harmonica

Definitions of harmonica. a small rectangular free-reed instrument having a row of free reeds set back in air holes and played by blowing into the desired hole. synonyms: harp, mouth harp, mouth organ. type of: free-reed instrument. a wind instrument with a free reed.

Often heard in folk and blues music, the harmonica is a small rectangular mouth organ containing metal reeds held in a series of air channels. As a wind instrument, the harmonica produces sound when the musician causes the reeds to vibrate by blowing air out or sucking air in through the channels.

To play the armonica, a musician powered a foot pedal to rotate 36 concentric glass bowls and produced notes by putting wet fingers to the spinning glass. In Austria, the glass armonica provided the music for a royal wedding. Mozart and Beethoven would compose chamber pieces for it.

The name he chose for his new instrument was the Glass Harmonica, from the Latin word of harmonicus, meaning tuneful or harmonious. The Latin word can also be traced back to the Ancient Greek word harmonikos meaning musical or harmonic.

Before we look at positions on harmonica, we need to understand what a key is. In music, the key is a root note and chord around which everything resolves. This is quite a technical way of thinking. But, basically if we are playing in the key of C, the music will feel like it resolves when you play a C note.

harmonicus Borrowed from English harmonica (“musical instrument made from hemispherical glasses”), coined by Benjamin Franklin as armonica based on Italian armonica, from Latin harmonica, feminine of harmonicus, from Ancient Greek ἁρμονία (harmonía, “harmony”).

Diatonic: This is the most common, simplest type of harmonica. You'll probably want to start here. A diatonic harmonica has 10 holes. It is built to play a major, diatonic scale.

The harmonica is appropriate as a backup to the main vocal melody and instruments due to its rich harmonic structure and subdued intensity. The ability to apply vibrato and gradual slurs make it a perfect instrument to achieve a ``bluesy" sound.

Here are some interesting facts about the harmonica: 1. It is one of the best-selling musical instruments in the world, in the same league as the guitar. 2 - It was one of the first musical instruments to be played in space. On Christmas Eve, in 1965, astronauts played the carol Jingle Bells with a harmonica and bell.

The numbers tell you what hole you are supposed to play, and a minus sign before a number means a draw note. So, a "5" would mean a 5 blow, and a "-4" would mean a 4 draw. It's that simple!

A set of harmonicas in keys of A, Bb, C, D, F and G will suit most playing situations. Music is usually played in repeating patterns, each the same length (often 12 “bars”, sometimes 8, 16 or even 32 bars).

the sheng The first form of the harmonica, known as the sheng, was invented in China in 3000 B.C. The Sheng was a free reed instrument with metal or bamboo reeds which used bamboo shoots to amplify the sound.