These are the dumbest questions you'll ever see, but I've never even held a harmonica in my hand, so... yeah.

I'm thinking of buying one, but I'm trying to figure out exactly what I want before I do so. There's a 99% chance I'll give up after 10 minutes when I realize I can't play one perfectly the moment I pick it up, so I'm not looking to spend much >.>

My main goal is to learn to play the theme to midnight cowboy and apparently I'm looking for a chromatic harmonica to do that. The questions I have so far are as follows (ie, here comes the stupid):

1. 10 holes seems to be the norm for any tabs I find, but most of the chromatic harmonicas I find (at least the cheaper ones) are 12 holes. Will this mess me up? I mean, are the extra 2 holes just two higher notes on the end, or is the range the same, just with more variety within it? If it's the latter, I imagine that'll mess me up if I'm trying to play tabs for a 10 hole type on a 12 hole type, right? So I guess what I'm asking is, will 4, -6, etc be the same notes on a 12 as they are on a 10? If not, is there an easy way to compensate for it? Because so far I haven't happened to notice any tabs out there designed for anything other than 10 holes.

2. Apparently the Midnight Cowboy theme is in the key of A. From my dim understandings (I know very little about music and have no ear or talent for it, really) a chromatic harmonica is supposed to let me change the key. So... how would one do that? Will it be obvious when I have it in my hand? Because I'm googling instructions for it and can find no directions whatsoever on how to change the key from C to A that don't involve opening the thing up and filing down a reed >.> So will I have any clue how to do this (without having to perform surgery on the harmonica) when the time comes, or should I just not bother with this whole thing?

The tabs for 10 hole diatonic and 12 hole chromatic are completely different. If you want to play a chromatic harmonica, you'll have to use tabs that are specifically for a chromatic.

You can't change the key of the harmonica. There's no need to, either. They make chromatics in different keys, but mostly, people just play the C chromatic. The purpose of the different key chromatics is that you don't have to push the slide so much on some songs, and the pitch range will be different. (The purpose of the slide is to get notes that are a 1/2 step higher in the hole you're playing.)

I would not recommend that you buy a chromatic for the purpose of learning one song. They're too expensive. If you're able to find one really cheap, you would probably have better luck playing the box it came in.

Walt has posted Midnight Cowboy for a diatonic in A. (Click here.)

I would suggest you buy a 10 hole diatonic in C. You can play any key song with any key harp. If you play an A song on a C harp, just play the tab as written. The melody will be the same, but the overall pitch will be higher. The reason I suggest a C harp is that most instructional material is written for C harp.

You're not sure you'll stick with it, so you don't want to spend much money. However, you don't want to spend too little, either. You don't want a piece of junk that doesn't play well enough to learn on. Get a Suzuki Bluesmaster or a Golden Melody or some other harmonica that surely somebody will suggest later in this thread.


Walt (He's our main chromatic man.):
Can you add to or correct anything I've said above?
(Other than something about buying reed plates.)



Post Edited (2011-01-25 20:41:52)

Thanks for the reply. Some clarifications:

I know chromatic and diatonic use different tabs, the question is, will a 12 hole chromatic and 10 hole chromatic use different tabs? But I sense that the answer is yes.

I'm not looking to buy it /just/ to play one song. If I do this I'm also going to try learning Auld Lang Syne and several Dylan songs and anything else that strikes my fancy. Midnight Cowboy is just the song I'm most interested in, so I wouldn't want to buy something that can't play it at all.

I've found some chromatic harmonicas for reasonable prices. Most are over 50 dollars, but I've seen some for 25-35, which I can part with. That amount of money means absolutely nothing to me. They may not be the best quality ever, but they're probably ok to learn on (actually, that's pretty much exactly what a review of one of them said). The only problem is they're all 12-hole types in that price range.

But yeah, thanks for the link, and maybe I am better off with diatonic now that I know that it's actually possile to play that song with it. Especially since every tab I find of anything is for 10-hole harmonicas. Thanks, that was helpful.



Post Edited (2011-01-25 21:08:53)

I don't know all that much about chromatics, but i think the extra 2 holes are simply an extension of the scale, so the tabs would work. If I'm wrong, Walt will chime in when he sees this thread.

Yes, tabs for a 12 hole chromatic will work for a 10 hole chromatic so long as both chromatics are in the same key (most likely a "C" and the range of the song is within the 10 hole's range (lowest note to highest note). If one harp is in C and the other is in, say, G, when you play the song, the only difference will be that the song on the G harp will be in a lower key than the one on the C harp *if you use the same tab*. The great thing about chromatics is you can play any song, in any key, on the same instrument.

