[Harp-L] re: My First Chromatic

[Jonathan Ross <jross38@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

My fellow Jonathan askes:

"1. What's a good overall resource website for the chromatic?"


You've already gotten all the ones I would have given (HarpOn,  
etc...), however I would recommend two offline sources.  The first  
"Play the Harmonica Well" is written by the late, great and lamented  
Douglas Tate.  While Douglas was a chromatic player primarily, many  
of the techniques can be transposed to any harmonica--and in some  
ways any instrument.  It does have some specifics for the chromatic  
that will be a great help, and is well-written and nicely arranged to  
allow for progress at your own pace.  I'm not sure, but it was  
available via Amazon for a while.

Second, I would highly recommend Richard Hunter's book "Jazz Harp".   
This is useful for both chromatic and diatonic, thought a bit more of  
a focus on the later (which makes sense, considering the genre).  It  
has basic lessons as well as suggested listening and also several  
transcriptions.  Including several of Stevie Wonder, which will help  
with your third question.


"2. Should I mod this harp right away?  If so, what's the first thing  
to do?"


Why?  Assuming there's nothing wrong with it, then learn to play it  
first.  Otherwise you can't know what type of modifications you might  
want.  If it is working, then wait on this.


"4. Is it normal for most of what I play on this thing to sound  
Arabian or
like an accordion?"


The tone is different than a diatonic.  I would say it sounds more  
like a harmonica than anything else, but all harmonicas sound a bit  
like accordions--they're both free reed instruments with little  
variation on the reed tone.  Right now you have a fairly weak tone-- 
listen to Stevie for an example of what it can sound like.  Listen to  
Toots and Larry Adler for other examples of the available tones  
(there are many, indeed, everyone has a unique tone just as with  
diatonic).  Remember what the diatonic sounded like when you were  
first learning it, then consider how that has changed as you got  
better.  The same will be true for the chromatic.

As for the Arabian thing, I have no idea what that means--unless you  
are using the slider to get the minor 2nd a lot, which is typical of  
many Arabesque compositions from the late 19th and early 20th centuries.


"5. Are the bends supposed to be so small and touchy, prone to  
squealing or
choking?"


Winslow answered this somewhat.  Bends on a chromatic are different  
than a diatonic.  In the later you mostly have dual-reed bends, where  
the opposite reed (opening reed, IIRC) is actually producing the  
pitch during the bend in combination with (at least at first) the  
standard reed (closing reed, IIRC).  In a chromatic (and several  
other harmonica types) the reeds are isolated from interacting with  
one another and thus you get single-reed bends.  Here only the reed  
which plays in the direction of the airflow (the closing reed, IIRC)  
is being bent.  This requires a somewhat different technique with a  
different feel and touch to it.  Single-reed bends do not sound the  
same as dual-reed bends, as they are a different physical and  
acoustical phenomena in the instrument.  In many ways you're diatonic  
bending technique can carry over, but it will be a matter of trial  
and error to learn the differences and then to use them--it's not  
like when you were learning to bend on a diatonic in the first place,  
but the chromatic is a different instrument in many ways, though  
obviously very similar in others.


Hope this helps.




 ()()    JR "Bulldogge" Ross
()  ()   & Snuffy, too:)
`----'