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Post by Admin on Dec 6, 2013 7:58:50 GMT -5
I noticed this week that the local Parks and Recs are offering a beginning course in Blues Harmonica. One of the pre-requisites is that you bring your own C Harmonica. They specifically request the students bring a Lee Oskar harp but go on to say that if you must, a Hohner will suffice.
Why would a teacher want the students to have a Oskar? Is it that much easier to play?
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Post by dadfad on Dec 6, 2013 12:14:02 GMT -5
I noticed this week that the local Parks and Recs are offering a beginning course in Blues Harmonica. One of the pre-requisites is that you bring your own C Harmonica. They specifically request the students bring a Lee Oskar harp but go on to say that if you must, a Hohner will suffice. Why would a teacher want the students to have a Oskar? Is it that much easier to play? Maybe very slightly easier for a beginner. The holes are a tad larger and more square. Myself, I think Oskars are okay. Nothing special, just a pretty good harp. They're over-priced (i/m/o) and supposedly that price difference is offset because the reeds are replaceable. But I've never been in a shop yet that carried the replacements on hand. They always have to be ordered, and when you blow out a harp you need it now (or yesterday!), not next week or ten days from now. My preference is Hohner Special 20s or (especially if I'm playing more "melodically" or "straight") a Hohner Golden Melody. Almost always beginning instructors want their students to use a Key of C harp. Probably because it's in the middle range as well as being the most common key of harps. (Even cheap harps that aren't even key-specified are in C.) Myself, when I teach a beginner to play harp, if he wants to pretty much play blues (or rock'n'roll, rock, etc) I recommend a key of A. I find it much easier to teach bends with it than a C, and bends/overblows are pretty important in the blues cross-harp style. (Actually, an Ab is even better, but it's not as versitile as an A-harp (A-harp being used for Key of E blues, Ab for Eb blues). There are a lot more blues recordings in the key of E to practice against than in the key of Eb. |
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Post by sarge on Dec 6, 2013 15:36:11 GMT -5
I've owned a couple of LO harps and didn't really care for them. They were ok, but I'd certainly rather have a special 20 if given a choice.
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Post by Admin on Dec 7, 2013 10:39:18 GMT -5
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Post by Pistol Pete on Dec 7, 2013 11:06:36 GMT -5
I'll be the first to stand up and say I like Lee Oskars. I'm of the opinion they're easier to play and last longer than Special 20s (although they don't seem to last as long as they did when I first started playing them). Hey, if it's good enough for Junior Wells.....
I'm not a teacher, but when I do get the odd person who asks me for lessons I'll usually recommend they pick up a Hohner Big River, or better, to start on. I think anything cheaper than those suffer in their playability.
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Post by sarge on Dec 7, 2013 21:39:43 GMT -5
Lots of folks like the LO and they do have a reputation of being bullet proof, I just didn't like the two I had. I gave them away. Back in the old days when Hohner was about the only harp around, I liked the old standby better than the marine band. Sometimes you'd find an F.R. Holtz or Kratt, but not common where I was. Just a matter of opinion when it comes to harmonicas and many other things.
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