The so-called chromatic harmonica is characterized by its chromatic sound, and the types of chromatic harmonica can be divided into ten-hole, ten
two-hole, fourteen-hole, and sixteen-hole.
The chromatic harmonica is a single-reed sounding instrument with a pure sound
that can be used with other types of instruments to produce perfect results.
2. Holding Method
The index finger and thumb of the left hand hold the back end of the lid, so that the keys are on the right hand side, and the rest of the keys are naturally relaxed with the
forefinger in parallel. The last section of the index finger of the right hand against the keys, the rest of the natural
combination with the left hand, harmonica, remember to hold the body of the piano and lips parallel to avoid unnecessary friction and effort.
3. Mouth shape and embouchure
The bass part of the chromatic harmonica has a longer reed, while the treble part has a shorter reed, so there is a slight
difference in the mouth shape when playing the bass part, the mouth shape should be as relaxed as possible, and the mouth should be stretched out as if it were containing an egg. The opposite is true for the high notes, where the mouth is open to both sides and contains more holes
with a little more force, and the breath should be relaxed, not too tight or too sharp, or it will produce a metallic sound.
Single-hole method:
This kind of method has more room for development in terms of the tone of the blowing, and there are more variations. There are two basic types of single-hole embouchure:
The U-shaped embouchure and the O-shaped embouchure. With the U-shaped embouchure, the tone is thinner and more eerie, while with the O-shaped embouchure, the tone is thicker and brighter.
Multi-hole embouchure:
This embouchure has a soft and thick tone, and is suitable for legato and rounded notes. There are two types of multi-hole embouchure: the right multi-hole embouchure and the left multi-hole embouchure; the right multi-hole embouchure requires that you cover the left side of the embouchure with your tongue to avoid the sound hole that you don't need to blow into, and then use your right side to produce the sound; the left multi-hole embouchure is the opposite. When practicing, it is necessary to practice both types of embouchure. Generally speaking, since the two tones are very different, the single hole is thinner and sharper, more suitable for Jazz, while the multiple holes are thicker, warmer, and more suitable for classical music.
4. Breathing
Generally speaking, as long as a musical instrument uses its mouth to exhale or inhale to make sound, it uses abdominal breathing to make luck
and the harmonica is certainly no exception. In contrast to abdominal breathing, thoracic breathing is the normal state of breathing, where the chest cavity
, ribs, and shoulders rise and bulge with your inhalation. However, when thoracic breathing is applied to a wind instrument,
it can harm the lungs due to the excessive exertion of prolonged practice, not to mention that abdominal breathing is not easy to control, and that the airflow can be unstable and small, which can be harmful but not beneficial. Abdominal breathing does not mean sucking air into your stomach, but letting the air sink down after it is inhaled into your lungs
When the diaphragm moves downward because of the pressure of the air, naturally, your belly will bulge out,
Because of the downward pressure of the diaphragm, the other organs are squeezed downward, which increases the amount of space that we can inhale in the lungs.
We can practice this breathing technique from time to time, find a quiet place to stand, or even lie down; inhale a long breath, and feel
as if you were breathing into the soles of your feet, and do not let your chest and shoulders lift, so that the air is inhaled smoothly, and over time
our diaphragm will be sufficiently pushed downward by the practice, so that the thoracic cavity has a larger breathing volume. As a result, our ability to control our breathing increases. The Japanese harmonica player, Mr. Taifu Wakaya, can breathe for "one minute and thirty seconds" as a goal to break through.
For more information, please visit The Harmonica Society of Japan.
5. Basic Technique
Vibrato
Vibrato is the rapid alternation of the original tone with a natural tone one degree higher, which feels like beating.
The key to vibrato playing
is to play the original note and the neighboring note with an even amount of air, volume, and speed, so that there is no unevenness in the length of the note.
Vibrating with keys
This is the most common and easy way to vibrate the chromatic harmonica. This method is suitable for vibrato of 3 and 7, because #3 = 4, and
#7 = 1; so by vibrating with the keys at 3 and 7, you can make the vibrato of 3,434 and 7,171.
Vibrato with a moving (nudging) harmonica
To vibrate with a moving harmonica, move the harmonica back and forth rapidly from side to side, this method is applied at 6 places, and you can
Vibrato 6767 with the left hand (keys and nudging) This vibrato technique is a combination of keying and nudging, the method is
To make a vibrato, leave the key in the right hand intact, and push the key with the left hand. This technique is a combination of key presses and pushes, in which the left hand pushes the keys without moving the right hand. This applies to 1 and 4, since
#3 = 4 and #7 = 1, so left-hand vibrato at #3 and #7 makes #35#5 (4545) and #72#72 (1212
) vibrato.
Vibrato with the tongue
Another special feature of this vibrato technique is that the nose is free to breathe while using it, and is not affected by the vibrato technique at all
. The way to do this is to use the ''ㄨ'' and ''ㄩ'' mouth shape, and move the tongue back and forth rapidly in the mouth, so that the air is pushed out or sucked in by the tongue
This method is applicable to the 1st and 5th positions of the mouth, which are the most important positions in the mouth, and is also suitable for the 1st and 5th positions of the mouth. This method can be applied to 1 and 5, making the trills 1212 and 5
656.
Broken Tone Method
Single Hole Tongue Broken Tone Method
This method is originally from the flute, when you play it, you use the U-shaped single-hole method, and put the tip of the tongue on the palate near the upper row of teeth,
then pronounce Tu-Tu-Tu, and let the air intermittently hit the reed, which will produce a broken tone. Alternatively, if there is a continuous break, it can be changed
into Tu-Ku-Tu-Ku. The tone of the single-hole tongue-break method is more intense and loud, so it is more suitable for music with a clear rhythm.
Multiple-hole tongue crossing
is the same as multiple-hole crossing, except that all the holes are plugged first, then the tongue is retracted to the left, and a single note is played
and then covered back up again. The multi-hole tongue break method has a deeper and more coherent tone, and is suitable for softer music.
Vibrato playing
Hand vibrato playing
With the left hand thumb and forefinger hold the body of the piano, four fingers together, the right hand end knuckle control keys, the thumb and then stick
left thumb, the other three fingers and the left hand to create a **** sound chamber. When swinging, use the knuckle of the hand against the thumb as a pivot point, and swing with the right hand
slightly open; alternatively, use the back three fingers of the left hand to swing with open fingers to have a different effect.
Abdominal vibrato method
This method is similar to the singing technique of vibrato, and the use of abdominal strength, so that the air flow changes, and thus achieve
to vibrato effect.