Understanding what is harmonica and the structure of harmonica

Harmonica (Harmonica), blowing or inhaling with the mouth, so that the metal reed vibration sound multi-reed musical instruments; in the classification of musical instruments belong to the free reed wind instruments. The following is there I organized for you to understand what is the harmonica and the structure of the harmonica, I hope to help you.

What is the harmonica

Harmonica, free-reed aerophone. For small wind instruments. The body is rectangular, its size, length varies, and there are many shapes. The most common is the 24-hole double-reed harmonica, played on the natural scale. In addition, there are bass harmonica, octave harmonica, chord harmonica, altered tuning harmonica and so on.

The harmonica, in fact, traces its roots to a tuning instrument. Free-reed aerophone. It is a small wind instrument. The body of the instrument is rectangular, its size, length varies, there are many shapes. The most common is the 24-hole double-reed harmonica, which is played on the natural scale. In addition, there are bass harmonica, octave harmonica, chord harmonica, altered tuning harmonica and so on.

The history of the harmonica is shorter than that of other orthodox instruments, and there are different versions of the harmonica all over the world, which is the main reason why I can only talk about it superficially, but it is difficult to go deeper into the history of the harmonica. After referring to many versions, there are some accounts that are consistent across the world: "The sheng is one of the eight ancient musical instruments of China, a reed instrument with free rhythm, and the earliest musical instrument with harmony, which is why it is considered to be the forerunner of the modern harmonica. The sheng was introduced to Europe in the 18th century, and after a not-so-short period of time, people gradually researched and invented the harmonica, the reed organ (Reed Organ) and the saxophone (Saxophone) from its structure, and the sheng has been recognized as the originator of these instruments.

The development of the harmonica in Asia was much slower than in Europe and the United States, and it was introduced to Osaka, Japan, in about 1898. At that time, the Tremolo Harmonica with double reeds was of interest, and it was found that the harmonica with the Reed Organ scales could not be perfected to play the Japanese ballad songs, and it was then modified into the polyphonic harmonica scales that we play now. So, the harmonica was modified to the polyphonic scale (La and Fa in the bass) that we play today, and the great contributors to the reform included Mr. Matsuo Zuhama and Mr. Shogo Kawaguchi, among others. As the level of music improved and the requirements became more and more rigorous, the polyphonic harmonica was improved by many harmonica masters, and the minor harmonica was developed to be able to fully play the Japanese local folk songs, thanks to two masters, Mr. Hidetsugu Sato and Mr. Tsuneo Fukushima. Between 1924 and 1933, and then spread to mainland China, Singapore, Malaysia and other Southeast Asian countries, people who love the harmonica began to organize a variety of associations and groups, to bring together the strength of all people, and continue to write a monumental page for the circulation of the harmonica.

The structure of the harmonica

General piano length of about 16 to 20 centimeters, the upper and lower there are two rows of small square holes, equipped with a number of groups of free vibration of the reeds, the air forced through the flexible metal reed vibration pronunciation. When playing, the mouthpiece is placed in about 4 square holes, and the air is exhaled or sucked out of the square holes, and moved back and forth. Each hole is fitted with a pair of reeds that sound one note when the player exhales and another when he inhales. Each pair of reeds is generally tuned to an adjacent pitch, e.g., exhaling produces an E note and inhaling will produce an F note. The harmonica described above was invented in Germany in the 19th century, and it was improved on certain harmoniums brought to Europe from Asia.

Harmonica playing can be highly artistic, and skilled players can create a variety of effects by varying the articulation of the tongue and the pressure of the airflow. The harmonica is mostly used in folk music, and occasionally in popular music such as rock. In addition, serious music composers have taken an interest in the harmonica and have written music for it, including D. Miyo's Suite for Harmonica and Orchestra and Vaughan Williams' Suite for Harmonica and Orchestra. Williams' Romance for Harmonica and Orchestra.

Polyphony

The main components of a polyphonic harmonica are two external covers, two brass reedplates, reeds set into the reedplates, and plastic or wooden frets, which are screwed together to make a complete polyphonic harmonica. When the screws are removed, the harmonica is reduced to its component parts.

The polyphonic harmonica is often used in traditional Chinese music, and it is also widely used in film, television, and music productions to create interludes or to provide background accompaniment.

Full Scale

This harmonica*** has 10 blowholes, each with two reeds inside. When you blow, one of the reeds begins to vibrate, which creates a note. When you inhale, the other reed starts to vibrate, which produces another note. Thus, each blowhole produces two notes. More notes can actually be produced by bends. The blues harmonica*** consists of two cover plates, two reed plates with inlaid reeds, and five parts, which are assembled with screws to make a complete harmonica.

The harmonica relies on the vibration of the reeds to produce sound, and in the process of making the harmonica, the reeds are fixed in the gap of the reed plate, the production of a high degree of precision; because of this, the harmonica also needs to be maintained and cleaned in order to maintain the best working condition.