You would be best off to purchase a new chromatic from a reputable company such as Hohner, Suzuki, or Seydel for a couple of reasons. First, consider that when playing the harp you are actually BREATHING THROUGH the harp. Inhaling on the draw, and exhaling on the blow. You may not want to risk breathing, sometimes deeply, into your lungs whatever "leftovers" were in the instrument from its previous player(s). Second, you want to get an instrument that is actually *playable*. The really inexpensive ones tend to be "leaky" and it can be difficult to get a good sound out of. Plus, some have sharp edges, which make them outright uncomfortable to play!

Same holds true with the diatonics. Get one that's well made (typically starting around $35 U.S. dollars) because it will be much more enjoyable to play. Can't really go wrong if you choose from either Hohner, Seydel, or Suzuki.

Hope this helps.



Post Edited (2011-01-26 13:30:31)

Any song tabbed for the diatonic is easily played on the chromatic, especially if there are no bends. Between -3 and -8 on the diatonic, just play one number higher on the chromatic. Key doesn’t matter, it’ll all end up in C . I suggest you try a diatonic first to see if you like playing harp.
And don’t waste waste your money on a cheap harp

ok thanks, that helped too. I think I'll start with diatonic. The only problem is the tabs for Midnight Cowboy look much, much more intimidating on diatonic. Right now I'm looking through some how-to videos for the harmonica overall to gauge whether or not I even have a chance of learning anything at all. I think I understand what a bend is and I should be able to manage it, but I have no idea quite yet what a two halfstep bend or three halfstep bend is, much less how to accomplish it. Maybe it'll be clear when I research it more, but as it is the song looks possible with lots of practice on chromatic and impossible on diatonic (relative to me, of course). But given the price issue... yeah, I think I'll just go with diatonic first, try learning something easier on it, and see if I stick with it for more than 5 minutes.

Oh, and I'd never buy a used harmonica. I won't even drink from a glass that someone else just drank from.

Thanks, guys.

DO NOT buy a harmonica from this guy!!

There are tons of places to get instruction. Where you go for it depends, to some extent, on what you want to do. Here's a good place to get the basics.

Good luck, ,,, ....IF that's your real name....

...Oh. I see. Your real name is X.

Soooo...Are you THE X ,,, ??!!



Post Edited (2011-01-26 19:15:20)

Nothing personal x but the diatonic version of M cowboy is very difficult, perhaps try some of the many thousands of songs without bends and get to know the harp a bit better and learn to bend slowly

Yep, THE X. Of the New Hampshire X's.

Right, I decided I'll start with Auld Lang Syne and Blowin in the Wind. The diatonic version of Midnight Cowboy just looks too scary.

I, umm, still haven't figured out what two/three half-step means or how to do either. That's a pretty good sign I ought to aim lower. Maybe I'll forget about that song altogether unless I actually stick with it enough to invest in a chromatic.

Diatonic, not used, decent quality, one of the brands suggested. That's the current plan. Do not expect to see me heralded as the next Little Walter anytime soon, but hopefully I have fun with it.

good to see i aint needed here!!

yo deb when did you become such an expert!!
( i aont complaining or having a dig at you, im actually quite impressed)
and happy to see someone else helps out Gene and Walt when i aint around!!

X (Or do we call you Mr. ,,,),
I don't know what you know about music. Do you know what A and Ab mean? The difference between those two notes is a half step. If you have a Bb harp (10 hole diatonic), the -3 (3 draw) would be an A. You can bend that down a half step to an Ab...Or two half steps (a full step) to a G...Or three half steps to a Gb.

I could go on about other holes (No, not you, Tin.), but you'll learn that stuff right off in your studies.


LOL You don't deserve that, Tin, but I couldn't resist!

ok, wow, check out all of the hardcore not understanding you I just did.

haha, actually I... kind of get it. I don't understand sheet music so I don't know exactly what would equal what (A goes down to G? G isn't 6 above? lol, that's the kind of thing I wouldn't get), but I get the general idea. What matters more though is that I have no idea what I would have to do to go down two or three steps instead of one. Just.... bend harder? Would that do it?

heh. Well, I just looked through the tabs on this site and bookmarked about.... yeah, almost 3 dozen, so I'm sure I have enough beginner stuff to ease into all of this. Nice selection you've got here. Nirvana, Elton John, Simon and Garfunkel, and even an Outkast song. Outstanding. Most of them don't have any bends at all. I'm definitely going to try to figure this all out if I stick with it for more than the 5 minutes I usually lose interest in things, but worst case scenario I can't learn the complicated stuff, at least I should be able to play the refrain from that Biz Markie song =)

A, B, C, D, E, F, G, and then up to A in the next octave. (An octave could be described as a set of As, Bs, Cs.... From a low A to a middle A is one octave)

"...Just.... bend harder?..."
Yeah. But you'll learn a better way to describe/think about it.

