[Harp-L] Re:Harmonica most difficult instrument

["CHARLES BASSI" <jeanchar50@xxxxxxx>]

Well...yes and no...
It's easy to get pleasing sounds out of a harmonica pretty quickly.
Virtuosity is another matter.  Cheers to those members of the 
harp community who push the envelope and play a variety of
challenging material on the harp.
On diatonic, all the notes aren't there, which entails
several advanced strategies, overblows, alt tunings, etc.
Howard Levy says in his video, it's easier to play arpeggios on almost any other 
instrument.
Chromatic is technically very challenging.  Pretty easy to leap an
octave on the piano, a bit more challenging on the chromatic.
AND You have to be pretty coordinated and dedicated to work that slide.
Pluses of harp:  You can play lines AND chords (a sax can't).
You can sustain a note forever (as long as your breath holds out) [Guitar and piano can't].
Harmonica is one of the most EVOCATIVE instruments.  People love the sound.

Confession: Diatonic harmonica was my first instrument, and my ear got accustomed to
it's notes and range, so when I tried to duplicate a piece of music that I'd heard on another
instrument, I'd miss tones without really being aware of it.  Once I picked up a
guitar (though I'm the world's worst guitar player) I found it much easier to
pick out melodies (correctly) than on the harmonica. My ear got more sophisticated.

Anyway, virtuosity on the harmonica is certainly challenging, more so than on some other
instruments, but I'm pretty impressed by the imagination and technique
shown on the harmonica these days,l and shared by the players on this list.