A Harmonica for Guitarists? The Hohner Pentaharp

Video Transcript

Note: a machine made this, so it’s not perfect, but if you’re hearing impaired and have any questions about what we said, please feel free to ask us in the comments or send us an email with the form below. 

[00:00:00] Emily: Welcome to get offset. My name is Emily and I see you. I want you to know that, uh, I see you doing your thing and I respect you for it. Not everybody gets it. I get it. I think you should keep doing. I’m here today with the pencil harp. Ooh, you going to focus? It’s shiny. It’s shiny. The pencil harp is a harmonica.

[00:00:37] Bye hunter tuned like a pentatonic blues scale. It was designed for guitarists basically kind of around guitars because, you know, guitars, we love a pentatonic scale. It’s, you know, easier for us. It’s one of the first skills a lot of guitarists use. Um, I’m not traditionally a harmonica player. I don’t play a lot of harmonica.

[00:01:06] Um, I do have like I’ve, I’ve had harmonicas over the years, including this one. I got the, uh, Ooh, rock and roll hall of fame. I’m from Ohio. So we went there a lot and, uh, this is just, uh, gosh, this is old. This is an old homeowner. What key C. And, you know, it came with like instructions and stuff, and I was always pretty lazy about it.

[00:01:38] I, I never really learned how to play it. Right.

[00:01:48] And, uh, so I was never really played that much at all. Uh,

[00:01:56] But I’ve got the Penta harp here to demo and I’m, I’m pretty, I’m pretty interested in seeing how it compares. Like this is supposedly like in a major scale. Hey,

[00:02:22] how is this? See, this is, this is the thing I never quite understood this harmonica. Played this harmonica. That’s something from this harmonica and my throat’s old.

[00:02:43] I don’t know. I guess at the time I wanted to be like ran Adams. I’m sorry to say. So I put this guy back up, back over there, I guess, and pull out this old thing. I probably, I might, uh, This is a brace. You wear it around your neck. You play harmonica while you’re playing guitar. It’s pretty functional, I should say.

[00:03:10] Um, so yeah, this is the pen to harp as the logo on the box shows that’s the, uh, scale, uh, it’s the blue scale. So I want to start on the four and just kind of puff through it a little bit. Oh my gosh. Yeah.

[00:03:43] So that got you through an octave. Um, and what is kind of cool about this is it comes with a trial. Well, not trial. Well, it kind of a trial, uh, with blues harmonica to, to learn some stuff. So I’m going to go through some of these studies at blues, harmonica, his website, um, and try to learn, try to learn some things.

[00:04:16] So let’s see, I think it’s a month long subscription. Let’s kind of, uh, figure some stuff out. I’m not going to show any of the instructional tools because obviously that’s normally paywall then, um, it would be really crazy of me to break a paywall. So. I think the hardest thing is going to be, because this is not my first, like, I, I I’ve actually been kind of messing around with this for a few days.

[00:04:53] Um, I think the hardest thing is going to be like, when I play this and I accidentally hit two notes,

[00:05:02] like I obviously want to hit one note,

[00:05:07] but if I hit two, it sounds nice. If I hit one.

[00:05:18] It doesn’t sound bad, but it doesn’t sound like as like nice. I don’t think, um, you re I’m really wanting to get that one note technique down. So I it’s going to make me, it’s sort of force me to be. Actually trying to play the harmonica, which is probably for the best. So now I’m going to watch the intro to a pet, to harp lesson.

[00:05:44] Alright, new. All right. So now I’m going to watch a new, the video about the layout of the Penta harp. Hopefully I’ll learn. The note layout is, so this is the thing that’s kind of bugged me so far. Um, I know I’m going to get over it, but if it were just like, if it were actually five notes, which I understand why they couldn’t do that because there’s a blow dry blow, dry blow dry also like six notes.

[00:06:18] Make sense. If it was actually five notes, then it would look. I mean, I guess I could have done that. Why couldn’t they have done that? I’m sure they had there, but getting the blues dead in there makes it a more versatile, makes it a blues instrument makes it more versatile, but I don’t play the blues scale.

[00:06:45] Like I don’t play the pentatonic blues scale. So for me personally, which is like, it’s not all about you, Emily burner. The way I play the pentatonic scale. Just that, that, that let me do I have a song what’s my Candiace guitar. So the way I would play a pentatonic scale would just be boxy 1 4 1 3 1 3 3 1 4 1 4.

