[Harp-L] diatonic versus chromatic--WAS-- stevie wonder newspaper story



PHIL,

as a harmonica player equally proficient in both styles of traditional blues diatonic, overblowing, sightreading and bebop chromatic, I feel compelled and qualified to respond to your letter.

I disagree with you.......I believe that chromatic is a more difficult instrument, IMO. I know many more frustrated chromatic players who give up on the instrument compared to diatonic players.

Don Les is a great example of what can be accomplished on the diatonic. Richard Hunter creates incredible compositions on the diatonic using simple bends. Overblows are also quite easy, if one takes the time to study them. I am dumbstruck when listening to the genius of howard levy and octavio castro.

I have many harmonica students who can play fairly proficient diatonic harmonica in a few months........i cannot say the same about my chromatic students who do not know how to read. The bends on diatonic enable the user to play along with blues and pop songs quite musically. Playing these same songs as a beginner chromatic player is like listening to a really bad melodica player, just awfull...........

I was also dumbstruck by your crude comment regarding david merconi's kind article on the chromatic harmonica of stevie wonder. You say "The only redeeming feature (beyond spelling Stevie Wonder's name right) is the quote from............."

Your comment is far too negative in context. It is so rare for anyone to write about us beyond our little harmonica "ghetto". Anyone who can help break down the walls and bring our sound to the non harmonica playing world deserves our appreciation and accolades!!!!!!!!!!

Sorry to be so direct but I am compelled to write...........

thank you david for writing about our instrument.

randy singer


Begin forwarded message:


From: Philharpn@xxxxxxx
Date: November 27, 2007 3:01:22 PM EST
To: randy@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: [Harp-L] stevie wonder newspaper story

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
>


http://www.randysinger.com
http://www.randyandnatasha.com





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