Thread: harmonica

It would be helpful if you could write what your budgets are man, same goes for your recording threads.

Hohner Marine Band.

Best bang for the buck.

Not too much to look for really, the Marine Band series are always a great start...you just need to decide on the key you want...

With harmonica, most players I know use one a fifth above the key of the song.

So if song is in A, they play an E harp.....C > G, D > A, etc.

That's pretty much the only decision needed.

Doesnt Hurricane Ramone play harmonica
Could always PM him for an opinion

Originally Posted by Muzoid

Not too much to look for really, the Marine Band series are always a great start...you just need to decide on the key you want...

With harmonica, most players I know use one a fifth above the key of the song.

So if song is in A, they play an E harp.....C > G, D > A, etc.

That's pretty much the only decision needed.

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Muziod :

Close call but backwards since your referring to diatonic 10 hole 2nd position or what most harmonica men/women call " cross harp " . If the song is in " E " you use an " A " , if in " A " you use a " D " etcetera . Big advantage to be noted on this fact . When you draw air on a diatonic's 1-2-3-4- holes of a harmonica it is possible to get notes that are not there ¿? - in other words you get to produce half step notes that are not actually allocated a reed to make the note .

You can also use this technique with a chromatic

- - but - -

You better know what your doing because bending reeds with air pressure control is just that , it's a control issue that is not that easy as it appears to do , it is the main reason a harmonica player ruins a reed from over blowing or drawing of air when inexperienced at it , it takes time to develop this technique don't rush into it .

Blues/Jazz/Rock & CW harp players exploit this fact in a most powerful , dynamic and graceful manner when executed correctly . Big headed solo sax players are in awe of this when done by a read deal harp man - Rock Lead Guitar players want to kill them ( harp players who can make their $25.00 harp sound like a $2000.00 Les Paul ) for the way they kill an audience and make them get up off their seats roaring with approval with a louder applause than they just got before the harp player set the room ablaze .

Below in the quote box Mr.Yakuza mentions a chromatic harmonica . Both he and Muziod have made positive statements in their respective posts in different ways .

My favorite chromatic - not available any more :

What I have now :


A few of the diatonics I play :

Originally Posted by MrYakuza

Well, hope I haven't came here too late.

I advise you to buy an chromatic one, because I'm afraid theres no much to be played whit a common diatonic harmonica. The chromatic ones, by the way, are the ones which have a button on the side, without which you can't play halftones, and therefore nearly any music.



So arrange yourself a chromatic, even if its cheap.

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Hurricane sez :


Good observation Mr Yazuka and advice however a diatonic in the hands of a skilled :

" harp " man

Can achieve a chromatic scale if they know how to get those half steps by either bending a reed with air pressure control in the lower and middle sections when drawing in air over a reed of the first two scales and over blowing the reeds in the upper register of the scale .

To a beginner I would suggest they try both kinds of harmonicas as a way to understand the complexities of both to be able to really get the most out of an harmonica experience .

Now if your only going to play music with a standard rock-n-roll - country western -blues groove a 10 hole diatonic will be sufficient and how ! The diatonic 10 will cover just about anything those genres can produce with stellar results when a person does his " homework " . These songs revolve around the I-IV-V(b) chord progression , it would be a smart move to learn a little about this system of musical chord progression I might add .

There are many really good harmonica companies out there now a days compared to what was available when I started in 1954 , these are the best harmonica companies :

Hohner
Herring
Suzuki
Lee Oskar <====<<<- Tombo makes them for Lee
Huang

Before you buy a harmonica note that you can not return a harmonica to the store where you purchased it after the sale , it's a question of laws and health concerns so .........

If you go to a music store ( note I mentioned a MUSIC STORE that sells musical instruments ) to buy a harp ( what a diatonic is more commonly referred too by those who play the heck out of them like me ) ask the sales person if the have a :

" Harmonica bellows "



This device allows you to test every individual reed in the blowing and drawing , this is an important thing to do to make sure you walk out with a good working harp . This device also allows for you to test the sound of the first three reeds in unison in the blow and draw for the harp's " chord " , you see a diatonic harp has two " triad " chords .

In the blow on the first three reeds you will get the major chord ( or the minor if you buy a minor keyed harp ) the harp's tunes too . You will get the second complete chord in the draw ( sucking in air in those same first 3 holes ) of the harp's scale this chord will be the " forth " of the harp's scale it's tuned too . If you have a harp tuned to the key of " C " your blow chord is C and your draw chord is F . I you have a " F " tuned scaled harp your blow chord is " F " and the draw chord is " C " .

A chromatic is tested the same way note for note , no need to test for a chord sound here .


If you buy online use the usual cautions and remember if your harmonica is flawed , you will have no recourse for return except for the returning of it to the manufacturer ( where you live will affect this policy so do your homework prior to buying ) for a fix in most scenarios of an online purchase of harmonicas diatonic , chromatic and the other models made .

This is only a thumbnail sketch on this subject which is more than likely a shock as you read these few words on this subject . I would also suggest that you join a online harmonic forum to further educate yourself on this marvelous and most powerful but highly ignored by most instrument .

Ask me anything on this instrument you want , I will try to answer it , but a good harp forum's archives like " Harp-L " will have all the answers there waiting for you to research in an instant . I am a member of that one how ever I am not active in it presently , in it you can see all my posts that I accumulated there over a 5 year plus involvement .

Oh one last bit of advice .

Keep away from the harmonicas with a wood comb ( body ) , stick to the plastic ones like what I posted , you will be saved from the nightmare of wood swelling up and making the harp useless unless your willing to work at learning harmonica repairs and maintenance too which is a study in and of it's self and if your a beginner it's a distraction from learning to play music on one .

Good luck

Hurricane Ramon