some of you have found this helpful and are motivated to learn more. Music theory comes in a very thick book that is used for four semesters and adds up to 12 units or more of college work. Naturally, a lot has been omitted from this brief summary.
We wish you well in your musical endeavors!
Now you can continue to the Music Theory II page.
Tablature & Reading Music By G. I've had several requests to do a section on tablature for chromatic harmonica, so here it is. Because this site is targeted at beginner to intermediate players, I've mixed standard music notation with a form of chromatic tablature, purely for making exercises clear to the uninitiated. I strongly recommend following the steps of any other musician, and learn to read a nd play from standard music notation. With that said... Tablature's main strength is showing harmonica specific phrases & effects. There is c urrently very little around for chromatic harmonica tab except for beginner purposes. Harmonica tab has a number of draw backs, such as the lack of timing & dynamics, there is no current standard and other musicians will never understand harmonica tab. Tablature combined with standard notation is probably the ideal for written harmonica music, what the standard notation doesn't describe c an be clarified by the tablature. Sources for this are fairly limited. Javier has on my request included a Chromatic Harmonica tab option in his program HARPING! which can load any MIDI song and give harmonica tab for it. Melody Assistant is inexpensive music writing software, compatable with MIDI, and includes harmonica tablature feature (including chromatic) and readily combines it with standard music notation.
Super Tab by Pat Missin, is a harmonica tablature font compatible with PC and Mac computers. It includes tab fonts for diatonic, chromatic, and even XB-40 haromnicas. I've also written a short webpage on harmonica tablature at Harp On! Harmonica Resources. Again, I recommend you learn how to read music notation. The two pages on music theory on this site are a reasonably good primer for chromatic harmonica. Richard Martin has provided an excellent article on the benefits of doing so. There are superb websites to learn how to read music notation. Why not Download Richard Martin's submitted diagram with the harmonica layout against music score for reference. If you have a different key harmonica than key of C, then go to Chrom Layout and find the layout for your harmonica and make your own chart. It is hard yards. But in the long run, only being able to read harmonica tab makes life harder for you as a musician. Being able to learn a song from a music score & CD is very satisfying, and being able to read music opens up a HUGE world of music to you. And now for my c hromatic harmonica tablature system...
ASCII Harmonica Tablature I wrote a suggested ASCII music notation that may incorporate harmonica tablature or c an stand on its own as a generic music notation including melody, changes & timing: From: "G" Date: Thu Jan 24, 2002 11:46 pm Subject: Suggested ASCII Tablature (harmonica fake charts in ASCII)
----- Original Message ----From: Winslow Yerxa Sent: Thursday, January 24, 2002 7:11 AM Subject: RE: Another "nomenclature" thing (tab) [regarding standardising Tablature for the harmonica community] > >Whadya think? Think it's worth trying? > > It is worth trying, and, if memory served, it was tried way back - maybe > 1993? We more or less agreed on a set of symbols (at least I think we did; > maybe everyone just expressed their appreication for the ideas). From that > point, everyone went on making up their own. > > Still, it may be worth trying again. > Winslow [G responded] I know.... how about using Music Score as harmonica tab????! No? Oh well....
In 1999 I spent considerable time thinking up the following system, although for myself I now prefer standard notation with or without tablature. I offer to you the harmonica community a suggestion for a standard ASCII fake chart music tablature methodology for harmonica or solo instruments alike.
The basics for harmonica tab we are familiar with: 1 or 1+ blow hole one 1- draw hole one 123+ 123- blow draw chord over holes 123 1'- draw bend hole 1 by a semitone 3'''- draw bend hole 3 by three semitones 8'+ blow bend hole 8 by a semitone For chromatics I didn't find anything in ASCII tab when I started out (plenty of tab in books, but not ASCII friendly) , so on the Chromatic Harmonica Reference what I have used is: 1^+ blow hole 1, slide in 1+ blow hole 1, slide out 1^- draw hole 1, slide in 1- draw hole 1, slide out An example... 3+ 6+ 3+ 5+ 6+ 3^+ 3^+ (the start of "Take the A train" on a C chromatic... you have to know the tune to use this) I've since seen the ^ carot symbol used with regards to overblow/overdraw for diatonic, all w ell and good? No, you can overblow & overdraw on a valveless chromatic. Oh well. So substitute an appropiate character for overblow & slide in. Personally I opted for a little "v" for overblow & overdraw.... make sense w ith its given nomenclature don't it? eg. 1v+ overblow hole 1. 8v- overdraw hole 8. I've seen the tilde used in a similar way... 1~+ 8~- .... whatever, as long as we pick one and stick with it. Mike Will has a good set of tabbing examples on the Diatonic Reference. Tabbing effects such as trills, tongue slaps, octave switching, glissing, vamping .... would be helpful for instance. The symbols: ~ ! @ $ % & * \ are all for the taking. Okay ... thats what everyone expected....
... theres more to go. What tab really fails at in general is there is no indication of TIME, probably the most important aspect of music. One way is to follow the notes immediately with: sb = semibrieve (4 beats) m = minum (2 beats) c = crotchet (1 beat) q = quaver (1/2) s = semiquaver (1/4) d = demisemiquaver (1/8) use fullstop after a duration for a dotted duration (1.5x the duration) m. = dotted minum (3 beats) We are missing the rests of course, use R for the "rest note": Rsb (rest semibrieve) Rc (rest crotchet) Rm. (rest dotted minum) and so forth for Rest durations. You can mark out the Time signature at the start of a piece eg. 4/4 3/4 5/8 etc. So you could play on a C solo chromatic the line: 4/4 Rsb 3+sb Rq 6+c 3+c 5+c 6+q 3^+c. 3^+m Rc ... (the start of "Take the A train" on a C chromatic) Then there is an option of NAMING notes rather than the notes of a specific harmonica. This makes it possible to describe a piece to people regardless of harmonica or layout one is using. Simply use letters for note names as we are all familiar with: A B C D E F G, using b for flat and # for sharp obviously. Note they are in caps. A A# Bb B C C# .... etc Then with the letters one takes them up an octave for every quote, and down an octave for every comma. eg. C' = C above middle C, C''' = the C found at the top of a C diato or standard Solo C chromatic 12 hole harmonica. C, = C below middle C like 1+ on a standard Solo C 16 hole chromatic harmonica. So you could also use: 4/4 Rsb Gsb Rq E'c. Gc C'c E'q Abc. Abm Rc
(the start of "Take the A train" again) Then to break a music piece up into measures for easier reading, for every measure/bar use: | | |: | :||: | :|| | || for repeats, bars, end of song ... etc And you can show 1st time, 2nd time bars for repeated sections simply enough: ... |: | |1st | | :| 2nd | | ... So far we could use all the above like this: 4/4 | Rsb |: 3+sb | Rq 6+c. 3+c 5+c | 6+q 3^+c. | 3^+m Rc | .... OR in music tab 4/4 | Rsb |: Gsb | Rq E'c. Gc C'c | E'q Abc. | Abm Rc | .... (start of "Take the A train") That in itself gives you a complete tablature system for any melody line. You can describe music to people in text emails who have never heard it enabling them to learn to play it for themselves. WOOHOO! :)
To give a complete fake chart ability, combine all the above with C hord nomenclature, you name the chords at the beginning of each measure for each beat (if applicable). Use the / symbol to represent beats in a measure to break up the chord nomenclature. The last / symbol marks the start of the tab for that measure. By doing this you avoid confusion between the chord nomenclature & note nomenclature. Also the other reason is the solo is divided from the chords for each measure. 4/4 | Rsb |: CMaj7//// 3+sb | Rq 6+c. 3+c 5+c | D7b5///// 6+q 3^+c. | 3^+m Rc | .... OR 4/4 | Rsb |: CMaj7//// Gsb | Rq E'c. Gc C'c | D7b5///// E'q Abc. | Abm Rc | .... (start of "Take the A train") Another example where there are changes for every beat in a measure: 4/4 ... |C6/FMaj7/Em7/Am7/ 5+q 2+c. 2+m |CMaj7//// 2+m. | ... OR 4/4 ... |C6/FMaj7/Em7/Am7/ C'q Ec. Em |CMaj7//// Em. | ... You now have the makings for an entire ASCII based music notation for fake charts where you can pick or choose to use it like music notation or extended harmonica notation or both. And also choose how much or little detail you wish to include depending on your needs or intention.
Here are the first 18 measures of "Take the A train" in C major on a Solo C chromatic harmonica. 4/4 | Rsb |: CMaj7//// 3+sb | Rq 6+c. 3+c 5+c | D7b5///// 6+q 3^+c. | 3^+m Rc | Dm7/// 3-sb | G7//// 3-q 3^-q 4-q 6+q 3+q 2^-q 2-q 5^+q | CMaj7//// 5+q 2+c. 2+m | 2+m. Rc :| FMaj7////3 -q 5+c. 5+m |... and again as music tab 4/4 | Rsb |: CMaj7//// Gsb | Rq E'c. Gc C'c | D7b5///// E'q Abc. | Abm Rc | Dm7/// Asb | G7//// Aq Bbq Bq E'q Gq F#q Fq C#q | CMaj7//// C'q Ec. Em | Em. Rc :| FMaj7//// Aq C'c. C'm |... Now we can trade fake books by email! (c) 2002 Harp On! G. Only available for free use in exchange of musical ideas, education and distribution of music in ASCII.
NB: ABC written music notation is a formalised generic ASCII musical notation language including timing, melody & chords for any tune, any instrument. You can get softw are for reading and translating ABC starting at the ABC Home.
Music Theory II
HOME
Intermediate Music Theory for the Chromatic Harmonica This is a combined effort with submissions by Vern Smith and myself. If you are not familar with chromatic & diatonic scales theory why not study the Music Theory I page before continuing on. This section is aimed at 12 or 16 hole Chromatic Harmonicas in key of C, Solo layout. Further
information is available for Chromatic Harmonicas with Altered Tunings
Transposition Written by Vern Smith
Transposition is the relocation of all of the pitches of a piece of music by the same interval to a different range of pitches. In Music Theory I you will see that a diatonic scale can begin on any note of the chromatic scale. Consider the notes of a chromatic scale arranged on the face of a clock.
To transpose pitches N halftones , simply find each note of the piece in the srcin key and step N "hours" around the clock Clock Wise f or up or Counter Clock Wise for down to find the corresponding pitch in the destination key. On the musical staff, move the tonic or keynote up or down to make it the keynote of the new key. Then move all of the other notes the same number of steps up or down. (In this case, from a line to the adjacent space is a step and from a space to an adjacent line is also a step). Then change the key signature to that of the new key. Most computer notation programs will transpose a piece automatically, given the direction and the desired interval. In some programs, the user has only to change the key signature and the notes are automatically transposed.
Modes Written by G This is a brief explanation of Modal Scales.
Modes srcinated centuries ago and used throughout a few periods since. T hey are still used today although perhaps not always with the same intention and style of their srcins. There are seven basic modes and can be worked out based on the major scale intervals: The Seven Modes Relative to the Major Scale Mode
Relative to Major Scale
Ionian
1st Mode
I First Note Major Scale 1234567
Dorian
2nd Mode
II Second Note 1 2 b3 4 5 6 b7
Phrygian
3rd Mode
III Third Note 1 b2 b3 4 5 b6 b7
Lydian
4th Mode
IV Fourth Note Subdominant 1 2 3 #4 5 6 7
Mixolydian
5th Mode
V Fifth Note Dominant 1 2 3 4 5 6 b7
Aeolian
6th Mode
VI Sixth Note Natural Minor 1 2 b3 4 5 b6 b7
Locrian
7th Mode
VII Seventh Note Half Diminished 1 2 b3 4 b5 b6 b7
To work out the structure of each modal scale using the diagram above to figure out which note on the Major scale to start on. As discussed in Music Theory I, the Major Scale can be described as follows, where (--) is a wholetone interval and (-) is a halftone interval. I--II--III-IV--V--VI--VII-I The structure starts on the appropriate note of the major scale and steps along until completing an octave. Two modes are immediately familar: Ionian & Aeolian. These are the Major & Natural Minor diatonic scales. Two very popular Jazz modes are Dorian & Mixolydian, which can be found in almost every standard. In Jazz and Blues minor keys tend to be played using Dorian scale instead of Aeolian/Natural Minor. An example of working out a mode, for instance the Dorian Scale. From the above chart you can see you start on the II Second note of the Major sc ale. The first step (major notes II to III) is a whole tone, followed by (III to IV) a semitone step, then three more wholetones (IV,V,VI & VIII), a semitone (VII to I) and finishing with a whole tone (I to II). The Dorian Mode Scale maps out thus: I--II-III--IV--V--VI-VII--I If you wanted to play a key of D Dorian scale, you simply choose a major scale where the second note is D, which happens to be C Major. All the notes in C Major make up D Dorian, starting on the second note.
CDEFGABC becomes DEFGABCD
You'll notice there are seven digits listed for each mode. Ionian mode is t he Major scale, which described with digits is 1234567 Any other mode or scale can be described in relation to the Major scale. So for example Dorian mode would be described as 1 2 b3 4 5 6 b7 This means compared to the major scale, the major third is flatted a semitone to a minor third, and the major seventh is flatted a semitone to a dominant or minor seventh. Once you really understand and know the construction of the major scale, you can learn other scales simply by how they compare to the major scale, whether notes are flatted or raised a semitone, or a wholetone, or missing altogether which is true of pentatonic scales, or has additional notes like the Bebop scales.
Mode Changing Written by Vern Smith
Sometimes transposing and changing scales/modes is thought of as one operation and called transposition. Once again, a clock-face diagram is useful
Beginning at the name of the source mode, number the asterisk "hours" with the ordinal numbers 1st, 2nd, 3rd,...7th for the notes of the diatonic scale. Also label all of the "hours" (including the "x"s) with the notes of the chromatic scale (A, A#/Bb, B, etc.) beginning with the tonic/keynote of the source key at the "1st" note. Similarly andnames number secondB,clockface with the ordinal etc.) and name the note (A,aA#/Bb, etc.) for diagram the destination mode andnote key.numbers (1st, 2nd, Now match the ordinal numbers of the two diagrams to go from the source mode and key to the destination mode and key. Because mode changing is not often done, notation software rarely or never does this automatically.
Introduction to Chords Written by G
I found making the s tep from understanding notes to understanding chords a leap in logic that took some doing. If I'd known then what I know now... w ell anyway, here it is to help you. In a nutshell: Starting with the first note; Chords are made up of every second note along the scale you are playing in. THATS IT
The terms triad, seventh, major, minor, diminished & augmented are just ways of explaining the structures of the resulting chords. A triad is the most basic form with three notes, eg. In key of Cmaj, the notes C,E,G are a triad, as are D,F,A or F,A,C or G,B,D and even A,C,E. They're all triads. These notes are the 1st, 3rd & 5th notes from the root or first note of each chord. However they're all in the same key, in this case C major. A seventh chord is made up of four note, eg. In key of Cmaj, the notes E,G,B,D make up a seventh chord. These notes are the 1st, 3rd, 5th and 7th notes from the root or first note, hence the name seventh chord. Inversions are a rearrangement of the same notes found in normal chords. Both Major & Minor chords are found in both Major & Minor scales & keys In fact you find many types of chords in major & minor, and other types of scales. Finally: Why the heck does a harmonica player want to know this ?! Well, on a harmonica you can play any chord as an ARPEGGIO. An arpeggio is simply the notes of a chord played one after the other quickly.
