Harmonica advice

Whistle
1

Anyone have any advice on what type/brand(s) of harmonicas are best suited for Traditional Irish Music?

Thanks!!

Giles

2

Do you realize that Jim Conway, the renowned Chicago Trad harmonica player has just signed up to this board? Head over to this thread

http://chiffboard.mati.ca/viewtopic.php?topic=8026&forum=1&18

welcome Jim (JConway) and ask there: He should know.

Did you see the thread about Jim’s recent IrTrad harmonica CD?

3

Hohner Special 20 would be my first choice. It’s a Marine Band with a plastic comb, very responsive and plays very well right out of the box. A second option would be the Lee Oskar by Tombo. A good web site would be Coast to Coast Music. They’ve got great prices and reviews also. Diatonic harmonica in the keys of D and G will be the place to start.

[ This Message was edited by: jonharl on 2002-12-12 20:54 ]

[ This Message was edited by: jonharl on 2002-12-12 20:55 ]

[ This Message was edited by: jonharl on 2002-12-12 21:02 ]

4

Also a good place to explore Irish harmonica is http://www.brendan-power.com. He’s a top notch player that customizes both diatonic and chromatic harmonicas. Give a listen to Bendan’s “New Irish Harmonica” CD and James Conway’s "Mouthbox " CD both are top notch. They both play diatonic and chromatic harmonicas.

[ This Message was edited by: jonharl on 2002-12-12 21:07 ]

5

Thanks to all for your replies!

Your responses are very helpful. I have emailed James Conway for advice and have visited the Coast to Coast Music Web site and also the Brendan Power site.

Cheers!

Giles

6

Although, it would be fine to start on any of the harmonicas previously recommended, my choice would be a tremolo harmonica in the key of ‘G’. It has double holes/reeds and it sounds more like an accordion than a regular harmonica. The tremolo harmonica is, in my opinion, better suited to playing traditional Irish music. ‘G’ is a good key for playing most Irish music, which is in the key of ‘D’. Hohner makes some good tremolo harmonicas: http://www.hohnerusa.com/2000/harmonicas/trem/tremolo.html

7

I would like to second what Bartleby said, at least in some cases you will probably want to use a tremolo. I’d also recommend the tremolo’s cousin, the octave harmonica…these have reeds an octave apart, like a reed organ…very full sound.

8

Wow! I’m glad to hear the advice on the tremolo.

A friend gave me a Hohner Echo Harp. I’m not sure of the model number, it is a C/G with 32 double holes on each side.

What luck to get this great harmonica! All I need to do now is learn how to properly control my breath.

Thanks again for the info.

Giles

9

I also agree with the ‘tremelo harmonica’ recommendations. I bought one of the a few weeks back and love the sound of it. It really fills in nicely when there is no accordian in the session.

Here also is some information from James Conway that he sent me when I asked him for harmonica advice:

Feel free to ask me any harmonica questions, no problem. First of all, I
list all the keys and types(diatonic or chromatic) of harmonicas used, in
the liner notes. As far as brands: I like Hohners Special 20 diatonic
harmonicas and I like Hohners CX-12 and Hohners 16-hole Chromonica chromatic
harmonicas. Some people use tremolo harmonicas(Echo is a popular model) for
Irish music which sounds nice. I have a customised Hohner Marine Band
diatonic harmonica in the key of low D which I cherish. Richard Sleigh, who
is with the Filisko Harmonica company, made this for me.
The keys of the diatonic harps you should have are: G, D(whistle range), low
D(fiddle,flute range). That’s a good place to start.

10

Thanks Gerry!

This is a lot of good info.

Giles