Chromatic 10 holes for the Beginner
I have been playing for about 6 months. I enjoy playing folksey songs, patriotic, and some ballads. I am not a big blues fan but am taking the beginner course on Blues harmonica.com to expand my harmonic horizons. Would a chromatic be practical for me sometime in the future. How so they work, and are they entirely different from the diatonics thus being more complicated to play? Perhaps a book you know would enlighten me about the chromatic harmonica.
Thanks a lot,
Chuck
The Hohner company has two 10 hole chromatics in the key of C. Most of them are 12-14 holes. One is the Chrometta 10 and the other is the Chromatic Educator that has no wind savers. Which one of these would be a good choice as a introduction to the Chromatic scales that perhaps would be a good transition from diatonic?
Thanks for the reply,
Chuck
OK, first off, be aware that a 10-hole chromatic has less range than a 10-hole diatonic. To get the same range in a chromatic, you need 12 holes. Espcially in the Chicago and West Coast chromatic styles, having lots of range is important.
In the following post I suggest some inexpensive 12-hole chromatics. In this post I discuss the two models you've identified.
The Chrometta is a better harmonica than the Educator 10.
===AIRTIGHTNESS
The Educator 10 is very leaky because it's built without a set of essential components called valves (or windsavers) that keep air from leaking out through the blow reed in each hole when you play the draw note, and likewise keep exhaled air going only to the blow reed. It's made in China from low-quality Chinese parts.
Diatonic harmonicas don't need valves to conserve air, but chromatics really do. So the Educator has a weak sound and takes a lot of air to play. Some players like this, but I think it develops bad habits of over-breathing that will trip you up when you get a better chromatic.
===BUILD QUALITY
The Chrometta is made from higher quality German parts (though it's assembled in China). It has valves and is overall pretty airtight. I wrote a comparative article of mid-priced 14-hole hole chromatics and included the Chrometta 14. I expected it to fare the worst in tests against more expensive chromatics but was surprised at how well it held its own. Its only downsides are that the holes are so large that they have almost not space between them and you can have trouble getting a single note. Also, the slide "throw" (how far you have to press in the slide to change a note) is very long compared to most other chromatics. But it's still a quality build overall.
You can read a two-part comparative review that includes a Chrometta at:
Part 1: http://harmonicasessions.com/?p=209
Part 2: http://harmonicasessions.com/?p=265
===DIFFERENCES IN RANGE
The Educator 10 starts on middle C (same as a diatonic C-harp or a 12-hole chromatic) and extends up to the E that you'd find in Blow 8 on a C-harp. (Chromatics have more notes, so they take more holes to cover the same range as a diatonic. To get the same range as a 10-hole diatonic, you need a 12-hole chromatic.)
The Chrometta 10, does something different, similar to what a 14-hole chromatic does. Instead of starting on Middle C, it starts on the G below Middle C and extends up to the same C as you find in Hole 8 of a C diatonic.
I notice that there's a big price difference between the Educator and the Chrometta.
If you're looking for something in the lower end of the price scale, You might consider a Swan 12-hole. This size gives you three complete octaves starting on Middle C, standard chromatic tuning, and valves. For instance:
http://swanmusicstore.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=4_6
You won't get as robust a sound as a German-made Hohner or Seydel, or a Japanese-made Suzuki. But you'll get a playable instrument with decent range.
I love the Swan. You're right that it doesn't get the same sound as Hohner. My roommate can't tell the difference if I'm playing in the other room though. So not a lot of difference to the untrained ear. I feel like it's a lot easier to play than my 270 Deluxe. I was surprised to learn that the Swan 16 hole is what Nemeth is playing these days.
The chromatic harmonica is based on the diatonic and shares many similarities with the diatonic.
Each hole has a blow note and a draw note. Howeveer, you can press in the slide button and raise the pitch of both notes by one semitone. SO if you have a chromatic tuned to the key of C, it becomes a C# chromatic when you press the slide in.
The middle register of the diatonic - Holes 4 through 7 - has a one-octave scale with all the notes of the key of the harp - if it's a C-harp, those holes have a complete C major scale. If it's an A-harp, then Holes 4 thru 7 have a complete A major scale. However, the middle and high regsiters on the diatonic have different note layouts, which offer some interesting opportunities but can be confusing.
The chromatic uses the note layout from Holes 4 thru 7 for each of its registers, so it's more consistent and less confusing than the diatonic.
However, with the diatonic you can change keys just by changing to a different key of harmonica. You don't have to learn diferent keys because they all play the same, as long as you use a harmonica in the appropriate key.
You can get chromatics in different keys as well (though they're much more expensive than diatonic). However, the chromatic harmonica is designed to play in all 12 keys on one harmonica. For instance, on a C chromatic you can play it in C, G, D, A, E, B, F#,Db, Ab, Eb, Bb, and F. However, each key plays differently, so you have to learn to play in each key, just as you would have to do on a flute or saxophone. But you may not need to play in all 12 keys, just the ones that interest you.
The chromatic is much bigger than the diatonic and feels different play and produces a different kind of sound. Some players really like all these things about the chromatic and others don't.
I wrote a long series of articles titled "Chromatic for the Diatonic Player" for harmonicasessions.com a few years back.
To get some basic orientation on chromatic you might have a look at the articles spanning the period from February 2005 through April 2006, and also the series from October 2009 through March 2012.