Two C major seventh chords followed by two arpeggios The harmonica does have some chords available of course, and if you have different key chroms you can play a number of chords that are in key to the song you play. Failing that, even on one chromatic harmonica played in all keys, for each key you will find there are a number of partial chords, meaning you can play a couple of the notes that make up a chord together. Using these combined with arpeggios works well. There are a lot of ways to use chord theory to its fullest as a Harmonica Musician. To find any chord and how its made up Online Chord Construction Program which takes a few minutes to load up. Another page on Chord construction & drills for learning chords through & through.
Chords Written by Vern Smith
Chords consist of sets of notes that sound at the same time. Diatonic scales are constructed of major-seconds (2 halftone steps), and minor-seconds (1 halftone step). However chords are constructed of maj or-thirds (4 halftone steps) and minor-thirds (3 halftone steps).
Triads Many combinations of 3 and 4 major and minor thirds are used and have names. "Tall" chords having more than four notes exist but are not discussed here. Three-note chords are called "triads." Legend
R stands for the root of the chord which gives the chord its name.
--- stands for a minor-third interval ---- stands for a maj or-third interval
M stands for major
m stands for minor
d stands for "diminished", meaning lowered by a halftone
a stands for "augmented", meaning raised by a halftone
p stands for "perfect", meaning rarely raised or lowered
3, 5, 7 are the third, fifth & seventh notes in the scale.
Triad Names Structure in Root Position Major
R----M3---p5 135 M3 m3
minor
R---m3----p5 1 b3 5 m3 M3
Augmented (fifth)
R----M3----a5 1 3 #5 M3 M3
Diminished (fifth)
R---m3---d5 1 b3 b5 m3 m3
Seventh Chords Four-note chords are called Seventh Chords
Seventh Chord Names Structure in Root Position (Major-minor) Seventh aka Dominant
R----M3---p5---m7 1 3 5 b7 M3 m3 m3
Major Seventh
R----M3---p5----M7 1357 M3 m3 M3
Minor Seventh
R---m3----p5---m7 1 b3 5 b7 m3 M3 m3
Half-diminished
R---m3---d5----m7 1 b3 b5 b7 m3 m3 M3
(Full) Diminished
R---m3---d5---bb7 1 b3 b5 bb7 m3 m3 m3
Chord Inversions If the root of a chord is not the lowest note of the chord (usually because it has been raised an octave), then the chord is said to be inverted. The inversions are named first, second, and third depending on which note is lowest. Chords in which the interval between the lowest and highest notes is more than an octave are called open chords. All notes of a chord are not of equal importance. The perfect fifth (p5) can usually be omitted without changing the perceived character of the chord. Without the third, the listener cannot distinguish between major and minor chords. When the s eventh is omitted, then the c hord is obviously not a seventh chord and reverts to the triad. Because of the limitations of the instrument, guitarists often use whichever inversion or open/closed form is easiest to finger.
Chord Sequences In any given key, almost all of the chords have as their roots one of the notes of the diatonic scale. From any one of these chords, the probability of moving to a certain few of the others is very much greater than to the remainder of the others. For the harp player, these sequences are not
very important. However, for the arranger of harp accompaniments, this is a very fruitful area of study.
Chords on the Chromatic Harmonica Because simultaneous blow/draw and slide in/out combinations are impossible, the chords available on the chromatic are very, very f ew. As a general rule, the harmonicist must depend on his accompaniment for chord background. The author of this page abhors the sounds made by playing a chromatic harp as though it were a diatonic and/or by frequently honking on chords that are available but do not fit with the melody.
The C-major triad (the tonic, I) chord in the key of the harp is available by blowing in 3 or 4 adjacent holes. By blocking the A in hole 3 with the tip of the tongue, and drawing in the other holes of that octave, the G7 (D, F & B; dominant 7th in the key of the harp, but lacking the root G) is heard. By "double-stopping" (playing two adjacent holes, or playing out of both sides of the mouth and blocking some holes in the middle with the tongue) many partial chords and harmonious two-note melody lines can be played. A detailed discussion of these possibilities in various keys is beyond the scope of this summary.
Chord Progressions Question: The chromatic harmonica is unable to play the vast majority of chords. Why would knowledge of chord progressions be useful to me? Answer: Most melodies go up and down short sections of the scale, or skip steps and sound notes of a chord. Many musical leaps begin and end on the notes of a chord. Most accented notes are notes of a current chord. The player who is aware of the current chord will find it easier to play the correct note. An arpeggio chord is one whose notes are played in rapid sequence so that the listener hears them as a chord. The chromatic harmonicist often plays chords this way.
Chord Terminology & Notation The following is independent of key. Major chords are indicated by upper-case roman numerals, I II III IV V VI & VII. Minor chords are indicated by lower-case roman numerals, i ii iii iv v vi & vii The value of the numeral indicates the note of the diatonic scale used as the chord root. Chords are verbally referred to by cardinal numbers, one, two, three ... seven
Notes of the scale are referred to by ordinal numbers 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, etc. The degree character ° indicates a diminished (fifth) chord. The plus character + indicates a augmented (fifth) chord. This section on Chord Terminology & Notation is an amended version of Vern's srcinal submission -G
Chords from Diatonic Scales Chords constructed on diatonic scales can be expressed using chord terminology & notation. Chords constructed on the MAJOR scale are: I ii iii IV V vi & vii°
Chords constructed on the Harmonic MINOR scale are: i ii° III iv V VI & vii°
Chords constructed on the Natural MINOR scale are: i ii° III iv v VI & VII Chords constructed on the ascending Melodic MINOR scale: i ii III+ IV V vi° & vii° This section on Chords from Diatonic Scales is an amended version of Vern's srcinal submission - G
Western Tonal Harmony Written by Vern Smith The student will be able to find exceptions to many of the statements that follow. This material, for clarity and brevity, presents the rules as though ironclad. We leave discussion of the exceptions for the student's later study of harmony in greater depth, e.g. a thick book and/or a four-semester college course. Words like "always" and "never" should be taken with a grain of salt.
Musical pieces have a harmonic center or home which is the note do and the tonic I chord. This is most strongly demonstrated at the end of every piece where the last note of the melody is always do and the last chord is always I. A piece can be t hought of as a journey that visits many chords on paths that are not entirely random and always (a heartwarming thought!) returns to the tonal
home. From any chord but I, the next chord lies among only two or three choices; and one of these will be much more likely than the others. The front gate of the return journey home is the dominant or V chord. In most pieces, the next-tolast chord is the V. Musicians call the V -> I return home an authentic cadence, the IV chord is a back gate used occasionally for the return home. Musicians call this the plagal or amen cadence The vii° rarely substitutes for or precedes the V.
The fact that the listener can often anticipate the next chord and can always anticipate the final chord of pieces not previously known seems to contribute to the enjoyment of the music. The melody is less predictable but still uses notes of the diatonic scale and underlying chords. From any given note, the next note of the melody is limited by the current chord to a very small number of choices. Melody-writing has its own set of restrictive rules for the use of non-chord notes.
Diatonic Triads Diatonic triads are 3-note chords that c onsist entirely of notes found on the diatonic scale. At one time, harmony was limited to diatonic triads. The chord progressions among diatonic triads can be shown on the following diagrams. The heavier lines show the paths to the more likely next chord.
Many simple melodies alternate between I and V chords. A huge number of songs use the I -> IV -> V -> I progression. Pieces with more complex harmonies use chords farther to the left on the diagram and find the way back home along the pathways indicated.
Secondary Dominants The V -> I progression is very powerful and very satisfying to the listener. The dominant V chord introduces, enhances, and emphasizes the I which follows. Composers have concluded that the V > I sequence is just too good a thing to be confined to the cadence at the end of the piece or major section thereof. They have found a way to use the same effect to lead into chords other than the I. For a short time before it occurs, the composers switch to the key of the root of the chord to be emphasized and write the V7 -> I sequence in that key, then immediately return to the key of the piece after the emphasized chord is played. They have added a minor-seventh note to the V chord that identifies it to the ear as a dominant and not an ordinary diatonic triad. Since there is a
temporary change of keys, the secondary dominant uses a chromatic note ... one not found on the diatonic scale in the key of the piece. The Secondary Dominant is called a five of ... chord, e.g. five of five or five of two. This is written V7/V or V7/ii etc. Still determined to get even more mileage out of the wonderful V7 -> I sequence, composers have strung several secondary dominants together. We can have sequences that look like: V7/ii -> V7/V -> V(7) -> I , one very often heard in popular music. Note that every chord is the dominant five 7 of the chord that follows it. If followed for 13 steps, the sequence leads back to the starting chord. This is known as the Circle of Fifths. In a real piece of music, one never finds a string of dominant sevenths more than 3 or 4 long. For example, in the key of C, one often finds D7 -> G7 -> C, or A7 -> D7 -> G7 -> C, and even rarely E7 -> A7 -> D7 -> G7 -> C. The sequence I -> V7/IV -> IV is often heard. Here, the I7 chord is the same as the V7/I V and is formed by adding a minor seventh note to the I chord. In the key of C, this is C -> C7 -> F. The C7 (C E G Bb) is formed by simply adding the Bb note to the tonic C chord. The above is intended to describe the chord structures and progressions most likely to be encountered by the beginning chromatic harmonica player. Those seeking information about tall chords (9th, 11th, 13th, etc.) or French, Italian and German augmented-six chords should look elsewhere.
Chord Progression Map by Steve Mugglin Written up by G
The following diagram is authored by Steve Mugglin author of the Music Writers Website
Click to Enlarge
Steve Mugglin has kindly taken a lot of time to write his progression maps out in all twelve major keys and are very quick and easy to use. However THIS generic version of the same progression map requires little more thinking due to the generic notation used so that it can be applied to any key, meaning you only need to keep the one progression map with you at any time. Using the Chord Progression Map The roman numeral notation used is I, II, III, IV, V, VI & VII which are the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th & 7th chords respectively of any chosen key to be applied to the map. Also by being in capital letters they indicate the chords are Major in nature (major 3rd from the root note). e.g. If one were to apply the chord progression map to key of C Major, then I is the 1st chord starting with root note C, V is the 5th chord starting with the root note G. When roman numerals are in lower case e.g. i, ii, iii, iv, v, vi & vii they remain 1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc chord of the chosen key, however the chords are minor in nature (minor 3rd from the root note). e.g. if Key of C Major is used with this map then ii means the 2nd chord starting with the note D. You treat the chart starting from any of the given coloured geometric shapes, think of them as pools of water that always flow down as if pools on a terraced hill, each pool is a chord in the progression as you make your way finally down to the resolve... I. As to how you choose to use this, a small progression could be built for the chorus, then another similar progression with a deviation could be done in a different key for the verses. And yet another for a bridge.... but really the doors are open, its only limited by your imagination. The map is a guideline, not a rulebook!
Thank you Steve Mugglin of the Music Writers Website
Circle of Fifths Written by G
A fifth is the fifth note in a diatonic scale. So for key of C major an ascending fifth is G. The decending fifth is F. To take this a step further, in key of G the ascending fifth is D, if you continue to work out each ascending fifth for each resulting key in this way you eventually end up back at C. This how the Circle of Fifths is worked out.
Working aroud the circle clockwise gives you ascending fifths. G oing anticlockwise gives you descending fifths, also known as ascending fourths. The Circle of Fifths is useful for:
Working out the sequence of key signature notes. This is acheived by starting in key of C with no sharps or flats on the score, the ascending fifth of C is G which has an F# signature, for key signatures with sharps F# is always the first one indicated, working clockwise around the circle you will find that each key has all the previous sharps plus one more. On the other hand by starting in key of C with no sharps or flats on the score, the descending fifth of C is F which has an Bb signature, for key signatures with flats Bb is always the first one indicated, working anticlockwise around the circle you will find that each key has all the previous flats plus one more.
Working out a relative minor scale from a major scale which simplifies remembering the accidentals in the scale, since relative Major & minor scales share the same accidentals. Simply ascend 3 fifths from the relative Major Scale, or use ascending fourths by going around the circle anticlockwise to work out the Major relative key to a Minor scale. eg. BbM = Gm, FM = Dm AND CM = Am, AM = F#m etc. It can be used to work out popular V7 chord progressions as discussed in the Secondary Dominants section of this page. For me personally it also helps to show the relationship between the chromatic scale and diatonic scales, and how diatonic scales relate to each other in a way that is complete and makes sense.
Modes, Chords and Jazz A (micro)primer on Jazz by G
Chromatic Harmonica is a popular choice of harp for Jazz. I HIGHLY recommend "Jazz Harp" by Richard Hunter which includes a lot of material on Jazz specifically for harmonica playing. When approaching Jazz, understanding & using modes become very important. Instead of playing a given chord one can (within limits) play within a given key in the relavant mode relating to the chord being played. The first thing to understand with why this makes sense can be drawn from everything else explained on this page and being very familar with your scales & basic music theory. Consider the following:
Ionian Maj or Maj 7
Dorian Min 6th (b7)
Phrygian Min 7th (b9)
Lydian Maj 7th (#4)
Mixolydian dominant 7th
Aeolian Min 7th (min 6)
Locrian half-diminished 7th
When you study at how chords are built up (ie. every second note along the scale being played from the root note) and compare to how each modal scale are constructed, there is an immediate relationship between the chords & where they appear on the scale. The V chord (starting on the fifth note of the scale) is exactly the same as a chord built up from the Mixolydian mode of the same scale. eg. Using C Major/Ionian scale, the V chord is G7(9,11,13) = G, B, D, F, (A, C, E) compare with G Myxolydian = G A B C D E F G or every second note: G, B, D, F, A, C, E
Review both Modes & C hords and try playing the appegio G dominant 7th, then play G Myxolydian mode scale, but play every second note of the scale starting on G. When the notes from tall chords that occur after the 7th, ie. the 9th, 11th & 13th notes, are brought down an octave and are renamed 2nd, 4th & 6th (subtract 7) suddenly you have an entire scale of notes to build chords up from. You can then appegiate or spread the notes you choose for the chord vertically and horizontally, ie. through the registers and over time. When you have grasped the concept that Jazz substitutes mode keys for chords, the following chart becomes a useful starting point for chords & scales based on the Major scale.
From the above chart combined with a chord progression you have the very basics for where to start when improvising in Jazz. Some Common Jazz Chord Progressions II - V - I
ii - IV - V - I iii - vi - ii - V V of V V of V by transposing down a fifth (or up a fourth) with each change. These are only some of the progressions commonly found in Jazz music. The relationship of the chords/modes is very dependant on which mode you start in. Eg. For the II - V - I progression you may start in Myxolydian mode for the II chord, this means the V chord is Ionian and the resolving I chord is Lydian mode. A very common way of playing these changes is start in Dorian mode, followed by Myxolydian resolving in Ionian mode. By using the Circle of Modes, or the above mode/chord chart you can assign chords to each mode starting with the chord & mode the progression begins with, and therefore find out what mode you use for each chord of the progression. Take care, if the modes are based on a different scale (eg. the blues scale), then every mode's structure will be based on that scale.
