3 Different Tabs for Hohner 48 Chord Harps

[John Broecker]

Hello, Chord Curmudgeons.

This post will be in three pages.

The reader should know that I've played chord harps for about 12 years. But, I'm an amateur chord player. The professional chord players at SlideMeister may disagree with some or all of my opinions, and are welcome to post replies on this topic. The pros have many years of playing experience beyond my limits, and their opinions are more valid than mine.

Page one will discuss the history of the chord harmonica up to circa 1930, when the first mass-produced chromatic chord harmonica was invented by M. Hohner, Inc., of Trossingen, Germany. Part One is mostly guesswork.

Page two will display and discuss various Hohner #267 Chromatica 48 Chord Harmonicas' tablatures (chord placements).

Page three is a comparison of the modern Hohner 48 chord harp and Suzuki SCH-48 and SCH-24 chord harmonicas.

The information on page two is from "The Reed," the monthly newsletter of the Garden State Harmonica Club (GSHC). The editor and author is Dan Bauch. The articles were found in the Feruary, 2008 and April, 2008 issues. Other contributions were made from the 2007 Suzuki harmonica catalog, and by the legendary chromatic harmonica player Stan Harper.

The articles, unfortunately, give no production dates of these Hohner 48 chord harps. It's a guess that the earliest 48 chord harps (circa 1930-'33?), had, by today's standards, the least logical chord placement system. The intermediate era (after 1933?) 48 chord harps were a little better. The most logical setup and easiest to play of the three, is the "modern" (1935?- present) chord placement tablature used today.

The dates listed above are only guesses.

PART ONE- CHORD HARP HISTORY TO 1930 (part two will be in a in another post)

Chords in harmonica ensembles were probably first played with a 3-, 4- or 6- harp "paddlewheel" diatonic (single reed per note or tremolo/octave) harp, from the 1880s to the 1920s, or done by holding a fistful of single-keyed diatonic harps. The diatonics each offered major, minor, minor 6th, dominant 7th and a diminished chord.

But, when the chord progressions of jazz became more sophisticated, more chords and more chord types were needed. Some harp players started re-tuning their Hohner Polyphonia #4 harps to play minor keyed, and diminished and augmented chords. It was still unsatisfactory and clumsy.

One of the very first chord harps was made circa 1828-30. It was called an Aeolian, was made in Germany, and had 3 chords: major, subdominant, and dominant 7th, C, F and G7. It was a reed plate and reeds only, no comb, no covers, no screws or nails, and the reeds were double riveted onto the reed plate. Source: a booklet, "Instructions for the German Aeolian, or Mouth Harmonica", by Von Kleber, published circa 1828-30, by J. Walton & Son, Fish Street Hill, London, England.

When harmonica bands reached their peak in popularity (1920s-1930s), chord players initially used a fistful of different chord Hohner Polyphonia #4 Vinetas, but that was impractical and clumsy. The next try was the Hohner Polyphonia #8, a 3-deck, 36 chord blow-only, single reed per note chord harp with a separate bass note below each chord (12 majors, 12 minors, 12 dominant 7ths). It was better, but not the best, too clumsy, and not loud enough.

In the early to mid 1930s, some creative chugger unknown to this author invented the 48 chord harp for Hohner, USA. It was octave-tuned and valved.

Please see pages two and three of this article.

John Broecker,
Chrominator
"I'll be back."

[John Broecker]

Hello, Chordites.

This is page two of three pages, an article about the Hohner #267 Chromatica 48 Chord Harmonica, and it's evolution. Please see page one for historic background, and page three for Hohner-Suzuki comparisons. Page three will be posted tomorrow.

The Hohner 48 Chord Harmonica was invented circa 1930, to fill out the harmonies of the very popular harmonica bands and harmonica orchestras of the 1930s.

The mass-produced Hohner 48 Chord has wood combs, brass reed plates and reeds, rivets, nails hold the plates to the combs, and screws hold the nickel- or chrome-plated brass covers to the harmonicas.

The two harmonicas are held together with nickel or chrome-plated moveable brass hinges, one on the right side, and one on the left side of the harmonicas. The Hohner 48 Chord has 384 reeds, 192 blow and 192 draw. It measures 23 inches from left to right. The Hohner 48 chord harps are octave tuned (2 reeds an octave apart for each chord note), and are valved on every reed.

