Brendan Power & Alternative Harmonicas Forum

Hi Piro... If there is sufficient demand in the future it could happen, but not for the immediate future. It would be easy enough to make other keys a semitone up or down from the present one. Anyone skilled with retuning reeds could do it in about 10-15 minutes. If it's important enough to you I su...

For those of you interested in PowerChromatic Tuning: After putting up a 1 minute harmonica version of Scott Joplin's ragtime masterpiece 'The Entertainer' on YouTube Shorts, I got lots of messages from harp players asking for help in playing this classic tune. So here it is... This is a re-edited v...

Not exactly. Inverted Solo is the same except for one note:

B. D. F. A.
C. E. G. C.

Bur one note change is enough to create a new tuning

Those of you who play harmonica through effects may be interested in this video about a minimalist gig rig I've recently created. It's just two small effects units that fit on a mic-stand - but they sure pack a punch! With fast setup and capable of being only battery powered, my Little Big Rig combi...

I wondered if it was possible to emulate that funky chordal rhythm sound you can get on a Richter diatonic 10-hole harp in a Midi Harmonica. To test the idea, I tried a whole bunch of synth sounds using Polyphonic Mode in the Lekholm DM48 Midi Harmonica. Using the same blues harp mouth techniques, I...

That tuning is a change some make to Solo Tuning, swapping one of the doubled C notes for an A. It's generally called Sixths Tuning, and is used by some well known players on Chromatic harmonica, notably Will Galison and Long Deng-jie. On a chromatic harmonica you still have the F# available as a sl...

Released in 2017, the DM48 has been upgraded many times with firmware updates - making the current version considerably enhanced over the original. In this video I give a comprehensive run-down of all its main features, with reference to how they compare with the newly released HM12 Midi harmonica. ...

Check the links in the Description below the video for a couple of buying options. The HM12 does have some useful new features compared to the DM48, and will appeal to players who just want instant plug and play - as opposed to linking it with outside synths. For me personally that's not an issue: I...

Lately I've been messing around with the HM12, an interesting new MIDI harmonica from China. Here's a comprehensive rundown:

https://youtu.be/CbD9oRdT3O0

Because PowerChromatic is a tuning which repeats every 4 holes, you can actually start it on any of the blow notes. In G, these would be G3, A3, C4, E4. On a 12 hole PowerChrom harmonica in G I personally choose A3 because I like to play in 2nd Position (D) a lot. This key gives you the 1, 3, 5 of t...