A harmonica or mouth harp is a , musical . It has multiple, variably-tuned or which are secured at one end over an airway slot in which they can freely vibrate. The vibrating reeds repeatedly interrupt the airstream to produce .
Unlike most free reed instruments (such as , , and ), the harmonica lacks a keyboard. Instead, the player selects the notes by placing the mouth over the proper airways. These holes are usually 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 , also include a spring-loaded button-actuated slide that, when depressed, redirects the airflow.
The harmonica is commonly used in and , but also in , , , , and . Increasingly, the harmonica is finding its place in more electronically generated music, such as and , as well as and .
The harmonica has many names, especially in blues music.
Commonly used names include: mouth organ, blow-tube, Indiana Mating Call, mouth harp, Hobo Harp, French harp, Reckless Tram, harpoon, tin sandwich, blues harp, Mississippi saxophone, or simply harp.
The basic parts of the harmonica are the comb, reed-plates and cover-plates.
The comb is the term for the main body of the instrument.
The name originated from the similarities between simple harmonicas and a . Combs were traditionally made from , but now are usually made from (ABS) or . The comb contains the air chambers which cover the reeds.
Some modern and experimental comb designs are very complex in the way that they direct the air.
Comb material was traditionally assumed to have an effect on the tone of the harmonica. However, several recent attempts at blind testing did not provide evidence that people can hear a difference when comb material is the only variable.
The main advantage of a particular comb material over another one is usually its durability.[ ] In particular, a wooden comb can absorb moisture from the player's breath and contact with the tongue. This causes the comb to expand slightly, making the instrument uncomfortable to play.
An even more serious problem with wood combs, especially in chromatic harmonicas (with their thin dividers between chambers) is that the combs shrink over time. Because they are held immobile by the nails, they crack, causing disabling leakage. Much effort is devoted by serious players to restoring wood combs and sealing leaks.
[ ] Some players used to deliberately soak wooden-combed harmonicas (diatonics, without windsavers) to cause a slight expansion which was intended to make the seal between the comb, reed plates and covers more airtight.[ ]. Modern wooden-combed harmonicas are less prone to swelling and contracting.
Reed-plate is the term for a grouping of several free-reeds in a single housing. The reeds are usually made of , but occasionally and have been used as well as plastic. 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 , 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.
A few brands still use the traditional method of nailing the reed-plates to the comb.
The Magnus design had the reeds, reed-plates and comb made of plastic and either molded or permanently glued together. Some experimental and rare harmonicas also have had the reed-plates held in place by tension, such as the WWII era all-American models.
If the plates are bolted to the comb, the reed plates can be replaced individually. This is useful because the reeds eventually go out of tune through normal use, and certain notes of the scale can fail more quickly than others.
Cover-plates cover the reed-plates and are usually made of metal.
Wood and plastic have also been used. The choice of these is extremely personal. Because they project sound, they determine the tonal quality of the harmonica.
There are two types of cover plates: traditional open designs of stamped metal or plastic are simply there to be held. 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 have been created, such as the CBH-2016 chromatic and the Overdrive diatonic, which have complex covers that allow for specific functions not usually available in the traditional design.
It was not unusual in the late and early to see harmonicas with special features on the covers, such as which could be rung by pushing a button.
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 the blow reed-slot is sucked shut, preventing air from leaking through the inactive blow reed. An exception to this is the recent Hohner XB-40 where valves are placed not to isolate single reeds but rather to isolate entire chambers from being active.
The mouthpiece is placed between the air chambers of the instrument and the player's mouth. This can be integral with the comb (the diatonic harmonicas, the Hohner Chrometta), part of the cover (as in Hohner's CX-12), or may be a separate unit entirely, secured by screws, which is typical of chromatics. In many harmonicas, the mouthpiece is purely an ergonomic aid designed to make playing more comfortable.
However, in the traditional slider-based chromatic harmonica it is essential to the functioning of the instrument because it provides a groove for the slide.
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 price. Although many feel that the best harmonicas are more expensively priced, skilled players often feel that price and quality are not related.
Octave harmonicas have two reeds per hole which are tuned to the same note a perfect octave apart. Many share their basic design with the tremolo harmonica explained above and are built on the "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. However, 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.