[00:07:16] It would be so like in my brain, it’d be blow, draw, blow, draw, blood, draw, blow, dry, blow, dry, blow, dry. But when you add that blues note in there, it’s essentially turning into like,

[00:07:34] job. The other job.

[00:07:39] Oh, wait, see, I’m not even I play it. So seldom it’s like blowjob load trial, other job, blow job. Blow job. Draw. Low draw or something like that. So it’s, it’s like the ease of the pentatonic scale is that it’s very boxy and like, so few notes, that’s kind of hard to mess it up. Um, so I just kind of find myself tripping over the blue note when I’m trying to play this.

[00:08:12] Cause I’m just like, oh, well I just know where that would be. If I were just playing a standard pen a time. But with the Bluenote thrown in, which actually makes it a six note scale. I get a little, I just I’ve been tripping over it a little bit, which is just means I need to practice. It’s literally all it means.

[00:08:30] But if you’re used to playing with the six note version of the pentatonic scale, it’s not as much of a, it’s not as big a deal. So let’s watch a video.

[00:09:02] So I draw

[00:09:21] major scale. If I start on the blow, it’s a minor scale.

[00:09:30] I need to figure out the S yeah. Uh, I kind of wish he had, like, I understand why he’s walking me through like the notes first, but like, I can’t, I’m struggling to like play along because I

[00:09:53] don’t like the way it sounds when I hit two. I’m hitting two at once.

[00:10:03] If I don’t. So if I draw on the two, I get that’s the flat third, which is what I don’t want, because I don’t want to hit that blue note. So I would go.

[00:10:29] so that would just be a normal pentatonic. I would just skip playing. I would skip the inhalation on the second voicing. That’d be, can say that voicing. So on the two, five, an eight, I just wouldn’t breathe in. That’s why that’s why I’m gathered. That’s easy enough to avoid the Bluenote.

[00:10:57] How’s he doing that? I want to know how to play a single note.

[00:11:07] So he said that he, what he ended with was once you can play a single note, you should be able to start jamming right away. We’ll see, we’ll see about that. We’ll see challenge accepted. All right. Now let’s learn how to, um, play a single note slash holding the harmonica. Let’s do it.

[00:11:34] So, uh, he’s recommending something called the tongue block, typically, which is weird because I bought books when I was younger about the harmonica and they advised a dense tongue blocking because they said you would use your tongue for other elements of playing the harmonica. But I guess I’m going to have to re think that.

[00:12:07] So he say I should blow a. Chord with the 3, 1, 2 and three parts. And I should block one and two of my tongue. I’ll see.

[00:12:38] That worked shoot. He ever just thinks something isn’t going to work. And then it does. And you’re kind of mad about it or not. Cause you’re like, oh, I didn’t want it to work. Cause you do want it to work. You want it to function. You want it to be correct. But like, you’re mad that you didn’t figure it out faster because someone else told you that’s the wrong way to do it.

[00:13:04] That’s how I feel right now. I’m really glad honer gave you Gabe. Like when, like w when you buy this, you get a one month access to these tutorials, do it right away.

[00:13:28] yeah, it’s again, going to take practice, but that worked better than anything else I’ve tried, like on my own, because otherwise I was just timidly kind of like blowing with a pucker technique as pretty pitiful pucker. I got a pop filter, not worried.

[00:13:51] Yeah,

[00:14:24] that’s better than I’ve gotten it to sound in days of like screwing around with this before. Initiated the subscription

[00:14:53] and again, not perfect. Don’t judge my perfection. I am new at this, and if you’re watching this as a guitarist, you probably will be too. Judge, not less CB judge back to it.

[00:15:14] I listened. I think other people look really cool when they play the harmonica. I don’t feel super cool when I’m playing the harmonica, but I think it’s because I just don’t feel comfortable playing it yet.

[00:15:40] It’s interesting because when you’re doing that, basically you’re getting like the side of your mouth that feels like which might be wrong. Take my plane with a grain of salt.

[00:15:56] I’m getting closer, I’m getting better, but he talks about things like opt-ins and stuff, which is going to be a really interesting, I’m excited to learn about that.

[00:16:11] I just had to kind of figure what I’m most comfortable with. It’s really a little frustrating, little frustrating.

[00:16:33] I’m practicing on camera, which is embarrassing to me,

[00:16:45] pucker.

[00:16:56] This is why you take lessons with people or why you like listen to an expert. So when you hear about pucker, you’re like, oh, pucker up like a cartoonish kiss. And this guy is like, don’t like pucker. Like you’re blowing out a candle. He’s like makes kind of like an, a natural shape. Oh, I don’t know why I went like full, like Connecticut with that accent.

