Re: [Harp-L] help me choose the right chromatic harmonica !



To clarify on the bending issue:

if you half-valve a chromatic (remove all the valves on the outside of each reedplate) you will be able to get bends that sound like diatonic bends (because both blow and draw reeds will contribute to the sound of the bent note), but those bends will be limited in range to at most a semitone. That's what I meant about not being able to bend deeply on a half-valved chromatic.

However, if you do *not* remove any valves, you can actually bend notes down much farther - as much as 4 semitones, depending on the note, the player, and how the reeds are adjusted. However, it won't have that diatonic sound - it's a trade-off.

The Stevie Wonder example that Richard cites is one where the reeds are fully valved (unless he's playing in the top three holes, where valving ends on standard Hohner chromatics), so Stevie had the potential to bend the note down much farther if he chose to. As to initiating the note at the bent pitch - that's a matter of careful attention to technique. 

When I used the term "attack"  I meant simply that if a diatonic player is used to slamming hard into a bent note and then tries the same thing on chromatic, the instrument will likely refuse to speak. Learning to bend on a chromatic, especially if you already play diatonic, is best approached by starting gently and coaxing bends out. Once you get a feel for it, you can start to get more aggressive. And, of course, Stevie has had about 50 years to refine his technique on chromatic.

Winslow

Winslow Yerxa

Author, Harmonica For Dummies ISBN 978-0-470-33729-5

--- On Sun, 8/23/09, Richard Hunter <turtlehill@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

From: Richard Hunter <turtlehill@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: Re: [Harp-L] help me choose the right chromatic harmonica !
To: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx
Date: Sunday, August 23, 2009, 6:16 PM

Winslow wrote:
<Bending notes on a chromatic harmonica is possible but requires a gentler and more careful initiation of the bend - it's not an "attack" as it 
<can often be on a diatonic. Still, bending on a chromatic will never soud or feel the way it does on a diatonic - even with the "half-valving" <option recommended by some players and customizers, you can't bend notes as deeply as on a diatonic due to the way the notes are arranged.

Well, yes and no.  On "Please Don't Go,", Stevie Wonder hits a Bb in the second octave of a 64 chromatic with a bend right on the attack that drops the note below an A.  It's pretty impressive.   

Winslow adds:
<The CX-12 has a good reputation for bending, again largely due to airtightness. It can be had for as little as $160 if you shop around. 

I love the CX-12 for its big, powerful tone, and it does indeed bend very well.  I'd go so far as to say that playing a CX-12 is about as close as you can get to playing diatonic style on the chromatic harp, at least within the current state of the art where production instruments are concerned.  It's also a pretty durable instrument.

In short:  I vote for the CX-12 where this request is concerned.

regards, Richard Hunter

author, "Jazz Harp"
latest mp3s and harmonica blog at http://myspace.com/richardhunterharp
more mp3s at http://taxi.com/rhunter
Vids at http://www.youtube.com/user/lightninrick
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