[Harp-L] Chromatic and Diatonic

[Robert Bonfiglio <bon@xxxxxxxxxx>]

There is a whole bunch of players that play both harmonicas very well  
and understand their champions.  The diatonic players have on once in  
a while pissed me off thinking that blues on the chromatic is a  
certain kind of "third position" diatonic.  My Mom, who is now gone,  
wanted me to play real blues, which to her was Duke Ellington.  There  
was another generation of chromatic blues before that and "Pops" kind  
of spanned both and ran into Bebop Blues.

So the diatonic dogma kind of pigeoned-holed the chromatic into one  
kind of blues so that when we had and at the first New York Reedsters  
Club meeting at Turtle Bay, and my good friend Hendrik Meurkins joined  
the jam on a blues, all the diatonic players went - "What?" and I went  
"what a breathe of fresh air."  He was playing modern jazz blues with  
minor 9ths and flat 13ths.  It's music people - there is good and bad  
- but it's music!!!!

People, it's not better, it's just different.  So let's talk about  
what's the same.  Reeds and their construction and gapping have been  
greatly improved by diatonic customizers.  Design of both harmonicas  
has benefited from each other.  And on and on.... We benefit from  
having both diatonic and chromatic harmonicas out there.

Harmonically yours,

Robert Bonfiglio
http://www.robertbonfiglio.com