Re: [Harp-L] stevie wonder newspaper story

[Philharpn@xxxxxxx]

I see that the Reporter of the Newspaper Story on Stevie Wonder repeats that 
canard that the chromatic is harder to play than the diatonic.*** ( see BF 
quote below**). Anybody who says that grossly misunderstands the basic 
differences* and similarities between the two harps.

This reporter further obfuscates matters by bringing up circular breathing. 
Circular breathing works on exhale notes -- horn players use it and Sinatra is 
reputed to have used it. I don't know how many people use circular breathing 
on the harmonica but I would wager it is a very small number if for no other 
reason that it doesn't work (if at all) very well on inhale notes, a good 
portion of the notes played on the harmonica.

Granted this is the popular press, aimed at the general public, but the 
danger of this type of dribble is that it seems over into the harmonica world and 
some kid going to the Stevie Wonder concert who thought Wonder's technique was 
difficult is now convinced it is impossible.

The chromatic gets a bad rap -- it is NOT all that difficult to play on its 
own. Compared to the blues harp, Marine Band, Richter-tuned harps, it is not 
all that different.   And if you want to play songs more complicated than folk 
songs right out of the box, you can "find" all the notes on a chromatic -- 
which is something you could never do on a blues harp unless you are an 
experienced player.

Which is to say: If you can play a Marine Band harp, you can certainly play a 
chromatic. And if you can play a piano or guitar, you also can certainly play 
a chromatic.

And perhaps more people should take up the chromatic. Some songs sound best 
with a lot of bent notes; others lose their sweetness unless every pitch is the 
same timbre (instead of a mix of bent and unbent notes). Some songs sound 
better on guitar; others on the piano.



For all practical purposes both harps are the same -- if you focus on the 
complete 2nd octave*.    How DIFFERENT can the two harps be if the chromatic 
consists of the same notes as holes 4-7 and the same blow-draw pattern.   

People who find the chromatic "difficult" are those who do not "understand" 
its layout. (How difficult can the 4-7 hole module repeated be? They also 
"expect" the chromatic to have a layout for the first octave just like a blues 
harp. It does not. Consequently, it "does not bend" like a diatonic. (The original 
chromatic was Richter tuned -- just like the Koch chromatic and Hohner Slide 
Harp -- and offers all the bending of a blues harp plus the precision of a 
slide chromatic for half-step notes except for A in the first octave, which 
requires a bend).

The only redeeming feature (beyond spelling Stevie Wonder's name right) is 
the quote from Randy Singer explaining Stevie's chromatic technique of jabbing 
the slide.

I just hope this news story doesn't scare too many people away from the 
chromatic.



Footnotes:
        *Yes, fans the 1st octave and 3rd octave are "incomplete" -- lacking 
notes and offering bends generally not available. 


         **"Chromatic has up to 16 holes compared to the 10 holes on diatonic 
harmonica, so it offers a wider ranger of sounds. But chromatic harmonica is 
also significantly harder to play."

         ***It helps spread the misinformation about the alleged difficulty 
of the chromatic when the source Mel Melton who leads the Wicked Mojos and then 
he piles on by stating (as if it is a fact) this bit of nonsense about 
circular breathing being required to play the chromatic: "So chromatic is a totally 
different monster, a lot harder to play. It takes a lot more oxygen. You 
really have to learn circular breathing."

Phil Lloyd



In a message dated 11/26/07 10:32:46 PM, randy@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx writes:


> >
> > http://www.newsobserver.com/442/story/786481.html
> >
> 




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