Harmonica4u

Mời bà con chiêm ngưỡng vài cây Harmonica đắt nhất thế giới giới hiện
Hohner Silver Concerto Chromatic Harmonica $5,775.00

The ultimate Hohner chromatic harmonica, the Silver Concerto is the instrument of choice for classical concert soloists. A unique beauty emanates from the 92.5% sterling silver body, silver mouthpiece and covers. This model has a three octave range and offers a sweet full tone with great depth produced by the finest brass reedplates. A genuine work of art any harmonica player or collector will treasure. Players of this elite instrument include Larry Adler and Tommy Reilly. Twelve holes. three octaves. Key of C only.

Suzuki Orchestral & Ensemble Chord $1495.00

Suzuki has been producing the highest quality Harmonicas for over fifty years and has elevated the manufacturing process to an art form, as evidenced by the exceptional Orchestral Chord Harmonica, pictured here. The chord harmonica is an essential part of ensemble performance and we're proud to offer the most exclusive instrument of its kind for your performance goals. Major and 7th chords arranged on the upper row, and Minor, Diminished and Augmented chords are arranged on the lower row. 192 holes among each 2 rows of top and bottom combs create the 48 chords. Chords and melody are very easy to play. Each note has 2 reeds which create thick and rich chord sounds. Each instrument comes in a beautiful velvet lined case with protective carrying pouch.

Suzuki Tremolo Chromatic $999.00

The revolutionary new Suzuki SCT-128 Professional 16 hole Tremolo Chromatic Harmonica reflects the highest achievement in harmonica manufacture by combining technological breakthroughs with experience gathered since 1953. New, unique, different, innovative. All words that describe the most exceptional harmonica ever produced.
Beautiful & Rare
Just to look at and feel the SCT-128 is an experience onto itself. The beautiful compact and streamlined organic body has a unique shape that you will never want to put down. Due to the precision of its hand made components and limited production, this is truly a rare instrument that only a special few will be able to play and enjoy.
Chromatic & Slider
Take the finest chromatic harmonica with slider in the world and add a unique tremolo sound. A fusion of mind and matter that produces a hauntingly beautiful sound. Precise and precious, the new SCT-128 incorporates the earth's most exceptional elements. The new Suzuki SCT-128 Professional 16 hole Tremolo Chromatic Harmonica . . . imagine one soon.
Features & Specs

* 16 holes, 64 notes, 128 reeds, C-D4
* Plastic resin body
* Brass reedplates
* Phosphor bronze reeds


* Chrome plated brass covers
* Gold plated brass mouthpiece
* Tooled leather holder

Rượu - Bài bạc và Harmonica: Một phần không thể thiếu trong cuộc sống của bạn:D
Đã được trang bị đầy đủ, bây giờ chỉ còn "ACTION"
Không chỉ để thổi mà có thể làm xiếc được:up:
Không chỉ làm xiết mà còn có thể ảo thuật:jester:

We are in China, in the 27th century BC,under the reign of one of the " Great three ancestors ", the emperor Huangdi (Houang Ti), the " Yellow King ", who lived, according to the legendary history, from 2697 to 2597 B.C. With the inventions of the compass, of a calendar, of boats, armours and of ceramic, he is also credited with the invention of the sheng, first instrument with free reeds, based upon the two fundamental principles governing the universe : the yin, female and passive, and the yang, male and active.
" Yin and yang are musically related and tuning in harmony, said Houang Ti, that?s why we recognize in music the supreme truth to which the body, the mind, the human society and the whole universe are obeying. The five music notes are corresponding to everything that can be seen on earth : colors, seasons, elements, planets. To the note Kyo is corresponding our liver, to Tche is corresponding our heart, to Kong our spleen, to Chang our lungs, and to Yu our kidneys. Music is the remedy for our body and soul aches. It is also the supreme key to wisdom. Human being, like everything in the Universe, is a chord of the Great Symphony. " ( " Harmonica Book " Albert Raisner, 1961, Ed. Presses du Temps Présent, out of print).
It should be noted that the above mentioned five notes of the sheng, are in order : E, A, D, G, C, pentatonic scale. Consequently, this scale is the first important step taken on our earth by human music.

But it will only be in 1990 that pentatonic harmonicas are going to be created in Japan, by Juko Saito for " Tombo Company ", also manufacturing a re-creation of the sheng.

Let's go on travelling through time.

