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Written by S.O.S.
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SlideMeister welcomes:
Hambone
Besides introducing yourself, we suggest you consider personalizing your account with a picture / "mugshot" or choose an avatar and just for fun. You can even include yourself on our MeisterMaps page: http://slidemeister.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=map.ShowMap
Again, Welcome Home Pilgrim! 
@ge
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Listening and playing along with various smooth jazz artists (and Don Bateman's) Backup CDs 
@ge
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I don't have any Suzuki Chromatics yet but I do have a CX Gold and a Meisterklasse and a stainless 270. I can see where one comes to like different harmonicas and not really wanting to part with any of them. I definitely love my MK! I've been playing it so much lately that I think I'm fixin to find out just how long the reeds last. The CX is in a class by itself as well; no where as sweet sounding as the MK but much more responsive and loud. My stainless steel 270 kinda reminds me of the Meisterklasse, but with less holes (and of course, doubles as a hammer  )
@ge
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Anthony Glise, guitar: The Partitas of Giuseppi Antonio Brescianello
Windham Hill: A Winter's Solstice (Silver Anniversary Edition)
Various: Passion: Music for Guitar
David Russell, guitar: Aire Latino
Los Angeles Guitar Quartet: For Thy Pleasure
Tom
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I was so impressed with what I heard people doing on MeisterKlasse Chromatics at SPAH (Lohman, Bauer, Spranklin) I decided to give it another try. I haven't owned one since 2002 and I had heard that Hohner improved them. The one I owned previously was one of the old ones that had problems with the comb deteriorating and electrolisis between the aluminum comb and the nickel plated brass parts.
But wow! - the new one is completely different. It's really tight, I'm pretty sure the mouthpiece is chrome plated, and there is no electrical feeling on the mouthpiece screws (as was the case with my first one) - I'm very pleasantly surprised at the difference, as I was dissappointed with the earlier model I had.
I regularly play an SC 56 and several cx-12's. Each has it's role in my musical world - I'll continue to perform with an SC-56 because it is more powerful, louder, and responds well to the extra push I need to play chromatic in a six piece band - often without amplification. I use cx-12's to drag around with me to catch a little practice when I'm on the road, etc. ...
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Black Sheep Delicatesen in Amherst, Ma, almost every Sunday from 11 AM to 1 PM. They have a room with tables and stage - holds about 75 people - crowd size varies from day to day, month to month and moment to moment.
dt
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When I was doing a renaissance festival, which did not allow amplification, I put a Danelectro Honeytone battery amp and speaker in a felted wool pouch, hung it on my costume's belt, and ran the wire to the pickup under the dulcimer (oops, not a harmonica).
You get the idea, though. Discreet amplification can work when it's not allowed if you're sneaky about it. A finger ring mic would work for harmonica, and nowadays you might be able to use a wireless system.
Tom
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I have thoroughly researched the law here, even have a permit for the waterfront area. They don't allow amplification, so no backgrounds  Gary
Chicago didn't allow amplification, although most buskers did. I just used an MP3 Player hooked to a battery powerd speaker, and set the volume to match the harmonica, or a little lower.
Z
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When I'm not recuperating from hand surgery (as I am now) I play weekly at a local coffee shop and also weekly (during the summer) at my local beach -- hosted by a snack bar that provides me with food and power.
It's mostly solo, myself on guitar with looping device and chromatic. But more and more, Penny Hanna (my wife) joins me on double bass and vocals.
There's not much money involved at either gig (the coffee shop does pay a small fee and I do sell come CDs), but the experience is priceless.
- Slim.
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I have thoroughly researched the law here, even have a permit for the waterfront area.
They don't allow amplification, so no backgrounds
Gary
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I think I'm just about ready to try busking with the solo chrom. Give me a couple of weeks . . . I'll get back to this thread.
I hear Will Gallison say (on video) that it was after busking all day over a period of many months that he got real good. And he is!
Gary
Check your local laws... some cities, like Chicago. require a permit or license.
But , its good practice. Lots of noise and distraction. And thats a good thing!
I use MIDI files turned into MP3 to accompany me. I have found my yield to be about double when I play with the music over just me and the Hohner.
Z
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I think I'm just about ready to try busking with the solo chrom. Give me a couple of weeks . . . I'll get back to this thread.
I hear Will Gallison say (on video) that it was after busking all day over a period of many months that he got real good. And he is!
