Re: [Harp-L] Hmmm... no! - questions answered

[Winslow Yerxa <winslowyerxa@xxxxxxxxx>]

Claes -Â
All your questions are good questions.
You can get several models of diatonic harmonicas in standard tuning, in Low C.Â
The Hohner #364 has been available for many, many years. This is bigger than the standard Marine Band, and it has 12 holes instead of 10 (2 etra holes at the top). other than the extra holes, it's tuned exactly like a standard diatonic, just an octave lower. It comes in Low D as well.
Seydel makes standard 10-hole harmonicas in Low C as well. Their hole spacing is a little wider than Hohner spacing, but you can get used to this pretty quickly. Check the Seydel website for the models available in Low C.
Overblows are a very specific type of bend. Standard bending makes the pitch of a note go down. On a standard diatonic, the draw notes in HOles 1 trough 6 bend down, and in Holes 7 thru 10, its the blow notes that bend down. But these blow bends are just that - blow bends.
An overblow makes the pitch of a note go UP instead of down. For instance, in Hoel 4 of a C harp, you have D draw nd C blow. You can bend the D Draw down to D-flat. You can also apply bending technique while exhaling to produce the note E-flat - one semitone above the D of the draw reed (even though you're blowing, it's th draw reed that produces this note).
On a standard harp, you can get overblows in Holes 1 thru 6, and overdraws in Holes 7 thru 10.
I go into much more depth about bends and overblows in Harmonica For Dummies.
By the Way, Harmonica For Dummies goes into some depth about tongue blocking techniques - it isn't all about single note playing. That said, I wrote it so that no matter what style of music you want to play you can get a good grounding that will take you to the intermediate level. So it includes blues but doesn't go into great depth with that one particular style.
Some 10-hole slide harps are true chromatics, like the Hohner 260 Chromonica. Others are tuned like diatonics with a slide to raise the pitch. The Hohner Slide Harp and Koch 980 are both slide diatonics. Several other models of 10-hole slide harp are also slide. You have to read the description carefully to figure out what is being offered.Âdiatonics
Hope this helps. And by the way, there are no stupid questions.
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

--- On Thu, 9/2/10, Claes Valtersson <picaclaes@xxxxxxxx> wrote:

From: Claes Valtersson <picaclaes@xxxxxxxx>
Subject: [Harp-L] Hmmm... no!
To: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx
Date: Thursday, September 2, 2010, 2:34 AM

Good morning

I hope some of you have time for some questions from a beginner.

Let me first introduce myself, Iâm Claes and will have a second go towards 
learning to play. Iâm a bit older now and have a bit more patience, I donât 
think I can learn to play like a pro in an hour any more ;) Even though I know a 
little, I decided to start from scratch again.

I've been thinking a little about different tunings, is it possible to get a 
harp in low C without contacting a customer and spending to much? I was thinking 
in lines "Hering 6148 baritono", but diatonic.

Is over-blow a sort of bending on blow notes?

Those 10-hole harps with slides, are those a form of diatonic that you press the 
buttom instead bend (or over-blow)?

Are any of you familiar with the "Harmonica for dummies"-book? Is it a good 
starting point if you're mostly into blues? or is it mainly "single not 
playing"?

Well I told you I'm a beginner, some questions might seem "stupid" but I stick 
by them and would like to know anyway.

 Claes