[Carola]

I’ve never played in an alley, but my neighbor cannot distinguish between my chromatic harmonica and my melodica. I play these two instruments in the same style and they have some similarities. Maybe you play the melodica similar to how you would play the clarinet?

Another factor that might play a role: When information is incomplete, the brain chooses a familiar pattern to fill in missing information, so we tend to hear, see and feel what we’re familiar with and what we expect. Fun fact: When I started to play saxophone, it sounded awful and I thought the upper register would sound like a circular saw and the lower register like a combination of a duck and a ship’s horn, but my neighbor insisted the upper register would sound like a kitchen machine and the lower register like a lawn mower 🙂 . (I’d like to mention that I have a very good relationship with my neighbor and she likes to hear me practice).