the best harmonica
Harmonica – Opinions, Analysis and Buying Guide in 2022
Harmonicas are instruments that enjoy great popularity, due to the variety of tunes that they are capable of offering, being able to adapt to the execution of different musical genres. So, when selecting such an instrument, it is important to thoroughly understand the specifications of the model that caught our attention, as not all designs are suitable for the same players. If your thing is Rock, Folk and Country, Hohner 560PBX-C is a good purchase option. Its structure is light, ergonomic and the small size of the holes allows you to keep the notes longer. But if what you want is a chromatic harmonica, Andoer And-7553 offers you more than 40 different tunes.
Comparison chart
Opinions on the best harmonicas on the market
There are many harmonicas in the different purchase portals and each one of them has different attributes, so making a decision can be a difficult task. Next, we present a small list with the best harmonicas on the market.
Hohner Harmonica
Hohner 560PBX-C
For those who want to have the best harmonica at their fingertips, we invite you to review the specifications of this model with a German quality seal. It is a Hohner harmonica made of high-end chromed metal. Its body weighs only 136 grams, making it a compact instrument that you can easily manipulate without causing fatigue in your hands.
This product has been designed for performers who are passionate about Rock, Folk and Country, offering fairly clean and sustained tunes for longer, due to the reduced output holes.
Among other features to highlight, we have to mention the ergonomic design, detailed and well-cared finishes in the structure, as well as the incorporation of a soft-touch polymer precision comb and reeds. In addition, the product includes a small storage and transport box with a secure closure.
If you are looking for the best harmonica of the moment, you can purchase this model aimed at amateur or professional performers. Its body is ergonomic, compact, light and the tunes have great clarity.
Pros
Dimensions: The body of the harmonica has compact dimensions to facilitate its transfer.
Weight: The structure has a fairly light weight of 136 grams.
Sound: The instrument offers sustained and clean tones for Rock, Folk and Country performances.
Manufacturing: The product has been manufactured with chromed metal and some details in soft polymer.
Cons
Case: There are those who comment on the low quality of the case. However, it fully fulfills its function of protecting the instrument.
chromatic harmonica
Andoer And-7553
When reviewing among the models that make up the lists of the best harmonicas of 2022, we will find a design that has achieved quite positive comments regarding its appearance, resistance, and musical quality.
This chromatic harmonica from the Andoer house has a body that combines a stainless steel plate and phosphor bronze reeds, which offer a long useful life. Likewise, its compact format of 14.5 x 3.5 x 2.7 centimeters and 136 grams of weight stands out, so you will not have problems when handling it.
The structure has been provided with a total of 10 holes and the possibility of playing a maximum of 40 different tunes. In this sense, you will be able to execute interpretations of jazz, blues, country, folk, rock, among many other styles. With the purchase, a black storage box and a cotton textile cloth are also attached, so you can always keep the exterior of the instrument clean.
Andoer is used to offering products with high quality standards, so it is not surprising that it is positioned as the best brand of harmonicas.
Pros
Dimensions: The harmonica has a length, depth, height corresponding to 14.5 x 3.5 x 2.7 centimeters.
Weight: The weight of 136 grams of the structure is easy to handle.
Tunes: You can enjoy up to 40 tunes in styles such as blues, jazz, rock, country, among others.
Accessories: A cleaning cloth and a box are incorporated for both storage and transport.
Cons
Sound: The sound generated by the harmonica when it is played is very low, but this will depend on each performer.
blues harmonica
CASCHA HH 2025
If you don’t know which is the best harmonica, this product could answer that question. It is a professional instrument weighing 118 grams and compact dimensions corresponding to 12.5 x 3.7 x 5 centimeters. The structure has been made of phosphor bronze and coated in black, which gives it strength and elegance.
Also, this blues harmonica incorporates a total of 10 holes that provide single or multiple tunes with equal perfection. Its scale is in C major and the best thing is that it can be used to accompany both guitar and ukulele chords. This instrument is easy to play and is suitable to meet the needs of professionals or amateurs.
It is important to mention that in the purchase package you will find a rigid case with a padded interior to store the harmonica and transport it safely, as well as a cleaning cloth, made of cotton textile.
With so many models, you may not know which harmonica to buy. Here are some pros and cons of a highly positioned model.
Pros
Weight: Its body will not generate any type of fatigue in your hands, since it only weighs 118 grams.
Dimensions: With dimensions of 12.5 x 3.7 x 5 centimeters, you will find this harmonica is easy to store.
