hey people,

i want to buy a harmonica, but which one should i buy?
Should i buy a diatonic or a chromatic harmonica?
On which you van play the most songs? And which is the best for beginners?

thanx

It depends, I guess, on what kind of music you want to play.

Chromatics are more expensive, but if you want diatonic, you'll need several keys. I have a full set of diatonics and a chromatic. I hardly mess with the chromatic.

Here's another thread about this subject.

Hi Koen.

I have been playing diatonic harps for 6 months now. I currently have 12 harps with two more on order, so be warned, it is HIGHLY addictive!!!

As for diatonic or chromatic, it's a personal choice and only one you yourself can make. Obviously, whichever one you choose doesn't mean you can't have the other at some point in the future. I may venture into chromatics next year....!

Welcome to the wonderful world of Harmonicas!!

Hi everybody

I am playing a C key diatonic harmonica(10 hole) about 4 weeks. Now i can play some simple songs. But i want to play chromatic harmonica too.

But i dont know which harmonica i should buy chromatic 10 hole? 12 hole? Most of the chromatic harmonicas are 12 hole, so i am confused which is better. if i buy 12 hole chromatic , could i play it?

I dont know what is the differences between 10 , 12 ,16 or etc holes of harmonicas. Can anyone tell me the differences of hole numbers.

Take a look here, it might help you

[www.angelfire.com]

I personally chose a C diatonic because I wanted somthing reletively cheap that I could play a lot of songs on. You really do not need a whole set of diatonics just because each one is one key. A lot of people can play one diatonic harmonica in many keys. But if you are not too concerned about cost then just go ahead and get the cromatic.

It takes a lot of advanced skill to play chromatically on a diatonic. Most people can learn to play a harp in a few keys (playing positions), but you should have at least a handful of harps. Playing in positions gives different textures to the song because of the bending required. Take a look at the circle of fifths and start buying from the top and work your way down til' you're satisfied. A lot of peoples' first goal is to get the top seven: C, F, G, B^b, D, A and E^b, and then get more as you run across a need for them.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/15/2011 06:30AM by gene.

I started with Diatonics but have moved onto Chromatics. Chromatics are so much more versatile and even though bending is a bit harder on them than diatonics it is still quite possible.

But it really does depend on style though.

Syndundar, the higher number of holes the Chromatic has, the more notes it can play and the more octaves.

I'd like to put in my pennyworth here. I started with Diatonic wanting to blues it up and all (most) blues players use them. As is said you will need several in different keys but the usual start is C. then you can use it in first position G.for the blues. It is with these you have to bend it. To get the half notes you are then overstraining the reeds with the result they break down quicker need repair or replace harp. What happens though, with me I found I end up playing straight one note melodies as found on harptabs.com. I can bend but decided I would give Chromatic a go, now with one of these in your hands you have all the sharps with the valve (half notes) no need to bend, on these bending is not a nessecity only an effect. On the twelve holer you are getting three full octaves and the twelve keys to play in on the same harp, go for the C.rated the G is more difficult to play on the first three holes, needs a very gentle air stream. On chromatic your choice of style is greatly improved, Classical, Jazz, etc, and of course you can still use it for the blues as, Little Walter, Stevie Wonder, and others do, still bending while not using the valve, but remember your Chromatics Hohner are above £150, Suzuki's £400 bend and overstrain these and you have an expensive repair/replacement bill. My advice is start with diatonic if you are playing the numbers and by ear, that gets you going cheaply then when you wish to expand and you have the harmonica technique, move onto Chromatic. Sorry that was a big penny but maybe worth it!

You brought up some very good points, Clifford. That was a very nice penny's worth, IMHO.

I, too, started with the Key of C diatonic. And yes, you'll wind up with several diatonics all in different keys. Although one can play the diatonic chromatically, it takes a master of the instrument to be able to do so, thus, the different keys come into play.

As far as Chromatics go, they are more expensive than the diatonics, and they require maintenace regularly. Because the Chromatic is, well, chromatic (meaning all the notes are there and available to be played without bending), you can play in any key on a Key of C Chromatic. HOWEVER.... there are also different keys of chromatics just like there's different keys of diatonics.

Why the different keys if one can play in all keys on a C chromatic? Because the note layout of the different keys can aid one in playing of particular pieces. Say a song written in the key of Ab (read "A Flat" ) which has four flats in it's key signature, and for whatever reason, you're having a really tough time playing that particular song on your C Chromatic. Well then, try playing the song on a Key of Ab Chromatic and see if you can play the song any easier.