These harmonicas are primarily designed for use in ensemble playing.
There are two kinds of orchestral melody harmonica: the most common are the Horn harmonicas that are most often 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.
One version mimics the layout of a piano or mallet instrument, with the natural notes of a C diatonic scale in the lower reed-plate and the sharps/flats in the upper reed-plate in groups of two and three holes with gaps in between like the black keys of a piano (thus there is no E#/Fb hole nor a B#/Cb hole on the upper reed-plate). Another version has one "sharp" reed directly above its "natural" on the lower plate, with the same number of reeds on both plates. "Horn harmonicas" are available in several pitch ranges, with the lowest pitched starting two octaves below middle C and the highest beginning on middle C itself; they usually cover a two or three octave range.
They are chromatic instruments and are usually played in an East Asian harmonica orchestra instead of the "push-button" chromatic harmonica that is more common in the European/American tradition. Their reeds are often larger, and the enclosing "horn" gives them a different timbre, so that they often function in place of a brass section. In the past, they were referred to as horn harmonicas.
The other type of orchestral melodic harmonica is the Polyphonia, (though some are marked "Chromatica"). These have all twelve chromatic notes laid out on the same row. In most cases, both blow and draw have the same tone, though the No.
7 is blow only, and the No. 261, also blow only, has two reeds per hole, tuned an octave apart (all these designations refer to products of M. Hohner).
The Polyphonia is often thought to allow the easy playing of pieces such as "Flight of the Bumblebee" (because it is not necessary to switch airflow). However, Dan LeMaire-Bauch disputes this, pointing out that all three players known to him who have played "Bee", (Victor "Panky" Paul, Jia Yi He, and himself) have used 16-hole "push-button" chromatics; nevertheless, in his relentless pursuit of further harmonica knowledge, he would welcome any information on player(s) who do "The Bumblebee" correctly, note-for-note, on a Polyphonia. Dan's performance does however include one 24-note phrase on a No.
7 Poly (pronounced "polly"). The Poly was commonly used to make glissandos and other effects very easy to play--few acoustic instruments can play a chromatic glissando as fast as a Polyphonia.
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 . Today, bass harmonicas are all octave tuned, which means 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.
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. However, less expensive models often have only one reed per note.
Quite a few orchestra harmonicas are also designed to serve as both bass and chord harmonica, with bass notes next to chord groupings.
There are also other chord harmonicas, such as the Chordomonica (which operates similar to a chromatic harmonica), and the junior chord harmonicas (which typically provides 6 chords).
A recent harmonica innovation is the ChengGong ??
(a pun on the inventor's surname and ??, or "success," pronounced "chenggong" in Mandarin Chinese) harmonica, invented by Cheng Xuexue ?
?? 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. Unlike conventional harmonicas, blowing and drawing produce the same notes because its tuning is closer to the note layout of a typical Asian tremolo harmonica or the Polyphonias.
The harmonica developed from the intense interest in free-reeds which arose in in the early .
Free-reeds were fairly common throughout East for centuries (see the ) and relatively well-known in for some time. Around 1820 there was an explosion of new free-reed designs in Europe and . While is often cited as the inventor of the harmonica in , it was almost certainly a case of simultaneous development by several acquainted inventors working independently.
Mouth-blown free-reed instruments appeared in the , the and on the at roughly the same time. Early Aeolines had no jet chambers added.
There is much evidence of free reed instruments originating in east Asia, and the Chinese had instruments called (Chinese: ; pinyin: sh?
ng), (Chinese: ; pinyin: yú), and he (Chinese: ; pinyin: he), which originally used bamboo reeds (though these were replaced over time with ones). The harmonica as such first appeared in , where harmonicas with chambers were sold before 1824 (see also and ). In Germany, Mr.
Meisel from Klingenthal did buy a harmonica with chambers (Kanzellen) at the Exhibition in Braunschweig in the year of 1824 . 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 also began making harmonicas. Richter tuning was in use nearly from the beginning. In 1830 Christan Messner from , a cloth maker and weaver, copied a harmonica brought to Trossingen 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 harmonica making businesses were in existence, Christian Messner Co.
and Württ. Harmonikafabrik Ch. WEISS.
See German wikipedia page about .
