Whilst old guitars are often considered to be "vintage", old harmonicas are generally considered to be merely something that has been in someone else's mouth. The chances are, if your harmonica just looks like a harmonica, then it probably isn't worth much at all.
Generally, harmonicas that have 2 tabs on the right side and 2 on the left side of each cover are older harps (circa late 1880s through about 1937), than the harmonica covers with one tab on the right and one on the left. Also, the shape of the single tabs on the covers is also important for dating.
"No, it is not hard to learn to play the harmonica".
There's lots of great things you do very quickly, very easily on the harmonica that sound wonderful.The two most common keys of harmonica are C and G with C probably being the more common, especially in the cheaper models. Many of the cheaper and specialized models (such as tremolo harmonicas) are only available in these two keys.
10 Best Harmonicas for Beginners - Play the Blues Like You're in Memphis
- Hohner Special 20 Harmonica.
- Lee Oskar Harmonica.
- Fender Blues Deluxe Harmonica.
- Hohner Marine Band C Harmonica.
- Swan Mini C Harmonica.
- Hammond HA-20-C Harmonica.
- Anwenk Beginner's C Harmonica.
- Mippy Diatonic Blues Harmonica.
It's best to get a harmonica tuned to the key of C if you're just starting out. You'll be able to play up to 3 octaves on a C major scale. Many of the songs you will learn are also tuned to the key of C. Most blues harmonicas are played in what's called a "second position" or also known as a "cross harp".
Careful cleaning at regular intervals will help prevent corrosion and preserve your harmonica, extending its life. Also, from an aesthetic point of view, frequent cleaning of the comb cavities and the outer surfaces of the cover plates, will keep your harp looking presentable.
Diatonic – which only contains the notes of a specific scale and are mainly used in Blues, Rock, Country and Pop music. Chromatic – which can play all notes in the chromatic scale and are mainly used in Jazz and Classical music.
How does a Harmonica work? A harmonica is a wind blown instrument. When you blow or draw air through the harmonica, the reeds inside the harmonica vibrate to produce sound. Blowing into the harmonica can produce one note and drawing (or sucking air) from the harmonica will produce another note.
Harmonica Notes. In the diagram blow means the note when blowing into a hole, draw means the note when breathing in. This note layout is called the “Richter tuning”, is used for most harmonicas and is shown below.
Though there are a number of specialty harmonicas, the three most common varieties fall into one of three categories based on how they are tuned: diatonic, chromatic, and tremolo. We'll focus mainly on these while touching on a few of the less common harmonica types.
