The 6 Harmonicas Every Player Needs 

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The first harmonica I bought was an A key, because all the C were sold out at the shop I visited... Played all the C songs (using tabs) with it & actually enjoyed the sound so much that when I finally bought a C key, something actually felt off!

once again, i could have used this info in 1993!! harp players starting off better pay attention to tomlin. great way to explain different keys and their uses.

Love the G harp - also love playing it along with guitar in G Major with Neil Young and stuff

You are one the most humble, knowledgeable, helpful and downright cool teachers there are out there. Always worth listening to your advice. Thanks

I agree. After doing hundreds of harmonica covers, I can confirm that those six keys are the most common keys used for Blues and even for covers. The rest like Eb, Ab, etc. are rare even for covers, but the most rarest of all is F# which should be your last key to add in your collection.

Outstanding! Nice explanations!

Thanks for ALL your helpful videos.

Thank you so much for your contributions

Impressive and worth learning lessons.Looking forward to next ones. Thank you,sir.

Very useful instruction. Thanks!

I've played harp for 30+ years. I agree with everything he says.

Thank you!

Thank you so much. Been putting it down and picking it back up again. Wanted to move on to the next one, but I guess I’ve got to keep practicing.

Great tips, Tomlin.

Right to the point. Good job.

Great vid! Thanks

You are awesome ! Keep up the good work the harmonica fans need you !

Thank you Tomlin. It’s really great explanation. I knew about all these harmonicas’ keys but your sequence is absolutely clear and helpful and we can don’t spend extra money to “wrong” keys :) I have C, A and Bb in my set and need just to add D for now :) G and F can waiting for some time :)

Thankyou Tomlinson😎

I don't know why there is any thumbs down!! I'm here to learn, you make them all sound wicked cool, and your presentations are awesome!! Thank you!! Some day I'll get more time to improve:)

I have stuck on C for years because I didn't know where I wanted to go next or why thanks man!!!

Wonderful !!! Here I go shopping now...

im just getting back to the harps again and this was the PERFECT video to start with....

Yeah.. I have all those.. plus a few more! Including a pair of Chromatic harps in the keys of C and E. I don't think you can have too many!!

A while back I purchased a seven key blues harp set. I’m thrilled with it. 👍

My first harp'... I found about 7/8 of them in a shoebox under the house. (all Honher... Various keys)... Not one harmonica was together... Old marine band... They dried out so much.?... Flights in fallen off.... And pins... Fallen out... With read* plates missing reads......😅... As a young fellow.... I wasn't daunted that most of the... Outside.... 10 plaits look like a Mack truck and driven over them..... A friend help me put a little tiny hammerhead.... On a piece of silkyoak handle..... And I found an old cobblers ",, anvil'..... And I crudely.... Panel beat them back into shape.... Put an old g back together and that was my first 💚love"

Thank you! I got my first harmonica (a Special 20 in C) as a present and after that I've been buying harmonicas of different keys and brands sort of blindly just to find out by trying. Haven't gotten that much wiser until you came here and just explained stuff in a very straight forward and uncomplicated way. Thank you so much!

Good Teacher

You laid it out really nicely. A great piece of advice for a guy like me, who doesn't really know what he's after and just tries out different keys at random. Ps. Since I already have a G in my possession I'll go straight for the "summertime" lesson. Thanks mate!

Great advice on the 6 harmonicas you recommend to start with, thanks so much. I have all six of them plus the E in my collection of harps, as well as multiples in C, D and A and a 12 hole Seydel Solist Pro in C, which I really like. I have a Hohner Chromonca which I bought way too early so can't play, which I pulled apart to clean, but sadly didn't seem to put back together properly. I really enjoy folksy (Neil Young, Tom Petty) type music and have a go with all the keys, usually when trying to figure out what key the song I'm listening to is in... :-D I really like the feel of the Seydel and then Lee Oskar harps, probably because they don't catch my facial hair like the Hohners can do, lol.

Tomlinson, thanks….I just bought a Hohner Rocket low F and it is phenomenal

The F harp is actually a really fun one. Definitely cuts through the mix. Lately I have been hooked on playing the natural and harmonic minor harps. They get some heads turning. Makes it easier to spot the fellow musicians in a crowded bar, because their ears and eyebrows perk up for a second. Then a brief nod of acknowledgement and back to their conversations and drinks.

Beautiful riff at the start bro 👌

Another GREAT tune played on harp key F ~ Van Morrison's "Bright Side of the Road" :)

Great advice. I have six harps and (round of applause) they're the keys you recommend - phew. You're spot on about the F - I really don't like playing it, but now I'll spend a little time getting to know it better. Thanks.

