Well, I have recently taken up playing the harmonica (moothie is my favourite adjective) and so I thought that I’d kick off this new year of 2010 by talking about my new found hobby.
Actually it’s no more than an extension of my melodeon and accordion playing really as the principle is basically the same and based upon the idea of a free-reed. However, the one main advantage of the harmonica is that you can stick it in your pocket and take it anywhere you like!
So how did I get started on this trail? Well, some years ago my eldest daughter bought me a little 10 hole diatonic harmonica in ‘C’. But as I’ve shared elsewhere, I just stuck it in my drawer and didn’t do a lot with it. But recently I suffered a disc prolapse in the base of my spine – which basically meant no accordionising for a while. After I’d gotten over the shock, I remembered the little harmonica in my bedside cabinet…the rest, as they say, is history…or is that ‘his’ story? Anyway, I started out playing 10 hole diatonic and got a few more keys (A, D, G, F), but still found it frustrating when looking for that unavailable accidental sharp or flat etc. So obviously I needed to undergo a chromatic conversion. Which is when a good friend chipped in with a few old harmonicas that had belonged to her husband…way to go! Not one, but two chromatics!!! So here’s what I’m currently playing:
Suzuki Diatonic Promaster M350 in A, D & G
Hohner Blues Harp in F
Hohner Super Chromonica 12 hole Chromatic in ‘C’
Victory 12 hole Professional Chromatic ‘C’
Huang tremolo in ‘C’.
Surely that’s enough to be going on with?…Not on your Nelly! I’m also looking out for a new chromatic tpo add to the collection – I do like the Suzuki harps…all it seems to take is a breath of air to make the reeds sound.
But for now I’m spending most of my time finding my way around the Hohner Super Chromonica – it’s got a direct ‘straight’ sound that I like. Though it doesn’t seem to play very loud to me. But then I’m more used to Hohner melodeons…:)
One of my new years resolutions is to work more on this blogsite – and learn the chromatic harmonica. Watch this space…!
God Bless, AL.
