Harmonica info
The Blues harp, also called a richter tuned harmonica and alsknown as 10-hole harmonica (in Asia), is the most widely known type of harmonica. In the United States and Europe, it is called a diatonic harmonica. It has ten holes which offer the player 19 notes (10 holes times a draw and a blow for each hole minus one repeated note) in a three octave range.
The standard diatonic harmonica is designed to allow a player to play chords and melody in a single key. Because they are only designed to be played in a single key at a time, diatonic harmonicas are available in all keys. Here is a standard diatonic harmonica's layout in the key of C (blow for 1 is middle C):
Although there are 3 octaves between 1 and 10 "blow", there is only one full major scale available on the harmonica, between holes 4 and 7. The lower holes are designed around the tonic (C major) and dominant (G major) chords, allowing a player to play these chords underneath a melody by blocking or unblocking the lower holes with the tongue. The most important notes (the tonic triad C–E–G) are given the blow, and the secondary notes (D–B–F–A), the draw.
The valved diatonic is one of the most common ways of playing chromatic scales on diatonics (as many feel the advanced technique called an "overblow", or "overbend", is too difficult). While chromatic is available, valved diatonic is also common, and there are reasons to use a valved diatonic rather than chromatics. It does not have a slide assembly (so that it has less air leakage), and it has a wider tonal range and dynamic. As well, it has a smaller size and is much more suitable to use with microphone, and it is still cheaper than chromatic, even for a premade one like Hohner's Auto Valve or Suzuki Promaster MR-350v.
Valved Diatonics are made by securing windsavers on draw hole 1–6 and blow 7–10; this way, all reeds can be bent down a semitone at least, but most players can easily bend down a wholetone. Alternatively, one can simply buy a factory made valved diatonics, such as Suzuki Promaster Valved.
The disadvantage of valved diatonic is that it does require one to develop proper embouchure in order to bend the notes accurately, and it's generally agreed that the sound will not be "true", making it suitable for blues and jazz but so-so for classical music. Also, due to the valved bends being one-reed bends, the sound is less full than traditional bends, and may seem dull, making it less dynamic. One way to address this is by having an additional reed that activates when one bends a note; this is the philosophy of Hohner's XB-40.
So-called "crossharp" is the basic method, employing the harp keyed four tones above the band—F if they're in C; B-flat if they're in F; etc. The lower notes of harps in the lower keys (G through C) are easier to bend, but take more wind. Since much of crossharp is played on the inhalation, every opportunity for exhalation must be capitalized upon—blow out lots of air on every exhaled note and during every pause.
The Hohner XB-40 is an entirely new body design, though in practice is still a richter-tuned (diatonic) harmonica. Here the blow reeds and the draw reeds are sealed off from one another with valves, effectively creating two separate cells in the comb for each hole in the mouthpiece: one for blow and another for draw. A second reed is then placed in this cell at a zero-offset (no gapping) so that it does not sound under normal playing. However, it is placed on the opposite side of the reed-plate from the speaking reed and tuned so that it responds when the player "bends" the note downwards in pitch. This allows for every note on the XB-40 to be bent downwards a whole-tone or more, whereas on standard diatonics only certain notes (the higher-pitched in the cell) will bend at all.
|Bb|D |F |Bb|D |F |Bb|D |F |A#|
|B |Eb|Gb|B |Eb|Gb|B |Eb|Gb|B |
Some players prefer specially-tuned variants of the diatonic harmonica. For example, Lee Oskar Harmonicas makes a variety of harmonicas to help players used to a "cross-harp" style to play in other styles. Cross-harp players usually base their play around a mixolydian scale starting on 2 draw and ending a 6 blow (with a bend needed to get the second tone of the scale; a full scale can be played from 6 blow to 9 blow). Lee Oskar specially tunes harmonicas to allow players to play a natural minor, harmonic minor, and major scale from 2 draw to 6 blow. Below are some sample layouts (the key labels describe the scale from 2 draw to 6 blow, whereas traditional harmonicas are labelled according to the scale between 4 and 8 blow).