Gary
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I play with another partner about 4 times a year at musical evenings. Since we don't have the Chord and base harmonicas we're constrained to play with a keyboard player but getting one to play with us is a problem because most of these players only fiddle with the keys while the music is on the floppy. Since this is not what we want, we're constrained to just about 4 times a year.
Darius
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I play in a ten member worship team at church for a total of about forty minutes every Sunday. I'm a side man, who plays the "ands" and steals a lead here and there, then usually plays a solo for the offertory. Our church also puts on a few musical "shows" each year and I play for those as well. As an evangelist, I also play at other churches and do occasional benefits and stuff that are close by, and an occasional Christian TV show. Never tried busking. (I guess I'm a chicken )
Did an open mike deal at an Arabica coffee joint a while back which turned out to be a lot of fun.
@ge
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I play chrom at almost all of my solo gigs, where I sing and play guitar and short harp, along with a laptop computer.
Next Saturday I have a birthday party booked, I'll almost certainly use it there--BTW, the computer runs hot, so I place the chrom next to it and keep it nice and toasty!
Gary
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Two or three times a month the guys in The Nostalgics Harmonica Trio plus One will drag me on stage so I can butcher a few old standards, but mostly I busker on the streets of Tempe and Phoenix.
Not too profitable, but great practice!
Ziggy
PS. I am still looking for a Marimba player to start a quartet. Upright bass and drum kit to follow.
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Mostly church (which is true of flute, penny whistle, recorder and dulcimer also). Probably four or five times a year for chromatic harmonica.
I've also had gigs in other venues where I snuck in harmonica, but only a couple times since I started playing again four years ago.
There is an All-comers Band for the Pierce's Hall contradance about six times a year, and I've been playing chord harmonica for that.
Tom
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SlideMeister welcomes newest members:
vincent, Fontaine Burnett, johnag and veleopporge3 !
Besides introducing yourselves, we suggest you consider personalizing your account with a picture / "mugshot" or choose an avatar and just for fun. You can even include yourself on our MeisterMaps page: http://slidemeister.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=map.ShowMap
Again, Welcome Home Pilgrims!
Age
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With the recent cancellation of Garden State Harmonica Festival I can't help but lament the lost opportunities for many players to actually play where folks can actually hear them. Many times at various festivals I've spoken with spouses of players who tell me that "so and so" just lives for these get-togethers" Which, I sometimes interpret as; it's the only time the player ever gets to play in public. Such things ought not so to be, as Billy might say (Billy Shakespeare, that is  )
With about 650 members here, it's safe to assume there are those in our ranks that play in public outside of the festival scene (or at least I would hope so) If you play "out" where do you play? and how often?
@ge
PS
Practice is good, but it doesn't count here
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My trouble is I can't stop thinking up new ones, and having to go back and relearn from scratch. It's confusing, but fun!
Good to know I am not alone in this regard--
Gary
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Interesting to see all this discussion on diatonic harmonicas. It was never allowed in the old days, oh no! I got slapped down firmly by our Illustrious Moderator a few times for introducing the despised and feared 'D' word into a discussion on Slidemeister. Good to see a new Enlightened Age has emerged
Yo Brendan!
Yeah this diatonic section has actually been right here since January, 07. It's just that no one used it much till recently. It'll stay here as long as it doesn't get busier than the Chromatic boards.
@ge
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THE NATIONAL HARMONICA LEAGUE FESTIVAL, H2008.
October 24-26, 2008
The Folk House
40a Park Street
Bristol
BS1 5JG
UK
Featuring
*William Galison
*West Weston
*Adam Glasser
*Eddie Ong
*Ben Bouman
*Harry Pitch
*Eddie Upton
and more
concerts, contest, workshops, shops, auction, children's events on
Sunday....
up to date details on festival, location and accomodation.
www.harmonica.co.uk/festival.htm
Contact - Festival Director
Steve Dooley -
This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it
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Interesting to see all this discussion on diatonic harmonicas. It was never allowed in the old days, oh no! I got slapped down firmly by our Illustrious Moderator a few times for introducing the despised and feared 'D' word into a discussion on Slidemeister. Good to see a new Enlightened Age has emerged
Yes, as far as I know I did conceive the Paddy Richter tuning, for my sins. I certainly coined the name and recorded with it first, on my 1994 album 'New Irish Harmonica'. Most of the chromatics I used on that album were 10 holers in Paddy Richter tuning also, using Hohner Koch or Slide Harp reedplates. Later I incorporated PR into my custom CX10 models.