Many parts of the Hohner 48 have changed over the last 80 years: the logos (stamped, engraved or embossed) on the covers; the chord positions; the use of enharmonic spellings of the chords; and the language of the chords on the covers (German spellings, for the German market; or letter spellings for the rest of the world).

And, at least one model of the Hohner 48 (modern) uses inverted chords on the augmenteds, root chords on the other chord types. (Correction, 4-21-04: After re-reading the Hohner 48 Chord harmonica chord chart, it was discovered that the augmented chord are in root position, not inversions. Please accept my apology.)

Most of today's professional chord harp players ("chuggers") prefer the root position chords, that offer split chording (tongue-blocking) techniques to add additional chords not factory-installed. The 48 chord harps that have all  inverted chords (Suzukis) don't have that possibility.

We will also include the Suzuki SCH 48 and SCH 24 harmonicas for comparison. The Suzuki chord harps have plastic combs, screws, brass reed plates and reeds (the reeds are welded to the reed plates). The Suzukis have inverted chords, and the SCH 24 has separate bass notes to the left of each chord.

48 CHORD HARMONICAS TABLATURE

Read the chord spellings from left to right, performer's side.

Chord Descriptions on the harmonica covers:

C = C major chord, root position, C-E-G-C; C inverted spelled E-G-C-E;
C7 = C dominant 7th chord, root position, C-E-G-Bb; inverted E-G-Bb-C.
Cm = C minor chord, root position, C-Eb-G-C; inverted Eb-G-C-Eb;
C+ = C augmented chord, root position, C-E-G#-C; inverted E-G#-C-E;
C dim. 7 or C-7 = C diminished 7th chord, root position, C-Eb-Gb-Bbb; inverted Eb-Gb-Bbb-C.

Some chord harps use enharmonic spellings to list the chords:
C# is the same sound as Db; G#= Ab, F# = Gb, etc.

HOHNER #267 Chromatica 48 Chord Harmonica, "Modern" Tablature (chord positions). This is the most common, most logical setup (tab) for the 48 chord harps. Let's call it the "Bill Morris" model. I've heard Bill play at a Windy City Harmonica Band rehearsal, and he is excellent.

HOHNER #267,  CHROMATICA MODERN 48 CHORD HARMONICA TABLATURE (a guess: 1935-present)

Top Deck Blow  | Gb   | Db   | Ab   | Eb   | Bb   | F    | C   | G   | D   | A   | E    | B     |  Major chords
             Draw  | Db7 | Ab7  | Eb7 | Bb7  | F7   | C7  | G7 | D7  | A7 | E7  | B7  | F#7 |  Dominant 7ths

Low Deck Blow  |Gbm  |Dbm  |Abm |Ebm   |Bbm |Fm   |Cm  |Gm  |Dm |Am  |Em   |Bm   |  Minor chords
             Draw  |Db+   |Ab-7| Eb+  |Bb-7 |Bb+  |C-7  |G+  |D-7  |A+ |E-7 |E+    |F#-7|  Aug.+/dim.-

On the Modern "Bill Morris" model, all chords are in root position. The name of the chord is it's lowest pitch. That allows the playing of extra, non-factory chords on the majors, minors, dominant 7ths and augmenteds.

Also note above that the major-dominant seventh vertical chord spelling is mostly parallel in both the top & low deck: Top deck Gb over Db7, low deck Gb minor over Db diminished 7th, etc. This is an easier pattern to remember than the earlier setup #1, seen below.

HOHNER #267, CHROMATICA 48 CHORD HARMONICA TABLATURE, SETUP #2  (a guess: 1933-1936?)

This model couldn't have lasted long, and is a rare find. Let's call this the "Al Fiore" model, as he reputedly used this
model to record the world famous 1947 hit, "Peg O' My Heart," with the Harmonicats. There were probably fewer than 50 of these made.

