Key of A harmonica - 5 blow not working
Sat, 07/25/2020 - 18:36
I bought an Marine Band A harmonica in December. Been playing it fairly regularly. Now the 5 blow (C#) won't work. I tried carefully and thouroughly cleaning it out with the end of a small paper clip. It did not work. I can get the inhale note on hole 5 (D) just fine. I also tried to take apart the harmonica. I used a tiny screwdriver typically used to repair glasses. But it was too big. So I could not take the harmonica apart. What do you suggest that I do now?
Hello GeaugaHarper. Since you've plinked it and cleaned it, I'm not sure what else you can do... it may be time to replace it. The fact that this is your primary harmonica, it doesn't surprise me that it has died at this point. Harmonicas, especially for those new to practicing bending, tend to last commonly six months (less if you're a loud, or tense, player). They can last longer in the hands of a soft player, but again, as your primary harmonica, it's getting a lot of use. As time goes on, you'll be using more keys, so you're spreading the use across multiple keys, and your set will thus last longer. You can ask this question to Kinya Pollard in his part of the forum, but it's probably a good idea to order another harmonica as you tinker with this one and see if you can get it working again.