Very interesting. Out of 6 keys, I have 3, A, Bb and F keys of Lee Oscar, And i am comfortable to play as many hymns as i could. Thank you.

Also, a LowLow key harmonica. example: Seydel 1847 Noble lowlow E

You’re a fabulous harp player. Appreciate your efforts to teach harmonica. I wish I understood all that you said about scales and positions. Cheers.

Great advice, thank you. As a beginner I'm caught between trying different brands with a key of C and/or trying different keys. I guess I'l have to do both. 🤣

I have one in the key of my neighbors cat! I think it's a Meee-ow! You're a lovely young man . Thanks for the video !

Always good stuff, Leckie; however, since most anything you can play on one ordinary (Richter) harp you can play on any other, by slightly adjusting focus, I would recommend the following, noted as key of harp with 2nd position in parentheses. A(E), Bb(F), C(G), D(A), E(B), F(C), G(D), and every entry except B is often encountered both as melody and as accompaniment.

Now i'm shure i need a B flat harp, thanks Tomlin

I have all 12 keys + LF & LD & LE, because I want to be able to play in whatever song I'm jamming to. Bb, Eb, Ab, & Db are especially useful for anything with horn section.

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Good lesson Thanks Got all of them I bizarrely find myself constantly coming back to A and Bb I don’t know why I feel I sound my best on these Thanks again

I got those harps. I noticed if they were sold in a set of 3 it was always A, C. G. I got the D but I was told to pick up a Bb which I wouldn't have any idea of. Good to know I own the right essencitial keys

All correct sir ✅✅

I'm in a blues band for almoust 20 years now and I also need E a lot and B sometimes.

I made sure I invested in a low F years ago. You can do better accompanying a song without the shrill. Then when it's time to do the lead, just pull out the higher F it sounds awesome.

I find key A the nicest to play. Easier to be accurate on the bends.

Im an intermediate level harp player. I got C,E, F and G. I bought the G harp to strengthen my draws n blows. I should say it's the hardest harmonica amongst the rest to hit the low notes... Can't play it as well as other keys but with practice and time I should get there

Thank You 😊 I prefer to play chomatic but I love the sound of diatonic harps. For me the ritcher tuning is not the best tuning : I prefer the Paddy richter with 3° blow raise in VI ° note of diatonic scale ...

Brawo :)

The last time I had a harp was pre-internet - now I am actually learning, rather than goofing around. The tonguing is a new think, takes a while to get used to it.

The unusual sound he did on the "D" harp reminds me of a guitar lick Jeff Beck did on Rod Stewart song "Ain't Superstitious"....

Very helpful info, thanks! Do I buy these keys in the same brand, and if so, which? If not, are there specific best brands for specific keys?

Thank you Its about time someone taught this This should be the first lesson Now i only need 2 more . . . Well im ocd so 6 more Lol Thats just the blues harps And on to the crossovers i go from there And no end in sight

Thank you mister 😎🚬 Like the haircut btw.

Hey Tom, I just got my first harp and in the pressure of the shop my guitar theory kicked in and I thought the keys relative. So I got i G thinking the relative minor was E. It’s good to learn that G is a low key for harp and requires the lungs to work. What I compelled to ask you is, do you ever play minor harmonicas? I enjoy beat box and the combination of the two. Moses Concas recommends getting a minor key. What are your thoughts, Would a minor key with the difference in note and bend positions be to confusing for a amateur?

It's all a matter of opinion, but I would include a harp in the key of E. I would also say that after you get C, A,and D, really just get whatever you want. Certain people like lower harps and others like higher ones. From personal experience though, I would suggest staying away from an F until you are experienced. I personally sounded really bad on it when I first got it, and I can only assume it's because I wasn't a developed enough player. Of course don't let that stop you if there are certain songs you want to learn on it.

Thank-you! I have all but your number six, an F, "shrill but … works well with guitar and bass."

Thank you for all of your help Tomlin! As a beginner, I bought a "cheap" 7-pack of harps -- all of the ones you listed, plus an E. The most difficult thing for me is how to recognize what key a song is in. Most times, I will pick up a harp and blow the 4-hole and see if it "fits" with the song. Any tips you have to help with this would be great!

Thanks Tomlin. As always excellent guidance. I’m a new harp player who is playing simple songs in C and can play clear notes most of the time and move comfortably up and down the harmonica . At what point in my development would you recommend purchasing other harmonicas? LOVE your videos!

I went C, the low F. Debating what would be next. I'm drawn to Bb since I never play with anyone else for the moment anyway

Thank you, very useful information. Just one question: a harmonica in F# will be even higher than one in F (the highest in your video)?

Which one is the one for playing Stevie Wonder "isn't she lovely" Most of these harmonicas sound like several sounds coming out at the same time, but Stevie Wonder's harmonica sounds like one sound coming out.

