[Harp-L] Overbending vs. Half-Valving

[Gary Lehmann]

Part of the charm of the harmonica is the chords--so I find Melody Maker (and Major Cross) to be the best compromise between chords and chromaticity.  
But for blues, Richter is tough to beat. 
So learning to OB, if only holes 5 and 6, carries that tuning close enough to chromaticity for my purposes. Let's face it, the bottom of the harp is largely chromatic, with draw bends. And a lot of folks avoid the top octave--not the top players of course. . .
I see a lot of folks using half valved harmonicas who are unaware of the purpose of those valves--
Sent from my iPhone

> On Mar 4, 2017, at 8:52 PM, Bob Marsolais <bob at xxxxx> wrote:
> 
> Thank you everyone who responded!  I see now that the premise of my question
> was wrong - full chromaticity on a diatonic isn't really important.  Instead
> the concern should be what kind of music and tone I'm after.  Overbending is
> used so often, it's pretty much an essential skill if I want to be a
> respectable harp player.  That skill, combine with the knowledge of various
> harp tunings like Gary mentioned, will lead me to the appropriate harp.
> 
> 
> 
> So much to learn, so little patience!
> 
> 
> 
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