A
harmonica is a
free reed, musical
wind instrument. It has multiple, variably-tuned
brass
or
bronze
reeds which are secured at one end over an airway slot into which
it can freely vibrate. The vibrating reeds repeatedly interrupts the
airstream to produce
sound.
Unlike most free reed instruments (such as
reed organs,
accordions, and
melodicas), the harmonica lacks a keyboard. Instead, the player
selects the notes by the placement of his or her mouth over the proper
airways. These holes are usually made up of discrete holes in the
front of the instrument. Each hole communicates with one or more
reeds, depending on the type of harmonica. Because a reed mounted
above a slot is made to vibrate more easily by air from above, reeds
accessed by a mouthpiece hole often may be selected further by choice
of breath direction (blowing, drawing). Some harmonicas, primarily the
chromatic harmonica, also include a spring-loaded button-actuated
slide that, when depressed, redirects the airflow.
The harmonica is commonly used in
blues
and
folk music, but also in
jazz,
classical music,
country music,
rock and roll, and
pop
music. Increasingly, the harmonica is finding its place in more
electronically generated music, such as
dance
and
hip-hop, as well as
funk and
acid jazz.
Especially in
blues
music, the harmonica has many names. Some of these are: mouth organ,
mouth harp, Hobo Harp, French harp, harpoon,
tin sandwich, blues harp, Mississippi saxophone,
or simply harp, although it does have many more colloquial
names such as gob iron.
Parts of the harmonica
Reedplate mounted on the comb of a diatonic harmonica.
Reed plate.
The basic parts of the harmonica are the comb, reed-plates, and
cover-plates.
Comb
The comb is the term for the main body of the instrument, named
after the similarities between the simple harmonicas and a
hair comb. Combs were traditionally made from
wood, but
they are now usually made from
plastic
(ABS) or
metal. The comb contains the air chambers which cover the reeds.
Some modern and experimental comb designs are very complex as they
arranging how the air is directed.
Comb's material has traditionally been assumed to have an effect on
the tone of the harmonica. However, several recent attempts at blind
testing have not been able to show that people can hear a difference
when comb material is the only variable, and the main advantage one
comb material truly have over another one is usually its durability.[citation
needed] In particular, a wooden comb can absorb
moisture from the player's breath and contact with the tongue, causing
the comb to expand slightly, making the instrument uncomfortable to
play.[citation
needed] Conversely, some players used to
deliberately soak their wooden-combed hamonicas to cause a slight
expansion which was intended to make the seal between the comb, reed
plates and covers more airtight.[citation
needed] More modern wooden-combed harmonicas
however, are less prone to swelling and contracting.
Reed-plate
Reed-plate is the term for a grouping of several free-reeds in a
single housing. The reeds are usually made of
brass,
but occasionally
steel
and
aluminium have been used as well as plastic. These individual
reeds are usually riveted to the reed-plate, but they may also be
welded or screwed in place (a notable exception is the all-plastic
harmonicas designed by Finn Magnus in the 1950s, where the reed and
reed-plate were molded out of a single piece of plastic). Reeds fixed
on the inside (within the comb's air chamber) of the reed-plate
respond to
pressure while those on the outside respond to suction. Most
harmonicas are constructed with the reed-plates screwed or bolted to
the comb or each other, however a few brands still use the traditional
method of nailing the reed-plates to the comb.
Again, the Magnus design had the reeds, reed-plates and comb all
out of plastic and either molded together or permanently glued
together. Some experimental and rare harmonicas also have the
reed-plates held in place by tension, such as the WWII era
all-American models.
If the plates are bolted to the comb, it can be possible to replace
the reed plates individually. This is useful, as the reeds eventually
go out of tune through normal use, and certain notes of the scale can
fail more quickly than others.
Cover plates
The cover-plates cover the reed-plates and are usually made of
metal, although wood and plastic have also been used. As pointed out
previously, the choice of these is extremely personal. As they project
the sound, they determine the tonal quality of the harmonica. There
two types: the traditional open designs of stamped metal or plastic
are simply there to be held, while the enclosed design (such as Hohner
Meisterklass and Super 64, Suzuki Promaster and SCX) offer a louder
tonal quality. From these two, a few modern designs are spawned, such
as the
Hohner CBH-2016 chromatic and the
Suzuki
Overdrive diatonic, which have complex covers which allow for specific
functions not usually available in the traditional design. Similarly,
it was not unusual in the late
19th and early
20th centuries to see harmonicas with special features on the
covers such as
bells which could be rung by pushing a button and the like.