Top Deck Blow  | Ab  | Db   | Gb  | B    | E    | A    | D   | G    | C  | F   | Bb  | Eb   |  Major chords
             Draw  |Eb7 |Ab7   | Db7| Gb7 | B7  | E7   | A7 | D7  | G7 | C7 | F7  | Bb7  |  Dominant 7ths

Low Deck Blow  |Abm |Dbm |Gbm |Bm   |Em   | Am  |Dm |Gm   |Cm  |Fm |Bbm |Ebm  |  Minor chords
             Draw  |Eb+  |Ab-7|Db+ |Gb-7 |E+   | E-7  |A+ |D-7  |G+  |C-7 |Eb+ |Bb-7 |  Aug.+/dim.-

Notice that the "Al Fiore" model above has parallel vertical chords (top deck chords Ab blow, Eb7 draw, and low deck chords Abm blow and Eb+ draw. But on the "Bill Morris", the harp's major sharp chords are on the right half of the harp, and the the harp's major flat chords are on the left. On the "Al Fiore" model, half of the flat major chords are on the left end, and half of the flat major chords are on the right end, with the sharp chords in the center of the mouthpiece.

HOHNER #267, CHROMATICA 48 CHORD HARMONICA TABLATURE, SETUP #1  (a guess: 1930-1933?)

It's a guess that this is the original setup for the Hohner #267. I imagine that it would be difficult to remember the chord positions on this harp. It's extremely rare, probably fewer than 30 were produced. Let's call it the "Sam Sperling" model, after Sam Sperling, the chugger who used this setup with the Harmonica Harlequins, according to Stan Harper.

Top Deck Blow  | Db   | Gb   | Cb   | E    | A   | D   | G    | C    | F   | Bb   | Eb    | Ab   |  Major chords
             Draw  |Ab-7 |Db+  | Gb-7| E+  | E-7 |A+  | D-7 | G+  |C-7 | Bb+ | Bb-7 | Eb+ |  Aug.+/Dim.-

Low Deck Blow  |Ab7  |Db7   |Gb7   |Cb7 |E7   | A7 |D7    |G7   |C7  |F7    |Bb7    |Eb7  |  Dominant 7ths
             Draw  |Dbm  |Gbm  |Cbm  |Em   |Am  | Dm |Gm  |Cm   |Fm  |Bbm |Ebm   |Abm  |  Minor chords

Notice that the chord "flavors" (major, minor, dom.7th, aug. and dim.) are not in their "normal" positions (blow or draw). On this harp, the dominant 7th chords are blow, not draw, and they are located on the low deck. The aug. and dim. chords are draw, but are located on the top deck. The minor chords, blow chords on the other two Hohner 48 chords, are draw chords on the low deck.

Sam Sperling's great playing shows us that, despite the seemingly illogical tablature (chord placement) for these chords, Sam's playing was "sterling" with this harp. 

Please continue to page three.

"It's not a tumor."
John Broecker,
Chrominator

[John Broecker]

Hello Chordifiers.

This is page three of three about the evolution of the Hohner #267 Chromatica 48 Chord Harmonica. Page one discussed chord harp history from 1830-1930. Page two discussed the evolution of the Hohner 48 Chord Harmonica, 1930-present.

This page will compare the Suzuki SCH-48, Chinese Compact 48 chord harps and Chinese Chordet 48 Chord harps to the present day Hohner 48 Chord harmonica.

SUZUKI SCH-48 CHORD HARMONICA-TABLATURE (CHORD CHART) Source: 2007 Suzuki catalog

top deck-blow |Gb   |Db     |Ab  |Eb    |Bb    |F   |C   |G   |D   |A   |E  |B       | major chords
             draw |Db7 |Ab7   |Eb7 |Bb7  |F7     |C7 |G7 |D7 |A7  |E7 |B7 |F#7   | dominant 7th chords

low deck-blow |Gbm |Dbm  |Abm|Ebm  |Bbm |Fm  |C   |Gm |Dm |A   |Em |Bm   | minor chords
             draw |Db+ |Ab-7 |Eb+ |Bb-7 |F#+ |C-7 |G+ |D-7 |A+ |E-7|E+ |F#-7 | aug.+/dim. 7th chords

Notice that the SCH-48 chord chart above is identical to the Hohner #267 "Bill Morris" chart on page two. The Suzuki 48 chord harp has construction, materials, and chord spelling differences compared to the Hohner 48.

The Hohner 48 chord has wood combs, nails, riveted reeds, is octave-tuned, has valves, and uses root position chords on all except the augmented chords. The Suzuki SCH-48 has plastic combs, screws, brass reeds and reed plates, welded reeds, is octave tuned with valves, has chromed or nickled brass covers, and uses inversions for all chords. Source: instruction pages provided with the SCH-48 and SCH 24 chord harps.

