Chromatic Harmonicas

There’s a wide range of chromatic harmonicas on the market right now, and it can be bewildering, particularly to newcomers, when, on paper at least, the differences between sub-£100 harps and those costing over £1000 seem to be slight. Help is at hand, though – in this post we’ll give you an impartial guide to the best chromatic harmonicas, and explain the differences between models how this influences how they play and sound.

Let’s start by examining the different price points.

Sub-£100 Chromatics

The least expensive models in this price range tend to be slideless models, such as the Tombo S50, or Chinese-made instruments produced by companies like Easttop and Swan (sometimes on behalf of more famous companies, such as Hohner).

Slideless chromatics are quite different from traditional chromatics, and work by having two sets of holes situated at angles to each other, which activate their respective reed plates. This enables full chromaticism to be achieved, but is more limiting in the techniques that can be used and sounds that can be produced. Fans of Steve Wonder-esque chromatic runs will need to look elsewhere.

The least expensive chromatics in this price range tend to be fairly ‘leaky’. That is to say, they take a lot of breath to achieve consistent sounding of notes. This is generally due to their lack of valves (thin pieces of material on the reeds that limit air loss) but can also be a consequence of poor tolerances in the manufacturing process. The Easttop Forerunner is a typical example of this level of harmonica; although initially it seems similar in appearance and construction to the brand’s higher end chromatics, the lack of valves and lower quality reed plates make it significantly harder to play.

Our general advice with chromatics is to spend a little more than the entry level, sub-£100 price point, as the improvements in quality, playability and tone are more than worth the extra cost.

£100 – £250 Chromatics

At the lower end of this price point the first German and Japanese made chromatics start to appear, and this is where we recommend most players should look when buying a chromatic harmonica. Although £100+ may seem a considerable sum to those more used to the low prices of diatonic harps, chromatics are much more complex and versatile instruments than their 10 hole counterparts, and are still remarkably inexpensive when compared with guitars, for example.

Most harps within this price range will have 12 holes, although at the mid to upper end some 16 hole models start to creep in, such as the Hohner Chromonica 64 and the Suzuki SCX-64.

As a starter 12 hole chromatic, it’s hard to beat the Hohner Discovery 48, which is a German-made harmonica with an ABS comb and the same reed plates as the more expensive Xpression harp. It’s robust, has excellent tone and playability and its comb is completely swell resistant.

Moving towards the middle of this price point, there is a wealth of great harmonicas available. Our recommendations would be the Suzuki SCX-48, the Seydel Deluxe Steel and the Hohner CX12, which are all Japanese or German made harmonicas with excellent build quality, tone and playability. Importantly, a wide range of spare parts is available for all of these harps, so they are fully serviceable and should last a lifetime if correctly maintained.

£250 – £500 Chromatics

At this price point, 16 hole harmonicas become more common, and unique features begin to appear to differentiate these more expensive harps from their cheaper counterparts. Hohner’s ACE 48, for  example, has removable inserts that enable the player to tune the tonal colour and weight distribution of the harp, and Seydel’s Symphony 48 features a magnetic slider system and polished stainless steel reeds.

Our recommendations within this price range include the Hohner Super 64 and Super 64X (as used by Stevie Wonder), the Seydel Symphony 48 and Hohner’s ACE 48.

£500 – £1000 Chromatics

Although there is an element of diminishing returns at this price point, it does open up the range of harps available to include some of the finest harmonicas on the market. High end 16 hole harmonicas, such as the Seydel Symphony 64 and Suzuki Sirius 64 feature in this category, as do instruments, such as the Suzuki Gregoire Maret G48W, which make innovative use of materials such as brass and walnut to optimise tonal quality.

Our recommendations in this price category are the Suzuki Symphony 64, Hohner Meisterklasse and Suzuki Sirius.

£1000+ Chromatics

Whilst this may seem an extravagant amount of money to spend on a harmonica, viewed in the context of other instruments, such as electric guitars, where £1000 is roughly the point at which quality, US-made guitars become available, it is not as profligate a figure as might initially be thought.

Harmonicas in this price bracket range from high end production harps, such as the Hohner Amadeus, through to fully custom chromatics made without compromise from the most expensive materials, such as the Polle Concert Chromatic and Hohner Silver Concerto. As with many professional level classical instruments, silver is the choice of metal for the bodies of the most expensive chromatics, having been championed as a material by Tommy Reilly in the late 1960s. This provides the absolute pinnacle of tonal quality, but also is a major contributor to the high price of these instruments.

How Much Should I Spend on a Chromatic Harmonica?

In simple terms, we recommend the following:

Beginners and those on a tight budget – £120 – £200

Experienced players and those needing a quality 16 hole chromatic – £250 – £650

Beyond this price point you will be experiencing diminishing returns, so the differences between a £650 chromatic and a £1000 one will be far less than the difference between a £50 chromatic and a £150 one. As ever, though, a professional level instrument can be a joy in ways that can’t be easily justified in purely financial terms, so if you’re really sold on the idea of owning, say, a Silver Concerto, don’t let this put you off!

