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The Harmonica for

Celtic-Folk Music

Early in the development of the European harmonica designs in the 1800s, a

Bohemian instrument maker, Joseph Richter, worked with these harmonica

producers to define a tuning standard for choosing the reeds to play the style of

music most often heard in Europe. He is credited with inventing the blow/draw

mechanism that allows the 10-hole harmonica to play different notes when the air

is blown or drawn.

Richter tuning is designed as a compromise between diatonic melody and

harmony. The lower portion of the diatonic harmonica is designed to play the

tonic and dominant chords on the blow and draw respectively, while the upper

notes play the keyed scale. And, because there are only 10 holes in the standard,

diatonic harmonicas Richter sacrificed three notes in the reed arrangements to

achieve the balance of melody and harmony (two notes in the lower section, No.

2 and No. 3, and one note in the upper section, No. 10, are missing ). Also notice

that a note is repeated in the No. 2 draw, and No. 3 blow.

KDM picture of the seven types of diatonic harmonicas that I use in the KelticDead Music

initiative.

Because I play the reed-harps in Celtic-Folk style music, the need for more precise

tones is required. For this reason, I like to use the Seydel harmonicas. As

mentioned, one can “bend” the reeds with breath to achieve sharps/flats not

covered by the normal diatonic range of the harmonica type, but this technique

tends to wear out the reeds faster, so with rising costs of replacing reeds, it’s your

call.

There are other types of 10-hole chromatic harmonicas that can provide a “Celtic”

style of play using a button to shift the air to catch all the sharps and flats, and

there is a variation of a 10-hole diatonic harmonica targeting Celtic music that is

now available and is known as a “Patty-Richter Tuned” diatonic harmonica.

KelticDead Music