Hi all,
I've been playing for a few months now, I've got single notes, I can bend but still working on tone, play cords and a few songs ect.
I have a Special 20 in C, which I love, but I've read so much about different harps and I'm keen to try a different model. So I'm going to splash out and buy a Lee Oscar and a Golden melody. My question is should I get them in different keys, I've been considering one in A and one in G. Or should I keep them all in C for now.
Thanks for the advice guys
Martin

Different keys. That way, you'll learn the different feels to playing different keys.

You have a C harp, and that's in the middle of the pitch range. You're contemplating getting an A and a G, which are both at the lower end of the range. Unless you have a specific reason for those two harps, I would recommend buying only the G or the A and also buy a higher-pitched harp. F is a common key, but most new harp players don't like it because of the high pitch. Next to the F in the range would be E, but that key is not very common. You might consider an Eb. It's high in the range and the key is fairly common.

So I'd say either get an A or G,
and
either an F or Eb.

I agree with gene, unless you need to stay at the lower range, I would go with the G and F, and fill in the rest of the keys as you get more harps.

When you start buying more harps, refer to the circle of fifths. Start buying harps in the keys that have fewer sharps or flats. These will be the more commonly used keys.

Thanks for the advice Gene, well accepted.

Just reading this and being very new to harmonicas, let me ask you this. If I were to buy a harp in G is the f note sharped and so on with other keys.

Hope this isn't a stupid question but I was away taught that there are not stupid questions.

Thanks,
Rich

The key of the harp refers to the scale it is based on. So yes, a G harp would play F# instead of F natural.
The notes are laid out on a G harp as;

hole 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 - 10
blow g - b - d - g - b - d - g - b - d - g
draw a - d - f#- a - c - e - f#- a - c - e

So if that's the case why am I playing a "C" harp when the song is in the key of G.

Sorry if this is basic, but I just bought my first harmonica today.

Thanks for all of your help!
Rich

Playing a C harp when the song is in G is playing "cross harp" or 2nd position. That's usually done for playing blues. With that C harp, you can still get the notes that are in the G scale, but you'll have to do some bending to do so. That's what gives it a bluesy sound.

You can also play songs in other positions. Playing blues in a minor key is usually done in 3rd position.

I don't know much about theory. I just know how to use the circle of 5ths, so I can't explain why the following works:
If the song is in Gm, you don't look for the Gm in the circle of 5ths; you just look for the G. Then you look two steps counter-clockwise...For 3rd position you'd play an F harp.

all right dang it, call me stupid, what is the circle of 5ths? i been playing for about 4 yrs now, but haven't made it past c diatonic. i cant really pick out the diff. sounds and notes very well so i just play along with what ever sounds good with a c. i seen you talk about sharps and flats, i know im dumb, whats the diff between them though

Basic Music Theory Start at the top of the table of contents on the left side of the page.

Here's the circle of fifths. I guess you won't need it until you know what "keys" are, and you can't know what "keys" are until you know what sharps and flats are.

ok, thanks man