"The Return of the Harmonica"

When the world’s largest harmonica manufacturer changed its flagship model (and in the process, its signature sound), a few musicians and harp customizers waged a quiet rebellion... and they won.

Dear Friends,

The Marine Band harmonica had been Hohner’s most popular model almost since it was introduced in 1896. In the first half of the 20th century, sales soared as American folk musicians and blues artists embraced the Marine Band as their own, giving the instrument originally designed to play traditional German folk tunes an aura of cool. Why, then, did Hohner change it?

I hope you’ll enjoy listening to our new audio version of “The Return of the Harmonica,” written by Ben Marks and narrated by Göran Norquist. You can listen to it directly on our site, or wherever you like to get your podcasts, including Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also read the original story in our pages.

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Summer 2023: The Music Makers

There may be no other craft that lends itself to infinite experimentation more than music—an endeavor that has nursed human creativity ever since the earliest days of the Stone Age, on every continent and in every culture. This summer, as music festivals and concert tours return in full force, we offer you a fresh collection of stories highlighting some of our most interesting (and unusual) musicians, instrument makers, and other masters of music.