The SCH-24 harp has plastic combs, chrome- or nickel-plated brass covers, welded brass reeds and reed plates, separate bass notes to the left of each chord, and starts on the Bb major and ends on the A major chord. It's single reed per note, and has no valves. Use the above chart to locate the chords of the SCH-24. It uses inversions on all of it's chords.

HUANG, VICTORY, SWAN 48 CHORD HARMONICAS (COMPACT 48, CHORDET 48)

The Chinese 48 chord harps use the same chord locations as the modern Hohner #267 and Suzuki SCH-48 and SCH-24 chord harps. Use the chord chart above.

They have plastic combs, screws, riveted brass reeds and brass reed plates, chrome- or nickel-plated brass covers. They are single reed per note harmonicas, and are unvalved. They are considerably lower in price than the Hohner and Suzuki models.

The Compact 48 chord harps are about half the length (left to right) of the Hohner and Suzuki 48s. They have no separate bass notes. The chords are in root position. (Source: Huang, Inc. Compact 48 chord chart)

The Chordet 48s are unknown to me, except to say that they have separate bass notes to the left of each chord.

I'm not affiliated or related in any way to any of the above listed harmonica companies.

That 's it.

Hasta La Vista, Baby.
John Broecker
Chrominator
 

[Bill Morris]

John,

Many thanks.  You've done your usual top-rate job of research.

Bill

[Bill Morris]

Hello, Chordites.
Many parts of the Hohner 48 have changed over the last 80 years: the logos (stamped, engraved or embossed) on the covers; the chord positions; the use of enharmonic spellings of the chords; and the language of the chords on the covers (German spellings, for the German market; or letter spellings for the rest of the world).

Hi, John,

I had the opportunity to line up some chords for a photo shoot.  The NEWEST of the three chords shown is from 1965.  Ron Agnew saw my chords and pointed out to me that scalloping of the wood separators (between chords) is a way of dating chords.  The bottom one is the oldest (from the early 40's?) and has the deepest scalloping which also extends quite close to the edge of the separation.  The middle one is post-war and perhaps mid 50's.  It's scalloping is not as deep but is still nicely done.  The top one from the '60s is quite different and somewhat crudely scalloped when compared to the other two.

If someone else can post a photo of a newish chord from within the last five years or so,  it would be interesting to see how it is being done now.

Bill

[John Broecker]

Hello, Bill Morris.

Thanks for the picture of the three Hohner 48 chord harps.

My Hohner #267 forty-eight chord harmonica looks closest to the new (1960s or later) harp in your picture.

I've also noticed on the photo that the oldest Hohner 48 chord harp's combs had thinner reed chamber walls than the other more recent models.

It's a guess that the thinner walls would produce more resonant chords, and the thicker walls would produce more durability, but less resonance. Is that an accurate statement?

John Broecker

[Bill Morris]

Hello, Bill Morris.

Thanks for the picture of the three Hohner 48 chord harps.

My Hohner #267 forty-eight chord harmonica looks closest to the new (1960s or later) harp in your picture.

I've also noticed on the photo that the oldest Hohner 48 chord harp's combs had thinner reed chamber walls than the other more recent models.

It's a guess that the thinner walls would produce more resonant chords, and the thicker walls would produce more durability, but less resonance. Is that an accurate statement?

John Broecker

John,

It's hard for me to judge sound because I'm behind the harmonica.  Let me know the next time you're coming down to Windy City Harmonica Club night and I'll bring all three and play them for you.  Then you can see if your theory works out.  As a bonus I'll also bring the Vermona chord, which I've finished as well.

Bill

[John Broecker]

Hello, Bill Morris.

I'm planning to attend the Windy City rehearsals of June 3rd, July 1st, August 5th, and September 2nd, unless I get gigs, or bad weather intervenes, or if Windy City doesn't have rehearsals on those dates.

I'm aware of Vern Smith's experiments on comb materials (no perceived difference in sound from different materials), but I'm not aware of any scientific studies on comb shapes.

I'll bring 3 unusual chord and bass harps to the rehearsal on June 3rd:

Tombo Pocket Bass (diatonic, only 1 comb)
Tombo Pocket Chord (10 chords, 5 blow, 5 draw, one comb)
Yamaha Butterfly Chord Harmonica (14 chords, 7 blow, 7 draw, one comb)

I've enjoyed attending the WC rehearsals since March.

Some of the Windy City rehearsal band's tunes are easy, others look difficult. I won't be able to play the entire bass book by June, but I'll do as many as home practice time permits.

