harmonica key

Hello Adam. Your inquiry is a common one, so a while ago I sat down to explain why I chose the A harmonica for my beginning instruction (below). Simply put, we have 12 keys of harmonica… eventually you’ll need to buy all twelve to copy other harmonica players and jam to music, but of course we have to start with one. Which harmonica we use doesn’t really matter (as long as it’s not tuned too low or high… the far extremes of harmonica keys bring their own challenges). I chose the A harmonica, since it’s commonly the most often used harmonica key in the blues (it has a nice warm tone, and the key matches other musicians well). Below is more detailed information if you choose to read on.

Why does BluesHarmonica.com use the A harmonica for the majority of its instruction?
The A harmonica is the most common harmonica used in blues. If you were to go to a jam session or sit in at a buddy’s gig, the harmonica you would throw in your pocket would commonly be the A harmonica.

The harmonica that you first learn will be the key of harmonica you’ll be most comfortable playing for a while, so it’s beneficial to have your “go-to harp” be the common A harmonica.

It’s especially helpful to use the A harmonica when learning the important technique of bending. If students first learn how to bend on a high-keyed harmonica, such as the C harmonica or above, they often struggle when trying to play the more common lower-keyed harmonicas in the blues, like G, A and Bb.

Why does BluesHarmonica.com incorporate the use of other keys of harmonica in its lessons fairly early on?
Instruments are commonly designed to play all twelve tones in music and can thus play in all twelve keys. It takes time for instrumentalists to learn their scales (which notes are, and are not, associated with a given key) and ultimately master the ability to move around on their instrument fluidly within each key. This takes a lot of practice over time, but it’s a common necessity.

Harmonicas are designed to only play in one key, requiring you to purchase twelve keys of harmonica to play the full range of music. G, A, Bb (B-flat), C, D and F (commonly Low-F) harmonicas are the most commonly used and constitute what we consider to be a standard set.

It may seem like a bummer to have to purchase multiple keys to play the harmonica, but here are three reasons why it’s not that bad…

1) Since a harmonica is tuned to the notes of only one key, all of the “wrong” notes have been removed, making it one of the easiest instruments to make music on quickly.

2) To change keys, you just change harmonicas—playing the same blows, draws, movements and techniques. The necessity of memorizing the notes associated with each key no longer becomes pertinent, making it one of the easiest instruments to play music with other musicians.

3) A good quality harmonica (that’s also used by some pros) is the Hohner Special 20 and currently sells for $37, making your set of harmonicas $222. Using the cost of a trumpet for comparison (it’s right in the middle of the cost spectrum for a band instrument), a good quality entry-level trumpet made by Yamaha currently sells for $1,171. Even though you have to buy a set of harmonicas to play music, it’s still a very inexpensive instrument.

There are challenges to playing the different keys of harmonica, and its best to get used to playing these different keys early on. Some songs, and approaches to playing, simply sound better on particular keys of harmonica. The chordal style of solo harmonica playing (Solo Harmonica Study lessons) sounds great on the low keys of harmonica, and thus the G harmonica is a great choice. Lastly, it’s nice to have this common set in order to play along with the various songs you have in your music collection.

Why is the C harmonica most often recommended by music stores and musicians?
Most new musicians start out by learning scales on their instrument, and the first scale that’s commonly taught is the C Major Scale. The C major scale does not contain any sharps or flats (those notes represented by the black keys on the piano). This makes it an easy scale to start with and to remember and understand.

As I pointed out earlier, harmonicas already come in specific keys, and the learning of one key over the other has no merit for us... we play each harmonica the same. 4+ 4 5+ (4 blow, 4 draw and 5 blow) for example creates the first three notes of the C major scale on the C major harmonica. Playing 4+ 4 5+ on the A harmonica creates the first three notes of the A major scale. It’s the same for each key of harmonica; this is why if you can play one harmonica, you can play them all.

Due to the bias that comes from other instruments to start in the key of C, most harmonica companies manufacture their budget-priced introductory harmonicas in the key of C. This is not really a problem for us, the C harmonica is one of the common harmonicas you’ll use anyways, you just wont use it in your earlier lessons.

If you were directed to purchase the C harmonica, and that’s all you have, I provide the C Harmonica Intro Lesson (http://www.bluesharmonica.com/lessons/c_harmonica_intro_lesson) so you can get started now while you wait for your A and G harmonicas to come in the mail.

Summary
Harmonicas come in all twelve keys. To play in a given key, you simply grab the appropriate harmonica and away you go. Each harmonica is approached the same—same blows, draws, bends and techniques—the harmonica does the key change for you. We start with the A Harmonica because it’s the most common harmonica used in blues. The common keys of harmonica are G, A, Bb, C, D and F. To learn this instrument, and play along with the majority of your blues music selections, you’ll need these keys. You can purchase these as you need them, or purchase them now so you have all the keys covered.

I recommend the Hohner Crossover (~$85) or the Hohner Special 20 (~$40) for those on a budget.

I hope this helps to clarify things.

On your position chart you show 2nd position of C harp as A, I've learned as G, what's right?

Hello gjdranow. G is correct... you're not reading the chart correctly (I know, charts can be unintuitive sometimes).

First off, I assume you're speaking of this chart https://www.bluesharmonica.com/sites/bluesharmonica.com/files/private/Po...

The harmonica keys are at right (what's stamped on the harmonica) and band keys are at left. Holding the C harmonica, wishing to play in 2nd Position, you go down the middle (gray) column. When you reach "C," stop and run your finger/eyes to the left and you'll see that you're playing in the Key of G with the band.