Harmonicas Direct, the Leading Harmonica Specialist

Learning to play basic tunes is fairly easy and you should be playing within a day or two. However, to play really well will take a lot more practice.

Probably, the diatonic harmonica, as it only has 10 blow and 10 draw notes. The chromatic on the other hand usually has 12 blow and 12 draw notes, then a further set of 24 notes with the slide depressed. Both harmonicas need a lot of practice to play really well and, the chromatic is versatile in playing complicated melodies, whereas the diatonic is favoured by blues and rock and roll players.

Yes you can, however, many beginners chose to learn on the ten hole diatonic first, because it costs less than a chromatic.

The main difference is the note layout, the diatonic is tuned in one key, e.g. A, Bb and C etc, and some notes are missing from the scale in holes 1 -3 and 8-10, it only has a full scale (octave) from holes 4 – 7. The 12 hole chromatic for example, has 3 complete scales and, with the aid of the slide, sharp and flat notes can be played, which makes it possible to play in any key. The chromatic is more versatile, as it is not restricted to playing in one key.

The key of C is a good choice, and most tutor books feature the C harmonica. Also if you learn to play on a C diatonic harmonica, you can play in any other key because the note intervals are the same. The key of C is also a good choice of key for the chromatic harmonica.

This is subjective and down to personal choice, as most long established makers, such as Hohner, Lee Oskar, Seydel, Suzuki and Tombo, produce high quality and reliable instruments.