Other parts
Windsavers
Windsavers are one-way valves made from very thin strips of
plastic, knit paper, leather or teflon glued onto the reed-plate. They
are typically found in Chromatic harmonicas, Chord harmonicas, and
many Octave-tuned harmonicas. Windsavers are used when two reeds share
a cell and leakage through the non-playing reed would be significant.
For example, when a draw note is played, the valve on blow reed-slot
is sucked shut, preventing air from leaking through the inactive blow
reed. An exception is the recent Hohner XB-40 where valves are placed
not to isolate single reeds but rather to isolate entire chambers from
being active.
Mouthpiece
The mouthpiece is an object which is placed between the air
chambers of the instrument and the player's mouth. This can be made
integral with the comb (the diatonic harmonicas, the Hohner Chrometta),
as part of the cover (as in Hohner's CX-12) or as a separate unit
entirely, secured by screws, which is typical of Chromatics. In many
harmonicas the mouthpiece is purely an ergonomic aide designed to make
playing more comfortable, but in the traditional slider-based
chromatic harmonica it is essential to the functioning of the
instrument since it provides a groove for the slide.
Harmonica types
The harmonica brand that one chooses usually is based on one's
ability to play, the pliability of the reeds, sound of the instrument,
and, surprisingly, price. Many feel that the best harmonicas are more
expensively priced, though many skilled players feel that price and
quality are not related.
Chromatic harmonica
Hohner Super-Chromatic harmonica, a typical 12-hole chromatic.
The Chromatic harmonica uses a button-activated sliding bar to
redirect air from the hole in the mouthpiece to the selected
reed-plate desired, which allows the musician to play any keys that he
desired with only one harmonica. This harp can be used for any style,
be it Celtic, Classical, Jazz, blues (commonly in third position), as
well as many other styles. A modern example of its use across these
styles is musician
Philip Achille.
Diatonic harmonicas
Tremolo Harmonica
A tremolo harmonica.
The tremolo harmonica's distinguishing feature is having two reeds
per note, with one a bit sharp and the other a bit flat. This gives a
unique wavering or warbling sound created by the two reeds being
slightly out of tune with each other and the difference in their
subsequent waveforms interacting with each other. The Asian version,
which has all the notes on it, is the common variety employed in Asia,
and is used in all East-Asian music, from rock to pop music.
Blues harp
10-hole harmonicas.
The 10-hole, or richter tuned harmonica, is the most widely known
type of harmonica. It has ten holes which offer the player 19 notes
(10 holes times a draw and a blow for each hole minus one repeated
note) in a three octave range. This is the type commonly used in
blues, country and rock music. The reeds of Diatonic harmonicas
produce the notes of the scale to which they are tuned. For example, a
diatonic harmonica tuned to the key of C would produce the natural
notes of the C scale without sharps and flats (picture the white keys
on a piano, without the black keys). Each hole has two reeds; one
plays when breath is exhaled (blow) and the other when inhaled (draw).
The individual reeds are each tuned to play a different note on the
scale.
There are other ways to get more notes on the 10-holed diatonic
“Richter” tuned Harmonica. One of the specialties of such a small
instrument is its ability to play far more than 19 notes. The 10-holed
diatonic Harmonica has the ability to produce 42 notes, (including 4
repeats), ending up with a complete 3 chromatic octave range, plus an
extra 2 half-steps on the high end. Doing this requires the use of
special techniques such as bending and overblowing. this technique is
used in many ways to produce many different effects. the most common
of these being slurring (linking from a regular note in the scale to
an overblow or overdraw) to the bent note, or playing straight into
the note. See the article on
Harmonica techniques for a more complete discussion.
