The diatonic harmonica is a popular wind instrument among beginners and experienced musicians alike. It's an excellent instrument for any beginner who wants to learn to play melodies, especially since a decent harmonica can be picked up for just a couple of tenners. Also called blues harps, diatonic harmonicas are commonly used in styles like rock and blues.
Picking Up a Blues Harp
While the diatonic harmonica (or Richter-tuned harmonica) is also referred to as a blues harp, the instrument lends itself to many more styles, including rock, country and pop. Since harmonicas are basically played by controlling the breath, the expressive potential is massive. Most diatonic harmonicas feature a row of ten holes which cover three octaves and allow you to play notes in a fixed key, meaning certain other notes can't be shaped without using more advanced techniques like bending and overblowing. On the other hand, if you frequently 'need' notes in different keys, it's probably a good idea to pick a second harmonica that's in a different key. Another option would be to have a look at a chromatic harmonica. If you want to head in a more exclusive direction, check out an octave harmonica or a tremolo harmonica.
Harmonica Notes
The notes of a harmonica are diatonic based on a fixed key. As such, you can grab any diatonic harmonica in C-major to play the notes from that scale, so C, D, E, F, G, A and B, making this type of harmonica perfect for beginners. Other notes can then be shaped using special playing techniques, or if you want to play in a different key, you can simply play a different harmonica. Most diatonic harmonica models are available in various different keys and sometimes even come in the form of a complete set of harmonicas in different keys. If you're playing in styles like blues and rock, there's one rule of thumb: always pick a harmonica that's a quarter higher in pitch than the music you're making with it. In other words: if you're going to play a tune in the key of C, it's recommended to grab a harmonica in the key of F.
Frequently Asked Question About Diatonic Harmonicas
How difficult is it to play a harmonica?
It's fairly easy, especially since diatonic harmonicas are only 'equipped' with seven different notes, which aren't hard to pull out. Like most other instruments however, the harmonica is easy to learn yet hard to master, which means there's a lot more to discover once you have the basics down.
What's the best blues harp?
Just so you know, even the cheapest blues harps pack a pretty solid sound and can be mastered with the help of a harmonica lesson book. Serious beginners who want to start out with a more popular model can never go wrong with a Hohner Special 20 or any Lee Oskar harmonica.
