Harmonica Sets For Sale

I have never played a harmonica in my life. i have no idea how to. I just want to buy a crappy one and jam out on it. do you think it will be an $8 worth spent on a crappy one like this, just for kicks? Is there something I should know about harmonicazizing? I just bought the harmonicee from walgreens. I am so happy it works just fine and had any hempful tips in the booklet it came with. i am laughing it up over here. Either I am a lunatic or just easily entertained. After looking around, I learned — A harmonica is a free reed wind instrument. Tones or notes are made by blowing air into or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes (reed chambers) or multiple holes. The pressure caused by blowing or drawing air into the reed chambers causes a reed or multiple reeds to vibrate up and down creating sound. Each chamber has multiple, variable-tuned brass or bronze reeds which are secured at one end and loose on the other end, the loose end vibrates and creates sound. Reeds are pre-tuned to individual tones. Each tone is determined according to the size of reed. Longer reeds make deep, low sounds and short reeds make higher-pitched sounds. On certain types of harmonica the pre-tuned reed can be changed (bending a note) to another note by blowing or drawing air strongly into the chamber. There are many types of harmonicas; Diatonic, Chromatic, Tremolo, Orchestral, Bass (see below), each used for its own specific sound and can be played in many keys and many types of music. The harmonica is used in blues and American folk music, jazz, classical music, country music, rock and roll, and pop music. Increasingly, the harmonica is finding its place in more electronically generated music, such as dance and hip-hop, as well as funk and acid jazz. The harmonica has other nicknames, especially in blues music, including: harp, blues harp, mouth organ and blues mouth organ. Comb The comb is the term for the main body of the instrument which contains the air chambers which cover the reeds. The term comb originates from the similarities between simple harmonicas and a hair comb. Harmonica combs were traditionally made from wood, but now are usually made from plastic (ABS) or metal. Some modern and experhymental comb designs are very complex in the way that they direct the air. Comb material was assumed to have an effect on the tone of the harp. While the comb material does have a slight influence over the sound of the harmonica, the main advantage of a particular comb material over another one is usually its durability. [2] In particular, a wooden comb can absorb moisture from the player’s breath and contact with the tongue. This causes the comb to expand slightly, making the instrument uncomfortable to play. An even more serious problem with wood combs, especially in chromatic harmonicas (with their thin dividers between chambers) is that the combs shrink over time. Comb shrinkage can lead to cracks in the combs due to the combs being held immobile by nails, resulting in disabling leakage. Much effort is devoted by serious players to restoring wood combs and sealing leaks. Some players used to soak wooden-combed harmonicas (diatonics, without windsavers) in water to cause a slight expansion which was intended to make the seal between the comb, reed plates and covers more airtight. Modern wooden-combed harmonicas are less prone to swelling and contracting. [edit]Reed-plate Reed-plate is the term for a grouping of several reeds in a single housing. The reeds are usually made of brass, but steel, aluminium and plastic are occasionally used. Individual reeds are usually riveted to the reed-plate, but they may also be welded or screwed in place. Reeds fixed on the inside (within the comb’s air chamber) of the reed-plate respond to blowing, although those on the outside respond to suction. Most harmonicas are constructed with the reed-plates screwed or bolted to the comb or each other. A few brands still use the traditional method of nailing the reed-plates to the comb. Some experhymental and rare harmonicas also have had the reed-plates held in place by tension, such as the WWII era all-American models. If the plates are bolted to the comb, the reed plates can be replaced individually. This is useful because the reeds eventually go out of tune through normal use, and certain notes of the scale can fail more quickly than others. A notable exception to the traditional reed-plate design is the all-plastic harmonicas designed by Finn Magnus in the 1950s, where the reed and reed-plate were molded out of a single piece of plastic. The Magnus design had the reeds, reed-plates and comb made of plastic and either molded or permanently glued together.