It is great for Irish trad music, but it's good to see players taking it up for other styles as well. Paddy Richter can suit a huge variety of music. Now with Seydel making them commercially, it seems it might end up as a mainstream alternate tuning.
It is a very useful tuning for chromatic players who double on diatonic but don't have advanced bending skills, as it eliminates the need to get...
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Greetings John,
I can't take credit for generating the list of tunes. I merely edited out all of the "non-Paddy Richter" improved tunes. You can download the original 11 page list of tunes for diatonic here:
http://www.microshare.net/tabulearn/Harmonica/HList/List.pdf
Thanks for the tip on "Amazing Grace". That one is a must-have for the campfire crowd....
Ray
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Hello, Rayzcane (Ray Langley).
Your list of tunes made easier with the Paddy Richter note placement system is a great resource. I've added it to my harmonica resource library.
Here's another song that will be easier with the Paddy Richter: Amazing Grace, by John Newton (1774).
With the Paddy Richter in C, the low A (hole 3 blow) is playable without bending. We can play the tune in the keys of C, F, and G on a C Paddy Richter harp, with no bending or overblowing.
John Broecker
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Hello Dave,
Maybe Brendon invented it first and you independently invented it later,
but I “discovered” the Paddy Richter tuning as a great way to play the
(Am) relative minor scale in the low octave! Only kidding…. but, the Universe
does bring us unexpected gifts in different ways. Another benefit of this
tuning is the Em pentatonic scale, also beginning in the low octave.
Hello Agustin, John, and AirMojo. Yes, I have investigated the reedplate
switcheroo between different tuned LO’s. But, I opted for the toolkit to see
if I can do my own tuning. I get by on a fixed income and every penny
counts. If I screw up the reeds, it is good to know that reedplates are
available. At this point, I have little interest in some of the other tunings
you have with switching the plates. I think the PR tuning will satisfy my
needs.
John, thanks for the heads up on the extra chords available on PR.
Clyde, the “zirk” sounds interesting but it is still basically a draw system,
rather than a blow system. For my purposes, the first position for the major
and relative minor scales will give me...
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Jonkip just nailed it. If your music is in flats, you want to stay in flats. If sharps, stay in sharps. I play in BbX all the time lol
smo-j
FX, I BbX what you're saying....so your personalized florida license plate is IPLYNC ?
sorry......
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Jonkip just nailed it. If your music is in flats, you want to stay in flats. If sharps, stay in sharps. I play in BbX all the time lol
smo-j
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My brain just exploded 
Pete
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Ha Ha!
But my handle is "Mr CleanAir"
(cuz of those air machines I've been sellin since 96) Even got a website. Of course it's still empty as my head, but it's another one of those things I'm fixin to get around to
@ge
www.mistercleanair.com
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rayzcane,
you might want to try the zirk tuned seydel... it has all the notes you need .... more chords than you could ever want .... it will however remind you of playing in second position because there will be more draw notes.....but in my opinion they are not as hard on folks with breathing problems....at least not me. i have a couple , although one reed broke on my d harp ...which really plays in g ... but that's another story. there are a couple of folks on the sight that can explain it much better than i .... or you can go to www.usasydel.com and read all about it. i have a hard time making my mind up about what harps i like the best but i do have a paddy tuned seydel and the zirk and i believe the zirk to be much more expressive and i love the sound.
thanks
clyde
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And when you combine the other 2 remaining reed plates, you will have a double-country tuned harp where the 5 draw and 9 draw are raised a half-step. (the bottom/draw plate from the Melody Maker and the top/blow plate from the regular richter tuned harmonica).
I discovered the paddy richter tuned harps a couple of years ago, and I really like them. I've retuned several extra harps to PR... I'm running out of 'extra' harps.
hello Ray
the combination is: the upper plate of a melody maker tuning, with the down plate of a ritcher tuning and you have a paddy ritcher without tuning a reed...
good health
Agustín
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Hey Lunatique,
From reading your posts it seems you might be satisfied with holding two diatonics and playing chromatically. Try holding and playing two diatonics at the same time - a C and a C#. (I posted quite a bit about this in the past- see my old posts) I've been doing it for a while now- easy to get used to. Sure, there are some limitations on speed, but that might be more of a reflection of how casually I practice vs. the set up-- apparently in Asia there are some speedy and great stack-players.
The beauty of it is that you don't need to manufacture missing notes of the diatonic by bending, so they sound correct. But you can bend notes for flavor and effect. And, unlike the slide chromo, no slide lever and no valves = low maintenance.
