Jazz
1 post
Feb 15, 2015
10:46 AM
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Hi all - Greetings from South Africa
I have been playing jazz guitar for around 10 years.
I recently purchased a harmonica from a friend for R500, that's about 50$ US.
From what I can see, it's a Hohner Super Chromarnica 270 in the key of C
I've never owned or played the harmonica before and I have a few questions:
>> The steel frame seems to be dented or warped, is this normal for this harmonica?
>> It's been sitting around for over 10 years, does it need to be cleaned? How would I clean it?
>> What are the notes for this harmonica?
>> Any startup tips for a newbie to begin playing?
Thanks
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shakeylee
104 posts
Feb 15, 2015
11:42 AM
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for chromatic the 270 is a standard.good choice.
if it were me i would just wipe the mouthpiece off with alcohol ,let it dry and play it.
without seeing it ,i don't really know what you mean by dented or warped. do you mean the cover plates?some mouth pieces are bent outwards so they are tight in the middle when screwed down,but i don't think that is what you are talking about.
if you are interested in jazz harmonica,start with toots thielmans and work from there.
use the search function on this forum,you'll come up with tons of info!!
brendan power just did a video on lubing chromatics.it should be on this page or the next.
another forum member just posted about chromatic,and there is yet another that has a great comb for 270's.
a lot of us here play C chromatics primarily in Dm,or D,ala little walter,george harmonica smith,william clarke etc.
Sterkte!!!
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jbone
1884 posts
Feb 15, 2015
11:59 AM
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Hi and welcome to this joint. When you say the steel frame, do you mean the slide assy/mouthpiece or is it one of the covers over the main body of the harmonica?
Have you tried playing it at all to see if the notes sound? Depending on climate, humidity, etc., some parts may need attention. There are small valves over several of the reeds, and these can come loose over time. Usually I think dry air contributes to this.
I admit I don't know the notes but a standard chromatic does have all the notes available with the slide, which drops a given note 1/2 step.
Depending on what kind of music you dig there are a couple of ways to approach. A folk or gospel style can benefit from a straight first position approach, where the song is i8n C and the harmonica is in C. For blues, swing, jazz, another approach is to utilize primarily draw notes. This is referred to as slant or third position. In this style the root key of a song would be D and you would be playing a lot of the minor notes of the C harmonica, which are mostly draw notes. Your background in jazz and the ability to do scales will likely help you along on your journey.
I play some chromatic in 3rd mostly which can be seen/heard on the youtube link below. Wife and I have been a duo for over a decade. We have about 40 videos posted, a few of which have chromatic harp on them. I hasten to add that there are a lot of great players out there who may inform you more thoroughly than I can!
I would also suggest you maybe get a 10 hole diatonic harmonica as well. It's not as complicated to learn to play on one and a lot of the lessons one learns on a diatonic can be applied to chromatic as well.
One of the very best known and loved chromatic harmonica guys is Toots Thielmanns. There is a wealth of resources on youtube about him and about playing chromatic.
I play mostly diatonic but have been into chromatic- mostly third position blues/swing/jazz- for about a dozen years now. I am not musically educated really but have unlocked some of the mysteries of playing and manage to sound pretty good if I say so!
Welcome again Jazz and hope to see you around here!
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http://www.reverbnation.com/jawboneandjolene
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000386839482
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbTwvU-EN1Q
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Jazz
2 posts
Feb 15, 2015
11:15 PM
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Thanks guys - This helps
Is there a way I can attach an image to this post so that you can see if the warp in my harmonica is normal?
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nacoran
8274 posts
Feb 15, 2015
11:26 PM
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Jazz, sure you can. We can't host images here, but if you upload it to a site like flikr or photobucket and right click the image you should get an option to copy the image url (you want the image url, not the page url). You can paste it here. If you want to get fancy you can embed it with this code:
<img src="http://www.abc.com/anyPicture.jpg">
Just replace what's between the quotation marks with your image url.
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Nate
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First Post- May 8, 2009
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Jazz
3 posts
Feb 16, 2015
2:04 AM
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Thanks
I've uploaded all the pics here.