[00:17:18] Um, Or Rhode Island, I don’t know what X O uh, may kind of a natural O’Shea and move the harmonica around. So you’re getting a single note. So kind of find for, uh, three holes, blow and then kind of move the harmonica until you hit like a single note.

[00:17:51] Man that just worked

[00:17:57] I’m into that. I’m, I’m feeling that vibe. And, uh, I think I might be ready to, to take this to, to another level. So, um, There are some practice videos. I’m going to kind of keep with this, but I think that’s kind of enough for now, as far as practicing goes, um, I’m going to like get a loop going with a guitar.

[00:18:26] I think I’m going to go for where this is D D minor, um, obviously flat winner, whereas the box.

[00:18:41] Yeah. Has the D minor does F major the box actually has a little conversion on the side there. So I might do a little, um, loop-de-loop and, uh, do some jams, maybe pull out, uh, some. Some fun effects and, uh, see what this thing can do. All right. Stay tuned. Hey, I’m back. I have a loop going it’s on my aunt back here.

[00:19:19] So, uh, pull my, oh, oops. A little bit closer. I made a little loop. I’m not going to feed it directly into the interface, but uh, you’ll be able to hear it just fine. Let’s play it. Oops, play

[00:19:47] all right. Um, I just made a little simple for horde five core technically kind of thing. My harp. Um, one thing I kind of forgot to mention, and that they do get into is that you can do Octas if you do tongue blocks. So you have a little holes there. He use your tongue to block two holes in the middle. I, again, octave because every four holes.

[00:20:09] So,

[00:20:15] so let me try it. Let me, let me try it with a four and the seven.

[00:20:22] I think I did it. Let me truly try it.

[00:20:30] Yeah, that’s pretty much it

[00:20:38] So as always, not again, not a harmonica player. I think that’s the point of this is that you’ll be able to ref. So, um, let me do some roofing and then I’ll bring a pedal into the mix and the next segment of the video, that pedal penalty. Uh, very favorite of mine. So I’m going to get this going. I turned down the loop volume, just the Scotia, turning down the phone.

[00:22:12] I’ll be darned. I’m playing the harmonica along with that. Little guitar lick. I really am freaking doing it. I’m sorry. I am. I am honestly surprised. And it’s working. It’s like, as it’s a pentatonic lick, every note is working within those five chords. I’m playing a, uh, I’m playing an F C B flat. I’m playing a D minor.

[00:22:48] I’m playing a B flat minor just for funsies. So, uh, yeah, I mean this working

[00:23:02] I was playing around earlier. I was trying to do some octave stuff and it was working. Okay. I’ll try, I’ll try a little bit of that.

[00:23:20] it’s a little hard. It’s hard. It’s a lot harder. I should’ve done this a little bit harder. I should say.

[00:23:46] I think what’s hard about,

[00:23:51] I think what’s hard about getting the blocking with the tongue and the, in the two blocking is I’m used now I’ve gotten used to doing. The tongue as the note blocking, like pushing the tongue to kind of like the left side to get the note blocking. So now the tongue is kind of like, um, to, to move it to the middle is kind of weird.

[00:24:12] So that’s a little bit different for me. So yeah, that, I think, again, that’s gonna, it’s gonna take practice, but you know, it’s working, I’m just like playing along. To a guitar lick and the key and everything kind of sounds to my ear kind of nice. And I’m not upset about it. I was really mad at this thing that I got it.

[00:24:37] And now I’m actually enjoying it a lot more. So that’s, that’s the thing. Sometimes you you’re real get something new and you’re like this stinks. Cause you’re used to being really good or at least pretty good at what you do. And then you get something new and you’re like, why am I not immediately good at this thing?

[00:24:55] Well, there you have it. That is the homeowner. Hence a harp designed for guitarist. And as you can see. Um, basically just an afternoon of lessons and you can get jamming with, with this. All you really need to do is spend a little bit of time. I probably spent a couple of hours, um, on blues, harmonica.com.

[00:25:20] Again, those lessons, um, came with the harmonica, a month’s worth of them, and there were a lot more, including some popular songs. Um, And other, other, uh, just things that are designed to more test out your skills and, uh, whatnot. Um, yeah, but I’m, I’m pretty impressed. Uh, I was skeptical. I didn’t really like it at first.

