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DATE: Sat, 09 Jul 1994 22:14:30 CDT
From: Winslow Yerxa <76450.32~ompuserve.com>
Subject: Jason's Questions

Jason asks about several different types of harmonicas. By the way, most
basic questions are worth addressing in public. If you don;t know the answer,
someone else who hasn't spoken up may
also benefit from the information. I
see you've discovered the Harmonigopher. Also plough through the archives for
the harp list (I think they're on the Harmonigopher, but I don't have direct
Internet access to check it out).

DIATONIC CHROMATIC TREMOLO OCTAVE

These are alll types of harmonicas. As one respondent showed, they are also
general musical terms. (unforrtunately, his
answer was full of confused and erroneous information. I'll be glad to give him
a remedial theory lesson when
I get back from Memphis).

DIATONIC is the basic inexpensive harmonica used by most players. It is
commonly used for blues, folk, rock and country. It is even used for jazz, now
that Howard Levy and others have advanced its technique enough to handle the
demands of more harmonically complex
music.

Diatonic means, roughly, something in only one key, and that's the meaning
applied to the harmonica. A C harmonica is tuned to the C major scale, and
plays the two most important chords in C (C Major chord and G 7th chord). If
you want to play the same song in another key, let's say D, you'd pick up a D
harp and play it the same way you did in C. It's a little like using a capo on
a guitar.

Funny thing is, diatonic players are more likely to play a C harp in G and a D
harp in A - five notes up the scale. This makes the instrument bluesier and
more expressive. On a C harmonica, the blow notes form a C chord when played
together, and the draw notes form a G7th
chord. The draw notes can bent (you
can lower the pitch), allowing you to wail, cry, choke and generally be very
vocal-sounding on the notes of the G
chord. This is called second position, or
cross harp. Playing the C cahrp in C would be first position, or straight
harp. A diatonic can be played in twelve positions - one for each note of the
chromatic scale, meaning, that with
advanced technique, you can play one
diatonic in all keys, thereby defeating the name og this type of harmonica.
Howard Levy is the main pioneer of this recent development.

CHROMATIC

Chromatic (literally, in Latin "colored") means anything that goes outside
the boundaries of one single key. Chromatic harmonicas come in several
different keys, with a tuning that is adapted from the middle octave of the
diatonic, and can be played in any key with sufficient skill. however, some
players treat their chromatics like diatonics - learn to play in one or two
positions, then just switch to a different key chromatic to play in a
different key.

The chromatic is actually two harps in one body. A C chromatic contains a
complete C harmonica and a complete C# harmonica. It will play the notes of C
major unless you press in a sliding lever
at the right side, which blocks out
the C harp and exposes the notes of the C# harp. Using the slide like this
gives the chromatic all kinds of possibilities not found on the diatonic, but
the chromatic can't get qwuite the same juicy wail that the diatonic can, and
it's not as versatile for playing chords.

Some blues players play chromatic for variety, usually in third position (D on
a C harp) because the draw chord on a C chromatic is a d minor chord. The
sound of this chord and the big, ominous tone of the extra-large chromatic
favored by blues players combine for an effective, eerie sound that is
unique.

However, the chromatic is a very different instrument to play, and much more
expensive than the diatonic - price start
at aroundf $50 - so most diatonic
players never go too far with it.

Almost all classical harmonica playing is done on the chromatic (Larry Adler,
Tommy Reilly, Robert Bonfiglio, Cham-ber Huang). There are several excellent
jazz players on chromatic (Toots Thielemans, Hendrik Meurkens, Mike Turk,
William Galison). Stevie Wonder is somewhere between jazz and popular music.
Chromatic is also used in harmonica bands
(see below).

TREMOLO and OCTAVE HARMONICAS

These are DOUBLE REED instruments, meaning that every time you play a note,
two reeds are activated instead of one, which augments the sound.

The AutoValve harp is a diatonic harp, tuned like a standard diatonic, except
that it is two harmonicas, one above and one below, mounted in the same body.
The lower harmonica gives the sound warmth and depth, while the upper one
gives it brightness and snap. You can play both harps together (which is the
intended manner) or separately (this takes
some practice). I wrote an article
about it in HIP No. 12 and demonstrated it on a companion cassette.

The BASS HARMONICA and CHORD HARMONICA are also double reed instruments (SEE
BAND INSTRUMENTS below).

TREMOLO HARMONICAS

Tremolo harmonicas, like octave-tuned instruments, sound two reeds for one
note, except that both reeds play the same note - almost. One reed is
slightly detuned, giving the sound a certain warmth and body. Accordions also
have tremolo tuning, and the sound is similar. The more out of tune with each
other the reeds are, the 'wetter" the sound is said to be. Gordon Jackson, who
is on this list, is something of an expert on tremolo instruments, which are
primarily used in folk music of Europe and Asia. They don't seem to have much
currency in North America, except in
French Canada. Most tremolo harmonicas
are diatonic. Some models come with several keys mounted on a spindle like a
corncob - rotate it and eat another row in
a different key. If a harmonica has
Echo, or an alpine scene on the box, it's probably some kind of tremolo.

BAND INSTRUMENTS

in the 1920's harmonica bands arose, first as an educational activity in the
east coast, with huge student harmonica orchestras, and then as a type of
vaudeville act, with up to eight or nine
players and loits of slapstick comedy
- along with some very fine playing.

Chromatic usually played the lead in these groups, but the supporting roles
were given to BASS HARMONICA and CHORD harmonica, playing roles similar to
bass and rhythm guitar in most other kinds of bands. these are both double
reeded instruments, and are usually two large imstruments, one fastened on top
of the other. The bass can play 48 different chords, while the bass has a two
octave range, starting from the same bottom E note as a string bass or bass
guitar.

Additional instruments used in the harmonica bands include the polyphonia and
chromatica, which are chromatic
instruments with a twist. Instead of having a
blow and a draw reed tuned to different notes, these instruments had either
all blow notes, or a blow and a draw note tuned the same - and in tune. If
Hole 1 was C, then Hole 2 was C# and Hole 3 was D and so on - each successive
hole was another note in the chromatic scale, so that you could slide around
from note to note just by moving the harp from side to side. These instruments
give a sort of gliding sound, and are used for variety, playing perhaps one
chorus in a song.

The better known harmonica bands include Borrah Minnevitch's Harmonica
Rascals, and the Harmonicats. Harmonica bands, both professional amd amateur,
continue to be very popular in many
harmonica clubs throughout the U.S. and
around the world.