"...worst case scenario I can't learn the complicated stuff...."
If you stand back and look at it ALL at once for the first time, it looks complicated. But it ain't. At least the basics you need. Example: Was my "A, B, C..." complicated? (Say, "No."
Well, what if I said, "Ab, A, Bb, C, Dd, D, Eb, E, F, Gb, G..." That may look more complicated, but all I did was add the flats.

How are you reading this? Did your first grade teacher hand the class an encyclopedia and say, "Now, here's how to read that...?" Nope. One easy step at a time.

"...if I stick with it for more than the 5 minutes..."
If you don't, I'll get TIN_MAN to pay you a visit....



Post Edited (2011-01-27 00:38:40)

Alright, I should see it in a week or so. I think I'll stick with it unless it's so frustratingly hard that I rage-quit, but I'll try not to >.> I doubt I'll ever be good enough to do more than passably play a song if (and only if) the tab is right in front of me (cannot comprehend how people memorize even one song, much less many). And I just don't have enough time in the day to devote much to it. But I think it'll be fun. Thanks again for the help, and you may see me post again as a last resort before a rage-quit. If you don't hear from me, I'm probably doing ok >.>

"...cannot comprehend how people memorize even one song..."

Don't learn the song all at once. Learn the first phrase and practice it over and over until you make it sound good. The memorization is automatic. Then work on the next phrase. Then put the two together. Then work on the next phrase. And so on.

1. I would say start with a diatonic. I would suggest Suzuki Harpmaster or Hohner Special 20. Lee Oskar would also be good.

2. If you have no prior music training, a little theory will help go a long way. For example, if you ever learned to sing "do" "re" "mi" "fa" "sol" "la" "ti" "do", that's the major scale. There are lots of scales in theory, but in practice most popular music is based on the major scale.

3. Any combination of notes played at the same time is a chord. Again, there are lots of chords in theory, but keeping it simple, most popular music is really based on three chords.

4. Diatonic harmonica helps keep things simple because it gives you the notes of the major scale in one key, and makes it easy to play the two most important chords. When you blow, you get the "one chord", based on the first note ("do" of the scale (do me sol). When you draw you get the "five chord" based on the fifth note (sol ti re).

5. Don't get too caught up in theory right now, just play whatever sounds good! Most theory was derived after the fact to try to explain what musicians were doing just because it sounded good. Learn to trust your ear, and you will find that most theory is really telling you things you already knew at some level.

6. This is also partly the answer to the question about how people memorize so many songs. There are only 20 notes on that harmonica (excluding bends). If you just play it, and learn to train your ear as to where those notes are, you will start to be able to sound out melodies just by ear. This comes from trial and error; don't be afraid to try to figure out songs yourself, and make a lot of mistakes along the way. You will learn your way around the instrument from experience. How many songs do you know how to sing? That's how many songs you will know how to play once you really know your instrument.

On points 5 and 6, I'm afraid you have way too much faith in my musical ear. That's the thing-- let's say I blow into hole 2 for an E. I will have no way of knowing if I played it correctly or not, even if I try to compare it to someone's demonstration. I can't hear a note and say "that's an E." For all I know I might accidentally be blowing into holes 2 and 3 at once, or missing 2 altogether somehow. Is it possible to be, like, half tone deaf? Imagine a riff. Let's say it goes do-do-duh-dah. I can hear that there are different notes being played, but I can't tell you what they are, and I actually can't even tell you if those first two do's are the same note or just similar. It's hard for me to tell that kind of thing. I just don't have a good ear for music at all. Any kind of practice or learning that requires doing it "by ear" is off the table for me.

Oh, and the special 20 is what I went with. I probably won't see it for several more days, as we're currently having a blizzard dumped on us up here.

Special 20's are great. May I suggest you let the whole theory thing go for the time being, forget about what note you're playing. Don't even go nuts over trying to get a single tone. A lot of songs work as chords instead of single notes, a lot also work playing two notes at a time. Perhaps some of the folks here can suggest such songs. This is all about having fun with the one instrument with the shortest learning curve for a beginner. Try tongue-blocking as well as puckering to see which suits you better. You're going to be able to do this!!

Here's what you're doing, X:

"Hmmm.....In order to get that ball in the hoop, I'll have to pick it up first. Let's see....I have to get to it. That means this foot steps forward toward it, then the other foot and so on. Then I have to pick it up. Since it's on the ground, I have to bend over since my arms aren't long enough to reach it. But if I bend over too much, I'll hit my knuckles on the ground. Once I figure out how far too bend, I'll have to place my hands....uhm....on each side of it and apply suffificient pressure. Then I stand up straight and......Oh, heck. This is getting REALLY complicated."

Well, playing the harmonica is more complex than picking up that ball, but what I'm saying is that you're looking at it with too much mystery in your eyes. Just pick up the darn harp and do some reading, maybe, and mess 'round with it!!

I wonder if Wilt Chamberland was a basketball wizard the first time he picked up a basketball. What do you think?