 

 

What is the Difference Between D# and Eb? (Or Any Sharp or Flat?)

Musical terminology can be confusing sometimes, with its esoteric symbols and strange Italian words, like ‘allegro’ or ‘andante’. Nowhere is this more prevalent than when the subject is sharps and flats. But it doesn’t need to be complicated; in this post I’ll explain how sharps and flats work, and whether there is a difference between D# and Eb or F# and Gb (TL:DR answer – in almost all Western music there isn’t).

Why Do We Have Sharps and Flats?

When I started learning the piano, around 40 years ago (I was very young!) I wondered why classical musicians used such a weird form of notation. Why didn’t they just assign a unique letter to each of the 12 notes in an octave, rather than messing about with sharp, flats and naturals? It was only later that I learnt that traditional Western music had begun with no sharps or flats at all; instead, for much of the first 1000 years of Western musical history, we had only what we now call the natural notes – in other words, just the white notes on a piano keyboard. These were then notated on a musical staff with 11 lines, with each space and line indicating a natural note. This staff was eventually split in two, with symbols (treble and bass clefs) indicating the tonal range, to make it easier to read, but not much else changed for several hundred years. Music of the time was modal, rather than being based on the concept of keys, although some of these modes, such as the Ionian mode (basically C to C on all the white notes) do correspond with modern musical keys (in this case, the key of C Major).

Incredibly, it wasn’t until around a thousand years ago that an Italian musician named Guido D’Arrezo noticed that there was a missing note between A and B. He discovered this when attempting to transpose the Ionian mode to F, which resulted in the B sounding wrong; it was slightly too high. Realising there must be a note between A and B, he dropped the B by a semitone, and renamed the old B ‘H’ (which is why Hohner harmonicas still have ‘H’ in brackets next to their key designation of B). These days we call B, ‘B’ or ‘B Natural’, and the note that Guido named B is now referred to as Bb. As a result of Guido’s discovery, there were now eight, rather than seven, notes in an octave, and two different major keys were now available.

Weirdly, it took a few more centuries for the other sharps or flats to be discovered. It wasn’t until around 1350AD that all of the 12 notes that we now have in an octave were available to musicians. It seems odd that Guido, for example, didn’t apply the same thinking that helped in his discovery of Bb to the scale of G, which would have led to his finding F#. It needs to be remembered, however, that this was the Middle Ages, where much of the population believed in all sorts of nonsense, such as witchcraft or the healing power of magic stones, so the absence of a more scientific approach from Guido can, perhaps, be forgiven.

An interesting side note here is that the symbols for sharps and flats are derived from the same letter – B. Sharps were originally denoted with a square shaped B, which was later stylised as # to avoid confusion with flats, which were indicated by a rounded b, as they are today.

So, What is a Sharp or Flat, Again?

In simple terms, a sharp is where the base note has been raised a semitone, and a flat is where it has been lowered a semitone. Thus, every black note on a piano keyboard can be described in multiple ways – F#, for instance can be named in relation to being a semitone above F (F sharp), or a semitone below G (G flat). The same is true, theoretically, of white notes, but convention dictates that they will almost always be denoted as a natural rather than as a harp or flat (so E, for instance will nearly always be called ‘E’ and not ‘Fb’).

So, the black keys on a piano keyboard, which are the notes traditionally referred to as sharps or flats can be either Db, Eb, Gb, Ab and Bb, or C#, D#, F#, G# and A#.

Why Use Sharps and Flats?

In practice, however, certain notes are generally denoted as either a flat or a sharp by convention, and are rarely referred to by their alternative name. In the world of harmonicas, for instance, all keys that could be called flats or sharps are referred to as flats, except for F#. So the keys of harmonicas are typically referred to as C, Db, E, Eb, F F#, G, Ab, A, Bb, B.

Caveat

The one caveat here is that D# and Eb are only the same note in commonly used Western tuning systems – the most common of which is 12 Equal Temperament, which splits each octave into 12 equally spaced frequencies. In other, older and much less common tuning systems, such as  5 limit Just Intonation, there is a small difference between the two notes. This is because, instead of dividing the octave into equally spaced notes (which from a tonal and mathematical viewpoint, results in some frequency combinations not being perfectly pure ratios), 5 limit Just uses the circle of fifths to create perfectly pure ratios, but it can never return to the starting pitch class because of the impossibility of fitting multiple 3:2 ratios (fifths) into a 2:1 ratio (the octave). The result is the creation of notes, such as D# and Eb, that are note a semitone apart, but are also not quite the same note.

Some instruments were created to enable both notes to be played. An example of this is shown in the video below, where an organ features a split black key, enabling both D# and Eb to be played. Ultimately, though, 5 Limit Just Intonation was largely abandoned many years ago, so for practical purposes equivalent sharps and flats are the same note.