Due to competition of harmonica factories in Trossingen and Klingenthal, the first machines were invented to punch covers for the reeds. In 1857 Mattais Hohner, a clockmaker from Trossingen, started the production of harmonicas; he was the first one who ordered the wooden middle part from other firms that had machines to cut the parts.
By 1868 he could deliver his first order to USA. Matthias Hohner became the first person to mass-produce harmonicas. Sometime by the , 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 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 situations which continues to this day. New designs continued to be developed in the including the (first made by Hohner in 1924), the bass harmonica, the chord harmonica and others. Even in the 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 and other European 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 , , 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 or other . 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 ( , - once the dominant manufacturer in the world, producing some 20 million harmonicas alone in when German manufacturing totaled over 50 million harmonicas), ( , , ), 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.
Shortly after Hohner began manufacturing harmonicas in , 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 carried a harmonica in his pocket , and harmonicas provided solace to soldiers on both the and sides of the . Frontiersmen and played the instrument, and it became a fixture of the musical landscape.
The first recordings of harmonica were made in the in the . These recordings are mainly 'race-records', intended for the black market of the southern states. They consist mainly of solo recordings ( ), duo recordings with a guitarist ( , , ) or recordings featuring the harmonica in , of which the 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 started to become increasingly different there. The main difference is the electric amplification of the instrument: first the and then the , , , etc.
The original 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 developed the technique, opening the possibilities of harp playing to new heights.
This technique has now become one of the most important blues harmonica techiques. 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 " " Jacobs would completely revolutionize the instrument. He had the idea of playing the harmonica near a microphone (typically a "Bullet" microphone marketed for use by radio , giving it a "punchy" midrange sound that can be heard above radio static, or an ). He also cupped his hands around the instrument, tightening the air around the harp, giving it a powerful, distorted sound, somewhat reminiscent of a .
This technique, combined with a great 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 . 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 leaders, including . 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 .
is often overlooked as a harp player, but his early recordings demonstrate great skill, particularly at blowing powerful riffs with the instrument. 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 1960s, recording with and and appearing on live British television. taught himself harmonica at age 5 and plays the instrument on many of his recordings. played harmonica on most of his iconic blues recordings.
The 1960s and 1970s saw the harmonica become less prominent as the electric guitar became the favorite instrument for solos. 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).
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. , , , , , , , , , of , of (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 , who played it on the 1962 Top #1 International hit " ".
It is often said that Lennon was taught harmonica by , 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, of has developed a sort of virtuosity on the instrument, although his musicality has been called into question.
His electric and highly distorted are played at a breakneck speed. He is widely credited with many innovations in harmonica playing, such as playing through guitar effects.
Contemporary harmonicists , Jason Ricci, Carlos del Junco and 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 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 plays one- handed piano and harmonica together in unison or harmony, performing the most difficult music including bebop, world music and other forms requiring outstanding technique and ability.
In every region there are great young and established players.
The main European player breaking barriers is Philip Achille. On the many frontiers, Irish, Classical, Jazz, Qawali and sufi music. In Jazz he has won Jazz competitions and his classical performances have led to appearances on BBC as well as ITV and Channel 4.
In France, Nikki Gadout has been an outstanding player; there's Brazilian ace Flávio Guimarãe, and in Germany, there are Steve Baker and (who played the title melody of the famous -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 which links to the sites of great contemporary players around the world.
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.
"Playing" the harmonica requires inhaling and exhaling strongly against resistance. This action helps develop a strong and deep breathing using the entire . specialists have noted that playing the harmonica resembles the kind of exercise used to patients such as using a inspiratory muscle trainer or the inspiratory .
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. , , ,
A big harmonica competition is held in the fall every four years in , Germany, home of the Hohner harmonica company.
The last World Harmonica Festival was in 2005 and - if all goes well - the next will be in 2009. However, there is a Harmonica Masters Workshop held every year.
Every August there is a harmonica contest in Idaho.
The contest has been running for 18 years since 1989. The contest is held about 150 miles outside of Boise, Idaho in a place called Yellow Pine, Idaho and is called the .
The , diatonic and chromatic and the are all free-reed instruments which were developed alongside the harmonica.
Indeed, the similarities between harmonicas and so-called "diatonic" 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 , 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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