How many harmonicas
How many harmonicas. I have one harmonica a Suzuki olive It is not in the key of A. I don't want to buy more harmonicas, but still want Togo through LOA lessons. Is this possible or not?
A few weeks ago Brian, a very active guy here on the forum provided this very useful list, which I transcribe below with the corrections provided by David:
Level 1: A & C(optional)
Level 2: A
Level 3: A
Level 4: A & G & C or D
Level 5: A & G & C & Bb
Level 6: A & G & C & Bb
Level 7: A & D & C & Bb & Low-F
Level 8: A & G & C (used for Gm) & Low-F
Level 9: A & G & Ab (optional)
Level 10: Your choice
Have in mind that we are talking about years of training there even if you're a very dedicated student, so there's no rush to buy all of them at once. I hope it helps and thanks to Brian for this contribution!
Regards
Gustavo
All the move you learn on a C harp will work on an A harp, and vice versa.
---- EXCEPT -----
The music will come out in the wrong key, which is very disorienting and makes learning much harder.
Buy the A. You'll need it anyway.
The LOA requires regular submissions of your work to Dave. Likely he is not going to want to listen to you play something in the wrong key. There is nothing stopping you from doing any of the lessons with any harmonica. Just understand that if you try to play along with the jam tracks or one of the videos you are going to sound out of key. If you are okay with this then jump in and get your feet wet.
I started out with the wrong harmonica as well. I studied the level 1 lessons with the wrong harmonica for a few weeks to see if I thought this was for me or not, then I jumped all in an started buying the harmonicas I needed as they went on sell.
If your plans are to play solo harmonica music then your all set, but if you are planning on playing with others, then your going to need the correct key for what everyone else is playing.
If your serious about the LOA life will be much easier if you have the correct key.
Good luck,
Brian in Tennessee
Lots of good advice here. If one is just going to play alone for one's pleasure, just about any key and type of harp can bring a lot of happiness. E.g., even if one got a B-natural diatonically-tuned or solo-tuned octave harmonica as a gift! The C is the most easily avaiable from music stores, and is fine if you're going to play blues in C, G, Dm, or whatever, with a friend who can play his or her instrument in those keys. And yes, it's possible to do the LOA on a C, if one uses Slowdowner or other pitch changing software to change the keys of David's backing tracks and instructional tracks, or records one's own backing tracks on another instrrument (piano or guitar), but that would be a lot of work, especially for a beginner who is just learning how music theory and the relationships between keys work. For an absolute beginner, perhaps work for a long time on David's introductory C-harmonica lesson, as well as a lot of free instruction on the internet that uses a C harmonica. And then, if you fall in love with the harmonica and what one can do with all of the various types, keys, tunings, etc. watch your wallet! (I recently listened to a wonderful podcast interview with Tim Gonzalez, who - to get just the right sound for the stuff he composes and performs - tours with a kit that includes 81 different harmonicas.)
Hi Motor City,
The short answer is you need an A harmonica at least till you get to level 4. After that you need some more. Dont buy a cheap harmonica they are hard to bend and play!