Octave harmonica
Octave harmonica
Octave harmonicas have two reeds per hole. The two reeds are tuned
to the same note a perfect octave apart. Many share their basic design
with the tremolo harmonica explained above and are built upon this
"Wiener system" of construction. Octave harmonicas also come in what
is called the "Knittlinger system". In this design the top and bottom
reed-plates contain all of the blow and draw notes for either to lower
or higher pitched set of reeds. The comb is constructed so that the
blow and draw reeds on each reed-plate are paired side-by-side in a
single chamber in the same manner as on a standard diatonic but that
the top and bottom pairs each have their own chamber. Thus, in a C
harmonica the higher pitched C blow and D draw found in the first
"hole" would be placed side-by-side on the upper reed-plate and share
a single chamber in the comb and the lower pitched C blow and D draw
would be placed side-by-side on the bottom reed-plate and share a
single chamber directly below the higher pitched pair of reeds'
chamber. Knittlinger octave harmonicas are also called "concert"
harmonicas and are almost always tuned in a variation of the
traditional major diatonic with chords tuning found in diatonic
harmonicas. Octave harmonicas built in the "Wiener system" may be
tuned either in this traditional method or in the same manner as the
Asian tremolos mentioned above.
An interesting variation upon the Knittlinger octave harmonica is
the so-called "half-concert" harmonica. This is not an octave
harmonica at all, but rather a single-note diatonic harmonica which is
built with a single reed-plate rather than the standard
two--essentially it is one half of the standard octave harmonica.
Orchestral harmonicas
These harmonicas are primarily designed for use in ensemble
playing.
Orchestral Melody harmonica
There are two kinds of orchestral melody harmonica: the most common
is the Horn harmonicas, as called in Asia, which are mostly
found in East Asia. These consist of a single large comb with blow
only reed-plates on the top and bottom. Each reed sits inside a single
cell in the comb, and the instrument mimics the layout of a piano or
mallet instrument, with the natural notes of a C diatonic scale
available from the lower reed-plate and the sharps/flats from the
upper reed-plate in groups of two and three holes with gaps in-between
(thus there is no E#/Fb hole nor a B#/Cb hole on the upper
reed-plate). These are available in several pitch ranges, with the
lowest pitched starting two-octaves below middle C and the highest
beginning on middle C itself. These usually cover a two or three
octave range. These are usually played in an East Asian harmonica
orchestra, using these instruments instead of the chromatic harmonica,
and often serve to function in place of brass section—hence it was
called horn harmonica in Asia.
The other type of orchestral melodic harmonica is the
Polyphonias, which are designed with all twelve chromatic notes
laid out on the same row; usually, both blow and draw will have the
same tone. This allows songs that require a rapid pace, such as Flight
of the Bumble Bee, to be played (as one does not need to switch
airflow), but more commonly it was used to make glissandos and other
effects very easy to play--few acoustic instruments can play a
chromatic glissando as fast as a Polyphonia.
Bass harmonica
The Bass harmonica consists of two separate combs joined together
one atop the other with moveable connectors at their ends. These are
all-blow instruments covering much the same range as the viola family
Double Bass. Those made today are all octave tuned, in that each
hole has two reeds one of which plays the bass note and the other a
note an octave higher. The lower comb contains the notes of the C
major diatonic scale, while the upper comb contains the notes of a
C#(Db) diatonic scale.
Chord harmonica
The chord harmonica has 48 chords: major, seventh, minor, augmented
and diminished for ensemble playing. It is laid out in four-note
clusters, each sounding a different chord on inhaling or exhaling.
Typically each hole has two reeds for each note, tuned to one octave
of each other, but less expensive models often have only one reed per
note.
In addition to these, quite a few orchestra harmonicas are also
designed to serve both as a bass and chord harmonica, with bass notes
next to chord groupings. There were also other chord harmonicas, such
as Chordomonica (operate similar to a chromatic harmonica), and junior
chord harmonicas (Typically provide 6 chords)
ChengGong
Harmonica
A recent innovation in the harmonica is the ChengGong 程功 (a pun on
the inventor's surname and 成功, or "success," pronounced "chenggong" in
Mandarin Chinese) Harmonica, invented by Cheng Xuexue 程雪學 of China. It
has two parts: the main body, and a sliding mouthpiece. The body is a
24 hole diatonic harmonica that starts from b2 to d6 (covering 3
octaves). Its 11-hole mouthpiece can slide along the front of the
harmonica, which gives numerous chord choices and voicings (seven
triads, three 6th chords, seven 7th chords, and seven 9th chords, for
a total of 24 chords available). Yet, the ChengGong is still capable
of playing single note melodies and double stops over a range of three
diatonic octaves, all the while maintaining a small profile, not much
larger than a 12-hole chromatic. Also, unlike conventional harmonicas,
blowing and drawing produce the same notes. In this way, its tuning is
closer to the note layout of a typical Asian tremolo harmonica or the
Polyphonias.
