Instruments
Harmonica
Few people who play the harmonica realize that it was inspired by the Chinese sheng mouth organ, which was introduced in Germany in the 1770s. Like the sheng, the harmonica produces sound by means of a free reed that vibrates in a small tube when blown by the player; the harmonica drastically truncated the tube and enclosed the whole apparatus in a small metal case of maximum convenience and portability. As a result, the harmonica became a favorite of amateur musicians after the German Hohner firm began to mass-produce harmonicas in the late nineteenth century. Even then, Americans showed a special enthusiasm for the instrument. The harmonica's popularity in the twentieth century was maintained by its importance in the blues tradition, within which it was known as the "blues harp." Blues harmonica representations of the acceleration of a train take full advantage of the harmonica's characteristic breath pattern--the player, uniquely among Western wind instruments, sounds the reed through both inhalation and exhalation. Harmonicas come in "diatonic" and "chromatic" versions, producing seven-note (equivalent to the white-key scale on a piano) and twelve-note scales, respectively.