How Altered Tunings Can Take Your Playing To The Next Level

Have you ever found yourself meandering away on a harmonica, repeating the same old riff? Or maybe you’re finding it impossible to play a particular tune on your ten hole harp, irrespective of how much you practise? The solution to both of these problems may be to move away from your old harmonica, and onto something fresh and… altered!(?)

What Are Altered Tunings?

Before we look in detail at the range of altered tunings on the market, and how these can be used to enhance your playing, it’s worth considering what exactly is deemed to be standard tuning. In the case of a 10 hole diatonic harmonica, the most commonly used tuning – and the one that is to such an extent a default that it often won’t be specifically mentioned on the harp or its packaging – is Richter.

Many musicians who pick up the diatonic harmonica after having previously learnt to play a chromatic instrument, such as the piano or guitar, are puzzled by the weird note layout of Richter tuning. It all starts off intuitively –  C, D, E, then suddenly there’s a jump to G. ‘Where the hell has the F gone?’ is what many players think. Then, only a hole later, they’re confronted with a missing A. The middle of the harmonica follows a more logical pattern, lulling the player into a false sense of security before abruptly reversing the note order, then completely passing over the B at the top end. It all seems, to many beginners, to be unnecessarily complicated and not at all user friendly.

What we have to remember, however, is that Richter tuning was created with a very different genre of music in mind than the blues, folk and country music that harmonicas are most commonly used for today. In the early days of harmonica production, diatonics were used primarily for playing varieties of German Oom-pah music, thus the need for major chords to be available in the first four holes (necessitating, for example, the deletion of F and A in the lower octave on a C harp).

In the twentieth century, the limitations of Richter tuning were partially overcome by techniques developed predominantly by blues players, such as bending and playing the harmonica in positions other than first. In some ways, this stifled innovation; rather than changing the tuning to better reflect the needs of the music they were playing, musicians developed techniques to overcome the inherent limitations of a tuning that wasn’t really fit for purpose.

Much like the persistence of the QWERTY keyboard layout, Richter is still the dominant tuning merely because it is the default, and not because it is the best way of arranging notes on a harmonica (or keys on a keyboard in the case of QWERTY). However, there is now a wide range of harmonicas on the market that use altered tunings in order to enable greater expression and/or ease of use. Let’s take a look at some of these and see how they can improve both your playing and creativity.

Powerbender and Powerdraw

These two tunings were both created by Brendan Power to overcome some of the limitations of Richter tuning when bending notes. The Powerbender maintains the same layout as Richter on the lowest four holes, but modifies it from holes five to ten so that the draw note is the higher on on each hole. This enables easier draw bending in the upper register, and overblows on all holes.

The Powerdraw tuning is a combination of Richter and Powerbender; the bottom six holes are tuned the same as Richter, but the top  four holes are tuned the same as Powerbender. This makes it a little more intuitive for players who have only every used Richter harps, but still allows for draw bends at the high end.

Buy these tunings if:  You want to play soulful bluesy riffs and you want full chromaticism without having to resort to overdraws or blow bends.

Harmonicas available in these tunings: Brendan Power Powerbender, Brendan Power Powerdraw, Seydel Session Steel Powerbender, Seydel Session Steel Powerdraw.

Wilde Tunings

Will Wilde is a virtuoso diatonic player who specialises in rock guitar style riffs and solos on the harmonica. To enable him to achieve this he has worked with Seydel to create two signature tunings – Wild Rock and Minor Wilde – which are available on selected Seydel diatonics.

Wilde Rock is much like Powerbender in that it maintains the Richter note layout at the bottom end, but makes substantial changes in the upper register in order to allow for draw bends across the whole range of the harmonica. As this note layout was designed from scratch for playing blues and minor pentatonic licks, it enables much easier access to rock style riffs and solos, but is much less optimised for traditional folk and country tunes.

Minor Wilde is based on Wilde Rock tuning, but is designed for minor keys.

Buy these tunings if: You want to play fast, rocky riffs without Richter’s limitations at the high end.

Harmonicas available in these tunings: Seydel Session Steel Wilde Rock, Seydel 1847 Classic Wilde Rock, Seydel 1847 Classic Minor Wilde.

Paddy Richter

Another Brendan Power tuning, this time with the primary aim of making traditional Irish tunes easier to play quickly. It does this by changing just one note compared to standard Richter – hole three blow is raised by a tone, so that it no longer duplicates hole two draw. This makes it a much easier harp on which to play fast Irish jigs, which often make frequent use of the sixth note in the root key.

Buy this tuning if: You like to play traditional Irish tunes and find Richter tuning holds back your speed.

Harmonicas available in these tunings: Brendan Power Paddy Richter, Seydel Session Steel Paddy Richter, Seydel Noble Paddy Richter

Natural and Harmonic Minors

Whilst natural minor tunes can be played to some extent on standard Richter tuned harps in third, fourth of fifth positions, a natural minor tuned harp (usually designed to be played in second position, and labelled as such) will enable access to minor chords and will make the playing of minor key tunes much more intuitive.

