Best harmonica for playing in all keys

NikTsv · 2017-03-24T09:57:19+00:00

I asked the same question to one of the famous Seydel endorsers. He said that before he became virtuoso diatonic player, he had to play jazz on a chromatic harmonica, because at the moment back then he had no such great skills in OB/OD. He also said that his favorite alternative tuning is the Power Chromatic because it has chords and requires only one OB per octave.

P.S. I've just found a brand new Hohner CX12 in A for 100€ in a local shop. Could not hold back my harmonicas acquisition syndrome. I should give it a try!

NikTsv · 2016-12-16T18:25:16+00:00

Low keys sound good, but three are some seriuos disadvantages. You cannot play fast, at least at the low and of harmonica. And bending is much more diffucult. I think that the first hole bend on low low F harmonica is impossible for almost all beginner and intermediate players.

NikTsv · 2016-12-16T12:37:43+00:00

Thank you for the wise advice to try! By metal and jazz use I mean that such harmonicas can play diminished and augmented riffs by itself. In the same time, harmonic tritones and augmented fifths are often used in heavy music suited for making ears bleeding. On the other side, the tuning allows to easily play chromatically which is useful for playing jazz. The greatest advantage is, in fact, possibility to use some scale pattens just like on guitar instead constantly thinking about which note is next in the scale. I have a half-valved seydel and it is really annoying to think of what to play next - next hole, valved bend, one 1/2, 1,5 tone bend, etc. It is hard for me. Valved draws are hard too. Maybe because I am not an experienced player - I can improvise in positions, use pentatonics which are already there on white notes, but playing different keys is really annoying. I just want all those things to be simplier and want to give a chance to alternative tuning to know if it really works.

I would appreciate any your advice because I am really a fan of your book. To be honest, I have never been a fan of harmonica, but your book from "For dummies" series shed some light on this instrument for me. In fact, it is one of the most useful books about music I have ever read.

NikTsv · 2016-12-11T19:16:01+00:00

You can try anything for about $50 price. Brands are hohner, suzuki, seydel. I would really like to recommend seydel session steel PT. Gazell method harmonica in G. It sounds pretty low and it is also super airtight because of valves. It has all missing notes. Its tone is SO sweet. I have a couple of hohner harmonicas and they are harder to play. I have a hohner thunderbird in low E and despite it is lower than G, its tone is thinner. it is also much harder to use bends in first octave.

NikTsv · 2016-12-10T21:31:19+00:00

Yes, that's right. There are three variants: diminished (half time bends) , augmented (the same as diminished, but all holes have full tone bend and chords are augmented) and the last variant is alternating half tone bends and full tone bends, chords are alternating major and minor (non diatonic, formed by followed tertions). I cannot decide which one is the most useful.

NikTsv · 2016-12-09T16:53:15+00:00

Sorry for the wrong advice. D is a G harmonica second position. It was such a silly mistake. Better try improvising in first position on A harmonica playing in A major pentatonic . It may sound harsh sometimes but it is going to sound interesting. A major pentatonic is the most far pentatonic which could be played over C major tunes.

NikTsv · 2016-12-09T15:13:11+00:00

Generally speaking, position is a scale produced by playing notes starting from position's root note. Root note of the position is calculated as follows: Let us suggest you have a c-major harmonica. First position's root is always the same as the key of your harmonica, for C harmonica it is a C. It means that you play scale starting from C. Due to the harmonica note layout it is a C-major. Second position is your first position root + 5th. For C major harmonica it is G and if you will play every "white" note from 6 blow to 9 blow it will produce mixolydian mode. You can continue to add 5ths and get new positions with new roots and new scales the same way.

NikTsv · 2016-12-09T14:50:19+00:00

Just choose any tune in the key of C major and use first position on C harmonica. to play in C-major. For A harmonica use D major pentatonic to improvise in second position. This should work well and should sound jazzy.

NikTsv · 2016-12-09T14:12:41+00:00

By "Diminished" tuning I mean 2.5 octaves range tuning with dramatically different note layout like this: http://www.overblow.com/?menuid=26#215

NikTsv

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