This is just a glimpse of Jazz Theory! There is a LOT more to Jazz than just sc ales, modes & progressions. Feel, timing, concepts, a developed sense of creativity & concept and familiarity are required. Please visit Music Theory III page in this site for further links on Jazz.
Blues on The Chrom Written by G A brief explanation of the Blues Scale structure.
For the sake of completeness I've included this last section. The blues scale is used in blues regularly. Diatonic short harmonica players can use this scale by playing in second position or third position using a number of bends to achieve the correct notes which in itself adds f eeling & a more bluesy quality to the music. It is derived from the pentatonic minor scale with an additional accidental. Where (-) is a semitone, (--) is a wholetone. It can be
mapped out thus: I---IIIb--IV-Vb-V---VIIb--I Note the use of triple semitone gaps.
For example E Blues Scale: E---G--A-Bb-B---D--E
Click on score to listen to the example.
Be aware that although this is the basic scale used, the rules here are made to be broken from time to time. The basic Blues structure for the majority of 12 bar blues goes like this: I
I
I
I
IV
IV
I
I
V
IV
I
V
Left to right, each cell represents a bar of the tune
The I, IV & V donate which chord is played during which bar. I is the tonic chord, IV is the chord starting on the fourth note, and V chord starts on the 5th note. There are variations on this, and other blues structures such as 8 bar blues & 16 bar blues. For the chromatic instrument there are two approaches I can recommend. The most common method associated with big name Blues Harmonica players is fairly quickly achieved by playing in "3rd Position" on a key of C chromatic, which would be used to play in key of D minor (Dorian mode). Start on draw 1 and progress up the scale to draw 5.
The most effective way of emulating this is with a 16 hole chromatic (usually Hohner Chromonica 64). Draw a fat chord on the bottom 4 holes, slide up the chromatic (keeping the 4 hole chord draw) to the top, then blow/draw/blow/draw chords back down to the bottom in time with the beat. You can then work into a jazzy blow/draw vamp or single notes in the middle registers. Also using octaves in this way is very effective. This method is also just as effective by keeping the button held in for the whole song, giving Eb minor (Dorian mode). When you are familiar with your chromatic harmonica, blues, the blues scales and blues licks & riffs: the other method is: Single note melodic style of blues.
The chromatic doesn't have the depth of raw feeling from the bent notes. But this does not limit someone from developing a great blues style and feel on the chromatic by any means. On the Chromatic harmonica: ALL NOTES ARE CLEAN. IE not bent, which you simply cannot find on any diatonic blues harp. And ALL NOTES CAN BE B ENT DOWN BY A SEMITONE, giving a different range of bluesy expression. With a clever use of amplification and plenty of practise you can get a very raw gutsy tone and feel. Check out the Harp On! Amplified page on Harp On! Harmonica Resources for ideas to find a rig to give the kind of tone you want. Blues Music Theory Tip: When improvising with the blues scale there a re a number of accidentals
that fall between the blues scale that can be used to harmonise with the tune. Blues is a bout disonance. If you find the dominant 7th note for each bar you are playing in, this gives an acceptable chromatic accidental that fits right in. Eg. If you are playing in G blues, on the G chords (tonic or on the I bar) you can play F as a "harmonising" blues note. With C chords (4th or on the IV bar) its Bb and you'll find for the V bar, with D chords the dominant 7th is C. You can use this is by playing appegios (broken chords) for each bar, playing the root or tonic note, the 3rd and the dominant 7th, and you can choose to leave out the 5th or tonic. If you wish to get fancy, after doing the appegio do a quick chromatic run from the 3rd up to the 5th or vice versa, this works particularly well in Boogie Woogie blues. Of course this is for early stages or when backing the soloist. When soloing or as your musicality extends you'll find popular riffs, you'll learn to play melodically over the changes, and take musical ideas from the other soloists and learn to run with them. I think playing blues with chromatic harmonica is a developing area. Brendan Power uses chromatic harmonicas for blues (and irish) as well as diatonic harmonicas. He uses half valved custom tuned chromatics to give a deeper range of note bends. There are MANY w ebsites on how to play blues, although not with the chromatic harmonica in mind. For further information on playing blues visit: The Diatonic Harmonica Reference BluesHarp.Org
BluesTime.It Harmonica Sessions Give it a go!
Other Scales There are countless scales in the world of music. One source to finding any particular scale is Modes & Scales and Scaleopedia website. The beauty of the chromatic harmonica is they are all available to you!
Music Theory III Website Links
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Rather than continue to write more music theory pages, there are excellent resources out on the internet. These are the pick of the bunch of what I have found for myself. T he rest is up to YOU.
Basic Music Theory Ricci Adam's MusicTheory.Net Professional Very easy to guide follow.for the utter beginner to the intermediate. Easy Music Theory Easy to understand music course for beginners MiBac Music Theory Useful beginner Music Theory
Introduction to Reading Music Step by step course for learning to read music score Dolmetsch Online Music theory online. (Java) Music Theory Tests & tutorials programs, online and in Java. Practical Music Theory Elementary music theory with tests, etc.
Sheet Music, References & MIDI Sheet Music Archive An excellent free source for classical music sheet music! Sheet Music Direct Free sheet music on offer as well as for sale. Sunhawk Sheet Music Source to purchase sheet music from. Free Classical Sheet Music Free Sheet Music Finder Classical Music Archives Huge Classical Music resource & reference Standard MIDI Files on the Net "The Most Complete & Best-Maintained" List of Sites with MIDI Files Clavier Many free downloadable MIDI files, useful in conjunction with music notation programs to obtain music score. MIDI Robot Internet MIDI search engine. Van Basco MIDI search Internet MIDI search engine. Melody Assistant FREE Music score & MIDI composition program, find your favourite music in MIDI and have it converted to music score in minutes. You can't get much better than this for the price. Javier's Harping! Harp Tab Program Very cool program includes key of C chromatic tab
Load your favourite song in MIDI, choose chromatic harmonica in C and have the track you want to play all tabbed out for you!
Jazz Theory Outsideshore Jazz Primer Jazz Primer for the beginner Jaz Class Online Jazz Course. Don't miss the Scale Charts Aebersold Jazz Theory Very good resources for Jazz. Jazz Resource Center Including chord & scale charts. Just Jazz Your center for learning Jazz. Theory On Tap Very simply laid out Jazz Theory lessons. Trying to find a song in amongst all your Real Book's ? Then use the Fake Book Index JustJazz Email Group online email community. Email this to join. Low level of emails, high content to static ratio!
Resources & Aids Song Writing Resources Many many links to useful creative resources. MIDI Ear Training Good MIDI ear training. Tests for scales, chords & intervals. Music Theory for Songwriters Full blown chord charts, chord progression maps, and theory on chord progressions and pratical applications. If you want to write your own music, bookmark this one. Music Theory Online a very comprehensive and extensive music theory journal. Society for Music Theory Extensive history of papers on music theory on all sorts of indepth topics. Scholtz on Temperament Formulas & History This has EVERYTHING you wanted to know about temperament mathematics. Hans Straub's Mamuth Maths & Music.
Music Notes Extensive Music site including theory, instruments, professions, links, etc. Prakash's Music Theory Page A well presented site on music theory. Includes Music History and brief guidelines on writing four part music. Music Intervals, Scales & Chords, Articles, Exercises & Online JAVA programs. Standing Stones Music Theory Corner Music Theory focused on modes & chords. Aural Comprehension Guide A guide on expressing music from the point of view of the voice.
Chromatic Harmonica Layouts
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Chromatic Harmonica Solo Tuning Layouts Some 12 hole harmonica brands are available in a range of keys: Lowest Tenor C, D, Eb, E, F, G, A, Bb, B, middle C Highest
The highest tuned stock chromatic harmonica is the regular C starting on middle C (similar range to a concerto flute), and the lowest stock chromatic harmonica is the Tenor C (a semitone lower in range than an Alto Eb Saxophone). Stock 16 hole Chromatic Harmonicas are only available in key of C starting on C below middle C, the same starting note as a Tenor C 12 hole chrom. Stock 14 hole Chromatic Harmonicas are only available in key of C starting on G below middle C, the same starting note as a key of G 12 hole chrom, but with the same layout as a C chromatic harmonica. In Western music theory there are only 12 chromatic notes in an octave, so there are four enharmonics which are not shown in these tables:
Fb which is the same note as E
E# which is the same note as F
Cb which is the same note as B
B# which is the same note as C
You can read more about music theory on this website.
Key of C and C Tenor Hole
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
Blow, Slide In
C#
F
G#
C#
C#
F
G#
C#
C#
F
G#
C#
Blow, Slide Out
C
E
G
C
C
E
G
C
C
E
G
C
Draw, Slide Out
D
F
A
B
D
F
A
B
D
F
A
B
Draw, Slide In
D#
F#
A#
C
D#
F#
A#
C
D#
F#
A#
D
Key of D Hole
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
Blow, Slide In
D#
G
A#
D#
D#
G
A#
D#
D#
G
A#
D#
Blow, Slide Out
D
F#
A
D
D
F#
A
D
D
F#
A
D
Draw, Slide Out
E
G
B
C#
E
G
B
C#
E
G
B
C#
Draw, Slide In
F
G#
C
D
F
G#
C
D
F
G#
C
E
Hole
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
Blow, Slide In
E
Ab
B
E
E
Ab
B
E
E
Ab
B
E
Blow, Slide Out
Eb
G
Bb
Eb
Eb
G
Bb
Eb
Eb
G
Bb
Eb
Draw, Slide Out
F
Ab
C
D
F
Ab
C
D
F
Ab
C
D
Draw, Slide In
Gb
A
Db
Eb
Gb
A
Db
Eb
Gb
A
Db
F
Key of Eb
Key of E
Hole
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
Blow, Slide In
F
A
C
F
F
A
C
F
F
A
C
F
Blow, Slide Out
E
G#
B
E
E
G#
B
E
E
G#
B
E
Draw, Slide Out
F#
A
C#
D#
F#
A
C#
D#
F#
A
C#
D#
Draw, Slide In
G
A#
D
E
G
A#
D
E
G
A#
D
F#
Key of F Hole
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
Blow, Slide In
Gb
Bb
Db
Gb
Gb
Bb
Db
Gb
Gb
Bb
Db
Gb
Blow, Slide Out
F
A
C
F
F
A
C
F
F
A
C
F
Draw, Slide Out
G
Bb
D
E
G
Bb
D
E
G
Bb
D
E
Draw, Slide In
Ab
B
Eb
F
Ab
B
Eb
F
Ab
B
Eb
G
Hole
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
Blow, Slide In
G#
C
D#
G#
G#
C
D#
G#
G#
C
D#
G#
Blow, Slide Out
G
B
D
G
G
B
D
G
G
B
D
G
Draw, Slide Out
A
C
E
F#
A
C
E
F#
A
C
E
F#
Draw, Slide In
A#
C#
F
G
A#
C#
F
G
A#
C#
F
A
Key of G
Key of A Hole
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
Blow, Slide In
A#
D
F
A#
A#
D
F
A#
A#
D
F
A#
Blow, Slide Out
A
C#
E
A
A
C#
E
A
A
C#
E
A
Draw, Slide Out
B
D
F#
G#
B
D
F#
G#
B
D
F#
G#
Draw, Slide In
C
D#
G
A
C
D#
G
A
C
D#
G
B
Hole
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
Blow, Slide In
B
Eb
Gb
B
B
Eb
Gb
B
B
Eb
Gb
B
Blow, Slide Out
Bb
D
F
Bb
Bb
D
F
Bb
Bb
D
F
Bb
Draw, Slide Out
C
Eb
G
A
C
Eb
G
A
C
Eb
G
A
Draw, Slide In
Db
E
Ab
Bb
Db
E
Ab
Bb
Db
E
Ab
C
Hole
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
Blow, Slide In
C
E
G
C
C
E
G
C
C
E
G
C
Blow, Slide Out
B
D#
F#
B
B
D#
F#
B
B
D#
F#
B
Draw, Slide Out
C#
E
G#
A#
C#
E
G#
A#
C#
E
G#
A#
Draw, Slide In
D
F
A
B
D
F
A
B
D
F
A
C#
Key of Bb
Key of B
The 16 hole Chromatic Harmonica A 16 hole Chromatic Harmonica in key of C major has the following note layout Hole
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10 11
12 13
14 15
16
Alternative
°1
°2
°3
°4
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
10
11
12
Blow, Slide In
C#
F
G# C# C#
F
G# C# C#
F
G# C# C#
F
G# C#
Blow, Slide Out
C
E
G
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Hole one blow is C below middle C, so the next set of C's are middle C. On some 16 hole harps the first octave holes are numbered 1 to 4 with dots above them, then the remaining holes are numbered 1 to 12. Other 16 hole chroms are numbered from 1 to 16. It depends on the make, model and production date.
The 14 hole C hromatic Harmonica A 14 hole Chromatic Harmonica in key of C major has the following note layout Hole
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Hole one blow is G below middle C, so the first set of C's are middle C. On some 14 hole harps the first two holes are not numbered at all, then the remaining holes are numbered 1 to 12. Other 14 hole chroms are numbered from 1 to 14. It depends on the make & model.
Chromatic Harmonica Scales
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On Key of C Solo Tuning Permission to republish this page kindly granted by Aqueduct This page shows the notes included in the major scales and how they are played on a solo layout 12 hole chromatic harmonica in key of C. The idea is to help visualise the different keys. Repeated or choice notes are shown so you may make your own choice from the alternatives shown. In all the diagrams, the upper two rows are the blow notes, and the lower two rows are the draw notes; the top and bottom rows are played with the slide pressed, as shown in the diagram for C Major. In all cases (for Ionian/Major) the tonic note is shown in red, the Third in green and the Fifth in blue. In Western music theory there are only 12 chromatic notes in an octave, so there are four enharmonics which are not shown in these tables:
Fb which is the same note as E
E# which is the same note as F
Cb which is the same note as B
B# which is the same note as C
You can read more about music theory on this website. I have also added all the other scales each layout represents, the tonic is the name of the scale. All references to minor scale are Natural Minor, for Harmonic minor raise the sixth (from minor tonic) a semi tone, for Melodic Minor raise both the sixth & seventh (from minor tonic) by a semitone when going up the scale
C Major, A minor No Sharps or Flats in Signature. A Natural Minor AKA Aeolian. B Locrian. C Ionian. D Dorian. E Phrygian. F Lydian. G Mixolydian. Blow, Slide In
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A Major, F#/Gb minor F#, C#, G#. Signature F# Natural Minor AKA Aeolian. G# Locrian. A Ionian. B Dorian. C# Phrygian. D Lydian. E Mixolydian. C#
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E Major, C#/Db minor F#, C#, G#, D#. Signature C# Natural Minor AKA Aeolian. D# Locrian. E Ionian. F# Dorian. G# Phrygian. A Lydian. B Mixolydian. C#
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Chromatic Harmonica Amplified
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Amplification for Chromatic Harmonica Suggestions for amplifying chromatic harmonica performance. Check out Harp On! Amplified Harmonica for more information on harmonica amplification.