- 1295 AD, Marco Polo coming back from China, brings the sheng to the West ;

- Marin Mersenne (1588-1648), French scientist, corresponding with Descartes, Pascal, Toricelli, studies the sheng in great detail and introduces the free reeds principle in Europe. This helps him to determine the frequencies ratio of the notes scale ;

- 1796, Father Amiot, missionary priest, brings back from China to Paris several shengs ;

- 1780, in different places in Europe, instrumental experiences based on the study of free reeds are conducted ;

- 1816, a german organ builder, Johan Buschmann invents the terpodion, keyboard with free reeds, which is predecessor to the harmonica and the harmonium ;

- 1821, his son, Christian Friedrich Buschmann takes out a patent on an harmonica he names aura. In 1828, he will write to one of his friends : " I have invented, in Barmen, a new very strange instrument.This small device is four inches diameter. It has twenty one notes. You can play piano, crescendo or ad libitum. It has no keyboard, it produces harmonies with six notes, fast or other movement. The sound can be hold as long as you are blowing it. My invention is aiming at playing the accompaniment with our instrument (terpodion) and the melody with the small device, this giving a very surprising effect. "

- 1825, birth of the first twenty notes/ten holes. A new configuration developed by a man called Richter, born in Bohemia (Czechoslovakia). Configuration used more and more, named after him : Richter diatonic. It will experience quite a revolution by the end of the 20th century with the discovery of overblows, (Howard Levy) and other bendings ;

- 1827, in France, in his workshop rue des Blancs Manteaux in Paris, Marie Candide Buffet, tuner, creates the metallic mouth harmonica. The manufacturing of it expands so quickly that he must share the production with private people, and among them, Jacob Alexandre who, in 1828, will have his own workshop specialized in manufacturing the same products.
They are so original and of so good a quality that Cyril Demian, Austrian, drawing inspiration from them, creates his hand harmonica or accordion, and takes out a patent in Vienna on the 6th of May 1829. After many improvements it will become the accordion we know to-day. The same year in Great Britain, Charles Wheatstone invents a small hexagonal instrument similar to the accordion, the concertina, thus changing the mouth symphonium, his first invention, in a bellows symphonium. In a way, we might say that the accordion would not be born at that time without the invention of the harmonica.

- 1827, Christian Messner, watchmaker in Trossingen, Germany, begins manufacturing in small quantities harmonicas Mundharfe model, with the help of his cousin Christian Weiss ;

- 1829, beginning of the first mass production, in Vienna, Austria ;
- 1857, beginning of the Hohner saga, with Matthias Hohner producing the first year 650 harmonicas. Hohner S.A. will produce its thousand millionth harmonica in 1986 with the model Comet.




Did you know that the first famous harmonicist to be listed in 1860, was Abraham Lincoln ? We couldn?t find a better symbol to begin the human adventure of our instrument.

At the end of the 19th century, in the USA, country music pionners are going to take a major part in the harmonica development, as a result of the emigration of people from across the Atlantic melting there their original traditions : Anglo-Irishes, Spanishes, Franco-Acadians, Poles and other people from Central Europe. They were bringing in their travel bags the first Hohner diatonic harmonicas ; the black population discovered the instrument and adopted it straight away. But they will always distance themselves from the country music, knowing only the hardline blues culture.

At the beginning of the 20th century, Japan will know in its turn an impressive take off with Hidero Satoh who is going to marry the tremolo harmonica with the traditional japanese instruments : koto, shamizen, sakuhashi and various percussion instruments. So much that, nowadays, the tremolo has become a totally traditional instrument in many Far East countries.
In 1927, Hidero Satoh will receive the Jury Special Award in Trossingen, for his whole work. Today he is still the idol of millions of asian harmonicists .
Over the years, other types of harmonicas are going to come out that will bring different styles enriching our instrumental range. Apart from the above listed models, successively will appear
the chromatic harmonica and then the accompaniment harmonicas : the vinetta, the wellknown polyphonia with its three branches, the black bass, then the white bass, the chord and more recently the harmonetta. (We will give you the technical characteristics of these instruments in the instrumental pages of our website).

The beginning of the 20th century will see the birth of legendary players who are going to give our instrument its illustrious history. We owe them to be there today. Among many more we can name : Larry Adler, Tommy Reilly, John Sebastian, Sonny Boy Williamson, Sonny Terry, Little Walter, Borrah Minevitch (the best and unrivalled), Jerry Murad and his Harmonicats? with the recording of " Peg O my Heart " brought out at eight million copies !
During the fifties, glorious years, the harmonica becomes very popular. Trios are a trend : Stagg Mc Mann, Raisner, Marny, Harmonicats, Hotcha, Candido as well as new chromatic soloists completing the range : Jean " Toots " Thielmans, Jean Wetzel, Dany Kane, Claude Garden, René Gary, Franco de Gemini, they have recorded many film music such as the famous " Touchez pas au Grisbi ". Franco Gemini holds the record in this category with, for him alone, eight hundred film musics.

Many great composers have been interested in our instrument. Many classical pieces (concertos, etc.) have been written by famous names : Darius Milhaud, Villa Lobos, Sauguet, Dutoit, Piazzola, Dompierre, etc. Gerschwin and Ravel were enthusiastic about Larry Adler interpretations of the " Rhapsody in Blue "and of the " Boléro ".

Were reaching the end of this chapter of the past history and of what we must remember about it.
The sixties are our time. It?s up to us to build the history of today mouth music and to pass it to the future, without letting the past sink into oblivion.

This page is amply developed in the Harmonica Encyclopedia I am writing. I'll later inform you of the publication date.

Jean Labre
© Copyright 2005 by Jean Labre
photos : M. Vicent-Roubert and Harmonikamuseum Trossingen