Country tune: Identical to standard Richter Tuning, except hole 5 draw is raised a semitone
Natural Minor (cross harp, 6 blow to 9 blow) / Dorian (straight harp, 4 blow to 7 blow):
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Harmonic Minor (straight harp, 4 blow to 7 blow)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Major (cross harp, 6 blow to 9 blow), Lee Oskar Melody Maker (this will be labeled as "G": Melody Major's key indicate cross harp's key, starting from draw 2)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
The Melody Maker designed and marketed by Lee Oskar is a particularly interesting evolution of the harmonica, since it allows a player accustomed to playing "cross harp" (in mixolydian) to play in a major key (which is what the standard layout is designed for in the first place). Rather than providing the standard C major and G dominant chords, the Melody Maker provides a G Major 7 (2–5 draw), a C Major 6th chord (1–4 blow), an Am or Am7 chord (3–5 or 3–6 blow), a D major chord (4–6 draw) and a C Major chord (6–10 blow). If we are in the key of G, then, the melody maker provides the I chord, the IV chord, the V chord and the II chord, allowing II–V–I progressions as well as I–IV–V progressions.
It is also possible for a harp player to tune the harmonica himself. By making small scratches in a reed, the note played can be changed. It is possible to either get a higher or a lower note. Some harp players make extensive use of these modifications. One of the most famous examples is the harp solo on "On the Road Again" by Canned Heat, on which the harmonicist gets the minor 3rd crossharp on the sixth drawn reed, which is normally the major 2nd crossharp.
Hohner had made a few non-standard harmonicas. All of them have more than 10 holes and are labeled "grosse richter". For 12 holes, Hohner makes the M364 Marine Band, as well as the M36460 Marine Band Soloist. The Marine Band Soloist is solo tuned, with 3 full diatonic octaves with all notes of the major scale of the key of C and, since it can bend notes in the same way a regular diatonic harmonica in the middle octave, some players use this for blues (and even jazz) instead of the more well known solo-tuned harmonicas, the chromatic harmonica, since the bended notes sounded very different from true semi-tones. (For layout, see below at Chromatic harmonica, key out) In this configuration, blues players usually play in third position, the D-minor blue scale.
In addition to the M364 models with 12 holes, there is also the Hohner Marine Band M365 14 hole harmonica. The 12 and 14 holes Hohner harmonicas general dimensions which are a bit bigger than regular diatonic harmonicas. The M36401 and M36501 harmonicas (in the key of C) are pitched one octave lower than the standard 10 hole C diatonic. Thus, hole 4 blow is the same pitch as hole 1 on a regular diatonic harmonica in the key of C. The Marine Band M36408 and M36508 (in G) are similar to a usual G diatonic, having the higher end expanded.
Holes 1 through 4 and 6 are draw bendable, and holes 8 through 14 are blow bendable. Special attention to the extra holes 11–14 where the bending capabilities are, in theory, extended a lot (from A down to E in whole 14, for example), but quite limited in fact.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
There is also the Steve Baker Special (M3658) manufactured by Hohner, a special tuned 14 holes diatonic. Below, the layout of the Steve Baker Special in the key of C:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
They come in 5 keys:
This harmonica opens up lots of interesting possibilities, especially for blues harmonica, like extended tongue block octaves playing, the possibility to play the exact same 2nd position rifs in two octaves, etc.
The chromatic harmonica is a type of harmonica that uses a button-activated sliding bar to redirect air from the hole in the mouthpiece to the selected reed-plate desired. This harp is used for Celtic, Classical, and Jazz, as well as many other styles. Traditionally these are made so that when the button is not pressed, an altered diatonic major scale of the key of the harmonica is available and depressing the button accesses the same scale a semi-tone higher in each hole, thus giving an instrument capable of playing the 12 notes of the Western chromatic scale. Three famously accomplished chromatic harmonica players were the classical player Larry Adler, the classical player Burger and the jazz player Jean "Toots" Thielemans.
Chromatic harmonicas are usually 12, 14 or 16 holes long. The 12-hole chromatic is available in 12 keys, but due to the fact that the entire chromatic scale is available by definition, most professionals stick with the key of C—which is perhaps easier to remember, since slide in will automatically be the sharps of the associated note. In the standard 12-hole chromatic in C the lowest note is middle C, while 16-hole variants start one octave lower.
For the 16-hole variant, the layout is usually as follows. note that the "D" in the last key-in draw note is common, though by no means presented in all chromatic.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
Because it is a fully chromatic instrument, the chromatic harmonica is the instrument of choice in jazz and classical music. Also, due to the windsavers on the low and mid-range holes, it can bend notes on both blow and draw notes, giving additional tonality if needed. In traditional harmonica bands, the chromatic harmonica plays the lead part.
