first off let me state that i have never played an instrument. The difference between Key A and Key G means nothing to me. That being said i am about to buy a very cheap harmonica because i want to learn to play. Im interested in the whole blues style like eric clapton, bb king etc. that genre. I also love the harmonicas in any Bruce Springsteen song and the harmonica in Piano Man by Billie Joel. So what key should i buy? Thanks I think you should get a C harmonica since many of the teaching material relies on a C harmonica. They are also more easy to play than some of the higher or lower key harmonicas.
Keep in mind that you pay for what you get and it might be a lot harder to learn on a cheap harmonica. I suggest spending at least 15-20 dollars on a Hohner harmonica. A Hohner special 20 is great for beginners what with the plastic reeds n' easyness of bending.
Personally I like my Bb harmonica and I noticed that many of the lessons on youtube.com make use of the Bb harmonica and even a D harmonica. But overall C is most commonly used to teach.
Search for lessons on Youtube there are literally hundreds upon hundreds from real bluesmen passing on the blues.
Oh and the piano man riff by Billy Joel is sooo easy I stumbled upon it within minutes of playing on the first day. (note I don't have any special talent for the instrument in general) Yeah Billy Joel is pretty noob at ze harp.
Good Luck. Harmonicas are played in 5ths for the type music you mention. You draw in air instead of blowing out for the most part. This may not mean anything to you but let's just say you want to play in the key of E - so you'll need an A harp. Or if in A you need a D. But the first answer is probably right, start with C, it's like the white keys on a piano when you blow. I agree with Bender. If you were talking about a guitar or a horn, I might suggest an inexpensive axe until you know you really want to learn the instrument. The price difference between a "cheap" harp and a quality one is ten or fifteen dollars, and the difference in ease of playing is substantial. Also, many cheap asian harps are out of tune straight out of the box. As far as key, you referred to two different styles of playing in your question. People like Billy Joel, Dylan, Neil Young, Springsteen play primarily straight harp (AKA first position). The harp is in the same key as the song.
Blues is primarily cross harp (AKA second position)
So, for example you would play a A harp for a tune in the key of E.
You can learn the basics of either style on any key. I always recommend a D harp. I feel the reeds are easier to bend. And it sounds better when you're learning. A or C would also be good choices.
GOOD LUCK :) Get a good quality Honer.
The key doesn't really matter, because if you 'take' to it, you'll get other keys.
C is most common, but if you find that you will be playing with novice blues guitar players a lot, then an A harmonica will serve you well. You want to choose you key or keys based on what kind of music you want to play and who you want to jam with.
If you are going to play more country and "straight" music, you should get C and G, maybe A, common country keys. (Like the first answer)
If you want to play Blues, you play "cross-harp" where you are not really playing in the Key written on the harp, but using a different note as your tonic (starting and stopping point). Common Blues keys are more like E and A maybe but in cross-harp you would actually buy A and D (like the second answer)
If you want to play with a piano, for example, I've noticed that they like to play blues in like Eb and Bb, so that the black keys make up the blues scale. Since for blues you need cross-harp, you would have to buy Ab or Eb.
Just a few things to remember, though. Once you learn one one, you can play any. They all have the same pattern of holes and changing keys for a harp player is as simple as switching instruments. Also, once you're good enough to jam with others, always carry at least 3 or 4 different keys.
Good luck to you if u want 2 play blues on a harp start with a key of A. it`s the
easy one to learn to bend notes. thats if u want to honk
chicago style....... | 