Playing Amplified Before you spend money on gear spend half an hour just playing harmonica to yourself. Do you like what you hear? Do you enjoy the sound ? If the answer is no, then you need to work on your OWN tone, first. Microphones for Chromatic Harmonica
The Shure SM58 is highly recommended quality clean vocal mic, popular with singers and acoustic harmonica players. The Shure SM57 is an instrument wand mic, when cupped it adds more compression to your tone and has slightly more bass end response than the SM58. The Shure 545SD is shaped like the SM57, it has a slightly different tone to the SM57 but the same kind of compression when cupped tightly. The appeal of this versatile mic is it can be w ired to high impedance, and therefore a hot signal that can be used to drive a guitar effects and amps, in the same way popular bullet mics used by some harmonica players. The current model comes standard with an on/off switch. The Shure 55SH Series II gives a warm muted vintage tone of the 50's singer's genre but only intended to be mounted on a stand. There are many other good clean mics can all be setup for acoustic harmonica by mounting it on a microphone stand or held by the performer cupped with the instrument. You generally want a microphone with a good broad response across the spectrum. Most mics of this type can be plugged straight into any PA or mixing desk for live performance or recording. There are special direct input boxes and effects units designed for vocal mics which will accept these mics using XLR (3 pin) balanced connections. But
if you wish to use these into other effects units, guitar amplifier or amplifier emulators for different tones and effects t hen you'll need to get an impedance c onvertor from low impedance to high impedance. Varying the way you project your music t o a microphone mounted on a s tand and the distance that you play from the microphone can give additional effects in additional to normal acoustic techniques, such as fade in and fade out by moving towards or away from the mic, etc.
With some adjustment on the sound system you play with a compressed cup around the microphone and back of the chromatic giving a deeper fuller tone. You may also change your tonal colouring when the holding the mic by moving it or changing the way you cup it or hold it in relation to the instrument.
There are some small harmonica microphones which are easy to play with c hromatic harmonica enabling freer hand movement for tone control requiring less adjustment from playing acoustically to playing with a mic.
Such as: o
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Shaker MadCat has a smooth tone, easy to hold, simply plug into an a mp or PA and play. Microvox Harmonica Microphone System AKA The Silk Mic now handed over to Mr Microphone, slips between your fingers, the t ough belt unit gives volume control. The unit accepts up to two microphones allowing for even more range of expression by holding one in each hand.
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The Harmonica Honker is fitted to a soft ring worn around your finger, f rom clean playing to grunty blues tones the belt unit gives this little mic plenty of drive and volume control.
By using a small mic like these there is less a djustment & relearning required especially with chromatic harmonicas. All these mics can be used for a clean sound adding a bit of warmth to your tone.
Some professional harmonica players use miniature lavalier microphones that are discreatly clipped to the lapel, like the Shure SM11 with a bassier focus and less high end response or the more expensive Shure SM93 with broader response range although less response at the bass end, otherwise giving a clear clean reproduction. This frees the performer's hands as well as giving freedom to move around the stage.
You will have to accomadate for the fact the mic is not at the business end of the harmonica and may also pickup unwanted noise f rom playing movements. They are very unintrusive for stage presentation & performance.
Clean Amplification at Performance And Acoustics
When playing into a PA you want to have the treble reduced and the bass increased. Its important that you can hear yourself playing clearly so ensure you get a stage monitor or can hear yourself from the main PA speakers adequately.
The LOUDER the you go, the L ESS Bass & LESS Treble you need, or rather: the discrepancy required in Treble & B ass comapared to Mid-range reduces the louder you go. This is a critical point that often gets missed by those who aren't aware and then they wonder why what sounded great at low levels sounds flat or tinny or woofy when amplified. With t he EQ you want to s tart at low volume with an almost inverted Bell Curve and work up towards a flat line for 100db plus keeping the top treble down a bit... not that I'd recommend going over 85db anyway. An excellent & powerful PA is a must. The more Watts the better, not because it can get very loud, but because its more ef fective at obtaining the levels you want effortlessly, you don't have to fight with loading levels on s o on since you are playing a solo instrument through a system that is designed for less harmonics at any one time. A powerful system easily overcomes this. Good powerful Quality Speakers also count as we're talking Hi-Fi fidelity & PA's here the rules are different to using tube amplifiers. For adding a little body to your playing reverb, delay & echo in moderation are your friends. The key word is MODERATION. For harmonica I find that even with chromatic harmonica playing clean, the lightest touch of echo with a moderate mix in helps create a bigger sound. You can add a lot of warmth to your tone without losing clarity by playing through a good all-tube type A amplifier such as the Fender Bassman RI, Fender Blues Junior, Fender Super 60 or Fender Champ. Ensure that the amplifier isn't driven too hard causing distortion, use a clean microphone like the SM58 with an impedance convertor, if you use a low impedance microphone directly into an amplifier you will get a weak tone. If you are playing at a moderate to
large venue then have a clean microphone placed in front of the a mplifier fed into the PA, although in a small venue the amplifier may be enough.
More speakers the better. I've been stung by this too many times. I have used a single speaker amplifying my playing, I'm on a stage with the audience spread 180degrees around me, the band is all mic'd up to the PA ... what happens ? People directly in front get to enjoy what I 'm playing, but the people to the left and right have a hard time hearing me.
If you don't have proper reproduction around the venue your playing could come across muted, muffled & deadened so make sure your mic gets a good spread with at least two PA speakers on high stands with good exposure to all the audience. It pays to do a sound check with and without your accompaniment well before the performance to avoid problems.
Studio Recording
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RECORDING 101 By Tony Sheppard The idea for this overview came from an email I sent to alt.music.harmonica a while back. In it I made reference to several things one encounters in a recording studio, some of which may be a bit of a surprise if this is your first-ever session. I was asked to elaborate a little on that, and talk a little further about what you might expect w hen taking your harp into a 'real' studio. I have no hold on all that's true about recording, but I've done a lot of it, and here are a few things I've found. I also make no bones about this being a definitive treatise on recording. It's not even technical! Still, I hope you find these observations helpful, remembering they aren't carved in stone. Your Mileage WILL Vary, I'm sure!
First Recording Sessions First recording sessions, in my view, should never count. The trauma of what comes out of those speakers the first time one hears it is probably worse than the trauma of being born! No lie -- you and I had no idea what sound was like before the first playback, and probably everyone wants to just die on the spot! Unfortunately, it's like a rite of passage; you just gotta go thru it. The first and most obvious thing you are going to hear is your part... you know, the one that never sounds any good. Suddenly you're embarrassed, ashamed of yourself, terrified in case the rest of the group thinks you're as awful as what you've just heard..... Well, forget it! Everyone's going through the same trauma that you are! Besides, this is one of those cases where the only way out is up, it's really going to make your playing better in the long
run. Trying to save face is for amateurs.
The Studio Setup Let's look at a really important reality: A studio set-up. It typically places everyone in a very unfamiliar configuration. It's nothing like the setup for a gig. The drummer is often ensconced in a separate booth, sometimes in a completely different room. My drummer did a session last year, in a studio built out of an old house. He was in a room at the rear of the ground level, while everyone else was on the 2nd storey - no lie!
This may also be true of the lead singer if you have one. You may not even be able to s ee these people, much less stand next to one another, as you do on a normal bandstand. This means that often the only way to hear everything is through headphones, commonly called 'cans.' Often your only means of communication are the mikes in front of you, and everything you say, sing, play and hear will be routed through the console in the control room. So, you're at a tremendous disadvantage right off! Nothing sounds 'normal'. As a result, the first thing to remember is to sin peak, or play normally to overcompensate. he to overwhelming tendency yoursing frightened brain is towithout do whattrying w ill restore what you are Tused hearing. Consequently, everyone shouts at each other a nd overplays. Don't be guilty of this; it's a sure sign you're an amateur.
The Engineer While it's on my mind, another thing that's sure to give you away is when you start trying to 'fix' things. Resist the temptation at all costs! Do not touch a microphone, a speaker or anything else without first discussing it w ith the engineer! Why? Because, that's why he/she is the engineer! When you have a question, or need to know about equipment, placement, or anything else: quietly say the engineer's name into y our mike, and when you're acknowledged, take it from there in a soft, normal voice. Don't be embarrassed to talk with your engineer. Ask a lot of questions about how he/she will record and mix this project. Often, it will give you a clue as to how to play it better up front. If the engineer feels you are trying to work with him/her (instead of just being another hot-dog b.s. pain-in-the-butt artist-wannabe), most pro engineers will really give you a lot of help.
Soundboard Guy The guy at the board is your best friend; use him wisely and well. You will also find, in this way, that you can quickly gain a better sense of the recording process. This is bound to help you record better on this and every ensuing project. If you're fortunate enough to have a real pro behind the board, you're going to be completely amazed at what that person can do with sound. Eat it all up! It's worth it's weight in gold... or royalties!
Overcoming THE Fear Remember that it takes a few sessions to overcome the fear of "THIS IS FOR ETERNITY!" Relax, one slip of the engineer's thumb (and it *does* happen now and then), and eternity gets lost for good! The point? There is *nothing* that's been done that cannot be done over. The problem for most beginners is every penny we can scratch together goes f or the initial session, and we're bucking the clock every step of the way. No time for a lot of flubs at those rates! One way to overcome this difficulty is to perhaps delay the session until you are sure you can afford all the time you'll really need. T hat means mixing time too, not j ust the srcinal recording time. When you plan your budget for the project it's a good idea to add say 33% more to the studio time. If you t hink you can record the whole deal in six hours then BOOK TWO HOURS MORE! Some studios will try and get you to book a lot of time because they make money on it,so you have to be aware. But add in some safety time for yourself! In mixing you may not have as much over-run if you aren't having to finish the srcinal recording at warp speed! Here is another area your engineer will help. A pro can help you save a few bucks on mixing time if the srcinal tracks are decent enough to begin with. One other point here: If you do your recording in a place that leaves you with decent tracks but a
bad your mouth,does takeayour and go somewhere elsethat for the mix!stuck There's that taste says ifinan engineer goodraw job,stuff but isn't nice to work with, you're withno law him/her for the duration. It's even more reason to conduct yourself well tho' when you think about it. This is not easy. Nailing the parts you have to play or the sound you think you need to get is tough work. The experience should give you a bit of enhanced respect for the professional studio session players who walk in cold, play a ny kind of fly-spots-on-paper they're given, do it masterfully and get it right all within the allotted hour or two.
I spoke above about the "reality shock" that happens when you first hear yourself in a studio. While it's a reality that everyone has to experience, there are a few things to bear in mind that will minimize the trauma: I can tell you w ithout any fear of recrimination I a m always going to be hypercritical of my own parts, and so will you. Well, it's perfectly natural to be so. So calm down. This is good and bad, of course. It's really good to be "on top of" your playing; if you aren't concerned enough to care, you shouldn't be doing this a t all! This is where its bad however, because this is where you buy into the ' committee' that resides between your ears and tells you that you're a horse's arse for ever thinking you could be a musician. Shutting up that 'committee' is your job; I just keep playing in spite of mine and I think it's the best I can do. One of the effects of this over time is after the first fifty sessions or so you do, you will start to develop a real sense of humour about your playing. I think most every musician I've ever known can and does benefit greatly from this!
The Advantages There is more good, too! On a practical session level the other good news is if your playing is really 'sloppy' or 'messy' as you hear it, there's no better way to expose your poor or sloppy habits, and find out where you need time in practice. Obviously this should happen before you do any recording, but since there is no upper limit to our individual growth, one hopes to keep hearing, learning and correcting for a lifetime. T hat begins now. If your studio is a ny kind of real studio at all, you are probably hearing playbacks on highly critical equipment. It's giving you a pretty exact rendering of what you put in. Pay close attention as this is not the same thing as being hypercritical of yourself. This is so that you can find the things that definitely do need correcting, and figure out how you will do better on the next take. If you are on a separate and isolated track, you might be able to ' dust up' those lines a little, and 'punch in' some things to clean up the whole. If not, then the only way will be for the whole group to re-do the tune in another take.
Constructive & Destructive Critism
NOTE: The one thing you must not do at this point is give any thought to how you sound to anyone else! One of the main differences between a pro and a wannabe is the pro will always be focusing on his/her own part, and how to play it best each time no matter what else is going on! This is actually crucial, regardless of anyone else's thoughts, words or actions, you be the pro! Just pay attention to what you need to do. That means the next note, song or take in front of you right now is the only important thing! You will be so much happier with yourself at the end of the session, it'll be worth everything! Also while it should seem obvious, I'm gonna say it anyway: If you hear something really good that someone else plays, tell them so; otherwise say nothing. Never criticize anyone else's work in a session! You will very rarely get opinions or critiques from the engineer, so don't look for them. The only thing engineers will routinely do is answer specific questions about the right way to get the best result. That is their job, not to blow smoke up your butt. Why such emphasis on this point? Well, if it's not obvious, think of it this way: The simple truth is when you're running scared your playing will reflect that a lot. It simply won't cut it and it's not the way you want to come across anyway. In addition if it's your own band with whom you're recording, you have two c hoices: watch the clock tick as everyone concentrates on blaming each other because the playback sounds awful OR play it like a pro, skip the blame game and get the session done right! It's your call... Once you've broken the ice it's never quite the same. The next time you walk into a studio you're sure to have a much better idea of what to expect and your confidence level will reflect you are no longer a 'beginner' at the recording game. Naturally the more session work you do the more comfortable it becomes. It gets to be a lot of f un!
Last Tips Just a couple of general tips to summarize and I'm done: First: get in the habit of recording your playing often at home, so you can find out how what you think you're doing really sounds. The runs or licks you think will sound one way in your head, but may be very different to another set of ears. You'll also get more familiar with your overall sound c oming *at* you, rather than *from* you. You know how the way you think you speak and sing is always a little different than the actuality? You need this familiarity so even t hough the studio is (sometimes) more critical, the differential in the sound will not be so enormous. Second: remember as in most things recording music is not like doing CPR; if you don't get it perfect (or even right)... no one's gonna die.
Third: allow for the diff erence in the studio-vs-live setup. Resist the tendency to overplay and overblow to compensate. In fact studio work is a terrific place to apply the 'less is more' principle to your playing. You can be very tasty by letting a little go a long way.... Fourth: in vocal groups and choral work the rule of thumb is that if you cannot hear all the other voices, you are singing too loud. Try to adapt this idea for your band. In a studio this can be a little tricky because of the headsets, but you can do it. The idea is that you will *all* get a better blend of the various parts and instruments by doing this. Someone has to suggest it and be willing to make a beginning. Might as well be you. Recording is different than playing in almost any other context. At the same time it can be the most exciting. If I can offer one really off-the-wall suggestion, don't ever lose your "Gee Whiz!" factor completely. Some guys are so used to session work they become jaded. I think some of the neatest sessions I've ever played have been ones in which the musicians were surprised by a "pure" moment; that is when something came together in a way bigger than the sum of the parts. For me it's fun to still get excited at one of these things. Being able to listen to a finished product I had a part in and marvel at the sound of music. And to actually think "Gee Whiz!" to myself is one of the neatest things I know about being a musician in the first place! May all your sessions go Platinum!! Sadly Tony is no longer with us, he was a warm & friendly chap, his contribution here is appreciated.
Creative Stuff
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Stories, Jokes, Real Life Humour & Interests Time For Some Fun ! True life stories, jokes, f unny emails, creative writing or anything about harmonica.
