Harmonica
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The harmonica is a free reed wind instrument which is played by blowing air into it 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, with the loose end vibrating and creating sound.
Reeds are pre-tuned to individual tones, and 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 redirecting air flow into the chamber. There are many types of harmonicas, including diatonic, chromatic, tremolo, orchestral, and bass versions.
The harmonica is used in blues and American folk music, jazz, classical music, country music, rock and roll, and pop music. The harmonica has another in blues music mouth organ.
The basic parts of the harmonica are the comb, reed-plates and cover-plates. The comb is the term for the main body of the instrument which contains the air chambers that cover the reeds. The term comb originates from the similarities between simple harmonicas and a hair comb. 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 its durability. Reed-plate is the term for a grouping of several reeds in a single housing. Reeds fixed on the inside (within the comb's air chamber) of the reed-plate respond to blowing, while those on the outside respond to suction. Cover plates cover the reed-plates and are usually made of metal, though wood and plastic have also been used. The choice of these is personal — because they project sound, they determine the tonal quality of the harmonica. There are two types of cover plates: traditional open designs of stamped metal or plastic. The mouthpiece is placed between the air chambers of the instrument and the player's mouth.
There are four techniques of playing the instrument, which are vibrato, head-shaking, bending, and overbending. The harmonica was developed in Europe in the early part of the 19th century. Free reed instruments like the sheng were fairly common throughout East Asia for centuries and were relatively well-known in Europe for some time. Around 1820, free reed designs began being created in Europe.
President Abraham Lincoln carried a harmonica in his pocket, and harmonicas provided solace to soldiers on both the Union and Confederate sides of the American Civil War. The first recordings of harmonicas were made in the U.S. in the 1920s. These recordings are 'race-records', intended for the black market of the southern states with solo recordings by DeFord Bailey, duo recordings with a guitarist Hammie Nixon, Walter Horton, Sonny Terry, as well as hillbilly styles recorded for white audiences, by Frank Hutchison, Gwen Foster and several other musicians. There are also recordings featuring the harmonica in jug bands, of which the Memphis Jug Band is the most famous. But the harmonica still represented a toy instrument in those years and was associated with the poor. It is also during those years that musicians started experimenting with new techniques such as tongue-blocking, hand effects and the most important innovation of all, the 2nd position, or cross-harp.
The harmonica then made its way with the blues and the black migrants to the north, mainly to Chicago but also to Detroit, St. Louis and New York. The music played by African Americans increasingly began to use electric amplification for the guitar, blues harp, double bass, and a crude PA system for the vocals. Rice Miller, better known as Sonny Boy Williamson II, is one of the important harmonicists of this era. A young harmonicist named Marion "Little Walter" Jacobs revolutionized the instrument by playing the harmonica near a microphone (typically a "Bullet" microphone marketed for use by radio taxi dispatchers, giving it a "punchy" mid-range sound that can be heard above radio static, or an electric guitar). He also cupped his hands around the instrument, tightening the air around the harp, giving it a powerful, distorted sound, somewhat reminiscent of a saxophone. This technique, combined with a great virtuosity on the instrument made him arguably the most influential harmonicist in history.
Sonny Boy Williamson II used the possibilities of hand effects to give a talkative feel to his harp playing. A number of his compositions have also become standards in the blues world. Williamson extended his influence on the young British blues rockers in the 1960s, recording with Eric Clapton and The Yardbirds and appearing on live British television. Stevie Wonder taught himself harmonica at age 5 and plays the instrument on many of his recordings.
Bob Dylan also played his harmonica to add a touch of blues to his folk and rock sound during this era. Dylan was known for placing his harmonicas in a brace so that he could simultaneously blow the harp and play his guitar. Van Morrison, a long-time harmonica player, first played the instrument onstage in 1963 during a performance of Sonny Boy Williamson II's song "Elevate Me Mama". Jr. Wells was the most soulful Chicago harp player, with his ability to distill the blues down to three or four notes of meaning.
Jerry Portnoy, Lazy Lester,Sugar Blue, Charlie Musselwhite, Kim Wilson, Taj Mahal, Slim Harpo , Al "Blind Owl" Wilson of Canned Heat, Jack Bruce of Cream, John Sebastian of The Lovin' Spoonful (whose father was also a harmonica star in the Larry Adler classical harmonica days), Mick Jagger and Brian Jones of The Rolling Stones, Roger Daltrey of The Who, Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin, Richard "Magic Dick" Salwitz of The J. Geils Band and others all contributed originality and creativity to the recorded history of the blues harmonica. John Lennon played harmonica on early hits as "Love Me Do" and "I Should Have Known Better". Recently, newer harmonica players have had major influence on the sound of the harmonica. Heavily influenced by the electric guitar sound, John Popper of Blues Traveler plays rapid solo lines, often with guitar effects.