Re: [Harp-L]Generalizing about instruments

[Winslow Yerxa <winslowyerxa@xxxxxxxxx>]

What do you mean "accordions are on or off"? it simply isn't true. Accordion bellows are like the human lungs applied to a harmonica - you have the same power as any wind player to go from a whisper to a very loud sound.

In addition, many accordions have the ability to switch different banks of reeds in our out for a single reed, tremolo, or octave sound, or all of the above. I wish harmonicas could do that.

The flute does not have an especially limited range. It has as much as any wind instrument - nominally three octaves but actually more. "Stuck in the high register" only applies in some situations. The flute's low register is easily drowned out, but is unexcelled for rich sound in quiet passages or when lightly accompanied.

The harmonica is capable of legato, and not just in same-breath passages. It's up to the player to figure out how to get it, and the classical players that have shown the way. If anything, harmonica players in some styles of music have made a virtue of being the opposite of legato, by emphasizing the sharp attacks and brittle textures that can easily be achieved with strong attacks on breath changes. But that's a style choice, not a deficiency in the instrument.

Winslow Yerxa

Author, Harmonica For Dummies ISBN 978-0-470-33729-5

--- On Sun, 2/22/09, fjm <bad_hat@xxxxxxxx> wrote:
From: fjm <bad_hat@xxxxxxxx>
Subject: Re: [Harp-L] "A-Train"
To: "h-l" <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Sunday, February 22, 2009, 7:54 AM

<snip>.  Accordions are on or off. 

Flutes are limited in range and they're stuck in a higher register.  I
think one of the biggest issues with harmonica is they aren't very
legato.
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