This can cause the comb to expand slightly, making the instrument uncomfortable to play, and to then contract, potentially compromising air tightness. In particular, a wooden comb can absorb moisture from the player's breath and contact with the tongue. The main advantage of a particular comb material over another one is its durability. Few dispute that comb surface smoothness and air tightness when mated with the reed plates can greatly affect tone and playability. Among those saying yes are those who are convinced by their ears. Those saying no argue that unlike the soundboard of a piano or the top piece of a violin or guitar, a harmonica's comb is neither large enough nor able to vibrate freely enough to substantially augment or change the sound.
Some modern and experimental comb designs are complex in the way that they direct the air.ĭispute exists among players about whether comb material affects the tone of a harmonica. Harmonica combs were traditionally made from wood, but now are also made from plastic ( ABS) or metal (including titanium for high-end instruments). The term "comb" may originate from the similarity between this part of a harmonica and a hair comb. The comb is the main body of the instrument, which, when assembled with the reed plates, forms air chambers for the reeds. The basic parts of the harmonica are the comb, reed plates, and cover plates. Reed plate mounted on the comb of a diatonic harmonica, one of several categories of harmonica Such two-reed pitch changes actually involve sound production by the normally silent reed, the opening reed (for instance, the blow reed while the player is drawing). Bending isolated reeds is possible, as on chromatic and other harmonica models with wind-savers, but also to both lower, and raise (overbend, overblow, overdraw) the pitch produced by pairs of reeds in the same chamber, as on a diatonic or other unvalved harmonica. This difference in response to air direction makes it possible to include both a blow reed and a draw reed in the same air chamber and to play them separately without relying on flaps of plastic or leather (valves, wind-savers) to block the nonplaying reed.Īn important technique in performance is bending, causing a drop in pitch by making embouchure adjustments. If, as on most modern harmonicas, a reed is affixed above or below its slot rather than in the plane of the slot, it responds more easily to air flowing in the direction that initially would push it into the slot, i.e., as a closing reed. Longer, heavier, and springier reeds produce deeper, lower sounds shorter, lighter, and stiffer reeds make higher-pitched sounds.
#Something in the air chords free#
Tuning may involve changing a reed’s length, the weight near its free end, or the stiffness near its fixed end. When the free end is made to vibrate by the player's air, it alternately blocks and unblocks the airway to produce sound. A harmonica reed is a flat, elongated spring typically made of brass, stainless steel, or bronze, which is secured at one end over a slot that serves as an airway. The most common is theĭiatonic Richter-tuned with ten air passages and twenty reeds, often called the blues harp. Behind each hole is a chamber containing at least one reed. A harmonica is played by using the mouth (lips and tongue) to direct air into or out of one (or more) holes along a mouthpiece. The many types of harmonica include diatonic, chromatic, tremolo, octave, orchestral, and bass versions. The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock.
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