John Broecker

[harpsurgeon]

Hi John:

Thanks for putting up the thorough explanation of the chords. I've got two Hohner 48's. They're the last one's on the list that I have time to play (behind the chromatic and the bass), however I do use them occasionally with our ensemble.

One of them, which was fairly old when I got it, has been completely reworked including 44 reed plate screws, combs sealed, hinges and covers all put together with machine screws, completely re-valved, re-tuned to A442 including dropping the thirds down about 8 cents to smooth the chords out a little, and then octave tuned. The other, a little newer has gotten an overhaul "light" with sealed combs, and a general servicing. They're both a lot of fun to play.

With my limited experience, I'm in awe of those who have devoted themselves to learning how to really play the instrument. While it looks easy at first, these are not easy beasts to play. Moving around on it, knowing where all the positions are must take years of practice, and arm muscle memory to boot.

On one of mine, to make it easier to find out where to go, I took a sharpie pen, wrote the chords on the cover plates, then covered them with clear packing tape. (A Dick Gardner trick). Sort of a training wheels experiment, but it does help to find everything and works great for someone who only plays occasionally.

So from one kitman to another, thanks again for taking the time to present all this invaluable information. It's certainly much appreciated here and will be put to good use.

Steve Malerbi

[John Broecker]

Hello, Steve Malerbi.

I studied chord harp with Wally Peterman & Al Smith, and bass harp with Judy Simson-Smith. The lessons with the Smiths were at SPAH conventions, a total of about 12 hours, and the chord harp lessons with Wally were about 15 hours total (3 hours at a time, on Sundays, for a month).

I've played the 24 chord and bass for over 10 years, but I'm not proficient on these instruments. In fact, I'm learnining more from Bill Morris at the Windy City Harmonica Club recently.

There are no bass or chord harmonica teachers that I know of in the Milwaukee area, so I'm mostly self-taught. I've learned the most from just playing the instruments with harmonica groups, on a regular basis.

If you can, invest in a harmonica teacher, especially one that teaches bass and chord harps. For me, learning is more important than owning 3,000 harmonicas. The lessons shouldn't cost more than $40 a week for a one hour lesson. If they cost more than that, keep looking for another teacher.

Wally Peterman is a true gentleman. He allowed me to pay him in harmonicas, in trade for the lessons. I don't have a lot of money, but I do have a lot of harmonicas. It's a fact that he never asked for one penny from me, but I feel strongly that an instructor's time is valuable to me and him/her.

Al & Judy Smith are the nicest people you'd ever meet, and very talented. After each class, Al took me around to the other professional chord and bass players at the conventions (late 1990s), and introduced me to them. He made me feel very special.

If you can't find an experienced chord/bass harp player in your area, join a local harmonica club, or sit in with local bands on your chord or bass, when you feel that you are ready.

Enough harmonica content. What brand(s) of drums and cymbals do you use?

I use mainly Slingerland and Zildjians, but also have Rogers, Ludwig, Premier, Tama, Leedy, Deagan, Yamaha percussion instruments, and a few Wuhan Chinese cymbals.

John Broecker

[harpsurgeon]

Hi John:

Thanks again for the tips and advice. Being a member of SPAH, I have met Al, Judy and Wally. Wally and I have chatted on the phone a bit as well. For now, the chord is an optional instrument, to be played when I/we need it. Someday however, I hope to get a little more serious with it.

As for drums, I play Gretsch and Yamaha sets. All Zildjian cymbals (mostly K's), and one Bosphorous Antique series flat top ride for medium volume jazz gigs. The Yamaha set is a Manu Katche junior kit. Perfect for restaurant and smaller venue gigs. The Gretsch is for bigger venues, or with say a dance band, where there's some volume. Both these setups have served me well for years. Used to have more stuff, but have paired down. These days, the smaller the better works best.
(Better stop here, or AJ might throw us out)

As for harmonicas, well, like many of the folks on the list, I've probably got too many, but they all do eventually get played. All of them have been customized as well, since I know somebody in the business.

Hope that answers it all. Thanks again for the great post !!

Steve M.