I am very partial to Hohner Golden Melody for its sweet sound. The Special 20s are a close second. For budget, keep in the car, carry in your pocket-- Huang Silvertones.
Try it. And get an Eb for your collection, too.
Larry C
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one thing about writing flats and sharps for quick readability....
if the line goes up, use sharps, double sharps, and naturals
and vice versa..line going down, flats, double flats and naturals...
one of the hardest things to sight read is a fast line in one direction that has both flats and sharps in it.....
you end up playing the notes rather than the music....
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8<
I am finding a few double flats in the choral music--am I right that they are more common than double sharps?
Gary
Depends on what group it's written for. Sometimes choral music is written in flat keys because organ accompaniment is easier to play on the black pedal keys. Many wind instruments favor flat keys, which is why band music tends to be written in flat keys. Orchestral music tends to be in sharp keys because violins are tuned to be more friendly to sharp keys (violin tuning: G D A E). Therefore you'll see more double sharp than double flats in orchestral music.
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Howsa come no one ever says Gb..it's always F#..or so it seems.
I have paid attention to what guys call keys and notes around here, cause I've always thought that dynamic interesting.
I've got a guess. On the piano, as well as other instruments, your flat notes are to the left. The sharp notes are to the right. The average human brain wants to move right, whether it's eye movement looking at a newspaper photograph or reading. Our brains are trained to move left to right. I know many people have no problem with this, but for the average layman, it means the brain is thinking right, then stopping and dropping back to the flat note.
With keys and chords, it's just the opposite, West Virginia players say mostly flats, except one.
West Virginia flat/sharp key names:
Ab
Bb
Db
Eb
F#
In West Virginia, notes are F#, G#, Bb (or A#), C#, D#,
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Yes, Virginia, there are E#s, B#s, Fbs and Cbs. It depends on the context of the chord underlying the melody.
Consider: an A augmented chord would be spelled A C# E#. E augmented would be E G# B#. A Bb diminished chord would be Bb D Fb; and F diminished would be F Ab Cb.
The same goes for a double sharp (x) and a double flat (bb). A B augmented chord would be B D# Fx, raising the F# of the major chord another half step. A Db diminished would be Db Fb Abb. (Good luck seeing that one anytime soon! You're more likely to see it as C# E G.)
There are times when an enharmonic spelling of a note within a chord is used to make a melodic line more understandable. It's not all that rare, but it is unusual.
Joe says, "ALL notes are an address. No one else can live AT that address." I like that. The spelling may change (Ab? G#?), but you can't get that note anywhere except in the hole it lives in (hole 3, 7, 11, assuming a C harmonica).
Hope this helps.
Tom
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I do this mostly by ear--using the wrong harp for the right sound. For example, as I guessed many months back, Wave is much easier (for me) on an A chrom--so I use F position, but it sounds in D.
As much as I would like to be comfortable in all keys, G and F seems to be the ones in which I embarrass myself the least. Bb is pretty cool too, especially on a bebop tuned chrom--the Bb is a given, blow 4.
I am finding a few double flats in the choral music--am I right that they are more common than double sharps?
Gary
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Well Gary, just to show you what a goofy world we live in, I have ALWAYS referred to the blow-slide in C and F as the "B SHARP, and E SHARP", and have been told...ready?...No such notes. That the B# IS a C and the E# IS an F. Well, that shocked me, because all my life I had used MY nomenclature to let ME know WHAT hole to hit on WHAT breath direction and WHAT slide position.
Then, I go and find these Cb, Fb, and others (like the F# for instance). Howsa come no one ever says Gb..it's always F#..or so it seems.
I did something really unusual at spah this past August. A group of us were gong to do a tune called 'Li'l Darlin' and it was in the keys of F. Everyone was using C chromos (mostly 16s). I was using a 12. Aaaaanyway, after 1 1/2 rehearsals, M. Tom Strykeforce Stryker was telling me "Joe, you have to play louder..you're not loud enough". Well, as it were, I was supposed to do the trumpet solo part and would probably be closer to the mike than some of the other guys BUT,...
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Whenever 'I' have trouble with a note...I change it. You're allowed to DO that.
smo-joe
Yup, fortunately, it's supposed to be music--long as it ends up that way, you did it right.