[1]
The Pitch Pipe
The
pitch pipe is essentially a specialty harmonica which is designed
not for playing music as such but for giving a reference pitch to
singers and other instruments. Notably, the only difference between
some early pitch-pipes and harmonicas is the name of the instrument,
reflecting the maker's target audience.
Harmonica techniques
There are numerous techniques available for harmonica; some are
used to provide additional tonal dynamics. Some, however, are used to
increase playing ability, allow what originally is a diatonic
instrument that can play one key properly, into a versatile
instrument. Techniques used include bending, overbending, overdrawing
and position playing. One of the prominant of these is the use of 'vibrato'
in playing. This is used in many other instruments, such as strings,
to give the note a 'shaking' sound. this can be accomplished in a
number of ways. the most common way is to change the way that the
harmonica is encompassed in the players hands. for instance, by
opening and closing your hands around the harmonica very rapidly, you
acheive the vibrato effect. another way to acheive this is to use a
'head shaking' technique, a common one in blues, when the player moves
their lips between two holes very quickly. This gives a quick shaking
technique that is slightly more than vibrato, but acheives the same
aural effect on sustained notes.
History
The harmonica developed from the intense interests in free-reeds
which arose in
Europe
in the early
19th century. While free-reeds had been fairly common throughout
East Asia
for centuries (see the
Sheng) and relatively well-known in
Europe
for some time before this period, around 1820 there was a virtual
eruption of new free-reed designs in Europe and
North America. While
Christian Friederich Ludwig Buschmann is often cited as the
inventor of the harmonica in
1821, it
was almost certainly a case of simultaneous development amongst
several inventors working independently but knowing from each other to
some extent with mouth-blown free-reed instruments appearing in the
United States, the
United Kingdom and on the
continent
at roughly the same time. Early Aeolines had no jet chambers added.
Early
harmonicas
Although there is much evidence of free reed instruments
originating in east asia, and the ancient chinese had an instrument
that used wooden reeds; the harmonica first began properly in
Vienna,
where harmonicas with chambers were sold before 1824 (see also
Anton Reinlein and
Anton Haeckl). In Germany Mr. Meisel from Klingenthal did buy a
harmonica with chambers (Kanzellen) at the Exhibition in Braunschweig
in the year of 1824
Meisel und Langhammer. He and Langhammer in Graslitz copied the
instruments and by 1827 they had produced hundreds of harmonicas. Many
others followed in the same region of Germany and nearby in what would
later become Czechoslovakia. In 1829
Johann Wilhelm Rudolph Glier also began making harmonicas. Richter
tuning was in use nearly from the beginning. In 1830 Christan Messner
from
Trossingen, a cloth maker and weaver, copied a harmonica bought to
Trosisngen from Vienna by his next door neighbor. He had such success
that eventually his brother and some relatives also started to make
harmonicas. From 1840 on, his nephew Christian Weiss was also involved
in the business. So by 1855 two registered businesses were in
existence, Christian Messner & Co. and Württ.
Harmonikafabrik Ch. WEISS. See German wikipedia page about
Christian Messner
[2].
Forced trough the staring competition of harmonica Factory's in
Trossingen and Klingenthal the first machines ware invented to punch
Covers for the reeds. In 1857 Matt. Hohner, a clockmaker from
Trossingen, started the production of Harmonicas, he was the first one
who orders the wooden middle part from other firms that had machines
to cut the parts. By 1868 he could deliver the first order to USA.
Matthias Hohner became the first person to mass-produce it. Sometime
by the
1820s, the diatonic harmonica had more or less found its modern
form and the other diatonic and chromatic types followed soon
thereafter (the various tremolo and
octave
harmonicas). By the late 19th century, harmonica production was big
business and had evolved from a handcraft into mass-production with
figures well into the millions, a status which continues to this day.
New designs continued to be developed in the
20th century including the
chromatic harmonica (first made by Hohner in 1924), the bass
harmonica, the chord harmonica and others. Even in the
21st century radical new designs such as the Suzuki Overdrive and
Hohner XB-40 continue to be brought to market.
The harmonica's massive success is attributable to many factors.