[Bill Morris]

John B:

Take a look at the layout of this chord.  It doesn't seem to match either of the earlier patterns that you've identified.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=150392438880&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

Bill

[Grizzly]

The seller has misnamed one chord: Fs should read Es. the "s" designation is for "flat," so Es would be Eb. Also, Germans call B natural "H," and Bb "B". So the logic of keeping to the circle of fifths is intact. The overall layout, however, varies from modern ones. John's listings in Reply #1 have variations, but generally subtract flats to C, then add sharps, going left to right. The eBay listing has chords subtracting sharps to C, then adding flats, going left to right.

Tom

[John Broecker]

Hello,cordifiers.

The Hohner #267 Chromatica 48 Chord Harmonica posted on e-bay by a gentleman from Honolulu, Hawaii,
(Lilikoi),looks interesting in it's chord tab (placement) locations and other details that may give us clues to it's vintage.

Lilikoi doesn't label the top deck draw, or bottom deck blow or draw chords, so we don't know how they are set. By the use of the German music system chord symbols, we can guess that it was made for the German market.

The history of music in Germany is long and varied. From the times of the religious monks copying music to manuscripts, Germans have an interesting story in the music note spellings.

Somewhere between the 10th-12th centuries A.D., maybe earlier, German music scribes misread Italian and other language music manuscripts, and re-copied the music symbols incorrectly. Today's German system of note spelling is the result of that error.

Non-German harmonica players and other non-German musicians have often been confused by the German system.
It's shown below.

Thanks to the ebay discovery of Bill Morris, this Chromatica #267 should be added to the 3 others listed in earlier posts. We now have 4 different tabs for 48 chord harps, and we may find more in the future. Since this version was labeled by the manufacturer, we know it was mass-produced, not a custom harp.

German-Universal music system spellings(not listed in this order on the harmonica):

German                                                    Universal (or English)
As (enharmonic of Gis)                                  Ab (enharmonic of G#)
A                                                              A
B                                                              Bb
H                                                              B
C                                                              C
Cis                                                            C#
Des (an enharmonic of Cis)                            Db (an enharmonic spelling of C#)
D                                                              D
Dis                                                            D#
Es (enharmonic of Dis)                                  Eb (enharmonica of D#)
E                                                              E
F                                                              F
Fis                                                            F#
Ges (enharmonic of Fis)                                Gb (enharmonic of F#)
G                                                              G
Gis                                                            G# 

OTHER GERMAN-UNIVERSAL  HARMONICA TERMS AND CHORD DESCRIPTIONS

German                               Universal (English)
Blasen                                 Blow (Exhale)
Ziehen                                 Draw (Inhale)

Dur                                     Major
Moll                                    Minor
Sept., Septieme                    Seventh, 7th
Aug., +                                Augmented
Vern., - or o                         Diminished

THE HARMONICA-TOP DECK, BLOW CHORDS
Hohner 48 Chord harp for sale on ebay by Lilikoi, Honolulu, Hawaii:

F#  H  E  A  D  G  C  F  B  (Es)* As C#      (*= mislabeled Fs on the harmonica)

Some factors that may help establish the vintage of the harp (see the ebay pictures):

Early scrolling engraving on the harmonica, below the Hohner brand rectangular plate. Possibly from the early 1930s (a guess).

Hohner logo is enameled, on the rectangular brand plate. Possibly from the early 30s to mid 40s (a guess).

All of the above statements (except German system words and spellings) are guesswork.

John Broecker

[Bill Morris]

Hey, John Broecker!  Remember that chord from Hawaii with the strange chord sequence?  Well here's another one with the same sequence but it has really different covers.  Look at all the struts on the backside.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/160698674555?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

Bill

[Bill Morris]

I found this thread and brought it back for grins.

Bill

[iowaplayer]

john, excellent work man!  i love this!

to add to your information, sometime in the late sixties or early seventies, jerry murad and al fiore came up with a scheme of chord inversions that made it so that the B chord (highest sounding chord on the harmonica) and the C chord (the lowest sounding chord on the harmonica) were no more than about a third or a fifth different in sound, with most of the other chords undergoing some sort of chord inversion to match.

this allowed the chord to sound more even in general, and to provide a better "fill" between the lead and the bass harps.

as far as i know, two of those chords were built, using the "al fiore" style chord arrangement.

in the mid-seventies, murad made some modifications to the chord inversions while staying at my parent's house in california.  when i found out what he was doing i asked if he would mind ordering the same kinds of chords for me, but in the newer style chord arrangement.  he agreed to, so i ordered four of them, at a cost of $400 each.  i still have those four chords today, in various stages of wear, including one that is pristine and one that is stage quality.  the other two need a few reeds changed and a revalve job.

