Anybody know what to do with a Polyphonia No. 7

Hello, Dave.

I truly respect the harp players who played the Hohner Polyphonias & Chromaticas with great mastery.  Thanks for the great video.

They must have done a lot of practicing on these effects instruments, just as any other professional harmonica player would do.

I have the Poly #4, 5, 6 and 8, but no #7.  Hohner didn't make a Poly #1,2,3 or 9.

The Chromaticas included the 261,262 and 263 glissando harps (almost 3 octaves each, compared to the two octave Poly gliss harps). The Hohner double basses #265 and #268 are also in the Chromatica series, but aren't gliss harps.

The only 2 survivors of Hohner's gliss harps include the Chromatica #263, and the TrueTone Pitch Pipe #P3, a 13-reed, one octave, chromatic glissando pitch pipe harmonica, one reed plate on the wood comb.

The True-Tone isn't a circular-shaped pitch pipe. It looks like a 10-hole diatonic, with 3 more holes, and is smaller (5" long) than a 12-hole Hohner #364 Marine Band.

The only melody I can play successfully on the glissando harps is the Russian ballad, "Dark Eyes," otherwise known as "Oh Chechornia," composer unknown, arrangement by Nick Manoloff, copyrighted 1935, Calumet Music Co., Chicago, Illlinois. It's easy on the gliss harps, because the melody is chromatic, mostly up and down on the adjacent (chromatic) holes of the harp.

Changing keys is easy on the gliss harps. Once you learn the scales on the gliss harp, you can start anywhere you want. The note spacing pattern will be identical for each key of the same type (major, minor, etc.), and all music scales based on the 12-tone chromatic scale are available on the gliss harps. The gliss harps may be used for any style of music,with bending possible.

A gliss harp playing friend said he learned to play the gliss harp by playing along with recordings, and sitting in with bands, trying to find the correct key on the harp.

John Broecker