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Dirty-South Blues Harp forum: wail on! >
The future of the harmonica
The future of the harmonica
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bluzlvr
185 posts
May 11, 2009
2:05 PM
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It seems that the harmonica has gone through a bit of a revolution in the last 20 years or so. The last major change in factory harps to my knowledge was when Hohner introduced the plastic combed Special 20 in the mid 70's.
Other people might have been doing it at the time, but it seems that in the early 90's, Joe Filisko started the custom harp revolution that is going on today.
Now days, if you got the bucks, you can choose from a number of customizers. Much different than it was twenty years ago.
I'm sure that the growth of the internet has had a lot to do with this.
What about the next twenty years? Is the harp near the peak of its evolution?
My harp fantasy would be a harp that would last forever without the reeds going bad.
They would probably have to develop a new reed material or something. I don't think there are teams of scientists working feverishly to solve this problem.
What about a (shudder) digital harp?
If you can get software to play the clarinet on your i phone, I bet they could develop a digital harp that would play in any key you would want it to.
Beam me up Scotty!!
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Blackbird
76 posts
May 11, 2009
2:26 PM
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I saw a prototype midi harp on the web somewhere once. Nice concept if they can perfect it, but then you'll have harmonica players doing drum solos and playing Tubas with them if the technology gets as good as it's doing for guitars and keyboards. There's already digital accordions (yikes!) so the harp can't be far off. Short of designer tones I can't think of any really neat uses for a midi triggered harp that wouldn't be a gimmick.
On another note, I wonder if reed material will ever be made from plastics or kevlar or anything that is resilient, durable, and responsive to high vibrations needed for reeds, to end the problem of breaking or wearing them out in the same decade.
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mickil
190 posts
May 11, 2009
2:59 PM
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blzlvr,
I share some of your feelings. I accept that metal fatigue means that you have to replace reeds; that's no different than changing strings on a guitar.
However, I really don't like the fact some stock harps are designed to be disposable - well, wooden combed ones anyway.
I'm not a rich man, and, with that in mind, I'm starting to lean on the notion of sticking with SP20s. With the exception of the reeds, they'll probably outlast me. You could do a lot worse in your choice of harp.
But, I got to thinking about peak oil and petroluim based plastic. When that goes tits up we're all up the creek.
So, if I understand your question / statement in the spirit it was asked, I think that the future of the harmonica, the mobile phone, the kettle, etc, etc, etc, is dependant on renewable plastics.
The Brazillians are leading the way on this one.
There's a lot of stuff ob the Net about non-biodegradeable renewable plastics. Here's one link:
http://biopol.free.fr/?p=633
As for wood, Hohner seems to have thought about it with their new MB Crossover, which has a comb made out of laminated Moso-Bamboo; it can grow, I think, up to a metre a day and, being a type of grass, it re-plants itself willy-nilly.
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'If it sounds GOOD to you, it's bitchen; if it sounds BAD to YOU, it's shitty' - Frank Zappa
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isaacullah
241 posts
May 11, 2009
4:16 PM
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There already is a an i-phone harmonica app. Some one linked at harp-l a couple of months back.
There are a lot of material choices outside wood, metal, and plastic. Harmonica manufacturers still use these because of tradition/economics. I've always been interested in the idea of cast resin combs/covers. Should have good acoustic properties, be relatively cheap, be pretty durable, and will look nice. The design can be very configurable as you are not faced with the limitations of milling machines, etc.
As for reeds and reedplates: There was a company making plastic reeded harmonicas (brand name escapes me at the moment) around WWII era (perhaps becasu eof metal shortages?), but they didn't last afterwards. Wonder if it was an economics thing or becaus eplastic doesn't make good harp reeds? The kevlar angle is interesting. Someone should look at the 3-M company's matierals catalog. I'm sure that there are some other non-metal materials that have the potential for uses as harp reeds. They might be cheaper/more effecient to make into reeds too, especially if they are easy to mill. Sound quality? Well that's another hurdle. It would take some pretty serious convincin' to get harp players to buy harps with non-metal reeds. Proof would have to be in the pudding.
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The magnificent YouTube channel of the internet user known as "isaacullah"
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Oisin
247 posts
May 11, 2009
10:11 PM
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I have seen the future of harmonicas....and it is enormous!! Get your lips round this baby.....
http://www.patmissin.com/ffaq/q27.html
Oisin
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Buddha
400 posts
May 12, 2009
4:11 AM
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I have the future of the harmonica sitting on my shelf collecting dust. I don't remember if I showed it to Oldwailer and Isaac or not but it's a prototype electric harmonica with sensors under the cover plates and over each reed.
One of the cool things of being a good player is having the opportunity to try prototypes from midi harps to bradical harps to electrics harps etc... NONE of them cut it for me and I always end up going back to my golden melodies because nothing sounds better than that.
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jbone
67 posts
May 12, 2009
4:28 AM
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call me an old fart, i don't care. i have enough on my plate with the usual not-changed-dramatically in over 100 years harmonica.
i remember a guy bringing a midi thing out and plugging his guitar into it, and getting a sax sound, keys, and a few other sounds. it was cool for 10 minutes or so. my thoughts on it were, why not get a sax, a keyboard, whatever, and meanwhile, just PLAY THE GUITAR? he had a nice les paul and a classic 30 amp right there.
power tools, i can see multiple apps, great idea. but instruments, to me they are purpose built for a single function, and that's to sound like themselves.
at a fest once i bought a "nose flute", a small formed plate with a couple of holes in it. you put it over your nose and mouth and made various sounds by changing the shape of your mouth. weird, interesting- and just a very minor fad. the looks i got trying to jam with some guys around a campfire.....priceless. they looked at me like, where are the guys with the butterfly net?
to each their own. i'll be sticking with a plain jane brass reed harmonica of one type or another.
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RyanMortos
170 posts
May 12, 2009
5:07 AM
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Electric harmonica with sensors? Way to steal from the instrument's Earthiness.
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~Ryan
PA
Ryan's Tube - Containing [0] uploads and counting...
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bluzlvr
186 posts
May 12, 2009
1:19 PM
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It's funny that you guys mentioned plastic reeds. I was pondering the same thing.
The digital harp I was imagining would be something that would be in the shape of a normal (analog?) harp.
You would play it as you would a normal harp, but you would be able to play in any key or tuning you would want to at click of a switch. (mouse?) Of course it would be completely wireless (bluetooth?).
I could never really embrace such a harp. I love the digital world but when it comes to musical instruments, I'm pretty much an analog guy.
There will always be players that are satisfied with out of the box instruments. I think you could put Adam Gussow in that catagory...
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Buddha
407 posts
May 12, 2009
3:00 PM
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"There will always be players that are satisfied with out of the box instruments. I think you could put Adam Gussow in that catagory..."
I agree except he's in gapping the reeds and running them underwater to help seal up the inside...hey wait a minute... isn't sealing up the harps and gapping the reeds in the realm of custom harps?
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Oisin
249 posts
May 12, 2009
3:06 PM
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Hey Chris is the one you have at home the same as the one on Pat Missins site? What does it sound like?
The one in the photo above looks like a film prop from the Land of the Giants, even Howling Wolf would have had trouble holding it.
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Buddha
408 posts
May 12, 2009
3:08 PM
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the electric harps? I don't think so. The one I have is made by James Antaki.
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kudzurunner
429 posts
May 12, 2009
3:08 PM
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Nah, I haven't run a harp underwater in about 25 years. Seriously. I did that for the first few years I was playing, back in the late 1970s. Actually, I stopped doing it in 1985, when I realized that good players could actually play an A harp without doing that. So I stopped, and haven't done it since.
But I do gap the reeds on 75% of the harps I play. I tweak the tuning on 100% of the harps I play. I believe every harp player should learn how to make these sorts of basic modificactions, which is why I showed people what I do in one of my very first videos. It's precisely for this reason--my ability to get make an out-of-the-box harp do what I want it to do with about five minutes' work--that I don't see any reason for any player with the word "beginning" as a part of their skill level (call it novice through advanced beginner) to even think about paying $150 or more for a custom harp. When you've reached the intermediate level, reward yourself with one. Before you buy another, make sure you've got at least seven different harp keys (G, A, B-flat, C, D, E-flat, and F) plus a 64 Chromonica or the equivalent. Learn how to play them well, and powerfully. Then, if you've got the money, sure: buy a few different keys of custom harps. That's my feeling about it.
Last Edited by on May 12, 2009 3:09 PM
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mickil
192 posts
May 12, 2009
3:19 PM
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Does anyone know anything more about that plastic thing I mentioned above? No more SP20s, LOs or GMs when that sh*t hits the fan, quite possibly in our lifetimes.
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'If it sounds GOOD to you, it's bitchen; if it sounds BAD to YOU, it's shitty' - Frank Zappa
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Buddha
409 posts
May 12, 2009
3:23 PM
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Adam, this is one area where you and I will completely disagree.