Harmonic minor harps have a slightly different sound and are more suitable for Eastern music, with the raised seventh providing an exotic feel to the harmonica.

Buy these tunings if: You want to play minor key blues, reggae or folk tunes (natural minor) or you want to experiment with Eastern/Gypsy music (harmonic minor).

Harmonicas available in these tunings: Hohner Marine Band 1896, Lee Oskar Natural Minor, Lee Oskar Harmonic Minor, Seydel Session Steel Natural Minor, Seydel Session Steel Harmonic Minor, Suzuki Manji.

There is a whole host of other altered tunings out there besides these, so it’s worth doing a quick search to see if there is anything else that fits your needs, but the tunings above are the ones that I would recommend starting out with. Some of these, such as Powerbender, will help you to play existing licks more easily, whilst others, such as harmonic minor, will take you into whole new musical realms, and help to stop your playing becoming stale and repetitive.

As ever, any questions please drop us a line in the comments sections.

 

JP

 

 

 

Music and the Art of Focused Practice

I’ve written in the past about the role of practice versus natural ability in the learning of an instrument, and the 10,000 hour rule for mastery of a skill, popularised by the writer and intellectual Malcolm Gladwell. It is only recently, however, that I’ve begun to think in detail about exactly how this focused practice needs to be structured for the best results. It’s probably prescient at this point to say that I’m not a dogmatic adherent to the theory that all skills can be mastered by all people given enough time and the correct pedagogical techniques, but I do believe that the influence of innate abilities is often overestimated in today’s society.

In Outliers, Gladwell argues that relatively small differences in natural aptitudes at specific skills in the early stages of childhood can form a virtuous circle that results in these individuals being more enthusiastic about practising these skill than peers whose initial ability level may be only marginally lower. Those who show an innate talent for maths, for example, would be more likely to enjoy solving mathematical problems, and, as a consequence, get better at maths through consistent and regular practice, than those who initially find it harder, and thus shy away from the subject. This theory is at least partly corroborated by evidence showing that children with birthdays early in the academic year tend to perform better in national attainment tests taken later in life than those born further into the academic year. The difference is not a consequence of the age variance at the time of the tests, which is minimal in percentage terms, but is more likely to be explained by the age difference when schooling is started, when cognitive growth is most rapid, and younger children in the year group are at more of a disadvantage. This disadvantage is further amplified by the effects described above.

Gladwell goes on to describe the importance of focused practice; that is to say, the type of practice that is most likely to yield progress. Even a child prodigy such as Mozart, he indicates, would have concentrated on focused practice for large periods of his early life, helped by a father who was remarkably forward thinking in pedagogical terms. But what exactly is focused practice, and how can we use it to improve our playing?

What is Focused Practice?

For a little while now, I’ve been attempting to master the piano on the well known Nina Simone hit, My Baby Just Cares For Me. Most of you, I think, will be at least partially familiar with the tune, and will recognise its descending bassline and jazzy, bluesy piano, but for those who don’t know it I’ve included a version below. It starts with a fairly simple combination of stabby inverted chords in the right hand with a walking bass style bottom end played in the left hand. However, by about two thirds of the way through the song some tricky stuff creeps in, involving significant right and left hand separation both rhythmically and tonally.

My approach to learning and mastering this song had, until recently, been to play it all the way through, stumble over a few bits, then try again. Occasionally I would repeat a phrase that I found difficult, but most of the time I’d play start to finish and then circle back again. Unfortunately my progression with this piece of music had seemed to reach a plateau; sometimes I’d feel that I’d improved a bit, but after any sort of sustained break from playing it I would be roughly back to square one. The reason for this lack of progression may seem obvious in hindsight, but at the time I felt that I was doing exactly what I should do – focused practice on a single piece of music. This had worked for me on simpler pieces of music in the past, but for something complex like this song I needed a different approach.

Four Stages of Competence

There’s a well known theory in the psychology of learning that breaks down skills acquisition into four stages: unconscious incompetence, conscious incompetence, conscious competence and unconscious competence. Stage one – unconscious incompetence – is not always pertinent to playing an instrument, unless you’re tone deaf or deluded about your own abilities; it’s pretty hard to be incompetent at playing a particular piece whilst also being unconscious of this fact. Most players, instead, find themselves somewhere beween stage two and stage three, with, perhaps, a smattering of stage four at some points in a given musical work.

The point to take home here is that if you practise pieces of music by playing them all the way through, all of the time, it’s likely that, unless you are in at least stage three throughout the piece, you’re not making the best use of your time. So what do you do instead?