On this page: Harp Vs Guitar
RE:Meanest Rig
Proof
More Jokes
Micropore Tests
Intelligent?
Healthy Harps
Harmonica Hell
Getting There
A Poem "Blue Kiss"
The Lost Harp
How to Sing the Blues
Dogs Howl @ Harps
TB Warning
Harp Vs Guitar Written by G. This piece was inspired by a discussion on Harp-L of whether the harmonica was a good instrument to pick up and learn, and it was being compared to the guitar at some stage.
Act I, Setting the Scene A lonely wind blew down the dusty way, blowing a lone tumble weed along its road to who knew where. The wind, it whistled and sung a tuneless song to no-one in particular, in a remote and hushed town. ---oOo--Act II, character introduction But wait ! In the very distance a tempo can be made out, the sound of chordal tongue slaps.... OUR HERO Harp struting confidently from corner to corner - his ten holes proud and clean from smegma, his chrom covers shiney and new glinting in the high noon sun. His reeds s inging true to ev'ry blow & draw. Who could challenge such a musical soul, w ho would dare to call a showdown ? Who would want to cut down such a fine young instrument near its prime .....? All of a s udden as if from no-where, t he strum of ill tuned strings rings horrid through the a ir. The Arch Nemisis Guitar jumps in f ront of our hero blocking Harp's way with its formidable bulk, dark & intimidating. ---oOo--Act III, The Showdown Harp involuntarily chokes on a reed, but spits out a 3-6 octave in disgust. Guitar stares down twanging chords resounding in his fat belly. So a show down it is! T'was Harp Vs Guitar Naught stirred but the distant tumbleweed, even the wind seemed to die down in astonishment at this turn of events ... the madness and what it meant. Harp's thoughts raced, to compare oneself against such a long standing instrument, a f ormidable foe, how would he compare ? He lost in the popularity stakes, every man and his dog had a guitar. In size he was but insignificant, ten of him would fit in the belly of such a beast !
What of the unquantifiable qualities, how would they compare ? The tone, the chords, expression and soul ? But his thoughts were shattered as a G string snapped and stung him on the comb ! Guitar had drawn first blood and the fight was on. Harp could do little but duck and weave as Guitar flailed at him with his six strings. His situation was growing grim. For some time this went on, Guitar would strike and Harp would duck. He could only hope that his giant foe would tire, but his covers were marred, his shiney finish spoiled by savage scratches. "Enough!" thought Harp. He blew a long s ustained overblow (hole 1 if you must know) so true and proud! And one by one, in different keys came the replies from his buddies. Until a full dozen rang out loud - a full chromatic scale solid and ruddy. Guitar halted in his tracks, sure this was not fair. But as a chromatic stringed instrument he was on his own, and against 12 diatonic harmonicas the tables were turned. The scene was heroic, worthy of legends, as harp after harp threw himself at the beast. Bruising the wood, denting its finish, tangling his strings, until his neck was broken and his bridge a mess. Guitar lay strewn on the dirt street, as a lesson to future instruments that the harmonica can't be beat! Back to Creative Contents
The Proof is in the Pudding! A soldier stationed in the South Pacific wrote to his wife in the States to please send him a harmonica to occupy his free time and keep his mind off of the local women. The wife complied and sent the best one she could find, along with several dozen lesson& music books. Rotated back home, he rushed to their home and through the front door. "Oh darling" he gushed, "Come here... let me look at you... let me hold you ! Let's have a fine dinner out, then make love all night. I've missed your lovin' so much !" The wife, keeping her distance, s aid, "All in good time lover. First, let's hear you play that harmonica." Back to Creative Contents
MicroPore Tests Show... 3M Micropore medical tape has proven very useful in improving airtightness in harmonicas (esp. diatonic short harps). An innocent enough question:
Hi all, Just curious. Does anyone know how safe Micropore really is when used as a gasketing material? In response Barry B Bean in his infinite wisdom wrote:
I understand that when lab rats were forced to play harmonicas sealed with Micropore for 21 hours per day that they developed severe chronic gas pain, became huge Kenny G fans, and could only be sexually aroused with teh use of mechanical aids. On top of that, the began to show male pattern hair loss and gained weight. But the bright side is that they were able to overblow after an average of just 100 hours of concentrated practice BBB To which Doug Steding couldn't resist adding:
This is an interesting phenomenon; if the rats only played for 20 hours they developed all the above symptoms but couldn't even bend, not to mention overblows. So, be sure to get that 21 hours in-I'm starting tonight, in five days it'll be overblow city, and umm, well, I'll deal with the other side effects later. Remember, the dose defines the poison. Doug And Samuel J Gravina mused:
Amazing, I didn't know that there was a strain of rat's that congenital Kenny G fans. And pushed on its downward degenerate spiral by Jerry Kitich with:
Did they say which mechanical aids? Soprano saxes? Salad tongs? Hitting rock bottom when Kevin R. Larkin tossed in:
Damn, Barry, those are pretty much the same symptoms my wife developed listening to me play...and I don't play for anywhere near 21 hours a day! KL Footnote: 3M Micropore medical tape is regularly used in hospitals in many applications.
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Take Two Harps & See Me In The Morning Copyright 1999 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. © 1999 Cable News Network. All Rights Reserved. Terms under which this service is provided to you. myCNN.com is built on technology.
Lung patients use harmonicas to improve health Dot Horn, a member of Deborah Heart and Lung Hospital's Better Breathers Club, breaks out laughing as she plays with her new harmonica as part of a breathing exercise at the Browns Mills, New Jersey, hospital. December 2, 1999 Web posted at: 10:07 a.m. EST (1507 GMT) In this story: Group offers emotional, educational support The sweet sound of therapy RELATED STORIES BROWNS MILLS, New Jersey (AP) -- When members of the Better Breathers Club blow on harmonicas, it is more than just music to their ears -- it is therapy for their disease-weakened lungs. The lung patients at Deborah Heart and Lung Center are learning how t o use the tiny wind instruments to perform breathing exercises while playing notes. It is the first time that Deborah has tried musical therapy to help patients strengthen their lungs. "This is wonderful," Dot Horn, 75, said after her first lesson last week. "I think music adds to anything. It's a nice way to live life." About 22 patients -- all members of the Better Breathers Club -- gathered recently for their bimonthly meeting at Deborah, located on a s prawling 55-acre campus in the Pinelands near Fort Dix. They suffer from ailments ranging from lung disease to emphysema and asthma. Group offers emotional, educational support The group, formed 6 1/2 years ago at Deborah, provides emotional and educational support to patients and their families. There are hundreds of Better Breathers Clubs around the country. "It's easy to get a conversation going because you basically have the same problems," said Larry Sabatini, 65. After an hour long closed-door meeting to discuss personal health issues with lung disease specialists and each other, the group a ssembled in an auditorium for their first harmonica lesson. "This is going to be the Deborah Harmonic Band," joked Joe Koszyk, a nurse counselor at Deborah. "We're going to be featured with the Mummers," referring to the famous string bands from Philadelphia. The sweet sound of therapy A Hicksville, New York, businessman donated 36 harmonicas to the group, and Koszyk, who coincidentally already knew how to play the instrument, gave instructions. Before they began, the
group first practiced breathing exercises to strengthen their diaphragms and help get more oxygen into their lungs. The harmonica is excellent therapy because the inhaling and exhaling required to sound music are the same breathing exercises respiratory therapists teach patients to use when they are short of breath, said Nell Kapeghian, a nurse who oversees the Better Breathers Club. "It's something you can take w ith you everywhere. It's great," Kapeghian said. The patients -- many carrying oxygen tanks or inhalers -- were eager to try out their new equipment in their battle against diseases that often make breathing difficult. Their goal is to increase lung capacity by strengthening the lungs, diaphragm and respiratory muscles between the ribs. "You look like you're eight years old and you got a new toy," said Linda Ferguson, a pulmonary technician. "It just kind of makes you feel like a kid again." Koszyk instructed the group on how to carefully breathe into the tiny holes on the harmonica. They also practiced inhaling, or drawing air into the harmonica, to make different sounds. A few occasionally paused to cough up phlegm. "If you're having a problem just relax; don't force it. Let go," Koszyk cautioned. "In time, it'll be much easier." The mood was upbeat in the auditorium. Some patients were almost giddy -- overcome with fits of laughter at their initially awkward attempts to ma ke melodious sounds. "I loved it," said Angie Philbin, 63. "I felt a little high. I felt really good." After a few exercises learning the musical scale, the group was ready to move on and try their hands at a song. Koszyk used an overhead projector to display the notes for "Michael Row Your Boat Ashore" and the group was harmonizing in minutes. "Sounds good," praised Koszyk. The patients took the harmonicas home with them with instructions to practice. They want to come back for more lessons, although Deborah officials had only planned a solo performance. "I feel better. I really do," Helen Wills said. "I think maybe t he breathing in and out helped." Sabatini said he plans to learn how to play the harmonica with his wife, Dot, 60, who accompanied him to the meeting at Deborah. "We can do a duet," he said. "Then when I get good I can do a solo. I like the sound of it." Deborah, founded in 1922 as a tuberculosis sanitarium, today specializes in diagnosing and treating heart, lung and vascular diseases in a dults, and acquired and congenital heart conditions in infants and children.
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Getting There... This was posted during a long standing debate about the overblow or overbends a contraversial technique to make more notes available on Diatonic Harps.
From: Turbodog To:
[email protected] Sent: December 11, 1999 07:35 Subject: Getting There This is a comment to Paul Messenger a post relating to Howard Levy's obsession to explore all the various harmonica "issues." Paul conveyed Howard's sentiment that he's not "there" yet. And this reminded me of a story, call it folkore, of the late great Pablo Casals. As the legend goes, Pablo was well into his eighties and was c ontinuing to practice 6 hours a day on his cello. A young player stopped t o ask, "Mr Casals, you are already the world's greatest cello player, why do you continue to practice so hard? Why not take it easy in your old age?" To which Pable replied, "But I think I'm making progress!" Now I'm sure my memory of this is a bit distorted, so please forgive me if I messed up the details of the story. But the sentiment is preserved. Its truly awe inspiring to be reminded by these great's that their accomplishment is not just luck of the cards, but is comprised of intense passion for their instrument, and persisting hard work. (I've got to remember this next time I get the urge to give up on those blasted overdraws.) TD Turbo Dog has contributed great innovations to the harmonica world. Check it out. Back to Creative Contents
THE LOST HARP Jack Ely reflects on when harpists usually got their first axe...
A Harmonica Satire... Reprint - from December 1992 Harmonica Dispatch and Harp-L December 1993, 94, 95. Returning to Harp-l in 1999 after a few years absence with the hope that some new readers may enjoy this. Those who have read it before... Suffer again! J Solution to a childhood mystery? (Hmmm..... maybe) DO YOU REMEMBER YOUR FIRST HARMONICA? Most of us admit to getting our first harmonica around the age of 6 or 7, maybe a little older. But think back; way back. Was there a harmonica in your life even at an earlier age? A friend and I were musing this possibility the other day and we think we figured out w hat really happened.
How many of you, in your teen years say 15 - 18, found a harmonica in an old dress er drawer or some other obscure storage place like an attic chest or cupboard? You either didn't remember where it came from or maybe vaguely remember having one of thes e way back when you were just a toddler 3 or 4 years of age. You probably didn't think much of it and proceeded to actually learn to play t he instrument, even adding more harmonicas to your collection - a habit that continues to this day for most of us. Well, we theorize that every child in the w orld received their first harmonica by the age of four, no later. And here is what REALLY happened. It didn't take us long to put the thing in our mouths (as we did everything we got our hands on then) and accidentally discover that it made noise (no sounds, by gosh, it's music) when w e breathed through it. More experimenting revealed the capability of producing sound when we breathed in or out through this fascinating new (excuse the term) toy; and that the volume increased in magnitude the more holes we got our mouth around. Now you remember don't you? - Blow, Draw, Blow, Draw, Blow, Draw, Blow - you never had to come up for air, this was wonderful! You c ouldn't do this with dad's fluegelhorn! Wow man - Draw, Blow, Draw, Blow, Draw - Honk, Squawk, Screech, Rack, Sploot, Rasp! - Music to my ears! Ecstasy! Music? Well, not to adult ears. No, nope, not! That first harmonica very soon mysteriously disappeared. The average life cycle being, I would guess, less than 24 hours. Search as we might, we could not find that wonderful gift we had found in our Christmas stocking early that morning. "Mom, Dad, have you seen my harmonica?" "Why no dear, we can't imagine what could have happened to it." - Years later, when long forgotten, the little instrument re-surfaced and the joy of the harmonica, which would last a lifetime, was discovered anew. H AP PY H AR MO NI CA from: Jack Ely The Buckeye State Harmonica Club Back to Creative Contents
Ever Wondered Why Dogs Howl at Harmonicas ? Q. Why does my dog howl and moan at the sound of a harmonica? J.T., Walpole A. Time to take those harmonica lessons you've been putting off, J.T. Actually, it has nothing to do with how well or poorly the harmonica is being played. Dogs don't howl, as some think, because a sound is hurting their ears. Those howls are the ancient cry of the wolf still embedded in your dog's genes. Dr. Nicholas Dodman, director of the Animal Behavior Clinic at the Tufts Veterinary School, explains that dogs howl in response to sounds that trigger vestigial biological responses that were
part of their ancestors 10,000 to 12,000 years ago, when most scientists think our human ancestors tamed wild animals into the dogs we know today. Back then, the wild canid predecessors of today's dogs probably used howling "like smoke signals, a kind of long-distance relay to carry messages farther than just one voice could,'' Dodman says. `` The message probably wasn't very complicated. It was likely, `I'm here. Pass it along.' Or something simple like that." Then, our human ancestors bred our dogs' ancestors to do the things humans wanted them to do, like protect them and their livestock, and stop doing things they didn't want them to do, like eating humans. Barking around the campfire for protection at night when something stirred in the darkness was a good trait. Howling all night keeping the humans awake, and calling in their human-eating relatives, was not. So those traits w ere bred out as w olves were domesticated. The breeds that still howl the mos t, like the Siberian husky and the American Eskimo, weren't bred as much to become docile, quiet domestic pets, but rather to keep some of their useful wild animal traits. Domesticating dogs also bred a lot of the intelligence out of them. Juvenile wolves are playful and friendly but not nearly as smart as the adults. An adult wolf, on the other hand, is a veritable animal Ph.D. compared to most dogs. But we bred dogs to be like juvenile wolves: safer to be around but not as smart. But though we bred most of the howling out of them, we didn't eliminate it entirely. So when dogs hear a sound that triggers that ages-old response, they howl back, ``I'm here.'' Lots of sounds set them off, including a harmonica, another dog's howl, or even a human howling at the dog. Dodman says you can take a pretty accurate census of the dog population in his hometown when the fire department siren goes off. Back to Creative Contents
Meanest Rig Courtesy of the alt.music.harmonica newsgroup. 'Re:Meanest Cheap Mic/Amp Combo' B.B. Bean wrote in message
Man, I once knew a harp mic and amp combo so mean they'd kick your ass just for lookin' at 'em. They used to steal food from little old ladies and make babies cry just for grins. B.B. Bean - Have horn, will travel
[email protected] From G
Hell Barry, Dat aint mean! *Spatooey!* Now! DI'S iz MEAN .... I once knew a harp mic an' amp combo so mean it'd kick your ass to next week, jus' fer fun. I once knew a rig so tough it'd tear pool tables in 'alf wid its bare cabs, I once knew an amp so cruel dat it'd make hardened harley bikers cry buckets juz by starin' 'em in the eye, I once knew a mic so rough dat it'd strip paint off dem w alls with a single riff,
I once knew a harp with da devil's own bluez howlin' out sewz dat we 'ad ta draw dem pentagrams around da bar stools jus' so we's weren't dragged down to da 7th plane ov hell by de river Styx only t'be torchured fer all eternity by Bealzebub's minions, demonz an' all ! Man! Now DAT iz wat I'z calls a MEEEEAAAAAN rig! Top DAT, sucker! :-) Harpin' in Wellington, New Zealand G http://www.angelfire.com/music/HarpOn thats.... AngelFire baby! All da way from my mouth organ! :) BluesDogg sayz
LOL yaw have got the meanest baaaads rigs out there. You don't even have to go to a bar to get your ass kicked with rigs like that you can stay at home and get a azz kicking :) So G say
Heck! I gotta keep that sukka in da basement BEHIND bars to stay safe in me own home! :)) G Barry Bean juz cum rite out an' say
Shoot - they wrote a song about my amp/mic combo: You see my amp comin, you'd better step aside Cause a wimpy solid state is about to get fried! AND THEN... CafeMojo show'd us who da boss!
