Re: [Harp-L] Re:Questions for Chromatic Players

[Richard Hunter <turtlehill@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

John wrote:
<It's also a great skill to play in each and every key on a diatonic... Like Howard <Levy and Iron Man Mike  Curtis. They play most everything on  one diatonic. Mostly <a  "c".
 
I attended the Howard Levy seminar organized by Zvi Aranoff in NYC in March 2008 (I think).  Howard specifically noted at that seminar that 1) he does NOT play "most everything" on one harp, and 2) his favorite diatonic is a G harp, not a C.

I don't speak for Levy, but in my informed opinion Levy's goal is to play great music, not to try to prove a point about what can or can't be played on a single diatonic.  If you read his notes on his recorded performances at his website, it's obvious that he switches harps without hesitation if he can't get exactly the sound he wants from a particular diatonic.

Cham-ber Huang plays chromatically very fluently by using two diatonics stacked over each other, one tuned a half step higher than the other.  That technique is every bit as legitimate as using a single diatonic to play chromatically.  Or playing a chromatic harmonica chromatically (or diatonically, as Little Walter did).  What matters in the end is what the music sounds like, not the technique used to play it.

The thing that impresses me most about Howard Levy isn't that he can play a diatonic chromatically. It's that he plays great, emotionally compelling music, whether he's playing chromatically or not.

regards, Richard Hunter
 








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