Isolate Parts

With complex tasks it’s often best to break them down into constituent parts and focus on perfecting each of these before putting them together as a whole. It’s no good trying to correct multiple technical areas at once, as your brain will not be able to find the necessary focus, and you’ll be left with a mess. I finally perfected the solo part of My Baby Just Cares For Me, by isolating the difficult parts in each hand, then perfecting them by practising, in a critical, but not overly critical, way again and again, until each hand could play its part cleanly and consistently. After that it was just a case of putting the two hands together, which was made easier by the fact that I didn’t need to worry about exactly what each hand was playing – by this point I had mastered this and, therefore had to focus only on synchronising them.

I may be making this sound easy. Unfortunately it isn’t and wasn’t. Practising in this way can be tiresome, which is why many musicians will either move on to something else, or try to play the whole song, albeit imperfectly. One of the keys, (no pun intended!), to progression, of course, is persistence, and I strongly believe that this is a more important quality in top musicians than supposed natural talent, but this type of practice can be made more bearable and productive by ensuring that it is done in small segments. Three sessions of 20 minutes practice will yield much better results than an hour labouring away. Short sessions also allow for development time – think of it as the unconscious digesting the practice. It’s also worth understanding that the development of your playing will not be a nice linear process from beginner to expert. Instead it will be marked by a series of improvements punctuated by plateaus where no significant development appears to be happening. Ensuring that you stay committed and consistent throughout these plateaus is the key to achieving the jumps in ability level that appear to come out of nowhere, but which are actually a consequence of persistent hard work eventually paying off. It is also vital that you focus on rewarding yourself mentally for any small gains, whilst visualising mistakes not as inherent errors that are impossible to remove, but areas for improvement that will be addressed by continued work.

In the classic Simpsons episode, The Otto Show, Homer asks Bart where his guitar is. Bart apprehensively tells his father that he found it too hard, to which Homer replies, ‘It’s OK, son. If a job’s hard to do it’s not worth doing!’ The reality of learning an instrument, sadly, is the opposite of this sentiment – focus on the hard parts of playing and your weaknesses and progression will come naturally.

 

 

 

 

What is the Best Harmonica for Children?

The harmonica is an ideal instrument for children to learn the basics of music, whilst still having fun. The learning curve for playing simple melodies is relatively shallow, and, as diatonic harmonicas are tuned to a single key, errors will not generally sound cacophonous! Compare this to some other instruments, such as the recorder or violin, which, when played poorly, can be akin to a form of torture, and it’s clear to see the advantage of letting a child start their musical education with the naturally tuneful blues harp.

There are many harmonicas that are designed specifically for the junior market – some merely from a price or aesthetic point – so it can be difficult to sort the metaphorical wheat from the chaff. Let’s examine some of the main options to help you avoid any pitfalls.

Buy Cheap, Buy Twice?

There’s an old adage when buying musical instruments that suggests that cheaper purchases are a false economy. However, there is also the counter force at play that parents often don’t want to invest serious money in what might be just a whim of their child’s. The good news with harmonicas is that even a professional level diatonic will only set you back £30 to £100; compared with, say a saxophone or piano, this is a remarkably small outlay for a serious instrument.

Of course, there are plenty of models of harmonica below this price that are specifically designed for children. Let’s look at some of these and see if they offer any advantages over standard diatonics.

Hohner Speedy

The first thing you’ll notice about Hohner’s Speedy harmonica, other than its bright primary colours, is the fact that it has only four holes, providing just a single octave. Whilst this limits the tonal range, it does make playing simple melodies much easier for small children. It also features larger holes, meaning that mouth position doesn’t need to be as precise as with a standard ten hole harp when trying to achieve single notes. As such, this is our number one choice of harmonica for small children just starting out on the harmonica.

Suzuki Airwave

The Suzuki Airwave is not dissimilar to a much larger version of the Speedy, albeit one with the standard ten holes rather than four. It is considerably bigger than a standard diatonic harmonica, but with larger holes and spaces between holes, to facilitate the playing of single notes by beginners. Its dimensions make it unsuitable for very young children with small hands, but for those around 8 years and up it is a great sounding and playing harmonica that replicates the tone and feel of a standard diatonic but with a lower price point and easier initial playing experience. This makes it our recommended harmonica for slightly older children, who have either progressed from the Speedy or who are just starting out with the harmonica.

Hohner Big River MS

Whilst there are a number of ten hole, standard sized children’s diatonics on the market, many of them are harder to play than a harmonica designed for adults. For tweens and teenagers who wish to play a standard blues harp, we’d recommend skipping both the plastic bodied ten hole harmonicas, and the cheaper, Chinese made harmonicas from brands like Hohner and Suzuki, and go straight to a German or Japanese made instrument. One of the most inexpensive of these is the Hohner Big River, which features a durable ABS comb, replaceable reed plates (making it m0re cost effective than inexpensive harps in the long run) and decent airtightness – something lacking in many Chinese made harps. This latter feature will make more complex techniques, such as bending, far easier than on a cheaper harmonica, which, in turn, will help to ensure that your child or teenager continues to practise!

What Key of Harmonica Should I Buy for a Child?

