The PentaHarp is built for all musicians, not just harmonica players! If you have every tried to learn the harmonica before and were confused with the note layout, this harmonica is for you. The PentaHarp’s intuitive design is easier to understand so you don’t have to use advanced techniques to get the notes that you know will work. You can play melodies and solos effortlessly!
The Pentatonic scale is one of the most useful scales in popular music. Guitarists know this scale as “Playing in the Box”. Play any of these notes in the right key and you can’t play a wrong note. Hohner took this a step further by adding what is known as the “Blue Note”. This additional note adds a chromatic run for extra expression and is known to many as the “Blues Scale”. To play this scale on a standard harmonica you would have to perfect advanced techniques that could take years to master.
Unlike standard Richter-tuned harmonicas, there is no need to play in 2nd position or “Cross Harp” position. The PentaHarp is straightforward in its tuning. You can play in the same key the song is in or the same harmonica can play a song in a major key if it is the relative minor. The notes are laid out in such a way that you do not need to draw bend, blow bend or overblow to play a useful scale!
While you don’t need to know how to do advanced techniques to make this a useful instrument right out of the box, there are so many things this harmonica can do that no other harmonica can!
• You can vamp in the standard 1-4-5 pattern just by blowing on holes 1-2-3.
• Octaves are easily accessible and you don’t have to change your mouth embouchure. This works on both blowing and drawing!
• You can blow power chords, which no harmonica has allowed before!
For those that do know more advanced techniques you will be amazed to know what this harmonica can really do.
• You can draw bend on every hole across the entire range of the harmonica!
• While the PentaHarp is not necessarily set up for Overblows, this new note layout allows for more Overblows than any other harmonica.
• In 3rd position you can play the major pentatonic scale with the available draw bends and overblows
The versatility the PentaHarp brings opens up a world of possibilities for both beginners and pro players playing all genres. This harmonica utilizes the Special 20 platform which is the most popular professional grade harmonica in the world. It is produced by Hohner in the factory in Trossingen, Germany where they have produced harmonicas since 1857.