I will never understand, if you don't advocate soaking or running them underwater, why you made a video on it and even discussed how to cut the swollen tines. To each their own though.
With all of my in-person lessons, the first lesson is how to set up a harp to play properly. I show them as I do it for them and what I do it equivalent to what I offer at the $95 price point.
There are so many issues with being a beginner that I believe the instrument itself shouldn't be one of them. Student play with more confidence knowing they have a well set up instrument, so if something isn't working then they know without a doubt it is something they are doing and make further attempts with self adjustment rather than blaming the instrument.
I have noticed rapid improvement with my students - rank beginner or not when they started with a modified instrument vs those who have not.
I absolutely believe it is essential to start with a custom harp if you at all envision yourself to be a serious player.
When I bought guitar, I didn't buy a student model. I went out and got a Martin and not one of the low end models either. I had it set up properly and set out getting lessons. Every guitar player I know tells me that's the best way to do it and they would have done the same if they knew better. From my first lesson, those chords rang out with that trademark Martin crispness and clarity. It made me want to play more and practice harder.
I don't care who you are but playing on out of the box is nothing but an exercise in stuborness. There absolutely no reason to play garbage when other better options are available.
I liken out of the box vs custom harps to a baby sucking on a mama's nipple that has been pierces vs a nipple that is unaltered.
Like sucking milk from your mama, playing harmonica is about air flow control. It works best when things are efficient juxtaposed to dealing with a shotgun blast of air (or milk)
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harmonicanick
283 posts
May 12, 2009
3:47 PM
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The future of the harmonica should be widespread popular acceptance of this instrument as an 'affordable',portable, expressive, fun, soulful instrument adaptable in skillfull hands to any genre.
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Buddha
412 posts
May 12, 2009
7:34 PM
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actually yes. Never been with a nursing chick that has multiple piercings?
what kind of musician are you?
When people ask me if I have any kids, my answer is probably. Then I shrug my shoulders and say, "I'm a musician"
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Elwood
59 posts
May 13, 2009
5:48 AM
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Harmonicanick, isn't that the *history* of the harmonica? Back when every kid had a tin sandwich?
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snakes
222 posts
May 14, 2009
4:56 PM
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Buddha,
Next time when questioned about kids just say "none that I've met yet." That ought to get a measured response. LOL!
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nacoran
11 posts
May 16, 2009
2:55 PM
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Looking at that picture of the giant midi harmonica and the giant (fake) Hohner Jason Ricci has in that one video of his just gave me a cute idea... someone could size a fake harmonica so that your foot could fit in the holes easily you could make a 10 pedal organizer that would look pretty funny on stage. You'd could hinge the top lid to access the petals but during the show you would just tap inside the holes with your foot.
edit-
And someone should come up with a more inclusive piece of software for training. Off the top of my head it should be able to slow down, rewind, fast forward, re-pitch, automatically create tabs, record, do everything bendometer can do (for one price, none of this subscription stuff, if you add a new feature I'll pay for it if I think it's worth it but software shouldn't be limited use.) It should also give you some pitch drills and key drills. It could run through the scales as you bend/overblow along, give you a pitch to match, drill you on what key you are in, etc.
Just a question, too... I was reading that basically acoustically you can bend a reed to the notes between the draw and the blow reed. Are there any special tunings designed to see how extreme that gap can be? Could you have a C to C reed hole and bend to all the notes in the octave?
Has anyone ever tried combining a XB-40 with an Overdrive?
Last Edited by on May 16, 2009 3:04 PM
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MrVerylongusername
312 posts
May 16, 2009
3:21 PM
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I tried that once on a cheapo harp, just to see what happened (albeit I tuned them to the same pitch, not an octave apart). Both reeds sounded at the same time. I'm guessing the other reed vibrated sympathetically (resonance) - enough to begin sounding. It'd be interesting to tune blow and draw an octave apart, but that's a big job, needing changes to the slot length and reed of the blow note. I'd guess though that the result would be the same, making bends impossible because both reeds were sounding.
Last Edited by on May 16, 2009 3:22 PM
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nacoran
12 posts
May 16, 2009
4:59 PM
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Mrverylongusername-
Actually, an octave harp would have C to C on it, but they wouldn't be set up bend/blow would they? Oh well, thought I had an easy way to test it for a second.
When you had the reeds tuned to the same note how did it sound? Did it thicken up the tone at all?
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