Most children’s harmonicas are only available in C, but if you are purchasing an adult harmonica, such as the Big River, you will be given a choice of keys. You should always choose C as the starter key for a number of reasons; most online lessons are in the key of C; more songs are written in C than any other key; and C is in the middle of the tonal range of standard tunings, meaning that the player will learn to bend on moderately thick reeds, especially at the bottom end, rather than very thick reeds (too hard) of the lower keys, or the thin reeds of the higher keys (too easy). This will stand them in good stead when they move on to other keys.

Do I Need More Than One Key?

It’s not necessary to purchase more than one key of diatonic harmonica unless your child wishes to play along to songs that aren’t in the key of the harp that they have, or to play with other musicians.

Hohner Marine Band – The Definitive History

Hohner’s Marine Band diatonic harmonica has been a mainstay of the German brand’s range for over 120 years. Let’s take a look at its history, how it has influenced the development of countless other harmonicas, and how current models compare to those which are now antiques.

What is a Hohner Marine Band?

When most players picture a Marine Band harmonica, they visualise a classic nailed-together ten hole blues harp, with a wood comb and brass reeds. Whilst this is partially accurate, Hohner, over the years, has used the Marine Band name to refer to a whole host of different harmonicas, from the 12 hole 364/24s to the plastic combed Special 20. We’ll delve into this in more detail later in this article, but, for the sake of simplicity, when we refer to ‘Marine Band’ without any further designations, we are discussing the classic ten hole model that has undergone various revisions over the years, but is still available, as the 1896 model, in a design that would be familiar to the Victorian players of the very first Marine Bands.

When was the First Hohner Marine Band Manufactured?

Hohner had been manufacturing harmonicas for several decades before the release of the Marine Band, whose design was patented in 1896. Confusingly, initial models from this period with the 1896 model number were sometimes sold as the ‘Marine Orchestra’, ‘Orpheus’ or ‘Up To Date’ in various markets. As an aside here, it is always interesting to witness the sheer amateurishness of Victorian/Edwardian marketing – today no company in their right mind would use such a ridiculous phrase as ‘up to date’ as a product name!

Early Marine Band Models

Models of Marine Band harmonica from before the middle of the 1930s are visually distinguishable from later models by their ‘Mickey Mouse’ cover plates. This refers to the circular tabs where the cover plates are nailed to the comb. This distinctive feature was lost on all later Marine Band models, with the exception of the 125 Anniversary Marine Band, which replicates the aesthetics (but, crucially, not the temperament) of a 1920s 1896.

Most changes during the pre-war period were aesthetic, although there were some minor alterations to the rolling of the cover plates at the rear. One important aesthetic change, from a historical perspective, however, was the removal of the embossed star on the cover plates, whose five points were said to represent Herr Hohner’s five sons. This seemingly innocuous symbol was likely to have been seen as potentially detrimental to Hohner’s standing with the Nazi party in the 1930s and 1940s, so was quietly removed.

Post-War Marine Bands

Post-war Marine Bands remained largely unchanged from their pre-war siblings until the early 1980s, when a plastic case replaced the the venerable cardboard one. Later in the 1980s the Marine Band reed plates had their temperaments altered in series of changes, moving from the 7 limit Just Intonation that had been a feature of the harp since its creation, to various compromised temperaments. Interestingly, the latest 1896 models have moved back to a tuning closer to Just Intonation, signalling the start, perhaps, of an eventual full circle movement?

During the 1990s, Hohner made a somewhat disastrous foray into machine built harmonicas with its initial MS range, This featured a poorly received MS Marine Band, which was quickly pulled from the market, but which led to the ‘hand made’ moniker being added to 1896 models in order to distinguish them (and presumably to stop sales being hurt through confusion with the MS Marine Band).

A further change, made in 2000, saw the 1896 gain stainless steel reed plates rather than nickel coated mild steel ones, then the final update came in 2011, when sealing of the pearwood comb was introduced, making the Marine Band a little more resistant to swelling.

Marine Band Today

The Marine Band 1896 is now part of a larger range of harmonicas that fall within the Marine Band Series. These all share a similar architecture and feature wood combs, but are quite different. Let’s take a closer look at the various models on offer:

Marine Band 1896: This is the closest harmonica to the original Marine Band, and still has nailed together construction, a pearwood comb, and the same size and shape of reeds as its forebears.

Marine Band Deluxe: A significant increase in price over the 1896 model gives you bolted together construction, upgraded reed plates and a triple sealed comb, which is significantly more resistant to swelling than the standard Marine Band.

Marine Band Crossover: This takes the construction and footprint of the Deluxe and adds further upgrades to the reed plates and an extremely swell resistant bamboo comb.

Marine Band Thunderbird: This is the low tuned iteration of the Crossover and has slanted cover plates to enable sufficient air space for the larger reeds.

Outside of this series lies the 364/24 Marine Band, which is fundamentally a 12 hole version of the 1896, albeit one that has the option of a chromatic-like solo tuning.