the weakest part of all of the hohner chords is, imo, the crummy hinges at the ends.  wally peterman has come up with a much better design, which were put on some of al fiore's chords.  they're a bit thicker but a LOT sturdier.  i'm hoping to acquire a few sets to upgrade my harps.

for all on this list, i make the following offer:

i'm located in cedar rapids iowa, and not really available to travel much, but i'm always open to chord instruction via email.  for anyone that would care to see the quality of my playing, just watch the Harmonicat's Night In San Francisco videos on youtube.  that's me playing chord and my brother JR on bass (RIP).

when i get my usb-microphone interface, i will be able to exchange sound files with people, which will improve my ability to coach.

i'd enjoy the daylights out of doing this, for fun and for free.

iowaplayer

[iowaplayer]

oh, i forgot -

on the inverted chord harmonicas, al fiore got two in his style, and i got four, and i believe (but am far from sure) that there were two others built in the new style chord arrangement. i have no idea of who has those.

iowaplayer

[Gnarly He Man]

@iowaplayer, boy you guys sound clean. Harmonica trio stuff is hard, if you want it to sound like this. Thumbs way up.

[pyro_fire60099]

Al Fiore had a new style inverted chord and pulled it off the wax paper to let me play it, he was going to send it to John Infande to cut up the chords and set the chord harmonica to Al's old style layout and I really do believe Al indeed sent it to him, Al was a Great harmonica buddy.. lots a great memories.

                                                                                         Wally
 

[pyro_fire60099]

And I did not forget your hinges, machines have been tied up at work, Al's inverted chord was based on every other chord was set in root position and the next chord was set in fifth position, the Suzuki 48 chord is laid out in root, third, and fifth and playing and developing split chords has produced some crazy chords.


                                                                       Wally







 

[Grizzly]

Hi, Wally,

Any way of making a snap-in-place hinge so I can easily swap my standard bottom rack for my relative-minor rack?

Tom

[llumagsara]

Hi, Wally,

Any way of making a snap-in-place hinge so I can easily swap my standard bottom rack for my relative-minor rack?

Tom

the whole down harmonica?


good health

Agustín

[Grizzly]

Yes, the whole bottom rack. Bill sold me two, to go with a standard top rack: the first modified to put relative minors directly below the majors, and an original rack with the parallel minors below. I'd like to be able to swap them without using tools.

Tom

[llumagsara]

Yes, the whole bottom rack. Bill sold me two, to go with a standard top rack: the first modified to put relative minors directly below the majors, and an original rack with the parallel minors below. I'd like to be able to swap them without using tools.

Tom

perhaps design a type of hinge which can be assembled and disassembled by its axis....

good health

Agustín

[iowaplayer]

hey griz,

your request for changeable hinges so you can swap parallel and relative minors has got me thinking.  prolly not my best suite, but there it is.

so i'm curious as to your reasoning:

on standard chords, relative minors are bottom, right three.  example, Am (relative of C) is bottom deck, three chords right of C.
putting a relative minor right below its major shifts all the other chords that same three chord distance, but to the left.

take a song like perfidia:  C  Am | Dm  G7  |  C  Am |  Dm  G7 |  C  Am | Dm  G7 | E7   E7 |  E7   E7 |  Am   Am  | Am  Am | E7   E7  |  E7  E7  |.......   (two beats per chord)

putting your relative minor deck in place shortens the jumps in the first eight measures and really doesn't present any issues until the E7 to Am jump  shows up.  when alternating between Am and E7 you've introduced a three chord jump that wasn't there before.

yeah, i know that on a parallel minors harp the C to Am is a three chord jump that becomes a straight down jump, but a three chord jump is pretty much a nothing jump.   no real accuracy or mobility issues, it just isn't a very big jump.

if it saved a six chord jump or more, that might make the change to a relative minor harp worthwhile, but i guess to save a three chord jump in one place that has to be made up some place else just isn't clicking in my head.

the I vi ii V7 pattern is a real common pattern in western music, and, having learned one pattern of movements, i'm not getting why the change.

having both kinds of arrangements of chords available also means you have to basically remember two different harmonicas, which would definitely prove an additional challenge to building the muscle memory required to play the chord harp in the first place.

the more i think about it, the more i can understand al fiore's reluctance to learn to play the new style chords.  just thinking about this has kinda sent cold chills down my spine!

