Which Harmonica To Use With This Book
The small and inexpensive instrument known as the "Ten Hole", the "Diatonic", the "Major", or the "Blues" harmonica (or "harp") is the most common and easily available type of harmonica, though many other types do exist. It can be used to play almost any style of music, however it is most often associated with folk, blues, rock and country.
This instructional package is designed primarily for use with a ten hole harmonica of the above type. Make sure that your harmonica has ten holes, is "diatonic-tuned" or "Major-tuned", and is in the "key of C" (explained below) before you purchase it.
There are many available brands and models of harmonicas appropriate for use with this book. Although their prices range from under $10.00 US to over $30.00 US, any of these models are fine for the beginner. But be aware that an instrument costing less than $8.00 US ($10.00 Aust) (£5.00 British) may be of inferior construction, and likely to be harder to play. Some models of harmonica contain the word "Blues" in their name, however most ten hole, "diatonic-tuned" instruments can play blues perfectly well, regardless of name.
Wood or Plastic? And What Shape?
The portion of the harmonica containing the ten holes is called the "comb" (see The Parts of the Harmonica diagram, following). Beginners may find that harmonicas with plastic combs feel smoother and more comfortable on the lips than those with wooden combs.
Shapes of harmonicas vary slightly, from the more square to the more rounded, but do not affect either the sound or the ease of playing. Most music stores should have a selection of appropriate instruments, so choose one that appeals to you, or falls within your price range. Some common brands are Hohner (e.g. Hohner Marine Band, Hohner Golden Melody), Huang (e.g. Huang Silvertone Deluxe, Huang Star Performer), and Tombo (Lee Oskar).
The Parts of the Harmonica
Look at this picture of a basic, standard ten hole blues style harmonica, with lablled parts. Does yours look like this? It should.
What You Need to Know About The Holes
Your harmonica should feature ten holes, numbered from 1 to 10. Each hole contains two reeds, each of which vibrates to produce a particular sound called a note. One reed vibrates on the inhale, and the other vibrates on the exhale. Thus each hole provides two notes .
Creating Extra Notes by "Note Bending"
An advanced technique, called "note bending", or just "bending", allows additional notes to be obtained, as discussed in Lesson Twenty. These additional "bent" notes are very important when playing blues music, and will be discussed in great detail.
Harmonica "Keys"
Each of the brands and models discussed above is available in up to 12 different tunings, or "keys". The key of the harmonica always refers to the letter name of the lowest note of that particular harmonica.
Every harmonica has a small letter from "A" to "G" stamped on it, somewhere, to indicate its key. Some letters will be followed by a tiny "sharp" symbol (#) or a tiny "flat" symbol (b). On page 97 of the Appendices, the concept of sharp and flat will be discussed further.
What You Need To Know About Keys When Playing by Yourself or With The Cassette That Comes With This Book
Don’t be intimidated by these little letters or symbols, even if you lack musical training or confidence. Surprisingly, the key of a harmonica makes very little difference to the beginning harmonica player!
Although the "key of G" harp has a lower, heavier sound and the "key of F" harp a higher and more piercing tone, once you learn to play a harmonica in any key, you will be able to pick up and instantly play any other key harmonica.
Important: This book and the accompanying recording are intended for a harmonica in the key of "e".
The book will work perfectly well with any key harp, but the recording will only sound correct when played along with a "C" harmonica. Other than using a C harmonica, you do not need to worry any further about harmonica keys, for now.
What You Need To Know About Keys When Playing With Other Musicians
When playing together, all musicians must be playing in the same key. This is not as easy as simply using a harmonica that is tuned to the key that the other musicians are using, since blues harmonic players often prefer to play blues in a key that the harmonica is not tuned to.
This is often call "playing in blues positions", and will be clearly explained and discussed throughout the course of this book.
Other Types Of Harmonicas
The larger "chromatic" harmonica, easily identifiable by its "slide button", is usually used for jazz and classical music, and is not appropriate for use with this book.
Also, any harmonica whose holes are each split into two parts by a divider (the so-called "Echo" or "Tremolo" harmonicas) cannot really be used to play blues.
