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 e" (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 is likely to be harder to play.
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 of the more 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 labelled 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.
If you would like to know the letter names of the notes of the harmonica, please see Appendix B, on playing standard musical notation. An advanced harmonica technique, called bending, allows additional notes to be obtained. This technique is mostly used for blues, rock, and jazz music, and thus is explained in detail in the book Progressive Blues Harmonica.
Harmonica "Keys"
Each of the brands and models discussed above is available in up to 12 different "keys". The term "key" refers both to the "Major Scale" that the harmonica is made to play, and to the lowest note of that particular harmonica. The Major Scale will be explained in greater detail in Lesson Eight.
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).
What You Need To Know About Keys
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.
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.
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 (the so-called "Echo" or "Tremolo" harmonicas) will be difficult to use with Section One of this book, and impossible to use with Section Two.
