Faqs By Harmonica Questions and Answers

HARMONICA BEGINNERS Questions and Answers!

Here is our quick guide for harmonica beginners:

Option 1: The Diatonic harmonica

If you want to play Blues, Country, Rock or Folk music you most likely want to buy a diatonic harmonica
The diatonic harmonica is a 10 hole model that allows you to play easily in 2-3 keys
You will need to learn how to create a good embouchure and then how to bend notes to create extra notes needed and missing in the instrument.
The standard tuning for diatonic harmonicas is called Richter tuning (not to be mistaken for the Paddy richter tuning that is a special tuned model)

Here is the note layout for the diatonic harmonica in C:

and here is the note layout once you know how to bend and overbend.
Those techniques require a lot of work and many years of practice.

Our best quality price model is the Harmo Polar here:



https://harmonicaland.com/en/harmo-polar-harmonica

It's airtight, designed by a professional American harmonica player, uses phosphore bronze reeds where most competitors use brass that is not as sturdy or bend friendly and has really smooth covers which are perfect for beginners.

If you buy one just get a key of C because that’s the standard key and also because that ‘s the key where reeds have the average length compared to lower keys like G or higher keys like F: C is right in the middle so learning on a C harmonica is the best key to learn on.

A key of C will help you play in C and G

But if you want to play in more keys then you’ll need to purchase couple more keys down the road!
You can wait or take advantage of the discounted bundles for a Polar set of 3 here:
https://harmonicaland.com/en/harmo-polar-set

That includes C, G and A as well as the Gig Bag 7 and a keychain harmonica
That will cover most of the songs you want to accompany in C, D, G, A, E

Or jump in with the Polar set of 5:
https://harmonicaland.com/en/harmo-polar-blues-pro-set-5

It includes harmonicas in the key of C, D, F, G and A as well as the Gig Bag 7 and a keychain harmonica
Those keys will cover all the main songs played in Blues, Folk, Country in:
C, D, E, F, G, A, Bb with 2 options to choose from for each => for instance you could try to play in D with the D or the G.

Option 2: The Chromatic Harmonica


If you want to play Jazz, Classical or Pop melodies we recommend another model called the Chromatic harmonica. The chromatic harmonica gives you all the notes like on a piano without the need to learn special techniques like bending or overbending. You just need to learn how to get a proper embouchure and then you can get started playing beautiful songs.

The standard chromatic harmonica is a 12 hole model in the key of C. There are a lot of models out there in different keys and also chromatic harmonicas in 14 and 16 hole but that’s really not necessary and actually 95% of the professional players use a standard 12 hole chromatic in C when they perform.

We offer a wide variety of options from Hohner, Suzuki, Seydel but if you’re looking for the best bang for the bucks the Harmo Angel 12 is our top choice:
https://harmonicaland.com/en/harmo-angel-12

It's airtight, designed by a professional American harmonica player, uses phosphore bronze reeds where most competitors use brass and is built with a very good quality slider. It’s a professional quality harmonica at a reasonable price.

It also comes in D, G, A Bb and Low C and is available in a 16 hole model if you prefer to go big.

On a chromatic harmonica you blow to get a note, blow and push the slider in to get the same note flat, draw to get another note and draw with slider in to make the draw note flat. Let’s have a look at the note layout of a chromatic harmonica. This tuning is called the solo tuning.

The + sign means you blow or draw while pushing the slider in at the same time
This action will raise the original note a half step up.
AS you can see the layout is pretty similar of the middle part of a 10 hole diatonic but the main difference here is that you won’t have to spend years of practice to get clean flats or sharps … All you have to do is push the slider in.

The chromatic is usually easier to access for people who already play another instrument and also to musicians who are not necessarily interested so much in Blues and the specific sound of bends and overbends.
The chromatic harmonica has a more mellow tone.
A 16 hole chromatic harmonica will give you one more octave in the low register but you could also get a Low C 12 hole and get the first 12 hole of a 16 hole chromatic if you’re not a fan of the upper range that might sound aggressive at times.

3 – How to get started?

The most important technique on the harmonica is called Embouchure. That’s the technique that will help you create beautiful notes and play smoothly. A lot of beginners complain they can’t get all the notes out of their harmonica – sometimes thinking the harmonica is defective – a good embouchure will make you get all the notes clean but also round and warm. That’s the first step towards becoming a good harmonica player.
This lesson by David Herzhaft is the ultimate embouchure lesson that will teach you how to get the perfect tone and what to practice everyday without wasting your time on futile exercises and songs:
https://www.harmonicaschool.com/en/home/203-beginner-lesson-1-embouchure.html

After that you can start working on bends, slowly with this lesson:
https://www.harmonicaschool.com/en/harmonica-technique/172-bending-part-1-unlimited-access.html

Harmonicaland wishes you the best in journey to the wonderful musical world of the harmonica!