Re: [Harp-L] Re: (Harp-L) Hello and introduction

[tom ball <havaball@xxxxxxx>]

Hi Vern,

Well, as I mentioned, the swap vis-a-vis of opinions is truly what 
makes the world go 'round... :)  I welcome your point of view.

you wrote:
It seems to me that at every step, the Chromatic is simpler and more 
straightforward and doesn't require any of the difficult oral 
acrobatics required to bend or overblow.
_____
Ummm... well, to my thinking it may be just the opposite.  Now before 
you shake off that assumption, please bear with me for a sec..? <g>

The person asking the question is a brand new player.  The very 
structure of Richter diatonic tuning is quite forgiving -- if one 
tries to learn a simple melody (like, say, "Oh Susanna,") and cannot 
yet nail individual holes right out of the shoot, the holes that are 
*next* to the ones a person wants to hit are at least harmonies. I.e. 
if one is sloppy as a beginner, on the diatonic one can still play a 
close approximation of what one is aiming for...

This means that, for a beginner who is as yet incapable of always 
nailing individual holes, a certain harmony exists -- a harmony that 
is not incorrect.  As much as I love chromatics, (solo tuned,) this 
is not the case...
_____
> If you argue that the blues sound better on a diatonic, or that the 
> diatonic has the low-octave dominant draw chord, or that you can buy 
> 3 or 4 diatonics for the price of one chromatic, or that the 
> diatonic fits more neatly in your pocket, or the diatonic requires 
> less maintenance, I'll concede.  But simpler to learn????
_____
I suppose it depends upon one's definition of "simpler to learn" (?) 
I concede that *neither* instrument is "simple" to learn.  I am only 
saying (and still would say) that a person who has NEVER played any 
type of harmonica before (as this gentleman has described himself,) 
would be better off with a diatonic first, if only because there 
might be more initial positive results <shrug.>  But in either case, 
it's no piece of cake.  This ain't no kazoo!  :)

Then, (if he/she wishes,) they could (and should) try a chrom.

Just my humble opinion --other's mileage may vary....

-- cheers and hope to see you down the road,
TB