Please have a look and let me know about the shape. I'd really appreciate it.
http://s1378.photobucket.com/user/jazz85/library/
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KingoBad
1604 posts
Feb 16, 2015
6:10 AM
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It is just a bent cover plate. Either some mishandling, or lots of playing. It shouldn't effect your playing - unless something else in the harmonica is damaged too...
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Danny
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Jazz
4 posts
Feb 16, 2015
7:48 AM
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Thanks
I was told by the seller that it was part of the design. To my newbie ear, it sounds fine I guess.
Anyway, I've kind of figured out the notes after some searching:
Hole 1 Slider Out - Blow = C, Draw = D.
Hole 2 Slider In - Blow = C#, Draw = D#
etc etc. I'm guessing this pattern continues throughout the rest of the holes.
I'm really struggling with playing a single note at a time, any advice on this?
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timeistight
1692 posts
Feb 16, 2015
10:55 AM
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Re note layout: your harmonica is solo tuned. You can read about solo tuning here or just google it for info.
Re single note playing: are you tongue-blocking or puckering?
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dougharps
857 posts
Feb 16, 2015
1:52 PM
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Does the button work properly?
In the 4th picture it looks as though the slide is bent by the button, and the button looks glued on. If the slide is bent there it may not move properly without being disassembled and straightened. A bend slide is more serious than bent cover plates and would need repair to work properly.
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Doug S.
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Jazz
5 posts
Feb 17, 2015
2:34 AM
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Thanks all
I don't know what tongue-blocking or puckering is, I've just been trying to focus my efforts on getting a single note, I decided to try Autumn Leaves, the notes for the first bar are E-F#-G-C.
@timeistight - I've checked the slide and it seems to move quite smoothly without hesitation or dragging or anything. I am gonna take it to the local music shop and get them to have a look and give it a once-over.
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jbone
1888 posts
Feb 17, 2015
7:12 AM
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Tongue blocking and lip pursing are the most common and effective ways we address the mouthpiece of a harmonica.
Most people begin with lip pursing, it seems to be the most natural and easiest method. In essence you pucker up and "kiss" the harp. The harp needs to be deep between the lips and a good seal between lips and harp insures good air flow over the reeds. This method can be used for single or multiple notes depending on how tight a pucker one uses. For me pucker was easy to adopt early on. Much later I was turned on to tongue blocking.
Tongue block is as it sounds, where one puts the harp into the lips deeper and uses the tongue to block the 2,3,4 holes to one side or the other of the hole we want to get a note out of. It is thought to provide a deeper tone to one's playing. There are some great things about tongue block like switching between two notes quickly.
Both methods have pros and cons, neither is right or wrong.
Re having the harp looked at, I would be careful there. Most folks have little idea what makes a harmonica or its special needs to work well. If you can find someone who specifically works on chromatic harps that's good, but if all the notes sound, both with slide engaged and relaxed, you may be in good shape for now.
Single notes are great for melody. Making chords and octaves are great for a bigger fuller sound. Rhythm and backing as well as some good lead or solo work is the realm of either style. I find I use one, the other, or both in a given song.
A typical error a lot of new players make is drawing and blowing too hard. This may give a slight volume increase but is also a sure way to damage the reeds in any harp. My rule of thumb is use just enough air to make the reed sound fully. There are probably millions of harmonicas sitting in drawers with one bad note. Fortunately there are pro harp techs out there who can replace reeds these days, some of whom visit here often. Perhaps easier though is to treat the instrument with some respect and preserve its integrity.
If you do a youtube search on chromatic harmonica you will find a wealth of resources on how to play one, great artists, different styles played on one, etc etc.
Link is one of the heroes of West Coast Swing, William Clarke.
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http://www.reverbnation.com/jawboneandjolene
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000386839482
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbTwvU-EN1Q
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jbone
1889 posts
Feb 17, 2015
7:17 AM
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<"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_cK7F4-n6o">
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http://www.reverbnation.com/jawboneandjolene
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000386839482
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbTwvU-EN1Q
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