I took the MIDI files for the choral music and manipulated it to display in treble clef, where I could read it easier. Unfortunately, they want me to use their book
Gary
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Music is similar to construction, sailing, or many other things. Here are some analogies:
1...Musical chart: Gives you everything you have to know for a (reasonably) accomplished musician to play a tune. Even IF they have never heard it before.
2...Engineered blueprint: Gives a reasonably accomplished mechanic the wherewithall to accomplish a project. It contains measurements, specifications, and even details..usually in a larger scale.
3...Nautical chart: Gives a reasonably accomplished mariner all they need to accomplish a voyage. Contains huge amounts of info
Then there is the:
1...Johnny Adventure big note song book: Gives a player a lead sheet simplified version of a tune
2...Diagram: It is assumed that the carpenter IS accomplished and gives less details
3...Nautical place mat from Joe's crab shack: Believe it or not, I know people who have actually attempted a trip with one of these. (Did I hear someone say Bermuda Triangle?)
Then there is:
1...The jotted down notes: This is to jog someone's memory who already knows the tune. May include a tricky bridge or some other portion. I use these all the time.
2... The sketch: This is enough infor for a top mechanic to...
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There are a lot of times when a piece of music is humming along in a particular key and (let's say Bb) and every time you get to the F in the tune, you are supposed to flat that F. But then there are occasions where you see a 'natural' sign in front of the F. That means DON't flat the F ....this time. But then, after this natural, you're supposed to go back to flatting the Fs. This led to confusion and sometimes people would follow the 'new' direction and not play the note that was needed.
Lots of times I see these sharps and flats within a chord or run and that flat or sharp is there to make SURE you know what note to hit. As for the x's, I never DID understand that one. Why not just use the higher note in the first place? Whenever 'I' have trouble with a note...I change it. You're allowed to DO that.
smo-joe
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Thanks Tom,
wikipedia is great, Last weekend I got a handle on why each
octave has 12 tones.
Very interesting.
Next weekend or couple of weekends I'll get into
why there are different keys.
Pete
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Nah! Just showin' off!
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http://www.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/TV/10/02/obit.petersjr.ap/index.html
Ziggy
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Age,
On your avatar pic, did you impale yourself on playground equipment?
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This may be bordering on Chromatic blasphemy but I think screws vs nails is an overrated subject (at least on Hohner 270s) IMO They're plenty tight right out of the box. The sides of the reedplates are held down by:
1 the screws and nuts for the coverplate.
2 the backs of the reedplates are held tight by the stand-offs that fit under the "bell" of the coverplate
3 and the fronts of the reedplates are held down pretty well by rounded front lip (bill) of the coverplate.
After the comb gets old (and it will) that's when you may want to address the problem (and even that's for not for sure) The worst part about wood is that it warps and cracks. Until then, when it seals, it seals, period. The leakiest part of a wood combed 270 is always going to be that archaic slide assembly. (that's your biggest enemy) When the comb starts to get old, you may want to remove the mouthpiece, and the spring, and sand the opened edge of the comb on a flat piece of glass (for example) till the brass and wood...
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Nails will make a more airtight harp, if all is perfect. On a diatonic, this is easy. Chromatics 12 and up, it's more of a nuance game. The idea is unless you are using a torque screwdriver (I've thought about this) you will overtorque or undertorque the screws to some degree, if you know what you're doing, the degree is less... except for double plated, you can tighten those as much as you want...
If the screw is too tight, it will pull down too hard and there will be a gap between the screws, even if you don't see it. The reedplate should be flat.
It is impossible for a nail to overtorque a reedplate. Thus, it's flat. As long as your comb is flat, it's a sweet deal.
Mike's right. Coverplates aren't enough, the reedplate will bow up in the middle, big air gap.
I like slightly rusty nails, the hold tight.
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Gary, If you are careful when you remove the nails you can use them many times over. I've been repairing the same chromatics for Hendrik Meurkens for about 8 years now and I still use the same nails and combs.
First key to success is in how you remove the nails. I use a very thin but not sharp craft knife (dinner knives and pocket knives are too thick to fit under the reed plate and can damage the comb) to carefully lift the corner of the reed plate a hair. Then I use a small nail removing tool called a "chip lifter" you can buy from MicroMark. You should raise it no higher then what you need to slide the tool under the nail head.
I thinned mine down at the tip so I need less height to remove the nail.
I start with the left or right corner then carefully remove a nail at a time placing the knife under the comb and reed plate just enough to carefully raise the nail head so the removal tool can slip under it.
A good rule of thumb is if you raised it higher then...
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