Hi guys, question more for chromatic players @Jay1 @Hogie.Harmonica …
When i hear chromatic it’s mostly single note playing.
Is it possible to enrich the sound with chords octaves double stops and other technique to make a sound rich like on diatonic or acompany with chromatic? If yes do you know someone who is doing it to hear and examples?
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Well I’ve just started playing and yes, you can do chords. I’ve been tongue blocking mine they sound amazing you become your own horn section. I will say however due to the larger holes, I found tongue blocking very hard. You can vamp and Supervamp on them too but it requires a lot of patience. But I’m really begining to pick it up now, I’ve practiced on it and hour to 2 hours every day, I started puckering but decided it sounded too thin for me, so I started experimenting with tongue blocking I am almost there with it now. And for some reason it has also helped my breath control and blocking skills on my diatonic too.
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I don’t know enough details on this, but the short short version is:
- Yes, chromatic can play a ton of chords. Especially if bebop tuned. If you want to hear that, listen to Bill Barrett.
- Single note playing was (and is) considered a cornerstone of modern playing for harmonica, particularly for classical and jazz. Single notes let virtuosity and clarity and control be heard. But lots of chords played with high technique…it not all that distinguishable from just breathing in and out real fast on the things.
- A player who strikes an excellent balance is Filip Jers. He uses dyads to imply chords and accompany certain chord progressions using the chromatic.
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Bill Barrett IS amazing thanks for the example. 
Sorry I’ve been out of touch working on cases overseas. The simple answer is YES and as @Hogie.Harmonica put Filip Jers is certainly one to listen to. Having said that most chromatics are solo tuned and although bebop is not difficult to achieve it is not essential. What is essential is finding your way around a chromatic and mastering the single note melody playing before trying chord octaves; double stops or anything else. Like most things get the foundations right before going further no matter how tempting it might be. Of course that’s just my view. Jay1
Is there anyone else to listen to except Filip Jers and Bill Barrett? I know Joel Anderson also use it in Irish tunes when playing chromatics… When I try to listen chromatic there is almost always single melody jazz and I am not so interested in that… Chromatic is very tempting for me to try but before that I want to know wether that instrument is capable of it. 
I normally only play at a recording studio because that is what I was asked to do and I don’t want to let them down, there are not a lot of chromatic players around. I don’t listen to many other players because what I can do appears to meet their needs/demands and that’s fine. Given the choice I play melodic mainstream jazz or trad jazz or just jam, depending on which part of the World my proper job takes me to. I’d suggest that a chromatic is capable of most types of music, listen to James Reilly & google some of the greats but it’s up to the player to make it work for what they want. I usually take an East Top 10/40 valveless with me when I travel, it’s 2.5 octave and dirt cheap so if it’s lost, stolen or confiscated by some jobsworth customs official who probably wants it for himself because it’s shiny it’s not a great loss. I’ve never wanted or needed anything else. The only way you’ll know if it meets your needs is to try it and find out, An East Top Forerunner 1 in C is probably not much greater cost than a diatonic, it’s a very capable instrument, I use it for recording and I’ve already put onto the forum the necessary pentatonic scales . I’d suggest you try it but unfortunately many chromatics are left in the socks draw because players don’t take the time to learn what it’s capable of. Suggest you ask Andy 2 how he’s getting on but the only person who can answer if it’s right for you is you. Jay1
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I love my Chromonica now I’ve figured out the basics, The stuff I’ve just found by accident is fantastic, I’m mostly a blues player but I love to just insert stuff from other genres. I’ve had to have a week off this week we’ve been visiting the tribe or grandchildren we have. It’s exhausting! But hoping to get back to it next week.
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There is an old website that is now just an archive, called Slidemiester. It focuses only on chromatic harmonica, and has a ton of great information. There are many great chromatic players out there to listen to that use chords, though it tends to be only one tool in the toolbox for chromatic players. Jers has a great video on chordal playing accompaniments. It is very dependant on the key you are playing in.
Something else to know about chromatic chords is they don’t tend to be “rich” because chromatics are tuned with equal temperament, like a Golden Melody. So the chords are not as rich as a diatonic.
If you wanted the modify a chromatic to have richer chords, you’d need to have it tuned to 19 limit just intonation. I’ve not heard of anybody doing that before, but I’m sure someone has.
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Thanks for this info @Hogie.Harmonica it will prove very helpful
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