First, it is a fairly easy instrument to begin to play some simple
songs. Of course, some talent is necessary to play. The diatonic
harmonicas were designed primarily for the playing of
German
and other European
folk musics and are extremely successful for that. However,
probably unintentionally the basic design and tuning was extremely
adaptable to other types of music such as the
blues,
country, old-time and similar. Second, the majority of harmonicas
are quite small--often small enough to unobtrusively fit in a pocket.
Third, harmonicas are cheap - amongst the most inexpensive of musical
instruments available while not being intended as a toy. Fourth,
harmonicas are fairly easy to manufacture and their simple
construction allowed for industrial level production without
sacrificing the quality of a hand-crafted instrument, unlike most
string instruments or other
wind instruments. For these reasons the harmonica was a success
almost from the very start of production, and while the center of the
harmonica business has shifted from Germany the output of the various
harmonica manufacturers is still very high indeed. Major companies are
now found in Germany (Seydel,
Hohner
- once the dominant manufacturer in the world, producing some 20
million harmonicas alone in
1920 when
German manufacturing totaled over 50 million harmonicas),
Japan (Suzuki,
Tombo,
Yamaha), China (Huang, Leo Shi, Suzuki, Hohner) and Brasil (Hering).
Recently, as the demand for higher quality instruments which respond
to more demanding performance techniques has increased, there has been
a resurgence in the world of hand-crafted harmonicas which cater to
those wanting the absolute best without the compromises inherent in
mass manufacturing.
Europe
and North America
Shortly after Hohner began manufacturing harmonicas in
1857, he
shipped some to relatives who had emigrated to the United States. It
rapidly became popular, and the country became an enormous market for
Hohner's goods. President
Abraham Lincoln carried a harmonica in his pocket
[3], and harmonicas provided solace to soldiers on both the
Union and
Confederate sides of the
United States Civil War. Frontiersmen
Wyatt Earp and
Billy the Kid played the instrument, and it became a fixture of
the
American musical landscape.
The first recordings of harmonica were made in the
U.S. in the
1920s.
These recordings are mainly 'race-records', intended for the black
market of the southern states. They consist mainly of solo recordings
(DeFord
Bailey), duo recordings with a guitarist (Hammie
Nixon,
Walter Horton,
Sonny Terry) or recordings featuring the harmonica in
jug
bands, of which the
Memphis Jug Band is the most famous. But the harmonica still
represented a toy instrument in those years and was associated with
the poor. It is also during those years that musicians started
experimenting with new techniques such as tongue-blocking, hand
effects and the most important innovation of all, the 2nd position, or
cross-harp.
The harmonica then made its way with the blues and the black
migrants to the north, mainly to Chicago but also to Detroit, St.
Louis and New York. The music played by the
Afro-Americans started to become increasingly different there. The
main difference is the electric amplification of the instrument: first
the
guitar and then the
harp,
double bass,
vocals,
etc. The original
Sonny Boy Williamson is one of the most important harmonicist of
this era. Using a full blues band, he became one of the most popular
acts in the country due to his weekly broadcasts on the King Biscuit
Hour, originating live from Helena, Arkansas. He also installed for
good the
cross-harp technique, opening the possibilities of harp playing to
new sky. This technique has now become one of the most important to
blues harmonica there is. It is hard to imagine how much influence he
would have had on the blues, if he had lived longer.
But the harmonica didn't die with him. A young harmonicist by the
name of Marion "Little
Walter" Jacobs would completely revolutionize the instrument. He
had the idea to play the harmonica near a microphone (typically a
"Bullet" microphone marketed for use by radio
taxi dispatchers, giving it a "punchy" midrange sound that can be
heard above radio static, or an
electric guitar) and cup his hands around it, thus tightening the
air around the harp, giving it a powerful, distorted sound, sometimes
reminiscent of a
saxophone. This technique, combined with a great
virtuosity on the instrument made him arguably the most
influential harmonicist in history. It is almost impossible nowadays
to find a harp player who wasn't influenced by Walter. Unfortunately,
Little Walter also died young, from injuries suffered in a fight.
Little Walter's only contender was perhaps
Big Walter Horton. Relying less on the possibilities of
amplification (although he made great use of it) than on sheer skill,
Big Walter was the favored harmonicist of many
Chicago
leaders, including
Willie Dixon. He graced many sides of Dixon's in the mid-fifties
with extremely colorful solos, using the full register of his
instrument as well as some chromatic harmonica. A major reason he is
less known than Little Walter is because of his taciturn personality
and his inconsistency, and his incapacity of holding a band as a
leader. Walter "Big Walter" Horton, also known as "Shakey," was also a
player on arguably the most exciting 12 bars of recorded harp on the
classic Jimmie Rodgers "Walkin' By Myself" on Chess (1957).
Other great harmonicists have graced the Chicago blues records of
the 1950s.
Howling Wolf is often overlooked as a harp player, but his early
recordings demonstrate great skill, particularly at blowing powerful
riffs with the instrument.
Sonny Boy Williamson II used the possibilities of hand effects to
give a very talkative feel to his harp playing. A number of his
compositions have also become standards in the blues world. Sonny Boy
Williamson II, or Rice Miller, had a powerful sound and extended his
influence on the young British blues rockers in the 1960's, recording
with
Eric Clapton and
The Yardbirds and appearing on live British television.
Stevie Wonder taught himself harmonica at age 5 and plays the
instrument on many of his recordings.
Jimmy Reed played harmonica on most of his iconic blues
shuffle
recordings.
The 1960s and 1970s saw the harmonica become less prominent as the
electric guitar became the favorite instrument for solos.
Paul Butterfield is perhaps the most well known harp player of the
era in the blues arena. Heavily influenced by Little Walter, he pushed
further the virtuosity on the harp. However, he rapidly fell into
drugs and alcohol and, after his first four albums, his career became
stagnant.
Two journeymen Chicago harmonica players were perhaps the most
regarded of this era - both associated with the Muddy Waters Band, and
both featured on the classic Vanguard release "Chicago: The Blues
Today! Vol.'s 1-3" James Cotton and Junior Wells. Cotton, still
playing in 2006 although with greatly diminished vocal powers, was the
most energetic harp player of his time and specialized in slow,
magnificent note-bends, along with vocals, heavily influenced by Bobby
"Blue" Bland. Wells was the most economical of the harp masters,
clearly a student of Sonny Boy Williamson II, and used the harp to
create an atmosphere of tension and release. A respected blues singer,
his recordings and live playing with his partner, blues guitarist
Buddy Guy, defined the sixties and seventies blues scene (for a
detailed account of their live performances, read "Satchmo Blows Up
the World" by Penny M. Von Eschen, an account of the State Department
tours that Junior and Buddy were involved in during this time).
Bob Dylan also famously played his harmonica to add a touch of
blues to his folk and rock sound during this era. Dylan was known for
placing his harmonicas in a brace so that he could simultaneously blow
the harp and strum his guitar.
George "Mojo" Buford,
Jerry Portnoy,
Lazy Lester,
Corky Siegel,
Sugar Blue,
Charlie Musslewhite,
Kim Wilson,
Taj
Mahal,
Slim Harpo ,
Al "Blind Owl" Wilson of
Canned Heat,
John Sebastian of
The Lovin' Spoonful (whose father was also a harmonica star in the
Larry Adler classical harmonica days), and others all contributed
originality and creativity to the recorded history of the blues
harmonica. Many rock enthusiasts are heavily sentimental about the
brief recorded harmonica life of Beatle
John Lennon, who played it on the 1962 Top #1 International hit "Love
Me Do". It is often said that Lennon was taught harmonica by
Delbert McClinton, although McClinton says that this is not true.
Recently, newer harp players have had major influence on the sound
of the harmonica. Heavily influenced by the electric guitar sound,
John Popper of
Blues Traveler has developed a sort of virtuosity on the
instrument, although his musicality has been called into question. His
electric and highly distorted
solos are played at a breakneck speed. He is widely credited with
many innovations in harmonica playing, such as playing through guitar
effects.
Contemporary harmonicists
Howard Levy, Jason Ricci, Carlos del Junco and
Chris Michalek are perhaps the most innovative players since
Little Walter. Levy explored and pioneered the over-blow technique in
the early seventies, which enables the diatonic harmonica to play full
chromatic scales across three octaves, while retaining the particular
sound of the harp. The overblow technique was first recorded in 1927
by Blues Birdhead (real name James Simons). Overblowing has been
displayed more and more in the
1990s
with the emergence of players like Howard Levy, Chris Michalek, Otavio
Castro and players like Jason Ricci are starting to integrate it in a
more blues or rock oriented music. Examples of this style are
considered to be among the most highly regarded in the harmonica
circles. Levy can go one further, and play single-note piano and
harmonica together in unison or harmony, performing the most difficult
music including bebop, world music and other forms required
outstanding technique and ability.