I once heard tell of a harp mic / amp rig so tremolus and ferocifyin' that the last cat that turned the master volume up to 3, ...ain't nuthin' left of him but his fingerprints on the knob. One time another cat attempted to play a Toots Thielman riff on it, ...rig fried him on the spot, ...wasn't nuthin' left on the stage but a small greasy spot and a faint whiff of burnin' hair. They say da Rig lived down in Nawlins just off Rampart St., ...in a roomin' house owned by the seventh great granddaughter of Marie Lavou. The rig's cab sides was made out of carved High John de Conker root and the knobs wuz made o' polished black cat bone the color of wombat teeth. T he sides were covered in a purple lookin' type o' hide dey said wuz the dried scrotums of 13 hell hounds. Had a handle on top made out of a petrified wolverine pecker and a cobra-skin powercord. They say da rig w ouldn't ever let nobody ever play it cept dis one cat named Lou Cypher dat everybody called Ol' Scratch. But not da kinda s cratchin day talk abou today, dis w as way way back afo' all dat hipityhoppin stuff nowadays. ...say when ol' Louie fired that rig up and began to play the blues that the tubes inside the thing started ta glow like they was da firey bowels of the
devil's own bunghole and that it had a tone so wicked bad that 3 major religions considered just hearing it a excommunicable sin so greivous that the only other rig of it's kind known ta exist is believed to be kept in a special vault buried under the Vatican. Other folk say it made a tone so sweet it'd make evah crack ho on Bourbon St put down dey pipe and go ta Church 24-7. There have been rumors of other sightings of the rig over the years, some folks say it was seen once at a Johnny Sansone show down in the Quarter, somebody else said it was seen another time when Jerry Portnoy played at Tipitina's. Yet others swear it was onstage the last time the late Nat Riddles played Dan Lynch's Blues Bar in NYC before he passed. Others testify that it was seen a t Muddy Water's funeral and still others say it can often be found at midnight on full moon's in the backseat of a long black Cadillac parked at the crossroads of Hwy 61 & Hwy 49 just outside of Clarksdale, MS. There's an old blues dude dat lives down in Clarksdale, named Wade Walton, runs a jookjoint barbershop,...he told me one time that ..."you look around all you want but you don't find dat rig boy...if it meant ta be, dat rig FINDS YOU!" Then ol' Wade looked at me real serious and said, "You ever come up on dat rig...it one thing ta look at it, or even touch da knobs, ...but you pick up yo harp...you gotta ask yoseff ...is you man enuff ta put cho mouth on it? HA-Ha-HA-Ha-HAHAHAHAHA!!!!!" You blow da blues on dat rig boy, you be mo dan sellin' yo soul...you gon be blowin' on da Devil's Own Harp Rig!!! You better hope he don ketcha!!!! HAHAHA! ********************** And this concludes tonights scary campfire story here at CafeMojo Blues SummerCamp! Now everybody get some sleep now, we're getting up early tomorrow for Harmonica Hoodoo merit badges! Back to Creative Contents
Harmonica Jokes... and jokes... and jokes... Q. What do you call an irritating git who hangs around with musicians? A. A harmonica player! Q. Why do dogs howl when harmonica players play? A. They're trying to tell them how the song goes. Q. What do you call a harmonica players accompanist? A. Fido. Q. What do the best harmonica players have in common? A. They all suck. Q. What do you call a harmonica player who doesn't step all over the singers's lines? A. Deceased
Q. What do you say at the end of a great harmonica solo? A. Thank God. Q. How many harmonica players does it take to screw in a lightbulb? A. Five. One to screw it in and four to determine if it should be in straight or cross position. Q. What do you call a harmonica player who says he knows what notes he's playing? A. A Liar Q. Why do harmonica players s ay they play a "harp"? A. So you won't think they play a "harmonica" Q. Which is better: electric guitar or harmonica? A. Electric guitar. You can't beat a harmonica player to death with a harmonica. Q. What do you call a harmonica player in a brand new suit? A. Dearly departed. Q. How Many Harmonic Players Does it take to change a lightbulb? A. Don't worry about the changes man, Just blow! Q. How do you know there's a harp player at your front door? A. He doesn't know when to come in and he can't find the key. Q. How to harmonica players traditionally greet each other? A. "Hi. I'm better than you." Q. What do you call a groupie who hangs around and annoys musicians? A. A harmonica player. Q. What is the difference between a harmonica and a '57 Chevy? A. You can tune a '57 Chevy. Q. If you threw a guitar player and a harmonica player off a cliff, which one would hit the ground first? A. The guitar player. The harp would have to stop halfway down to ask what key they're in. Q. How do you get a harp player to play softer? A. Give him some sheet music. Q. What do a vacuum cleaner and an amplified harmonica player have in common? A. Both suck when you plug them in. Q. How many Harp Players does it take to change a light bulb? A. None--they just steal somebody else's light. Q. What is the perfect pitch for a harmonica player? A. When he tosses the accordeon over the piano and hits the banjo with it.
Q. What does it mean when a harmonica player is drooling out both sides of his mouth? A. The stage is level. Q. How many harp players does it take to change a lightbulb? A. Five. One to change the bulb and four to contemplate how Little Walter would have done it. Q. How many harmonica players does it take to play a solo A. One hundred. One to play and 99 to say "I could do that". Q. Why do harmonica players s ay they play a "harp"? A. Harmonica is a four syllable word. Q. How many Harmonica Players does it take to change a lightbulb? A. Only one, but he'll go through a whole box of bulbs before he finds the right one. Q. What does a harp player do in his life's most tender moments? A. He puts his reverb on "slow". Q. Why were vintage guitar amplifiers invented? A. So the harp player would have a place to put his beer. Q. Why don't Guitar players suffer from piles (haemorrhoids)? A. Because all the assholes are playing harmonicas. Q. What's the difference between a Guitar and a Harmonica? A. No-one minds if you spill beer on a Harmonica. These two harmonica players walk past a bar... Well, it could happen! A blues musician dies and goes to heaven. He is told "Hey man, Welcome! You have been elected to the Blues All-Stars of Heaven--right up there with Muddy and the Wolf and Freddy King, all the greats. We have a gig tonight. Only one problem--God gets to play harmonica." A Guitar Player says to his wife, "Oh, baby, I can play you just like my guitar." His wife replies, "I'd rather have you play me like a harmonica!" Back to Creative Contents
Intelligent? There was a certain bartender who was quite famous for being able to accurately guess people's IQs. One night a man walked in and talked to him briefly and the bartender said, "Wow! You must have an IQ of about 140! You should meet this guy over here." So they talked for a while about nuclear physics and existential philosophy and had a great time. A second man walked in and soon the bartender has guessed about a 90 IQ for him. So he sat him down in front of the big-screen TV and he watched football with the other guys and had a hell of a
time. Then a third man stumbled in and talked to the bartender for a while. The bartender said to himself, "Jeez! I think this guy's IQ must be about 29!" He took him over to a man sitting at a little table back in the corner and said, "You might enjoy talking with this guy for a while." After the bartender left, the man at the table said, "So, do you play Cross or Straight harp?" Back to Creative Contents
Harmonica Hell This harmonica player dies and goes to heaven. There's a long line at the pearly gates, and some dude is going around telling folks in line that they can check out Hell while they are waiting for their spot by just going over to the red elevator over there (points). "You know, if you don't like it, just get back on the elevator and come back up." so, the guy thinks to himself, "hey, gotta check it out...maybe it ain't so bad after all." so over he goes, gets into the elevator and down he goes... the elevator stops, he gets out and the Devil himself is there to show him around. So, off they go and pretty soon, he's thinking to himself that maybe this ain't so bad after all...they stop in at a nightclub, and there's a great little band inside who's playing their asses off. He spots some famous folks he knows... "Hey, ain't that Little Walter over there?" They leave, and he finally asks the Devil, "Wow, those cats were smokin'. This place is great! But one thing... there's got to be a c atch to this... What is it?" The Devil turns to him and says, quite matter-of-factly, "No solos." Back to Creative Contents
Harmonica Poem A poem by Sylvain Guehl En Francais:
Le baiser bleu Lorsque je rentre le soir au crépuscule Et que ma soif de vivre me paraît bien loin Je monte l'escalier derrière la vieille pendule Afin de retrouver celui que je quittai a u matin. Il est là, reposant sagement sur le lit drapé Attendant simplement que je décide par moi-même
Si ma peine n'a pas besoin d'être consolée Ou s'il doit me faire oublier tous mes problèmes. Alors, mes mains agrippent l'arrière de son corps Et je peux sentir sa chaleur sous mes paumes L'émotion m'emporte, je le serre si fort Qu'en nous se mêle l'esprit du même fantôme. Doucement, mes lèvres se posent sur sa face Laisant passer le souffle qui nous joint Ma gorge en vibre d'un plaisr presque cocasse Mais notre harmonie en ferait rêver plus d'un. Au moment où ma langue, par un accord commun Le rencontre et par là-même accentue le flux, Je ferme les yeux et profite de ce tendre besoin Ce désir d'exposer mon âme et de me sentir nu. Dans ces rares moments d'intimité illusoire Nous formons un couple heureux qui se fond, Et l'on peut entendre l'amour et le désespoir Dans l'entité musicale qui transcende notre union. Ô Dieu, je ne connais pas de plaisir plus grand Ni même d'émotion plus forte que celle-là, Celle qui naît lorsque mon cri j aillit du néant, Lorsque je pleure au travers de mon harmonica.
And translated into English
Blue Kiss When I've found my way at twilight Toward what little I call home I climb up the stairs and stay quiet For I'll find my friend there alone Here he is, lying on the bed Waiting for me to decide Either my sorrow isn't led Or he's to show me the right side Then, I put my hands on his back Warmth still growing in my hands No one has ever known just what
We feel when mingling till the end Slowly my lips come to contact As we join in a single breath My throat shimmering in the act This dream would only stop in death And when my tongue in harmony Touches him and quicken up the flow I close my eyes and look in me For any need I want to show In this rare times of privacy We're an happy mingling couple You'll hear love and despair only Because we share all in double Oh God, there's not any greater j oy Nor feeling stronger than this art Born of shouts blowing out of void When I cry through my dear blues harp Hope you all like it. Syl
Visit Syl's Website for more of his creative expression. Back to Creative Contents
How to Sing the Blues... ...A Primer.
by Lame Mango Washington (attributed to Memphis Earlene Gray with help from Uncle Plunky, revisions by Little Blind Patti D. and Dr. Stevie Franklin). 1. Most Blues begin, "Woke up this morning..." 2. "I got a good woman" is a bad way to begin the Blues, 'less you stick something nasty in the next line like, "I got a good woman, with the meanest face in town." 3. The Blues is simple. After you get the first line right, repeat it. Then find something that rhymes...sort of: "Got a good woman with the meanest face in town. Yes, I got a good woman with the meanest face in town. Got teeth like Margaret Thatcher, and she weigh 500 pound." 4. The Blues is not about choice. You stuck in a ditch, you stuck in a ditch--ain't no way out.
5. Blues cars: Chevys, Fords, Cadillacs and broken-down trucks. Blues don't travel in Volvos, BMWs, or Sport Utility Vehicles. Most Blues transportation is a G reyhound bus or a southbound train. Jet aircraft an' state-sponsored motor pools ain't even in the running. Walkin' plays a major part in the blues lifestyle. So does fixin' to die. 6. Teenagers can't sing the Blues. T hey ain't fixin' to die yet. Adults sing the Blues. In Blues "adulthood" means being old enough to get the electric chair if you shoot a man in Memphis. 7. Blues can take place in New York City but not in Hawaii or any place in Canada. Hard times in Minneapolis or Seattle is probably just clinical depression. Chicago, St. Louis, and Kansas City are still the best places to have the Blues. You cannot have the blues in any place that don't get rain. 8. A man with male pattern baldness ain't the blues. A woman with male pattern baldness is. Breaking your leg cause your skiing is not the blues. Breaking your leg 'cause a alligator be chomping on it is. 9. You can't have no Blues in a office or a shopping mall. The lighting is wrong. Go outside t o the parking lot or sit by the dumpster. 10. Good places for the Blues: 1. highway 2. jailhouse 3. empty bed 4. bottom of a whiskey glass 11. Bad places for the Blues: 1. Dillard's 2. gallery openings 3. Ivy League institutions 4. golf courses 12. No one will believe it's the Blues if you wear a suit, 'less you happen to be a old ethnic person, and you slept in it. 13. Do you have the right to sing the Blues? Yes, if 1. you older than dirt 2. you blind 3. you shot a man in Memphis
4. you can't be satisfied No, if: 5. you have all your teeth 6. you were once blind but now can see 7. the man in Memphis lived 8. you have a 401K or trust fund 14. Blues is not a matter of color. It's a matter of bad luck. Tiger Woods cannot sing the blues. Sonny Liston could. Ugly white people also got a leg up on the blues. 15. If you ask for water and your darlin' give you gasoline, it's the Blues. Other acceptable Blues beverages are: 1. cheap wine 2. whiskey or bourbon 3. muddy water 4. nasty black coffee The following are NOT Blues beverages: 5. Perrier 6. Chardonnay 7. Snapple 8. Slim Fast 16. If death occurs in a cheap motel or a shotgun shack, it's a Blues death. Stabbed in the back by a jealous lover is another Blues way to die. So is the electric chair, substance abuse and dying lonely on a broken down cot. You can't have a Blues death if you die during a tennis match or while getting liposuction. 17. Some Blues names for women: 1. Sadie 2. Big Mama 3. Bessie 4. Fat River Dumpling 18. Some Blues names for men:
1. Joe 2. Willie 3. Little Willie 4. Big Willie 19. Persons with names like Michelle, Amber, Debbie, and Heather can't sing the Blues no matter how many men they shoot in Memphis. 20. Make your own Blues name Starter Kit: 1. name of physical infirmity (Blind, Cripple, Lame, etc.) 2. first name (see above) plus name of fruit (Lemon, Lime, Kiwi,etc.) 3. last name of President (Jefferson, Johnson, Fillmore, etc.) For example, Blind Lime Jefferson, Jakeleg Lemon Johnson or Cripple Kiwi Fillmore, etc. (Well, maybe not "Kiwi.") 21. I don't care how tragic your life: if you own a computer, you cannot sing the blues. Back to Creative Contents
Tongue Blocking Arrrh! A cautionary tale to new harmonica players venturing into the dangerous world of tongue blocking! "Jim" wrote in message
Learning to tongue block has to be the most frustrating thing for me. Was it easy for others? When did you reach that "Ah hah" stage, and how? Any pointers? Jim "Bill Drake" replies
Jim .... Be careful of what you wish for. To make a long story short, I started harp with just the usual pucker. Started playing some single notes. Learned to bend and all that. Then I read about tongue blocking.
