beginner harp for irish/folk

A space for players interested in my specialist harmonicas, alternate tunings, instructional material, recordings etc to ask questions and share information, experiences, videos etc.
EdvinW
Posts: 259
Joined: Tue Jun 05, 2018 6:02 pm
Location: Sweden

Re: beginner harp for irish/folk

Post by EdvinW » Tue Mar 12, 2019 4:01 pm

easycomeeasygo wrote:
Mon Mar 11, 2019 3:37 am
I'm sure there's a lot of you guys in this thread play harmonica and have significant experience with it. I've tried it once and liked it SO much, now I consider buying one for myself. I've seen some beginners options and have learnt some basics from these articles:
https://wisepick.org/best-harmonica-for-beginners/
https://windplays.com/best-harmonicas/
My main questions are: what particular harmonica can you recommend buying to make my learning process smooth and what are the main points should I pay attention to?
There is a simple standard answer:
Pretty much any 10 hole model over $40 would do for a beginner. Many, but not all, cheaper harps will hinder you, but you don't need to go much higher for a first harp. Most learning materials assume the key of C.

This is, however, a place for non-standard harmonicas, and for Brendan Power's stuff. I would direct you here: http://brendan-power.com/instruction.php

The sites linked seems to be written by non-players finding all the materials on pages written by non-players. They give some information on what an harmonica is if you never saw one before, but they are both totally confused. Both contain page after page of incoherent nonsense cut together from God knows where.

The first one tells us that
"The reason learning on harmonicas with more holes is important, is that you’ll have a larger range of notes to play, and therefore a larger selection of music that you can learn. Chromatic harps are some of the most note-extensive harmonicas, and one of the best starter chromatic harps is the Hohner Marine Band C."
The first part is a bold non-standard statement, that would require some justification. The Hohner Marine Band is NOT a chromatic (as nearly any harmonica player would know), but is referenced as such in multiple locations on the site. It further tells you that
"A set of harmonicas in the keys of A, Bb, C, D, F and G will suit the majority of playing situations. However, most beginners and intermediate harp players tend to stick with the key of C, or use chromatic/tremolo harps to quickly change between keys."
I would say most "intermediate" players are more than mature enough to own harp in various keys, and that most do. As for the last sentence I don't know where to start.

Beginners should stay away from this site!

The second contains quotes like
"Most harmonicas increment in tones or semitones as you move up the holes and sucking will offer a chord a fifth higher than blowing the same hole. This means you get a perfect cadence by staying in the same place and sucking in then blowing out."
and
"The best chromatic harmonica will offer you a range of notes like no other harmonica. They are more difficult to play because of this and require a lot of skill to do so."

My first guess seeing this is that it's automatically computer generated text, supervised by someone totally clueless, but I'm not sure about this any more.

In any case: Beginners should stay away from these sites!
Edvin Wedin

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