Re: [Harp-L] Axis 49 vs Harmonetta

[Winslow Yerxa <winslowyerxa@xxxxxxxxx>]

Michael - 

The highest note in the voicing is whatever note is in the right corner of your 
mouth, so yes, you can certainly train yourself to do that - you're already 
doing it.

Other notes can be harder to isolate and either exclude or include. The holes on 
the Harmonetta are rather small, and they're in two rows (each representing a 
different whole tone scale) that are staggered and curve away from one another 
slightly due to the shape of the mouthpiece. This makes it difficult at times to 
do things like block one of two notes a semitone apart.

If there were a Harmonetta-like instrument (I mean, one with reeds) that allowed 
for full control of chord voicings, that'd really be something. Not that you 
can't already do a lot. Bob Herndon has showed us a rich set of possibilities.

Winslow
 Winslow Yerxa
Author, Harmonica For Dummies ISBN 978-0-470-33729-5
Harmonica instructor, The Jazzschool for Music Study and Performance
Resident expert, bluesharmonica.com
Columnist, harmonicasessions.com




________________________________
From: michael rubin <michaelrubinharmonica@xxxxxxxxx>
To: Winslow Yerxa <winslowyerxa@xxxxxxxxx>
Cc: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Wed, December 8, 2010 5:08:09 AM
Subject: Re: [Harp-L] Axis 49 vs Harmonetta

This looks neat.  Winslow, concerning the harmonetta, do you think it
is possible to train oneself so that the highest note in the voicing
is one of your choosing?  I sense that it is under the player's
possible control.
Michael Rubin
Michaelrubinharmonica.com

On Wed, Dec 8, 2010 at 2:07 AM, Winslow Yerxa <winslowyerxa@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
<snip>
> One advantage the C-Thru Axis may have over the Harmonetta is that you may 
have
> more control over chord voicing with this device. If you press any "D" key on
> the Harmonetta, for instance, it activates ALL the D notes on the Harmonetta
> (though you still have to apply breath to make them sound). So, for instance, 
>if
>
> you want to sound a chord (in ascending pitch order) of, say, D G C F, what
> you'll get instead is D, F, G, C, D, F - the D and F both get duplicated 
>because
>
> you can't activate one without activating them all.
>
><snip>