How Has The Marine Band Been Influential?

The Marine Band’s influence on the world of harmonicas and popular music cannot be overstated. Marine Bands have been a staple of almost every influential 10 hole player, from Bob Dylan to Little Walter, and their distinctive sound has been featured on hundreds of hit records. From a design point of view, it’s the most famous and copied harmonica in existence, and the fact that it is still sold today in a form that is not significantly different from that first produced over a century ago is a testament to the inherent rightness of the original design.

Which Marine Band Harmonica Should I Buy?

Many players see images or footage of Sonny Boy Williamson playing a 7 limit just intonation Marine Band and assume this is what they need to get the authentic blues sound. They feel that these is something inherently better about these pre-1980s harmonicas. This sentiment is mirrored in the vintage guitar world, where pre-CBS Fenders and early Gibson Les Pauls command stratospheric prices. The truth, however, is that there is nothing particularly special about these vintage harps;  the famous players who used them did so more through expediency than anything else. In short, the Marine Band was one of the few decent harmonicas widely available in the 1950s and 1960s, ergo most blues players from this era used them.

For players looking for a traditional sound and feel, and who don’t mind fiddling around with nails when replacing reed plates, the 1896 is still one of the best sounding harmonicas on the market. It’s also fairly economically priced for a German made harp.

Players who prefer easy ergonomics, and/or are prone to causing combs to swell will be better served by the Deluxe or Crossover. Of the two, the Crossover is, in my opinion, the superior harmonica, but it is slightly more expensive than the Deluxe; something that adds up when buying a complete set.

The Thunderbird and 364 are both harmonicas that suit special use cases, but are also both excellent instruments. The former is one of the best sounding and playing low tuned harmonicas on the market, and the latter is one of the few 12 hole harmonicas that is widely available.

 

 

Around once a week on average, I receive an email from a customer who has been dealing with a late relative’s estate and has found a collection of what appear to be vintage harmonicas. If they aren’t enquiring about whether we would be interested in buying them (we’re not – for reasons I’ll explain later) they’re usually concerned with the value of the instruments. My answer is always disappointing, as it can be summarised with the words ‘not’, ‘a’ and ‘lot’. One day I may be surprised by being shown a particularly rare and sought after harmonica, but that day has not yet arrived. Let’s look at why this is, and whether there are any harmonicas that have significant value.

There’s an old joke in the cycling world that goes something like this: my greatest fear is that after I die my wife sells my collection of bikes for what I told her I paid for them! Whilst I have had customers who have surreptitiously purchased sets of relatively expensive harps, the same joke can’t really be used in the world of harmonicas; they’re an inexpensive instrument (with a few notable exceptions), whose value is unlikely ever to be more than £100 on the used market.

The reasons for this are numerous. First, harmonicas have been made in their millions over the years, so supply is never likely to be particularly limited. Second, they’re an instrument with a finite lifespan, which doesn’t lend itself to being left unused for long periods of time. Third, and most importantly, the nature of how the harmonica is played brings with it a whole host of hygiene issues when buying a used instrument.

If we compare harmonicas to electric guitars, where certain models such as original ’59 Les Pauls and pre-CBS Fenders can command five and even six figure values, we can see how the different nature of these instruments and their production has influenced their value. Even at its early 1960s peak, Fender would have produced far fewer guitars than a brand like Hohner; I’d say the ratio of Hohner harmonicas to Fender guitars manufactured in a given year in the 1960s would have been at least 100:1. Ergo, no lack of harmonica supply. Guitars, if stored correctly, show no detrimental effects from being left unplayed, and many musicians even feel that an older instrument acquires a superior tone with age. This is not the same for harmonicas, where an unplayed diatonics or chromatic is likely to be rusty, swollen and good for nothing if left in a draw for a few decades. Lastly, and most obviously, there are no hygiene issues with playing a guitar that previously belonged to someone else.

All of this adds up to mean that vintage harps (and newer used ones) have very little desirability, and, therefore, value. There are exceptions, however, so let’s look at typical prices for different types of harmonica.

Nearly New Diatonics and Chromatics

Hohner may not lay claim to being the oldest extant manufacturer of harmonicas (that honour goes to its compatriot, Seydel, which is a few years more senior), but it can legitimately attest to being one of the most influential brands within the world of harps. Many of its innovations have changed the direction of the harmonica industry and have been widely copied by others. One of the most important of these was the creation of the world’s first diatonic harmonica with a plastic comb and recessed reed plates – the Hohner Special 20. Let’s have a look at the history of this harp and see why its design has been aped by so many other manufacturers since its launch.

Hohner in the 1970s

The 1970s were initially something of a fallow period for the German company, as they were for many businesses across the world. Energy prices had increased considerably, labour relations in factories were generally poor and the folk music boom created by artists such as Bob Dylan, and which drove significant harmonica sales, was starting to wane.  Hohner’s model range was also somewhat dated, with the venerable Marine Band – little changed since its creation in the Victorian era! – still being one of its most popular harmonicas. (There is, of course the side note that pre-1980s 7-limit Just Intonation Marine Bands are now very desirable, but that’s a story for another day!)