I am trying to find a good storage case that I could get. Any tips????

What's the best harp for church hymns?

Thanks for sharing your masterng, If you could reccomend tome only two keys. Wich harmonica keys would you reccommend? "C" & "A", "C" & " D" or "C" & F"? Thankyou.

Dang I did good then. I got a C first then a D (country tuned), an A and an F. My next purchase will be a Bb and a G. Btw what harp are you playing here? My last purchase was 2 Manji M20s and I find they don’t react as nicely as the special 20s I have. Gonna try adjusting the gapping but still. Love the tone just not the reaction of it.

Hello Tomlin. I love your videos a lot. I have a question, that what makes different Harmonicas sound different? I don't mean the keys, I mean by the cheap and expensive Harmonicas. Is it the material used which makes the difference? Or it is leakiness? Can a cheap silver Star made to sound like a special 20 by customising?

Hey tom , Thanks for your effort, I want a harmonica for sad playing. What do you recommend? B?

If I play in Em on guitar do I need a G harp??

Really curious what key J Geils used to play Wimmer jammer

I only have C harmonica and i have promised myself i will learn it to play well as you..

Thank you. C D F G A Bb.

Hi What you sthink about Eb harmonica?

Hi tomlin, are these all in major keys? I'm looking to expand my harmonica range

Would a low f suffice instead of an f?

And what about the E one? It makes you play in B when you crossharp, and it is a good midde point between D and F harps... I'm not sabotaging hehe just wanting to understand your point... I've been playing harmonicas for over four years, and I know what I like in terms of brands/materials, and also about key choices. For me that's the least important thing. I'd just suggest not to start on a super low like G, or a really high one like F.. (cause that will make it difficult to learn at the beginning). But the truth is, once you've got the air thing controlled, there's not a simple one that you play more or less (at least in my case)... In almost every song you'll need to change the harp if you want to play all the styles in tune... So, there's not 6 harps you need nor 20... It is (for me) more of "as many as you like and can afford, go and by them, cause they won't be left over". Sorry I didn't get your point totally. The video is good, though... I also started that way (and it went good), first with a C, then the D and later an A... but I really don't think that has changed anything... I just did what youtubers suggested me to do but... honestly I would have been more motivated if I had found out earlier how I loved train rhythms on an A harp before... When I bought my first harp in C, I didnt know as many tunes in G as I needed to practice... But now I believe choosing an A harp would have been better to start, not because it's probably the favourite guitarist players key, but mainly for its ease to sound perfect on train rhythms (not too high not too low) and those (train rhythms) are one of the easiest points to start managing your air. So again. It wasn't an A because musicians love playing in E (naaah, musicians will actually hate E if they find you're only playing with them in that key... they love changing)... It was a matter of personal satisfaction towards a type of sound which guide me to choose that harp before other ones. Pd: This is not a critic. I've appreciated your effort and gave a thumb up!

😂😄😅😆🤣 Really! I like harmonica voice. Because harmonica voice is funny. Every day im watching this video. Thank you very much broo 👍

I have all 7 A, B flat, C D E F and G

:fire

I have a hard time bending on a D harmonica, compared to C, G and A

Are you talking about minor or mager on the guitar?

Tomlin, thank you for the video! How many positions harmonica has?

I like the B for "go tell it on the mtn" the flat doesn't quite work

0:00 hoodoo man blues?

B-flat minor. Try it.

Most five-piece harmonica sets are made of keys of CAGED. Why do you think key of E is not as useful as D, F, Bb?

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DEAR TOMLIN , I GUESS YOU NEED DIFFERENT KEYS TO PLAY WITH DIFFERENT KEYS OF BACKING TRACKS. AM I VERY WRONG THAT I HAVE ONLY 2 HARMONICAS (C AND F) AND I CHANGE THE PITC OF THE BACKING TRACKS VIA AUDACITY ???

I have one very important question, do you read Brandon Sanderson?

I have 4 harmonicas that i bought (c, e, a and g) and 6 gift harmonicas from my friends

Hello Tomlin. Thank you very much for all your instructions on harmonica. I started to play the harmonica 2 months ago and find them very usefull. My small question for you is: I noticed that the high notes on my C harmonica, as wel as other keys I have (G and D), are diffycult to play. The tones are blocking reguarly, mostly hole 8, 9 and 10. I hear a soft very high tone at that moment. I know it is me doing something wrong, but I don't know what. Hope to fins out what to do. Kind regards. Kees

U look alike Kevin from home alone movie ;)

I notice Tomlin that you bought a harmonica instead of razor blades. An excellent decision.

Alright! I've got 4 of the 6.

There are actually seven harps using this, harmonica key of E.