I'm still just a "young-un" when it comes to the length of time I've been playing harps, but I'm beginning to grasp and understand the concept that different keys of chromatics can make playing particulare difficult songs easier to play in one key than another (such as using an Ab harp to play a song written in Ab, rather than struggling to play the Ab song on a C Chromatic).

So, there's my two cent's worth.

By the way, Welcome Roy!

Deb, I'm an old un and I still can't/don't understand the key system of Chromatic Harps. With my C harp at repair I am using a G harp and playing all my usual songs on Harptabs using the same numbers it's all ok still melodius just a tad lower on the tone (scale)
Back to the C chrom here we have an instrument that gives us 12 major scales to use on the same instrument granted all the valved notes are described as sharps but whats in a name. Your eg Ab (A flat) is also called a G# (G sharp) so if you have music in key of Ab this gives you Ab, Gb, Db, Eb,notes in the scale, on Harmonica these are G#, F#, C# D# all obtainable on Chromatic at the press of a button, scale of Ab on C Chrom harp goes from Ab or G# which is +3< up to Ab/G# at +7< Now I have been playing Clair De'Lune tabbed out by WaltP key Db if you see the Larry Adler clip of this song (youtube) at 1.37secs he announces to his musicians "Db isn't it" then plays, and this sounds just as my poorer playing on my C harp. Now my point is why would I have to have a harp registered as Db to play that piece written in Db. Surely I do not need to own 12 Chrom harps one for each scale, that would be like having 12 pianos in order to play 12 different keys. I still cant get my head round the question of, why should I have different harps for each key in Chromatics,

Diatonics are different apart from the fact that you can use a C harp and play in G along with other musicians who are playing in G. This applies to other keyed harps, remember your circle of fifths, here again you dont need all 12 keys of harp to get by playing with other musicians. If I have got this wrong someone please help me. Its good to talk.

Indeed, Clifford, you are correct. One can play any key music on a C harp. That is the beauty of our chosen instrument! In fact, I've been one of the more adamant and frequent posters about how one can play in any key on a C chromatic. And, yes, am quite familiar with the A#=Bb comparison (again, I've posted frequently on that, too!).

My point is, that even though I can play in any key on my piano, I'm still not breathing through my piano to play it. I'm also not necessarily talking about just playing the same breath pattern and hole pattern but in a different keyed instrument (to play the same song in a different key - which has it's place. That's what you're doing by playing the same hole/breath pattern for a C Chromatic on your G Chromatic ).

What I am investigating is the breathing patterns used to play the exact same notes as the music is written. I'm studying this mainly because I'm having some difficulty playing long strings of draw notes without running out of room. Although I'll be the first to question my techniques, I'm beginning to wonder if it's not just my physical limitations. I'm a small (4'10" ) female who's approaching sixty years of age. Doesn't matter how good my technique is, I'm not going to have the lung capacity of a 6'4" or 6'6" or even a 5'8" thirty year old male. It's just not there. HOWEVER, that's another beauty of our instrument, in that there are different keys available for us to explore. If I'm having difficulty with a particular piece of music because I can't physically get through a string of thirty two (or, heaven forbid, more!) draw notes, I can look at other keys of Chromatics and figure out what key I can use to play the exact same notes, but in a more managable breathing pattern (for me).

See where I'm going with this?

(Edited because of spelling error)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/08/2012 05:59PM by EarthDogHarpin.

From what I've seen, one of the main reasons people use chromatics in different keys is for the chords available in that key of harp.

Forgot about that, Walt!

For me though, simpleton that I am (playing, for the most part, single notes), I'm investigatin it/them for the breathing patterns available.

(Hope your vacation is going splendidly!)

Deb, yes I see where you're at, it is, as I said to Roy, that using a C Chrom would be easier than a G for I find the G needs a more sensitive airstream on the lower notes. Further, your problems regarding breathing, I too have difficulty in passages where it is required to perform several draw notes in a string and I have overcome this in certain music as for instant, the Draw 2 F which is asked for by the tabber can be changed to a blow 2 F with slide valve in, on the C Chrom as same on the G which in that case it is a C note. One more thing, while most of my playing is performed sitting down in front of my PC when I do take to standing and playing I find my performance is better and with a greater swing, that leads me to remark to myself, wow! I never knew I could play that, so well. Of course self praise may be biased praise. Regards Cliff