OVERVIEW OF THE HARMONICA.
The harmonica is the musical instrument closest to the human voice; it is almost an external extension of it, and moreover, it must be inserted, even if only partially, into the oral cavity in order to play. It is played by breathing rather than blowing; in fact, the human voice is produced by the vibration of the "vocal cords" as air passes through, while the sound of the harmonica is produced by the vibration of the reeds as air passes through. By... "air" I do not mean a puff like one does for a trumpet or even just to whistle, but rather actual breathing; in fact, the harmonica is played by breathing, and it is not necessary to move it away from the mouth to take a breath.. And there is something else: by articulating letters of the alphabet or even entire words while playing the harmonica, particular modulations of sound emerge. Furthermore, the oral cavity acts as a resonance chamber for the harmonica, just as it does for the voice. Practically speaking, we are dealing with an extension of the human voice; in fact, when I play the harmonica, I have more of a sensation of singing than playing! The chromatic harmonica is nonetheless not an easy instrument to play; consider that within 11 centimeters there are 39 notes, meaning one note every 3.5 millimeters (only the mouth, with its sensitivity and precision... laser-like, could afford this) and then there are the techniques of air emission and intake—costal in females and predominantly diaphragmatic in males—and many other things that are discovered while playing it; then there is the anatomy of the oral cavity, the shape and musculature of the cheeks and lips, the teeth whose size and number make the sound more ringing or softer, simply because the dental enamel reflects sound vibrations; in short, the individual variable based on one's own anatomy plays a preeminent role in the quality of the sound. No other instrument integrates with the musician to the point that the emitted sound is eighty percent dependent on the sensitivity and anatomy of the user.
MY FB SITE WHERE I DEAL WITH THE CHROMATIC HARMONICA: