YOU CAN PLAY A TUNE RIGHT NOW! (Diatonic Models) VISIT OUR REMARKABLE PLAY-A-TUNE PAGE AND PROVE IT FOR YOURSELF   VISIT OUR NEW ON-LINE MUSIC & HARPS CATALOGUE TO BROWSE AND BUY DIRECT

THE CHROMATIC HARMONICA Is This Beauty for you? You Might Choose To Play Chromatic because One chromatic will do for all keys Note sequence is the same all the way up You want to play classical, jazz or more complex music You would like to play like Larry Adler, Tommy Reilly etc As an experienced music reader, you expect to be able to play ANY note You can get a really wild trill with a repeat action on the lever that would probably kill you if you tried it on a normal harp by blowing and drawing alternately! You Might Decide Against a Chromatic Because Your initial purchase is more expensive You prefer a free, more relaxed playing style You enjoy note-bending You like wild blues orientated effects You already play diatonic and do not want to learn a different system for finding the notes (however see Slide Harp at the bottom of the page click here) You don`t fancy learning a bit about reading music to make full use of the chromatic`s advantages.

with lever C# Db E# (F) G# Ab C# Db C# Db E# (F) G# Ab C# Db AND AGAIN! blow C E G C C E G C C E G C hole 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 draw D F A B D F A B D F A B with lever D# Eb F# Gb A# Bb B# C D# Eb F# Gb A# Bb B# C AND AGAIN!   Diagram of a 12-hole (three octave) chromatic. A chromatic harmonica hasall the normal white notes of the piano (the ones which can be described just by a letter A to G) by just blowing and drawing normally. You get to the black notes you get whenever you hit the lever on the right of the instrument. The corresponding notes you will get operating the lever on blow notes are shown above, and lever notes for draw on the line beneath. The main lever notes are printed normal size bold in red, and ones you will very rarely need, (because they apply to very unusual keys or are the same as the normal notes) are printed in small black italics. Basically all this means is that when you play any note, and see a sharp # indicated in the music, just hit the lever. If your music says you need a flat you must go for the note below and hit the lever. (This will give you the note in between those two notes, and that is what the flat means) The chromatic`s wild easy trick! By hitting and releasing the lever repeatedly while blowing or drawing a note you can get a really wild chromatic trill. It sounds great and special but anyone can do it the first time they try. You cannot do this on a blues harp!

Where to find the notes on a chromatic See the diagram on left Starting from the left hand side the note sequence repeats every four holes - C d - E f - G a - b C. You will notice that this means that the C comes twice, once as the top note of each complete scale (a scale consists of all the notes in a key in normal order from one name note to the next inclusive) then immediately again as the bottom note of the next one. Each octave is blown the same on chromatic So on each fourth hole the blow note repeats, but the draw note does not - as it is now part of the new scale. This lets you use the same sequence of blowing and drawing in each octave (octave means the span of notes from one C to another C, or one D to another D and so on). In other words if you know how to play the notes from just 4 holes you can play correctly over the whole range! The Range of different size chromatics The table below shows how wide a range of notes you get with each size of chromatic harmonica. An eight-hole is a little small, particularly when you are using it to play in a key other than C, as you are likely to be using notes only in the middle of its two-octave range. A 12 hole is usually regarded as standard. A 16 hole gives a wonderful range, but you should regard the bottom four holes as being for occasional use, as these extra deep notes made by long reeds can take some blowing!  8 holes 10 holes 12 holes 14 holes 16 holes 2 octaves 2-1/2 octaves 3 octaves 3-1/2 octaves 4 octaves

The Hohner Slide Harp - a Chromatic Blues Harp!

The Hohner Slide harp is a chromatic harmonica which uses the same note sequence as a blues harp so there is nothing more to learn to play it basically - you can even still use your normal bends. It has a lever which gives instant access to a sharpened version of each note however, just as a normal chromatic does - a C slide harp effectively has a C sharp also built into it to get to an amazing range of extra notes.

Diatonic harps HOHNER - The Original Classics Blues harp, the classic model, wood body, bluesy growly tone, £22.99 Marine Band, wood body, good all-rounder, nice fruity sound £22.99 Pro harp, synthetic body gives this version excellent air-tightness and blowing efficiency £23.99 Big River Harp, a bargain entry-level genuine Hohner made instrument, bright clear sound in proper plastic case - key C only for £14.99 UK postage on diatonic blues harps £1 only For Chromatics £3. LEE OSCAR AND TOMBO Known of and demanded by many pro players, these are now forming a large part of our sales. They come in a unique style plastic box, which slot together helping to keep your various key harps organised. Lee Oskar, beautifully presented in slot-together style case for easy transportation, this is the POWER HARP, not just loud, but bright, cutting tone efficiently and effortlessly produced £21.99 You cna also get these in minor and special major key tuning Tombo Folk-Blues, Tombo quality instrument for just £16.99 Tombo Ultimo a de-luxe version of the Lee Oscar, even smoother sound and playing feel £26.99 Lee Oscar Reed Plates for replacement in that model in stock in most keys £13.99 CHROMATIC HARMONICAS Note: 8 hole = 2 octave, 10 hole two and a half, 12 hole - 3 octave, 14 hole is 3~1/2 octaves, 16 is 4 octave. The Original Hohner Superchromonica square hole, 12 hole £79.99 Larry Adler 12-hole £99.99 Larry Adler 16-hole £149.99 Hohner Chromettas, cheaper round-holed, but still good, 8-hole £35.99 10-hole £44.99 12-hole £53.99 14-hole £59.99

CLICK BELOW TO EXPERTS PAGES Choosing Cross Harp Keys Using Minor Keys & Special Tunings CLICK BELOW TO BEGINNER PAGES Why Play Harmonica Back to Basic Playing Information