In every region there are great young and established players.
Notably, in France, Nikki Gadout has been an outstanding player;
there's Brazilian ace Flávio Guimarãe, and in Germany, there are Steve
Baker and
René Giessen (who played the title melody of the famous
Winnetou-movies), and in Nashville it is P. T. Gazell and Charlie
McCoy, American music harmonica legend. In Irish circles, it's James
Conway (Howard Levy makes an appearance on Conway's first commercial
recordings). Peter "Madcat" Ruth, long a master harmonicist
(performing with, among others, the sons of Dave Brubeck), maintains
an active
website which links to the sites of great contemporary players
around the world.
East Asia
In 1898, the harmonica was brought to Japan; there, the Japanese
were more interested in the sound of Tremolo; however after about 30
years, they became dissatisfied with the richter-based layout of the
tremolo harmonica, and thus developed the scale tuning, as well as the
semitone harmonicas, in order to be able to perform Japanese folk
songs. During sometime in 1924 and 1933, it was brought to other
places in East Asia.
The history of the harmonica in Taiwan began sometime around 1945;
due to the influence of numerous harmonica experts, as well as
versatility and cheap prices of the harmonica. It became one of the
standard instruments on the island, being treated as a serious
instrument during its peak at the 1980s — more so than Europe and
America, where it was often associated as a blues-only instrument in
most cases. However, as the western lifestyle began to spread, as well
as an increase in living standards, many instruments that were once
too expensive to buy can be bought by the Taiwanese. Additionally due
to many schools of methodologies on the harmonica, the harmonica as an
instrument almost faded to obscurity in the 90s. In order to raise the
appeal of the harmonica back to it what it once was, numerous
harmonica lovers in Taiwan began to promote the harmonica heavily,
starting with the introduction of harmonicas and methodology that are
popular in the Western world (eg. Chromatic and Diatonic harmonicas),
as well as participating in numerous international competitions. In
1993, the Yellowstone Orchestra won the first gold in an international
harmonica competition. However, to the disappointment of many
harmonica players, the resources for education are severely lacking,
and many materials are not much different from those that were created
20 years ago.
Medical use
"Playing" the harmonica requires inhaling and exhaling
strongly against resistance. This action helps develop a strong
diaphragm and deep breathing using the entire
lung volume.
Pulmonary specialists have noted that playing the harmonica
resembles the kind of exercise used to
rehabilitate
COPD
patients such as using a
PFLEX
inspiratory muscle trainer or the inspiratory
spirometer. Also, learning to play a musical instrument offers
motivation in addition to the exercise component. Therefore, many
pulmonary rehabilitation programs have begun to incorporate the
harmonica.
[4],
[5],
[6],
[7]
Competition
The main competition held for harmonica is held in
Trossingen, Germany, home of the Hohner harmonica company. It also
gives an indication to future legends. 2005 World Open and Junior
Champion
Philip Achille proved to be next Larry Adler as he showed the
ability to completely connect with classical harmonica playing,
leaving the crowd breathless with his performances.[citation
needed]
The
National Harmonica Institute holds competitions annually in
various cities around the world. In these competitions, harmonicanists
compete against each other in a "Horse" style game, trying to out play
one another. A win for one's team is called a "goal" and to win an
inning a team must attain a minimum of 7 goals, winning by a lead of
at least 2.
The record for the most
goals in one competition is 17, held by Cameron L. Foster, a native of
Florenceville, New Brunswick. He is currently attending
Dalhousie University and is captain of their harmonica squadron.
Related instruments
The
concertina, diatonic and chromatic
accordions and the
melodica are all free-reed instruments which were developed
alongside the harmonica. Indeed, the similarities between harmonicas
and so-called "diatonic"
accordions or melodeons is such that in German the name for the
former is "Mundharmonika" and the later "Handharmonika", translated
simply as "mouth harmonica" and "hand harmonica". The harmonica shares
similarities to all other free-reed instruments by virtue of the
method of sound production.
There also exists the unrelated
glass harmonica, which is often confused with being a harmonica
made of glass. In fact, it is a musical instrument formed of a nested
set of graduated glass cups mounted sideways on an axle and partially
immersed in water. It is played by touching the rotating cups with
wetted fingers, causing them to vibrate.
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