I practiced and practiced no matter how unnatural it felt for me. Then it happened. Pretty soon that was all I was doing. It was like sticking my foot in my shoe. It was the only way the harp would go in my mouth. I stopped puckering ... altogether! Apparently I had practiced it so much that it started fl owing over into my other activities:
I tried to kiss my wife, she said "No! No! Pucker .... what are you doing?!" ... I tongue blocked her.
We went and had ice cream cones later that week ... needless to say, I was a mess. An embarrasment to her in the parlor. Visiting some friends on the weekend I couldn't eat corn on the cob!
It was then I knew then I needed help. So every Wednesday night I meet with a support group of other underaccomplished harp players who struggle every day to get their pucker back. Now there is a 12 step program for everything. :-)
Bill in Anchorage On a personal note, I am grateful both for Bill's candid admission to this stigmatic problem, but also for sharing his experience with us so we may avoid this terrible tragedy for ourselves. So, Thankyou Bill, I realise you need to take one day at a time, but know you have our support.
G. Back to Creative Contents
Recommended Music to Play
HOME
By Douglas Tate This is a list of classical music which I have found invaluable over the last forty years or so. It has been useful for concert work and a constant source of joy for practice. None of it is easy. I have chosen each piece because it has a challenge at some sort of level. NONE can be played by just sight reading through once... or at least, if you do then you are missing the whole point of the exercise. The layout of this file is as follows. Title of the piece followed by the composer or arranger. The publisher Instrumentation Difficulty M= medium I leave you to work out the rest Then a variety of bits which are self explanatory. This page MAY go straight into a ‘tab de-limited’ database... if it doesn’t then you candownload
the RTF file which doesn’t look quite so good on screen, but most databases should import it. Have fun...... Douglas Tate, December 1999
Bach for the Recorder Bach Ricordi Franco Crepax Solo recorder M-D 8 pieces arranged for the recorder . Technical, musical 50% Roumanian Fantasy Chagrin, Francis Mills Music London Harmonica & orchestra V D There is a reduction f or h & Piano. Concert written for Harmonica Danza Gaya Dring, Madelaine Mozart edition, OUP Oboe & Piano M Joyful tune, 3 -4 minutes Concert arranged for Harmonica Elizabethan Dances and Ayres Fitzwilliam chott 10037 E Hunt Descant recorder & keyboard E-M Bes t with harpsichord. Superb on harmonica Concert 90% 8 Traditional Irish Tunes James Moody mes Hughes, Birmingham UK Ja 2 12 hole chromatics E-M Best duos I've come across. Concert written for Harmonica Concertino Tausky, Vilem Anglo Continental Music Co London Harmonica & Orch D 12 Hole chromatic Concert written for Harmonica Sonaten (2 Sonatas) Handel Edition Oboe and keyboard M-D 3rd mvt, Sonata could have been written for Harm. ConcertPeters and technical 50% (three movements can2nd make a suite) Violin Sonatas Volume 1 Handel Edition Peters Violin & Keyboard M-D Sonata 3, Movment 2 could have been written f or Harm. Concert and technical 50% Trio for Harmonicas Moody, James James Hughes Birmingham UK 3 x chromatics M Concert written for harmonica Printanieres Lancen, Serge Hinrichsen Flute and Piano M-D 5 pieces, all of them work very well Concert 1 00% Caprice Moody, James James Hughes Birmingham UK Harmonica & Piano VD World C hampionship Test Piece 1987 Concert & Technical written for Harmonica Sonata in D Minor Scarlatti, D Rudall Carte & Co Esther Rolfe Arr flute & Piano D Originally for harpsichord Concert (on a good day!) 100% Concerto Albinoni Boosey & Hawkes Oboe & Piano M Nice sight reading & practice piece Concert if desperate 100%
Bagatelle Moody, James James Hughes Birmingham, UK Harmonica & Piano M-D Concert & Technical written for Harmonica Graded Duets, Intermediate for Saxaphone Vol 1 Belwin Mills Kieth Snell 2 x Saxaphone E - D 17 duets which fit very well Concert & practise Summertime Gershwin Nova Music Duncan Reed Oboe & Piano E Nice simple arrangement Concert Impromptu Moody, James Hohner Harmonica & Piano D-VD World Championship test piece 1967 Concert 6 Solo Sonatas Bach Augner Nachez Solo Violin D-VD A lot of playable music, some totaly unplayable! Practise & Technical Ballade & Tarantella Walter, Fried Harmonica and Big Band D Wonderful sounds, written for Tommy Reilly Practise &Tecnical (sadly) Community Dances Manual 1 -8+ Traditional English Folk Dance Society London various e-m Wonderful for achieving crisp playing in rhythm Technical, Practise, Concert? Five Pieces Jacob, Gordon Mills Music NY, Joseph Williams London Harmonica & Piano (also small orch) M-D Definitive classical harmonica music Concert Fantasiestuke Nielsen, Carl Wilhelm Hansen Edition Nr 2452 Oboe & Piano M One day I will play this in public. Nice piece, difficult to bring off Practise Sonata in D Minor Veracini Edition Simrock Violin & piano M-D Played by John Sebastion, doesn't quite come off in public Practise & Technical Sonata in Bb Handel Schott 5355 Thurston Dart Recorder (treble) & piano M Great piece, Handel could sure write for harmonica. Concert Six Metamorphoses after Ovid Britten, Benjamin Boosey & Hawkes Solo Oboe M-D Not all playable. Look at the music before you buy Practise & Technical 80 graded studies for Oboe Book 1 & 2 Faber Music Davies & Harris Oboe studies e-d graded Get these for your students (and use them yourself!) Tech, Prac, Concert(5-6 of them) Sonata Platti Musica Rara Oboe & Piano M-D Works well, piano part a bit thick for harpsichord. Concert
Etuden (Studies) Op20 Kayser Edition Peters Violin M-D About 1/3 work, w ell worth the effort Technical & practise Roumanian Folk Dances Bartok Universal Edition UE 8474 Violin & Piano M -D Better on harmonica than any other c ombination I've heard. Concert Italian Dance Dring, Madelaine Arcadia Music Publishing, London Oboe & Piano M-D Composer says it sounds better on harmonica, fast and light Concert Concerto in A Minor Vivaldi Edition Peters Nr 3794 Violin and Piano D Willi Berger (designer of the Amadeus harmonica plays this (I don't) Tech & practise Intemezzo giocoso Wurthner Rudolf Hohner Harmonica & piano or accordian D World Championship Test piece about 1965(ish) Concert if I'm feeling unkind Concerto Scherzoso Whettam, Graham De Wolfe London Harmonica & Orch (with piano reduction) D The piano reduction works well. It is a genuine Adler type piece Concert Concert in D Minor Bach Edition peters Nr231 2 V iolins & Orch (or piano) M-D Lovely to play but not suited to public performance Practise Allegro Bach Oxford University Press Dom Gregory Murray two treble recorders & piano M Works well, ....better on harmonicas ??? concert Rondino (style of)Beethoven Schott 32776 Kreisler Violin and Piano E-M Beautiful flowing melody, musically quite difficult, tech Impressions Duck, Leonard Oxford University Press Oboe & Piano E - M Joyous little 3 piece suite. One or two naughtyish bits Concert Albumsticke Shostakivitch Edition Peters Violin & Piano E-M Several spicy pieces w ork in this set of 8 pieces Practise, concert Sonatina Arnold, Malcolm Patersons London Recorder & Piano M-D Arnold gave me permission to use this, sounds good Concert Four Dances Hopkins, Anthony Schott 5371 Recorder and Piano E -M Four 1 minute pieces, very tuneful, good s tarter concert pieces Concert
Mouvements Perpetuels Poulenc JW Chester Heifitz Violin and Piano M-D Great, better(?) than violin. A central pair of pieces for me Concert Sonata in C major Loeillet JW Chester London Oboe & Piano E - M Melodic and reasonably easy, a good early concert Concerto Spivakovsky, Michael Bosworth London Harmonica & Orchestra M - D The easiest harmonica concerto, very melodic Concert The Dance music of Ireland Walton's Musical Instrument Galleries E-D 1001 (!) Irish folk tunes, a lifetimes occupation Tech practise Sonata in D minor Scarlatti, Domenico Augner Violin & Harpsichord or piano M G ood, one of my favourites Concert Sonatine Szalowski, Antoni Amphion Oboe and piano M-D Modernish, fits well, sounds good Concert and Tech Quintet Moody, James J ames Hughes Birmingham, UK Harmonica & String quartet VD I wish! Tommy Reilly can play this successfully. Practise Four pieces Moody, James James Hughes UKConcert Harmonica & piano or orchestra M - D Perfection, wonderful balance, terrificBirmingham, harmonica fit. Five old French Dances Marais, Marin JW Chester Viola & Piano M Three out of five is not bad. Good concert stuff Concert Berceuse Faure J Hamelle Paris Flute & Piano E-M Fits like a glove, sounds angelic Concert Concerto Lancen, Serge Harmonica & Orchestra (piano reduc) M-D Anyone know the publisher?? Concert Classic Flute Pieces for Alto recorder Heinrichshofen Edition 4007 New York Alto recorder Solo M Three good pieces in here, YOU decide which! Tech practise The Fiddlers Tune book (series Hargail Press New York Peter Kennedy Solo Fiddle E -D 100 traditional airs, well edited Practise, Tech, concert 15 Solos for the treble recorder 18th Century Edition Schott 2562A Giesbert E-D Great practise stuff, this will get you into t he Baroque idiom Tech, practise.
3 Concert Pieces Reizenstein, Franz Boosey & Hawkes oboe & Piano D Extreeme cruchiness. Lovely piece to get your teeth into(use the Humouresque) Concert Concerto in D Minor Bach Edition Breitkopf Violin, Oboe, & Piano (orch) M-D You play the oboe part. This really works well ConcertThree Airs Milford, Robin OUP Treble recorder & piano E-M Lovely gentle melodies C oncert Serenade Reilly, Tommy Hohner Solo Chromatic M World Championship Test Piece, early sixties C oncert, Tech Trio Sonata No1 Loeillet Schott 10055 Flute, Violin, Piano M great suspensions. look into Loeillet, most is worth playing Concert Pavane pour une infante defunte Ravel, Maurice chott 4246 Flute/Violin & Piano E-M VERY difficult to bring off, beautiful if you manage it. Concert Roumanian Rhapsody op11 no1 Enesco, Georges Enoch & Co Paris Violin & piano (orch) VD YOU have to arrange this. It's in A needs C, Listen to Adler Concert When I can get my copy back from Adler! Sonatina in C Diabelli, Antonio Schott 6435 Bergman Flute (treble recorder) & Piano E A great first concert piece Concert Suite for Mouthorgan & Piano Dring, Madelaine Guess M - D Written for Douglas Tate Concert Sonata Cooke, Arnold Harmonica & Piano D Written for Douglas T ate Concert Sonatina Cooke, Arnold OUP Flute and Piano M-D Arnold Cooke gave permission for this to be played on harmonica Concert Nine selected pieces Bach Schott 10799 Dom Gregory Murray Recorder & Piano M Very good selection of short pieces of medium difficulty Practise, Concert Sonata (after the quartet for oboe & strings) Mozart Boosey & hawkes Oboe & piano M-D I advise against playing this in public. Play it for Mozart and fun Practise Three Romances Schumann Schirmer Schradiek Oboe & piano M Sounds better on clarinet & Oboe, but you MUST try it Practise
La fille aux cheveux de lin Debussy Violin & Piano E-M Can s ound superb, but difficult to bring off Concert Twenty two unaccompanied pieces for Saxaphone Associated Board London Gordon Lewin Solo Sax E-M Wide range of pieces,all playable to a high standard Concert, Tech,Practise Rhythmische Etuden (Rhythmc Studies) Martinu Schott 2224 Solo violin D Only 1 playable, (first) but its worth it Paractise, tech...... maybe someday concert ... sigh Sonatas 1 - 3 for flute Bach Boosey & Hawkes 17619 Flute and piano (harpsichord better) M-D Its Bach, its great. Practise,tech maybe concert soon Bach for unaccompanied flute Bach Oxford University Press Fritz Spiegl Flute M-D After 30 years I'm still getting pleasure from these pieces Concert, practise, Tech Partita for solo flute BWV 1013 Bach Barenreiter Solo flute M-D Great music, almost performable, marvellous rehearsal Practise, Tech Sonata for Arpeggione Schubert Cello or Violin and piano D-VD Sublime music. Don't ever perform, play and imagine. Practise Concerto in A minor Bach D I have performed this but I don't think its right yet. Great practise Schirmer Violin and piano Practise, tech Showpieces for Flute, James Galway 10 of them Novello Galway Flute and piano D-impossible Moto perpetuo, great breathing exercise. Millions of notes Practise Studies for Oboe Ferling Various, mines in Russian Solo oboe E-D Brilliant, good melodic content, good technical content. BEST Concert, practise, tech 7 Divertissements Op 18 Campagnoli Augner Edition 7601 Violin Solo D One piece in the book , page 34, nearest thing to bird flight . Tech, practise Six Suites for cello solo Bach Edition Breitkopf 1953 arranged for violin M -D Much is playable, Great music Practise Sonata in F Bach Schott 10272 Dom Gregory Murray Recorder & Piano M Playable in concert. One of the few middle difficulty Bach pieces Concert