Classification of harmonica

According to the purpose, harmonica can be divided into two categories: solo harmonica and ensemble harmonica. The former mainly includes polyphonic harmonica (including accent, echo harmonica), chromatic harmonica and blues harmonica; the latter has bass harmonica, chord harmonica, brass horn harmonica and so on. [2]

According to the way of articulation, it can be divided into single-reed articulation and multi-reed articulation. Chromatic, blues harmonica belongs to the single-reed articulation, children's toy harmonica, as well as necklace, keychain harmonica also belongs to this category; and polyphonic class, chords, bass harmonica belongs to the latter.

Polyphonic harmonica

This is arguably the most popular type of harmonica in China and even in Asia. The polyphonic harmonica generally has 16 to 28 holes, with 24 holes being the most common variety in China. The Japanese polyphonic harmonica has 21 holes. The holes of the polyphonic harmonica are divided into upper and lower rows, and when generally played, the two reeds in the same hole sound at the same time. Since the two reeds vibrate at slightly different frequencies, simultaneous vibration produces what is physically called a "beat". beat? The phenomenon is characterized by periodic changes in the strength of the sound, which is also known as "vibrato". Vibrato. This is the reason why the polyphonic harmonica is called "Tremolo" in foreign countries. Tremolo and echo harmonica can be regarded as variants of the polyphonic harmonica, belonging to the same polyphonic category. The former upper and lower two reeds into the octave relationship, sound full and round; the latter has a barrel-shaped cover plate (shell), with a unique **** sound effect. The polyphonic harmonica has no less than 12 keys of products, the most common key is C, in addition to the A key is also relatively more. the C key piano range is relatively high, sometimes will seem harsh. The key of A is generally considered to be the closest to the human voice. In addition, you can play chromatic scales by holding two harmonicas with a semitone difference in key at the same time, to realize the transposition.

Chromatic Harmonica

The chromatic harmonica is a somewhat more serious instrument than the polyphonic harmonica. The full chromatic scale, with a range of up to four octaves or more, has given the chromatic harmonica, which has not been around for very long, a place among formal instruments. Although it is not an official member of the traditional symphony orchestra, with the efforts of many harmonica masters, the chromatic harmonica has gained a certain status in the field of chamber music, etc. There are also ensembles in and out of Japan that use the chromatic harmonica as the main sound, and are composed of chords, bass harmonica, and so on. The common chromatic harmonica is a four-note harmonica with one hole, where the inhalation is in a diatonic relationship, and each note is raised by a semitone when the muting key is pressed. As for the number of holes, there are 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, etc., and the range is from two to four octaves, mostly in the key of C. The harmonica can be played in all keys within its range. Because they can play all the chromatic notes in their range, these harmonica are suitable for more complex pieces. Chromatic harmonicas have a higher learning threshold than polyphonic harmonicas, partly because of the difficulty of the music theory, and partly because of the difficulty of playing them: playing chromatic harmonicas requires much more breath control than polyphonic ones, and also requires strict coordination of the use of air, the movement of the instrument, and the pressing of the keys. In addition, due to the production process, cost and other reasons, there are some manufacturers produce a hole two tone chromatic harmonica. Commonly, there are domestic 24-hole 48-tone organs, Japanese 17-hole, 22-hole organs and so on. There is also a unique type of chromatic harmonica, similar to the polyphonic piano with two rows of holes, the top row is a semitone higher than the bottom row. The one-hole, four-note design is generally considered more formal. There is no precedent for the latter two types of instrument amongst the better known players.

The blues harmonica

This is a very popular type of harmonica in Europe and the United States. The blues harmonica is also called a ten-hole harmonica because the most common type has ten holes. This type of harmonica has two tones in one hole and uses Ritcher tuning? There are no 4s or 6s in the bass, but there are two 5s, which were originally designed to allow for the playing of chords in folk music. However, the advent of the Bending technique has made it possible to play the missing notes, and has added a unique charm to the blues harmonica, which is arguably what makes it a blues harmonica. I'm afraid this is something that the designers never expected in the first place. This type of harmonica is characterized by its small size and unique sound, and is an extremely ? humanized? instrument. In blues music, this type of harmonica has the same status as the guitar. In addition to this, the blues harmonica is also very suitable for playing some ethnic flavored tunes. This type of harmonica is more difficult to learn than the polyphony, one of the main reasons is that the flexible use of the pressure technique needs a long time to practice, and at the same time, the unique music theory of the blues harmonica also needs to spend some energy to learn.

With the popularity of the blues in Europe and the United States, following the Bend technique came the Overdraw and Overblow (collectively referred to as Overbend), which allow for ascending and descending semitones that cannot be obtained with the Bend on the blues harmonica. Since then, with the combination of the Bend and Overbend techniques, players have been able to play 12 keys on any tuned blues harmonica.