Ask Harmonica Expert Winslow Yerxa

Winslow:

Have you had any experience with slide-less chromatics? I'm curious about the Seydel Nonslider, and imagine that one would have to get used to tilting the mouthpiece instead of pushing the button. continue reading...

I came across a balafon tuned as B C# E G A B C#. It sounds as a pentatonic minor scale on E, replacing the 7th by the major 6th.

I was unable to find on the web a name for this scale (degrees 1 3m 4 5 6), which sounds good (and I suspect this balafon has a special temperament, too). Except "northern pentatonic", but this name seems proper to south american flute playing (only context it appears in). continue reading...

Winslow:

While this might be better suited for the Blues Chromatic forum, I figured I'd first ask the expert: continue reading...

Hello Winslow,

I just started playing a Hohner Chromonica 260 that I inherited. It has a buzzy 4th hole. The comb is cracked at that hole, so I'm thinking it must be the comb that needs replacing. A new comb is $35, so it seems worth fixing, although they are sold out on CShop. Haven't investigated other outlets. I should take it apart and make sure the reeds are okay because new reeds are $137 + shipping—and out of stock.

Another thought: is it possible to glue the comb back together?

  continue reading...

Hi,

I'm keen to try a low tuned harmonica but have a few questions before purchasing one.  Do the same techniques used for standard tuned harmonicas apply to the low tunings?  E.g, slaps, pulls, etc.  Is bending harder or the same and can the same notes still be bent, draw and blow?  I was wondering if I'd be able to apply a low tuned harp to the lessons on this site?  Maybe for playing solo, sans jam track, unless there's a way to drop the jam tracks by an octave?   continue reading...

It took me months of stubborn unsuccessful tries before succeeding in bending. Just as David had warned in his lessons... so I must not be the only one to take that long.

I started with this site, so "natively" tongue-blocking. Once, out of desperation, I tried to pucker and bend, and I immediately got some response. It seems far easier to find bending with puckering rather than tongue-blocking. (I did not go on in that way, maybe mastering pucker-bends is also hard, but at least it seems easier to start.) continue reading...

Country tuning is easy but is it possible to tune a harmonica to Paddy tuning?

Hi. It was suggested that I post my question/problem here, for your advice. I have a Hohner Cromonica 270 Chromaic in C. The slide has always been sticky, but today it wouldn't move at all. It now moves with some effort but still sticks. I don't overuse it, and it was sticky from the beginning. It feels like it needs a few drops of 3-in-1 oil (don't worry, I won't do that, but that's how it feels). Can you give me a tip to make it work again? Thanks.

Hello, I'm just curious, not being natively English-speaking.. Some people here say harmonica, others harp.

Are both words used equally, or are they used maybe in different areas?

I am talking about Muscle memory !

I have many different harmonicas and tunes , Major, minor , Paddy ,country and I play around work on them

However I wonder if I am going to have muscle memory and know how to play will this kind of exploring hurt me and prevent my improvement?