Post 13: Thirteen is my lucky number, so I want to use this post to muse about what the future of this project might be

      I used the expression "Music Making Machines" in a very loose way, including pretty much anything that can make a sound that can be used strung up with other sounds to form something that somebody somewhere considers "Music".

    What is "Music" really?

   Traditional 12 tones even temperament Western Music is but a small part of world music. Now, this is my little Project, and I am well aware that whatever I may do will barely scratch the surface. I am not trying to compete with anybody, I am just a guy on his way out trying to have as much fun as possible within his means exploring whatever ideas come up in his head. I really have no interest in exploring music that does not sound good to my ear, and I like harmony. In my ongoing early morning parallel voyage of discovery with the HARMONICA, I am slowly learning that I like some keys better than others. 

    I started like everybody with a harmonica in the key of C major, which is what most everybody plays, and what most lessons are for. The reason for that I suppose is that it is the only key where all notes are white on a piano: C-D-E-F-G-A-B. There are no flats and no sharps. It kinda makes things easy. Is that the reason why so many classical compositions are in C major? Bach's Toccata, Ravel's Bolero, lots of Haydn Symphonies, etc... 

    The harmonica, an old Chinese invention, was re-invented in Germany in the early 19th century to play Classical German music, and the makers settled on the Richter tuning, which is still by far the most common today on the standard 10 holes diatonic harmonica. Techniques were developed later in the 20th century to "bend" some notes to produce the missing ones. Skillful players with A LOT of training, like French virtuoso Christelle Berthon, can coax every note out of a humble C harp. But it is exceedingly difficult to control bending one, two or three halftones on 3 draw and especially 10 blow. I keep trying... 

        I guess some people thrive on the challenge. I definitely don't have the patience, and most likely don't have the skills either to get there. And what would be the point anyways? There are amazing harmonica players out there, and I will never be one of them. Still, I practice every morning sitting outside when I get up before dawn. It is a challenge for me, but so far I enjoy it, especially as a voyage of discovery. 

        It is also a very good aerobics exercise... And I hate "Exercice". So I try to build it into my routines, doing things the hard way on purpose. For example, I have a big "relatively clean" Art Studio downstairs, where I spend most of my time, and a "dirty" workshop" on the second floor, straight up a long flight of 23 steps. I try to keep most of the dust and sawdust upstairs with the table saw, the bigger band saw, the big drill, two belt sanders, and the compressor with all the pneumatic tools. When I build something, I usually end up going up and down these stairs a number of times a day. Not a very efficient way to work, but a good built-in exercise. 

     But I digress...

    Back to the subject of the harmonica, I quickly realized that even though every would-be teacher on YouTube tells you to keep practicing with the C harp and that you don't need any other, most have boxes full of dozens of harmonicas. So my "collector instinct" kicked in I suppose, and I went on a quest to discover what was available and what the difference was. The C harmonica is roughly in the middle of the range, and since I tend to prefer lower pitch sounds, I found I much prefer the harps in B flat, A and G. It took me a while, but I ended up with a very good Hohner Rocket Amp in A and another Rocket Amp in Low C. I loved the deep sound of the Low C so much I looked for other even deeper tones harps, and ended up with a very reedy rich-sounding Low F East Top 24 holes Tremolo Harmonica, and finally with a very unique bassoon like Seydel Low Low E.  The sound is amazing, and you can play Amazing Grace in a low voice for a change!

    These were fairly expensive though, but so much better than the cheaper ones I kept trying at first and sending back because some holes would not work at all. I seemed like you basically get what you pay for, and there is no quality control as the low end. Actually, I thought that until I tried a $13 Focusound Thunder in the key of G, which sounded almost as good as the expensive ones. I ended up completing the key collection with Thunders in E, F and B flat. Each key has a different sound. I tend to favor A, B flat and G, with my favorite being the Low C Rocket.

      But then, I discovered the 7 holes Kongsheng BABY FAT, and fell in love with the tiny colorful slick thing!

       It's presented like an Apple product in an oversize heavy white box and comes in all 7 keys, each key a different anodized candy color. Moreover, it comes in 4 different tunings: Standard Richter, Paddy Richter, Minor, and Country..., so that actually adds up to 28 different keys!

      I wanted the Purple of course, so I chose a B flat Minor to order and try:

      I absolutely fell in love with the little thing, the shape, the size, the missing high notes I never used anyway, and the moody minor tuning. It sounded so much better to my ear and bluesy brain than the standard C major. And I could easily play some of my favorite old songs I couldn't play before because I was missing the notes..., Brel's "Amsterdam", Brassens "Le Bistro" and "La Princesse et le Croque Note" etc...

      That really got me excited about alternate tunings. 

      I ended up getting a BabyFat in C Paddy Richter tuning, a beautiful red color, and that was even better to play the same tunes as the minor, plus others like "Le Vieux Leon", "Sounds of Silence", "Scarborough Fair", etc... 

      Then I got one more BabyFat in G with the Country tuning to see what it would do. Strangely enough, I like to doodle with it, but I have not figured out what songs it can play well... Country music is not exactly my cup of tea.

       Finally, I "discovered" the very eastern European/gypsy sounding Harmonic Minor key, and I had to try one. There is not very much choice when you get to these unusual alternate tunings, and the choice was between a LeeOskar and a HarmoPolar.  I picked the Polar Harmonic Minor in the key of G because it is the lowest sounding of the 7 keys:

                                         G – A – B♭- C – D – E♭- F# – G.

     I got it just a couple of days ago and love both the way it sounds and the way it looks:

    It's easy to improvise and make up Russian or gypsy sounding tunes because it has just the right notes for that. It also plays some of Brassens' other songs.