anyhow, nothing here is meant as a criticism, i'm just curious as to the thinking behind the change from parallel to relative minors.

to the rest of the SlideMeisters, my apologies if i've gotten too "chordy."   

iowaplayer

[iowaplayer]

btw, i just tried the peg o' my heart solo with a relative minor harp in mind.  AAAAAAARRRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!

relative minors would make that solo a complete gold-plated b**ch!!!!!!!

some of the quicker changes become whole-harp changes that would make the whole solo sound really choppy!  additionally, those whole harp changes would not be to the very ends of the harp, so accuracy would be come a REAL issue.  (the current whole harp changes in peg are to the end chords, and so one's hands can be used as an index/stop.)  i don't know that i could ever tame that beast!

iowaplayer

[Grizzly]

I started on a Chordet 20, which is arranged with relative minors below the majors. It's what I was used to. By getting a reconfigured 48, I'm able to retain the same patterns, useful especially for accompanying fiddle repertoire in a contradance band.

The opportunity arose for me to get a reconfigured chord relatively cheaply, so I went for it.

I realized after receiving it that there are indeed advantages to a parallel minor arrangement, especially in standards and jazz where there is sometimes a toggling between major and minor. But that's not part of my repertoire—yet. My initial idea was to construct a triple-decker; but holding on to all three decks is physically daunting.

Learning both configurations may be daunting at first; but if the cost of some sort of snap-together hinge isn't outrageous, I may try it. If the three-chord shift is practically nothing on the standard parallel, maybe learning a three-chord shift on the relative won't be so bad.

BTW, the augmented and diminished chords are in the same place on both.

Also: the 48 sounds a whole lot better than the Chordet 20.

Tom

[Bill Morris]

BTW, the augmented and diminished chords are in the same place on both.

Also: the 48 sounds a whole lot better than the Chordet 20.

Tom

They can't be the same because they moved three to the left when I moved the minors.

Bill

[iowaplayer]

"They can't be the same because they moved three to the left when I moved the minors.

Bill"

actually, if my musical brain cell is operating properly, they would be in the same place.  i wondered about that after my last post and didn't want to sound completely moronic by posting yet a third "oh by the way".  i actually never memorized the augs and dims other than the ones i needed for a particular song.  and chuck fendall was kind enough to always refer to any given aug or dim by the same name, no matter which inversion the music called for.  f#dim was always the draw chord, bottom, right end, no matter what key we were in.

as far as three-decker chords (and four), i watched al smith wrestle that huge honking four decker of his around for years.   i always thought it was really cool to have those additional 48 chords, but the cost is pure mass.   that thing weighs so much that it makes it impossible to move fast enough to stay with the music, particularly on faster pieces.  because of this, the chord player will have to cut a note short to have enough time to move the monster to the next chord by the beginning of the next note, or play the whole time of the note, then arrive at the next note late.  i saw al do both of those more than a few times.  i also watched him whack himself a good'un on occasion.  the bigger the harp, the bigger the fat lip!  when it comes to lip smacks and chords, its not "if" its "when".

this is not to speak ill of al or his playing.  he was my mentor back in the day, and i have the utmost respect for his skills on the chord.  and i'm honored to call him friend.

btw, if you do decide to go with a three-decker, i strongly suggest losing the hinges and having a fixed bracket built to hold all three decks.  again, i watched al wrestle his four-decker around, originally with hinges, and it just looked like a huge floppy monster.  al eventually asked my dad to build him a fixed bracket set up, and it seemed like the monster was easier to handle.  and  i believe he's still got (and plays) that harp today.

other than that, i can now see why you wanted to do the relative minor arrangement.  i've never played a chordette, and didn't realize they had that arrangement of chords.  and as far as i can tell, other than in chord solos like peg and peggy o'neil, and a few really quick songs like dance of the comedians or the sicilian tarentala , the relative minor arrangement shouldn't present any more problems than playing a standard chord.

just as a note, i always carried two chords to every gig, for the simple reason that chords do break, especially the hinges.  having a replacement harp right at hand is a smart way to play.  with two different kinds of chords, you'd either have to learn all the songs on both styles of harps, or carry four harps.  ugh!

at any rate, its been fun to play with the idea of the relative minor chord.  it kinda twisted my diminishing collection of brain cells around a bit!

iowaplayer