However, while the chromatic harmonica is capable of playing in all keys, it is not without its limitations. For example, while chromatic harmonicas can "bend" notes down in pitch, as a single-reed bend it sounds quite different from the typical dual-reed bend of a blues harp, and can only bend downward by a semi-tone. Furthermore, unless the windsavers are removed, chromatic harmonicas cannot "overblow" except on the upper four holes. Perhaps more importantly, the number of chords, double-stops, and legato phrasings available is limited.
As chromatic harmonica is designed to play melodies in any keys, many 16-hole and special version chromatic are only made in the key of C. Because of this, there are many approaches to get over the limits imposed on chromatic harmonica: the first approach, encouraged mainly by classical music players (such as Franz Chmel), is that a good harmonica player should try his or her best to use the chromatic in the key of C; some even discourage switching to other keys. An approach used by at least one reputable jazz musician, is to have several keys, and play them as if playing key of F on a key of C, although it still requires being able to play over complex changes, modulating and so forth, it enables the player to focus more on the music. Another approach is using altered tunings such as Diminished, which requires learning to play three (or four) patterns and then be able to play in all keys.
The range of G chromatic fits most Jazz standards, whereas the range of a key of C chromatic requires revoicing parts of the melodies since its lowest note is Middle C. It is up to the musician to work out the range of instrument that works best for them.
Stock chromatics are well suited for players who play chromatics in third position traditional Chicago Blues, and benefit from have a selection of keys.
Chromatic harmonicas are often described as either "straight tuned" or "cross tuned". This refers to the way the slider is shaped to isolate the reed set being played at a given position (button "in" or button "out"). Traditionally the chromatic was "straight tuned" and the slider selected either the upper reed-plate (button out) or the lower reed-plate (button in). In the later half of the 20th century a new system came into use in which the slider played the upper and lower reed-plates at the same time, staggered by which hole (thus with the button out the player might play the upper reed-plate in hole 1, the lower reed-plate in hole 2, and then the upper again in hole 3 and so forth; pressing the button reversed this). This allows for a larger hole in the slider, and thus presumably more air gets through, allowing a louder volume. The two methods co-exist with some companies and players preferring one style and others another.
There are at least two other types of slider design as well. The first one has holes side-by-side with each other in the slider, thus opening only the left side of the chamber or the right side depending on button position. The Renaissance chromatic uses this design, which is claimed to mix the larger hole of a cross-tuned design with an even shorter movement than in straight tuned sliders. The simple way of doing this is to construct the harmonica more like a traditional Richter diatonic whereas the standard chromatic design shares more in common with the Knittlinger octave harmonicas. Note, however, the Renaissance uses a complex comb design to achieve their slider design. The second type of alternative design is found mostly in East Asia and is based more along the traditional Weiner tremolo construction. Here each reed is isolated in its own cell within the comb and the slider selects a single reed at a time rather than a cell containing both blow and draw reeds. The Tombo Ultimo is an example of this type of chromatic.
Finally, there are also several types of non-slide chromatic instruments available, particularly in Asia, such as the Horn Harmonica (see below), as well as Tombo's S-50, Tombo's Chromatic Violin Range, and others. Tombo Chromatic Violin Range (three and a half octaves), as well as S-50 (three octaves) use the tremelo scale tuning system (but with only one-reed): in essence it is a C# tremolo harmonica sitting on top of a C tremolo harmonica, with blow and draw reeds each sitting in a single cell. The player switches between a top row tuned to C# and a bottom tuned to C by changing the angle of the harmonica.
Like Diatonic, Chromatics are available in numerous tunings. However, there are three more popular versions: one is the Irish tuning, which is done by flattening (instead of sharpening) the notes when the slide is in. This makes playing Irish music, and to a certain extent, blues, easier, since Irish music is commonly played in either the key of D or key of G. The use of C, with no sharps or flats, and B, with all flats, allows common Irish modes to be played while the downward tuning slide allows ornamentation in keeping with the Irish tradition. The Irish Tuning can be done easily by reversing the slide (flipping the slide upside down) of a chromatic in the key of B major; alternatively, one can just use the B major as is, but use slide-in as the home position.
Key out: identical to solo tuning
`1 `2 `3 `4 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Another one is the bebop tuning, which is done by tuning the redundant C/C# in hole 4', 4, 8, and 12 blow into a Bb/B pair. This allows playing chords in the key of F, as well as playing a C7 chord.
`1 `2 `3 `4 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
`1 `2 `3 `4 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Another popular version of alternate tuning is the classical tuning, which is done by switching between the blow and draw of the 4th hole of each octave:
`1 `2 `3 `4 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
`1 `2 `3 `4 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
This easily allow Imaj7 and iimajo7 chords, as well as many other chords, which are very beneficial for classical music playing.