Hohner needed something new to reinvigorate sales, and the answer lay in creating a harmonica that solved some of the fundamental issues of harps with wooden combs – swelling and comb roughness – whilst also being cost effective to manufacture. That harmonica was the Hohner Special 20.

Hohner Marine Band Special 20

Pearwood and other similar woods had been the staple material for harmonica combs since the invention of the instrument in the 1800s. They were relatively easy to manipulate into the shapes needed both for diatonic and chromatic harps, and provided the harmonicas with a distinctive tone, which could be manipulated subtly through the exact choice of wood type.

The major downside of wood in this application, however, is its tendency to swell over time when exposed to moisture. As combs are a part of the harmonica that comes into direct contact with the player’s mouth, and, no matter how careful a player is with their drying out routine, some moisture will come into contact with the comb, comb swelling and roughness over time is the almost inevitable result. Sealing liquids applied to the comb can partially mitigate both issues, as can careful choice of wood type, but these are not foolproof.

So, enter the post-War wonder material – plastic, which can be shaped into almost any form that’s needed, is inexpensive, smooth to play and completely resistant to swelling. It also had the added advantage that it could be manipulated in such a way that the reed plates could be completely recessed behind the comb. This made for a much smoother experience for a player’s mouth when doing fast runs on the harp, and also allowed musicians with nickel allergies to play the harmonica for the first time.

Of course, there was some initial scepticism – harmonica players, like guitarists, tend to be traditionalists – and plastic didn’t have a great reputation in terms of tone on other instruments, such as guitars, which has experimented with the material. However, a large number of players were won over when they heard the Special 20 in action, and discovered that the tone was only marginally different to the Marine Band, and didn’t sound thin and artificial, as they, perhaps, had expected. Even famous blues harpists, like Sonny Terry, began to add Special 20s to their collection, especially for live use, where their durability and easy bending made them perfectly suited to live on the road.

It didn’t hurt that the Special 20 was based on the Marine Band, in terms of aesthetics and size; had they made it truly radical, like, say a modern Yonberg harmonica, the results may have been different. It was even called a ‘Marine Band Special 20’ for many years, which became slightly confusing when all of the other Marine Band range models used a wood comb.

Original Special 20s shipped with a rather fetching leather case. This was later updated to the plastic case that still comes with the Special 20 today.

Imitators of the Hohner Special 20

By the 1980s, other manufacturers had caught on to the idea of a plastic comb, and the Special 20 had more competition from the likes of Tombo, via the Lee Oskar range of harps, and, towards the end of the century, Seydel, which had reappeared after a period of neglect during its time behind the Iron Curtain. Suzuki in Japan had also begun to make diatonic harps that drew on the Special 20’s main design features, and the marketplace for harmonicas with plastic combs was looking much more competitive.

Hohner responded with the misjudged MS range, which imitated the modular design of Lee Oskar harps. Unfortunately, initial harps in this range were blighted by Hohner’s move to a computer controlled production line that led to numerous tuning and longevity issues, and which was later abandoned. MS harps such as the Pro Harp, are popular today, but as they have to ensure cross compatibility with wood combs (which feature on the MS Blues Harp), they don’t have recessed reed plates, and, in my opinion, don’t play as well as the Special 20.

Progressive Series Special 20 Versus Marine Band Special 20

The only major change to the Special 20 in its 50 year history was when Hohner moved it to be part of the Progressive range of harmonicas, which also features the Rocket and Golden Melody harps. This made sense, as the Special 20 has far more in common with the modern design of the Progressive range harps, which all feature ABS combs, than the traditional, wood comb Marine Band models. Unfortunately, this move coincided with a dip in quality, leading many players to claim a New Coke/Classic Coke situation, and search, often in vain, for new old stock of the ‘Classic’ Special 20.

The reality was that quality soon improved, and any difference between the two versions was either cosmetic (‘Progressive’ printed on the cover plates in place of ‘Marine Band’) or so small as to make no discernible difference (extra screws in the reed plates to allow Rocket and Special 20 reed plates to be interchangeable). Today, the Special 20 is as good as it’s every been and is an excellent choice for any level of player.

Should I Buy a Special 20, then?

The Special 20 offers easy bending, great durability and a dark tone that many players love. However, it is not without its flaws. The comb itself is quite a basic design, with square edges, and it’s no longer considered a high volume harmonica, if that’s your thing(!)

Personally, I prefer the Rocket, which is the same basic design as the Special 20 (their reed plates are identical, for one thing) but has a much nicer comb, with softer edges and chambers designed to increase volume. It’s a little more expensive than the Special 20, but the difference is marginal for the more luxurious feel it imparts. This said, if you want country tunings and a full range of keys, the Special 20 is still the harp to buy.