Concerto da Camera Mario Castelnuovo Tedesco Mills music Oboe & piano (orch) D Lovely melodic modernish (1952) work.. 3 rd mvt, tricky! Concert practise, tech 50 little exercises for t he violin Op 44 Kayser Edition Cranz 470 Violin E-M Good lot of these are useful staccato exercises Practise, technicalMusical Experience through the use of the recorder L ongmans, Boosey & Hawkes Anderton Recorder VE-M Teachers dream, hundreds of classical snatches,one note up!! Zigeunerweisen Sarasate Lengnick Violin & piano VD Franz Schmel, Tommy Reilly, few others can play it. C hallenging Concert Spanish Dances Moskowski Edition Peters Flute and Piano M I gnore the flute part, it is one octave too high. Great fun Practise, tech, concert ....nearly Romance Vaughan Williams OUP harmonica & Orch (piano reduc works) D THE piece everyone knows about (but has never heard!) Concert Musiquettes Girnatis Hohner KA521 Harmonica & piano E-M Nice spiky set of six modernish, skittish pieces Concert Concerto Bejamin, Arthur Boosey & Hawkes Harmonica & orch (piano reduc works) D Nice, Very English, good use of interval playing. Concert Sonatina Pastorale Tate, Phyllis (no relation!) Harmonica & harpsichord D Written for Douglas Tate who plays it badly (DT). nice piece Concert Chanson Russe Stravinsky Gutheil Violin & Piano D You may have problems getting permission to broadcast this. Concert Concerto Villa-Lobos Harmonica & Orchestra D See Robert Bonfiglio for publishers Concert Concerto Nr2 Whettam, Graham De wolfe Harmonica & Orchestra D Written for Tommy Reilly, I like it, don't play it, no demand. Practise, tech Prelude & Dance Farnon, Robert Chappel Harmonica & Orch (piano reduc, iffy) M-VD Best fitting harmonica piece I have come across. Tastes good C oncert, practise Harmonica part available seperately Ball-Szene Ballroom visions Hellmsberger Schott 09195 Violin & piano D Franz schmel plays it. Needs 280. Fabulous if you get it going Practise, tech, Concert (I can't)
French Suite Richardson, Alan OUP Oboe & piano M-D Beautiful music, gentle and s ophisticated. Concert Dance of the Blessed Spirits Gluck Schott 10719 Flute and Piano E-M Poetry in music, VERY w ell known, be careful if performing it. Concert Ragtime Solos & Duets Scott Joplin Schirmer Duos + chords E -M I t SAYS arr for Harmonica amongst other things! Good duos Concert, Practise Scarf Dance (from ballet 'La Source') Delibes Walsh Holmes Violin & Piano M Very good Staccato Concert, Tech Bachianas Brasilieras No 5 Aria Villa Lobos Violin or voice & piano E-M sounds better on harmonica, written to have accomp 8 cellos! Concert One of my top three or four pieces Concertino Andreae, Volkmar Boosey & Hawkes Oboe & Piano M-D Nice Practise, concert Divertimento Jacob, Gordon Joseph Williams, London Harmonica & string quartet M-D Superbly written for harmonica, my absolute favourite with strings Concert
Harmonica Books A listing compiled by Debbie (TheHarper) Hamper Temple
HOME Harmonica Books 101 Popular Harmonica Solos & How to Play Them
Charles Hansen Educational Music and Books, 1970
Play Harmonica Like Jerry Murad
Robbins Music Corp., 1963
Adler, Larry
Larry Adler Harmonica Favorites
Robbins Music Corporation, 1943
Baker, Steve
The Harp Handbook
Edition Louis Hermann Demmler, 1991, ISBN: 39802891-0-9
Barrett, David
Blues Harp - Method, Solos, Techniques Music Pocketbook
Mel Bay, 1997, ISBN: 0-78662455-8
Barrett, David
Building Harmonica Technique
Mel Bay, 1994, ISBN: 0-78660002-0
Bauer, Bob
Pop Standards for Diatonic & Chord Harmonicas
MCA/Mills
Bay, Bill
Harmonica Pocket Companion
Mel Bay, 1983
Bay, Bill
Mel Bay’s Fun With the Harmonica
Mel Bay, 1976
Bay, William
Mel Bay’s Children’s Harmonica Method for Mel Bay, 1985
Individual or Group Instruction Bay, William
Mel Bay’s Easiest Harmonica Book
Mel Bay, 1990, ISBN: 0-87166982-X
Bay, William
Mel Bay’s Harmonica Handbook
Mel Bay, 1987, ISBN: 0-87166293-0
Berthiaume, Robert
The Bass Harmonica: An Instruction Manual Arby Publishing House, 1984
Berthiaume, Robert
The Bass Harmonica: Book II Intermediate - Arby Publishing House, 1985 Advanced
Buffalo, Norton
Harmonica Power: Norton Buffalo’s Blues
Homespun Tapes, 1995
Harp Techniques Byrne, Patrick
Instant Harmonica
Hal Leonard Publishing, 1975
Dicey, Bill
Bill Dicey’s Tips and Tricks for Blues
1988 - cass
Harmonica Deiro, Pietro
57 Harmonicas
Charles Hansen, 1975
Duncan, Phil
Complete Chromatic Harmonica Method
Mel Bay Publications, 1983
Duncan, Phil
Gospel Harp
Mel Bay Publications, 1995, ISBN: 0-7866-0177-9
Duncan, Phil
Great Hits for Harmonica
Mel Bay Publications, 1996, ISBN: 0-7866-0328-3
Duncan, Phil
Harmonica Classics
Mel Bay Publications, 1985
Duncan, Phil
Harmonicare Chart for Chromatic and Diatonic
Mel Bay Publications, 1992, ISBN: 1-56222-351-8
Duncan, Phil
Mel Bay’s Deluxe Harmonica Method
Mel Bay, 1981, ISBN: 1-87166382-1
Duncan, Phil
Mel Bay’s Deluxe Harmonica Method
VIDEO
Mel Bay, 1994, ISBN: 0-78660182-5
Mel Bay’s Complete Harmonica Book
Mel Bay Publications, 1992,
Duncan, Phil
ISBN: 1-56222-280-5 Duncan, Phil
Mel Bay’s Easiest Blues Harp Book
Mel Bay, 1991, ISBN: 1-56222303-8
Duncan, Phil
Mel Bay’s Hymns for the Harmonica-
Mel Bay, 1982, ISBN: 1-56222303-8
Diatonic, Cross-Harp, Chromatic Duncan, Phil
Mel Bay Presents Bluegrass & Country Mel Bay Publications, 1984 Music for Harmonica –Diatonic, Cross-Harp, Chromatic
Duncan, Phil
Mel Bay Presents Blues Harp for Diatonic and Chromatic Harmonica
Mel Bay, 1982
Duncan, Phil
Mel Bay Presents Christmas Songs f or Harmonica
Mel Bay, 1994, ISBN: 0-78660126-4
Duncan, Phil
Mel Bay Presents Chromatic Harmonica Solos
Mel Bay, 1996, ISBN: 0-78660327-5
Duncan, Phil
Mel Bay Presents Jazz Harp for Diatonic and Mel Bay, 1985 Chromatic Harmonica
Duncan, Phil
You Can Teach Yourself Blues Harp Book
Mel Bay, 1992, ISBN: 1-56222309-7
Feldstein, Sandy
Blowin the Blues Away
CPP/Belwin, Inc., 1991 ISBN: 0-29156-04886-5
Field, Kim
Harmonicas, Harps, and Heavy Breathers
Gamse, Albert
The Best Harmonica Method---Yet! For ALL Lewis Music Publishing Diatonic and Chromatic Harmonicas Company, Inc., 1971.
Gindick, Jon
Country & Blues Harmonica for the Musically Hopeless
Klutz Press, 1984
Gindick, Jon
Harmonica Americana
Cross Harp Press, 1995
Gindick, Jon
The Natural Blues & Country Western Harmonica
Cross Harp Press, 1979
Gindick, Jon
Rock N’ Blues Harmonica
Cross Harp Press, 1982 ISBN:
0-930948-02-5 Gindick, Jon
Play Blues & Country Harmonica Overnight Thane Marketing Int., 1995, VIDEO ISBN: 1-8848874-00-2
Glover, Tony
Blues Harp
Oak Publications,
Glover, Tony
Blues Harp Songbook
Oak Publications, 1975, ISBN: 0-8256-0157-6
Glover, Tony
Rock Harp
Oak Publications,
Harp, David
Bending the Blues
Musical i Press,
Harp, David
Country & Western Harmonica
Musical i Press, 1991 ISBN: 0918321-94-8
Harp, David
Instant Chromatic Harmonica: The Blues/Jazz Improvisation Method
Musical i Press, 1991, ISBN: 0918321-90-5
Harp, David
The Pocket Harmonica Songbook
Musical i Press, 1993, ISBN: 0918321-97-2
Harp, David
Music Theory Made Easy
Musical i Press, 1994
Harris, J. "Foghorn"
Creative Blues Harp for All Ten Hole Diatonic Harmonicas
Creative Concepts Publishing Corp, 1995, ISBN: 1-56922064-6
Heaps-Nelson, George & Barbara McClintock Koehler
Mel Bay’d Folk & Blues Harmonica
Mel Bay, 1976
Heaps-Nelson, George & Barbara McClintock Koehler
You Can Teach Yourself Harmonica
Mel Bay, 1989, ISBN: 0-87166264-7
Holman, Bobby Joe
Play Harmonica in 1 Hour VIDEO
Hal Leonard, ISBN: 0-79353781-9
Hunter, Richard
Jazz Harp
Oak Publications, 1980
Jeffries, Susan
How to Play Harmonica Today
Hansen House, 1972
Instruction Manual (Same as the next entry) w/ cassette of the tunes.
Jones, Rod
How to Play the Harmonica, Autoharp, Melodica
Shinn Music Aids, 1975, ISBN: 0-912732-06-7
Leighton, Hal
How to Play the Harmonica for Fun and Profit
Wilshire Book Company, 1968
Levy, Howard
New Directions for Harmonica, Expanding Your Technique VIDEO
Homespun Tapes, 1992
Little, Larry
Learn Harmonica on VCR, Vol. 1 (diatonic) VIDEO
ISBN: 1-884208-04-5
Manus, Steve
How to Play the Harmonica: Diatonic or Chromatic
Alfred Publishing Co., 1980
Manus, Steve
Learn to Play the Alfred Way Harmonica Chromatic and Diatonic Blues, Country, Folk, Rock
Alfred Publishing Co., 1975
Marcos
How to Play the Harmonica Instantly VIDEO
Harmonica Music Pub., 1988
Marcos
How to Play the Harmonica Instantly: Blues Harmonica Music Pub., 1988 I, Intermediate II - VIDEO
Marcos
How to Play the Harmonica Instantly: Country & Western VIDEO
Marek, Jack
100 Harmonica Super Gold (Super Gold No. Screen Gems, 1975 6)
Mel Bay
Anyone Can Play Harmonica - VIDEO
Mel Bay, 1988, ISBN: 0-87166176-4
Mel Bay
Chromatic Harmonica - Instruction, Songs, Solos - Music Pocketbook
Mel Bay, 1997, ISBN: 0-78662456-6
Mel Bay
Harmonica - Instruction, Songs, Solos Music Pocketbook
Mel Bay, 1980, ISBN: 0-87166546-8
Morgan, Tommy
Blues Harmonica
Alfred Publishing Co., 1987
Morgan, Tommy
Chromatic Harmonica
Alfred Publishing Co., 1987
Harmonica Music Pub., 1988
Musial, Stan
Stan Musial Plays the Harmonica
Mel Bay, 1994
Paskas, Andy
Big Three’s Harmonica Series No. 2
Big 3 Music Corp., 1974
Fantastic Hits Schackner, Alan "Blackie"
Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Blues Harp & Marine Band But
Warner Bros. Publications
Didn’t Know Who To Ask
Schackner, Alan "Blackie"
Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Chromatic Harmonica But Didn’t
Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp, 1983
Know Who To Ask Schackner, Alan "Blackie"
Harmonica Heaven
Warner Brothers Publications, 1973
Schackner, Alan "Blackie"
25 Popular Tunes for the One-Inch~4Hole Mini-Harp
Farrell Co.
Sears, Jerry
Bob Dylan’s Songs for Harmonica and
Guitar
Warner Brothers Publications, 1964
Folk Songs of Today for Harmonica and
Warner Brothers Publications,
Guitar
1965
Let’s Play the Harmonica- A Method and
Warner Brothers Publications, 1964
Sears, Jerry
Sears, Jerry
Collection Sebastian, John
John Sebastian Teach Blues Harmonica VIDEO
Homespun Tapes, 1992
Silverman, Jerry
Folk Harmonica-60 Favorite Folk Songs Arranged for Harmonica
Chappell/Intersong (Hal Leonard Publishing Co.), 1974
Simpson & Smith
Reeds of a Feather
1995
Smith, Al
Chugger Lingo 1 w/ cass ette instruction
1987
tape Steelman, Sharon & Ray
Harmonica 101…A Harmonica Instruction
ISBN: 0-9648948-1-5
Steelman, Sharon & Ray
Learn to Play the Harmonica Nashville Style ISBN: 0-9647180-0-6
Book for the Absolute Beginner
Tate, Douglas
Play the Harmonica Well
1995
Tate, Douglas
Make Your Harmonica Play Well
1996
Terry, Sonny
The Harp Styles of Sonny Terry
Oak Publications, 1975
Not Harp, but good source books anyway. Berle, Arnie
How to Create and Develop a Jazz Sax Solo Mel Bay, 1983, ISBN: 1-56222088-8
Schenkel, Steven M.
The Tools of Jazz
Prentice Hall, 1983, ISBN:0-13-925172-3
Classical Harmonica Compositions. Arnold, Malcolm
Harmonica Concerto, Opus 46
Paterson’s Publications Ltd
Milhaud, Darius
Suite Anglaise, for Harmonica and Orchestra
Boosey & Hawkes
Tate, Phyllis
Apparitions, A ballad Sequence for Tenor, Harmonica, String Quartet and Piano
Oxford University Press, 1972?
Williams, R. Vaughn
Romance for Harmonica
Oxford University Press, 1953
Not Available (Which means I found a reference to them but couldn’t lay my hands on a copy.)
Duncan, Phil
Nashville Country Harmonica
Mel Bay
Adler, Larry
Me and My Big Mouth
Harp, David
Make Me Musical: Instant Harmonica for Kids
musical i press
Schackner, Alan "Blackie"
The Complete Book of Chromatic and Diatonic "State of the Art" Repairs
Warner?
Howell, Ken and Steve Jennings
The Practical Harmonica Player
Mel Bay?
Reilly, Tommy and
The Tommy Reilly Harmonica Course
M. Hohner Lts., Londong, 1969. MH777, reproduced and
printed by Halstan & Co. Ltd. Amersham, Bucks, England
James Moody
Harp, David
The Rut Breaker: Harmonica Positions
musical i press
Harp, David
Better Breathing Through Harmonica
musical i press
Gindick, Jon
The Robert Johnson Songbook
Gindick, Jon
Gospel Plow Harmonica
Gindick, Jon
First Note Harmonica for Children
Gindick, Jon
Great American Harmonica Music
Harp, David
David Harp’s Instant Blues Harmonica Vol. I musical i press
& II Harp, David
Instant Rhythm Kit
musical i press
McCloskey, Scott
Rainbow Harmonica Instruction and Song Book
Hohner?
Delin, Louis
Backstage Harmonica
Barrett, David
Classic Chicago Blues Harp
Mel Bay
Barrett, David
William Clark/Serious Intentions
Mel Bay---sound recording
Michelsen, David
Blue Harmonica Classics
Mel Bay
Simons, Ted and Charles Leighton
An Introduction to the Jazz Style on the Chromatic Harmonica
Michelson, David
Dr. Midnight’s Blues Harp Songbook
Mel Bay
Carey Bell
Carey Bell/Deep Down
Mel Bay ---sound recording
Cotton, James and Charlie McCoy
Master Class
Oak Publications