Tremolo harmonicas are a type of harmonica, distinct by having two reeds per note. In a tremolo harmonica the two reeds are tuned slightly off a reference pitch, one a bit sharp and the other a bit flat. This gives a unique wavering or warbling sound created by the two reeds being not exactly in tune with each other and difference in their subsequent waveforms acting against one another. The degree of beating can be varied depending on the desired effect. Instruments where the beating is faster due to the reeds being farther apart from the reference pitch are called "wet", whereas those where the beating is slower and less noticeable due to the reeds being more closely in tune are called "dry".
"Tremolo" is most often defined as a periodic change of volume (sometimes incorrectly defined as a change in pitch, strictly vibrato). Most orchestral instruments acheive this effect by repeated playing of a single note. The tremolo harmonica achieves the effect by employing the physical phenomenon called beats. Each note is played simultaneously by two reeds, fractionally out of tune with each other. The resulting sound is of constant pitch but the volume oscillates between loud and quiet. This effect is fairly common amongst Western free-reed instruments and is found in accordions, harmoniums and reed organs under various names (celeste, vox jubilante, etc...).
Tremolo harmonicas are perhaps the most common form of harmonica in the world, being very popular in folk music as well as in much of East Asia. In the West, the tremolo harmonica is usually encountered in traditional folk music, being found throughout Europe and South America in this role. In China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan and other parts of Asia, however, tremolo harmonicas are found in nearly every area of music from folk to classical — in fact, there are specially manufactured tremolo harmonicas for ensemble playing. Players often use several different harmonicas at a time, holding them one atop the other, in order to play notes and chords not available on any single instrument.
Most tremolo harmonicas are built upon what is termed the "Wiener system", named after the city of Vienna (Wien in Austria) where they first emerged. In this design the two beating reeds are distributed one on each reed-plate (top and bottom) and these share a common chamber. In practice, however, it is common for each individual reed to have its own air chamber. Unlike the standard ten-hole harmonicas (built on the "Richter system", eg Hohner's Marine Band) the blow and draw reeds do not share a common chamber, but are separated off from one another. This allows the player to isolate each reed. While normally the player simply plays both the tremolo reeds at once, it is possible to achieve a wide variety of bends and other effects through selecting certain reeds and chambers and not others. Similarly, it is possible to play without the tremolo effect by only choosing the top or bottom chambers and blocking off the others with the lips. In practice, though, these are primarily used for effects and mostly the instrument is played as if the two beating reeds shared a single chamber.
There are three commonly encountered tunings or note layouts used for tremolo harmonicas. The older layout is very similar to that used in the standard diatonic harmonica and also found in diatonic accordions and concertinas. This tuning has the major diatonic scale in the middle and top octaves of the harmonica with two chords in the lowest octave: the tonic in the blow and the dominant or fifth chord in the draw. This is very effective for chordal playing behind relatively simple folk melodies in either the tonic or the fifth of the key of the harmonica. In Asia, the fourths and the sixths are added back in, in order to play the melody; however, it is still unlike the scale tuning mentioned below, since the octaves are not repeated through out the layout.
(capital letters indicate blow, non-capital letters denote draw) Commo
Common tuning in East Asia 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
A more recently developed tuning is commonly found on tremolos manufactured in or designed for Asia. This layout is derived from the "solo" tuning found in chromatic harmonicas and is sometimes called "scale" tuning. Here the notes of the major scale are found throughout the range of the harmonica without a separate chord section in the bass octave. This helps to facilitate a common practice in Asia of playing both a C and C# harmonica stacked in order to achieve full chromaticity by having essentially the same notes available in each octave of the harmonica. This tuning is also applied to Tombo's S-50.
(capital letters indicate blow, non-capital letters denote draw)
Note: Some manufacturers replace the repeated root note (7 and 15) with a spacer (See S-50), or just completely do away with it (eg: Hohner).
Recently, Hohner also released a scale-tuned tremolo, the "21 Tremolo De Luxe", which has three complete scale-tuned octaves.
An interesting recent development has been that of the chromatic tremolo harmonica. This combines the slider design of the chromatic harmonica with the dual reed beating sound of the tremolo harmonica. Harmonica technician John Infande has been manufacturing his own design in limited numbers for several years while the Japanese harmonica company Suzuki has recently released its design.
The Harmonica company would like to thank Wikipedia for the use of this material.
