[Harp-L] Guy's Chromatic Hard Bopper





On Oct 4, 2007, "Guy Buxman" <gbuxman@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

Several months ago I purchased my first chromatic harp . I had decided on a
Toots Hard Bopper in the key of C which I got from MusiciansFriend for
$99.00.


Being a diatonic player I don't really have frame of reference for chromatic
performance,

Yes, you do!! Rob Paparozzi and I have been teaching chromatic to diatonic players by emphasizing just how much they have in common. First they both are harmonicas which requires learning to blow and draw. Both require learning single notes, vibrato, tone. The C scale on the diatonic in C is exactly that of the chromatic which applies to all sharp scales, etc.




but I'm very pleased with my purchase; the construction is
solid, great finish, and the action feels smooth to me; it's a beautiful
instrument. Also, the tone sounds warm and full, and I'm bending notes with
greater ease than I'd expected from a chromatic.


I've been reluctant to pick it up for fear that it might be an entirely
different instrument compared to the diatonic. After tooling around with
it, trying to emulate the clarinet or soprano sax lead from Supertramp's
"Take the Long Way Home", I've concluded I was right; I might as well be
attempting to learn fluglehorn.
Worse still, it looks as though I'm going
to have to learn more music theory. Alas, Rome wasn't built in a day.

Hey, knowing about music will only put you on a par with all the other musicians playing instruments in the world.




Now for my question; is it possible that learning to play chromatic could
somehow hinder or muddle my diatonic playing...like learning to speak
Russian and Lithuanian simultaneously? Labas Vakaras!

I find my diatonic playing feeds my chromatic playing and my chromatic playing feeds my diatonic playing. If you learn to play chromatic well you may start to drool and stutter, but your diatonic playing will be enhanced.




I think I'd better put a cot and a mini-fridge in the woodshed!

Playing the harmonica is not work; an office job is work. They call it PLAYING music, not working music. Have fun with it and the rewards will be ten times that office bonus.


Harmonically yours,

Robert Bonfiglio
"Guy Buxman" <gbuxman@xxxxxxxxx>





This archive was generated by a fusion of Pipermail 0.09 (Mailman edition) and MHonArc 2.6.8.