Buying Harmonica

The harmonica is a versatile instrument used in various music genres, including blues, folk, rock, and more. It is known for its compact size, making it portable and easy to carry around.

The 3 Types of Harmonica

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1. 1-hole diatonic harmonica
2. Chromatic harmonica
3. Tremolo harmonica

“10-hole harp” （10孔竖琴）: It is a colloquial term often used to refer to the harmonica, a small wind instrument that is played by blowing air through it.

The harmonica typically has ten holes in which the player can blow or draw (inhale/exhale) air to produce different musical notes.

The Diatonic Harmonica

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The 10-hole design is one of the most common configurations for diatonic harmonicas, which are designed to play in a particular key or musical scale. Players can achieve different notes by using their breath and changing the way they interact with the holes, creating a distinctive and recognizable sound.

The Pros:

• It is the only harmonica on which you can achieve the most expressive bending of notes.
• It is compact and durable compared to most musical instruments.
• It is inexpensive and easy to play.

The Cons:

• There are missing notes or some melodies can’t be played.
• It supports single key only.
• It requires different pattern of playing notes in each octave.

Chromatic harmonica

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Chromatic harmonicas are much bigger than diatonic harmonicas, because it is actually a C harmonica and a C# harmonica wrapped up into one big fat harmonica!

It has a spring-loaded button on the side. Playing with the button released is playing the C harmonica, and playing with the button in is playing the C# harmonica.

It comes with many versions, but the 12-hole chromatic harmonica is by far the most common. The 12-Hole covers 3 octaves, and produces 48 tones.

The Pros:

• Better suited for Jazz.
• Full access to all 12 notes per octave.
• All notes are accessed in same pattern across the whole harmonica.
• Play in any key with just 1 harmonica.

The Cons:

• More difficult to learn.
• Easy to play “wrong” notes.
• Very Expensive!

Tremolo harmonica

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The concept of the tremolo harmonica is to have two reeds vibrate on every note instead of just one. This concept is similar to that of the accordion

Playing a note on either the diatonic or the chromatic harmonica causes a single metal reed to vibrate in the player’s breath.

The Pros:

• Popular in early to mid-1900’s
• Cool beating sound from doubling reeds.
• Tone more like an accordion.
• Popular in east Asia.

The Cons:

• More airflow required to play.
• More confusing to learn.
• More refined technique isolating single reed to bend notes.
• Unsuitable for playing the blues.

Conclusion

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Link

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• Exploring the 3 Types of Harmonica.
• Samples:
  • 十孔口琴： C調 Proceeds (圓孔)
  • 十孔口琴： C調 Boogieman (paddy 調音)
  • 演奏用琴： A調 Devilblues 藍調口琴