Any harmonica players?

[Pepper Kittie]

Kinda random question - I've heard a lot of people playing sharps and flats on a harmonica, but I just can't figure it out. I even have a book that briefly explains it but no matter how I blow into it the pitch doesn't seem to change one bit. I have a Blues Harp in the key of C. Anyone else out there play harmonica and know anything about this? It really bugs me because I can't play the songs that I want to...

[SVD997]

I know how you feel. I am an amature harmonica player myself, and I'm not to bad at playing by ear. I've read how to do the sharps and flats, but I've never gotten to good at it. I know of some players who HAVE gotten it to work. It takes a lot of practice though. I know it has something to do with the position of the tongue, but I can never get it to work right.

[shooraijin]

I'm not sure how you do sharps and flats on a regular flat harmonica. My large Hohner Chromatic has a slide for accidentals, so when I want a smaller pitch change, I hit the slide (on the side). It's a bit sticky, alas, because it's pretty old but it works well.

My other flat ones (my Pocket Pal in C and my Marine Band in Bb) do not seem to have any way to change keys.

[Pepper Kittie]

Yeah, I've heard about the chromatic harmonicas. I haven't gotten around to buying one. I don't think I've ever seen one, for that matter ^^; Are they much bigger, Shooraijin? How much do they cost?

[shooraijin]

Mine's about double the size of my little ones. I don't know an exact cost, but unfortunately, they aren't cheap. A cursory look on Google came up with something between $70 and $100 depending on model and range.

[Zarn Ishtare]

I play a Hohner Bluesband harmonica, myself.

I play by ear most of the time, actually...

If you want to get a set of harmonicas in different keys, I'd suggest the Peidmont Blues case. Seven Harmonica's, all for $20 bucks. they are plastic though, not metal, sadly.

I would suggest getting said case and playing different ones for different songs. There are, sadly, just some songs a C cannot play. I usually variate between C, D, A, and E respectively. Differing between keys may help with your problem...

[Pepper Kittie]

I thought about doing that. It's nice hearing that it's worked well for other people ^__^ Maybe I'll check out that brand. It's hard to know what to buy. Thank you!

[Lyrical]

About the sharp and flats, I'm not sure. I think your tongue tip has to stay at the area just below your lower front teeth. While at that position, you move your tongue(the tip should move as less as possible from the initial position), the tongue must be moved in your mouth to create a lower pitch. To create a higher pitch, move your tongue (w/ tongue tip also below lower front teeth.) as high as possible, but not touching the "roof".

I'm not sure about this. But when I do it alternatingly with the two positions I said, It creates somewhat like a wailing monster or something.