[00:25:43] Uh, mostly because. I, I struggled with, uh, getting past the fact that, um, when you have a normal harmonica, a diatonic harmonica, if you, if you kind of fudge and hit the second note next to it, or the two notes next to it, it still sounds kind of nice, even if it’s not really what you meant to head. So you don’t have to be John popper to have like a good sounding experience.

[00:26:13] You’re not really doing, doing a whole lot. Like I listened to last Morissette, play the harmonica and she’s not like a harmonica player. She’s not doing solos. I mean, you can do solos with this thing the first day and play actually things that are melodic and not just like there to kind of be there. And in my opinion, not to discount those, this, um, the song.

[00:26:41] That she does with a harmonic on them. I, I love me some Alana’s Morissette. I really do. Um, as all of the song lyrics that are permanently in my brain will, would indicate. Um, but I’m getting farther away from it. The only thing. I still, I is just going to take some practice and getting used to, and it’s good to need practice is, is that Bluenote in there is called the Pinta harp.

[00:27:11] Penta means five is actually six notes in the scale, but it’s based on the pentatonic scale. The pentatonic blues scale does also have six notes. Um, so maybe the Penta blues harp would be an apt name, but that’s not the name. That doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter. Just it’s good to need to practice. It’s good to not rest on your laurels.

[00:27:40] It’s good to have to think about what you’re playing sometimes. Because, um, we can feel boxed into things sometimes and literally boxed in with a pentatonic scale, especially, um, that’s kind of famously one of the issues the guitars have with it is, is feeling boxed in and you know, it has its pros and cons, the pros.

[00:27:59] That’s very visual and it’s a grid and it’s really easy to move about. And the con is that you can get stuck there. And with the pen of Harbor, you can take a place that you’re very familiar with and comfortable with and translate it into, uh, something completely different. Um, it’s a completely different instrument and sound and tone without having to resort to guitar pedals.

[00:28:27] Because as far as I know, there’s not a guitar pedal that really makes a, your harmonica, your guitar sound like a harmonica. Um, yeah, so that’s what I’ve got for you today. Uh, please consider checking out our affiliate links for anything in the world that you might need. We have affiliate links for Sweetwater reverb and.

[00:28:48] Perfect circuit. Um, those help us out immensely. They cost you zero extra dollars. Um, but we do get a portion of those sales back to coming back to us. Um, and the, those companies really. Support this channel. Um, so those are, those are great. Um, big, thanks to honer for sending this product to review. I’m sorry.

[00:29:13] I said that I hated it. At first. I did grow. I did grow to love it and enjoy it, but they know, they know that it’s a, it’s a grower. It grows on you. It really does. You, you, you have to figure it out because it’s just, it’s different. It’s just. It’s just like playing a guitar and a new tuning you need to, you can’t expect to play a normal bar chord or a normal G chord or whatever used to playing in a new tuning and have it sound good.

[00:29:47] It’s going to sound bad. It’s going to sound bad. But once you figure it out and kind of unlock some secrets, uh, you can do some great stuff. Like, think about like open tunings, for example, open tunings can unlock a lot of creativity. I mean, shoot, they sound good, played open. Um, but you can’t just play a bar chord or things that you’re used to and expect them to sound.

[00:30:14] Like anything. Um, but with a little bit of practice, you can actually get playing some like cool stuff with open tunings really quite quickly. So I think it’s kind of, I think it’s pretty comparable to that. Um, so that’s how I feel about it. It’s I actually really would recommend this to a guitarist.

[00:30:32] Who’s curious about harmonicas um, probably over a diatonic one because that atonic and standard harmonica has things like inversions. Uh, they’re a little bit more. Complicated to figure out in that kind of way, you actually have to, oops, it’s not it’s. This is, this is really quite plug and play or someone who you don’t have to learn the theory behind a harmonica to understand this.

[00:30:57] And that’s really nice. So thank you. Thank you, honer for making a harmonica, that guitar is still have to learn theory behind. Good job. Well, that’s all I’ve got today. Please like comment, subscribe. Those are the best three ways to support the channel, liking, commenting, and subscribing. Check us out at patrion.com/get offset for at least five.

[00:31:17] If you subscribe at least $5 a month, you get access to our exclusive discourse server and a $10 a month of eventually I’ll send, just merge. Eventually I am. There are. There are forces at play that make a little bit harder for me to get merchant out right now, but I’m working on it. Um, and what, oh yeah, we actually, we also sell merchandise@podcast.com slash shop.

[00:31:46] And is there anything else? No, thanks for watching. Thanks for understanding until next time. My name is Emily goodbye.