Accessories: You can carry the harmonica safely, thanks to its hard case and keep it shiny with the cleaning cloth.
Manufacturing: The harmonica was made of phosphor bronze and the exterior was covered in black paint.
Cons
Notes: It has been said that its low number of notes is a limitation if you want to use the harmonica as a soloist.
diatonic harmonica
Lee Oskar 797003
From The Land of the Rising Sun, this diatonic harmonica from the Lee Oskar house arrives on the musical instrument market, which has earned multiple praise from buyers, due to the high level of quality offered in each of the tunes.
The structure of the instrument is compact, light, ergonomic, resistant and aesthetically attractive. Its weight is 113 grams and its manufacture incorporates a brass plate with a stainless steel coating for greater durability. In addition, it incorporates 10 holes, five folds and well-crafted finishes that you will notice at first glance.
We cannot fail to mention that the generated sound is quite pleasant, suitable for interpretations of musical styles such as Jazz, Blues, Country and Rock. Finally, we have the issue of storage and transport, for which a rigid box with a quick access secure closure is attached.
If you want an ergonomic, lightweight harmonica with which you can emit pleasant tunes for classical musical styles, consider purchasing this model.
Pros
Dimensions: The harmonica has been provided with favorable dimensions for comfortable handling.
Storage: A rigid storage and transport box is included with the purchase that you can easily open and close.
Weight: It is a fairly light harmonica, since its weight is only 113 grams.
Structure: The harmonica is made of resistant materials such as brass and covered in stainless steel.
Cons
Instruction manual: Some people comment that the information in the instruction manual is a bit confusing.
Harmonica major scale
Lee Oskar 797001
Once again the Lee Oskar brand is present in this list of recommended products, but this time it is with a harmonic major scale. This product is suitable for those players who enjoy classic musical styles such as Rock, Jazz, Blues and Country, offering tunes in B flat major with great tuning and, therefore, pleasing to the ear.
The body of the harmonica has a weight of 90.7 grams, being a compact and light structure to which is added an ergonomic design, which together offer easy handling.
Among other specifications of this harmonica, we can mention its construction in brass, high-end steel coating and the incorporation of a storage box, designed to improve the experience of transporting the instrument. It is important that you take into consideration that the instrument is suitable for professionals and/or amateurs.
This model of harmonicas has a very attractive design, its sound is tuned and its body is ergonomic, resulting for many a good purchase option.
Pros
Case: Due to the incorporation of a rigid body storage case, you can take the instrument with you without fear of damaging it.
Dimensions: The harmonica offers compact measurements that favor transfer.
Weight: It is a light harmonica with a weight of 90.7 grams.
Players: The instrument is suitable for use by both professionals and those just starting out.
Cons
Accessories: The absence of a special cleaning cloth has been missed by buyers.
Harmonica in C
QING.MUSIC Wind instrument 375-570-857
The C harmonica is another variant offered by this type of instrument, in whose structure a total of 24 holes stand out. This is quite flattering, since you will be able to play a greater number of tunes. This instrument has a fairly compact body of 18 x 3 x 2.5 centimeters, weighs 148 grams and its gold-colored aesthetic is elegant and minimalist.
Regarding the manufacturing, a couple of high-end materials were used, such as stainless steel for the harmonica cover and medium-rigidity polymer for the frets. It should be noted that this last raw material is certified and, therefore, is free of toxic agents.
The generated sound is pleasant and provides a correct resonance. Also, you can easily tune it in C. To complement the product, you will find in the package a hard storage case, cleaning cloth and instruction manual.
With a sleek design and C key, you’ll find this professional harmonica easy to tune.
Pros
Design: The harmonica has a classic and elegant aesthetic in gold, also incorporating a total of 24 holes.
Dimensions: The structure of the instrument has a reduced size of 18 x 3 x 2.5 centimeters.
Weight: The weight of the harmonica does not exceed 148 grams, being quite light.
Accessories: The storage case and a cleaning cloth are the accessories included with the purchase.
Cons
Instruction manual: The instruction manual is not translated into Spanish, so you should look for a tutorial on the web to clarify your doubts.
harmonic minor scale
Lee Oskar 1910N-FNM
Lee Oskar is a manufacturer with a great position in the musical instrument market, which has been in charge of designing various models of harmonicas to meet the needs of the different market sectors. This time, it was the turn of the minor scale harmonica, which differs from the other models due to the type of tonality generated.
So if you are one of the people who like to interpret genres such as soul, reggae, jazz, blues, country, rock and even pop, you should buy this harmonica. Its tuning is very fast and does not require much effort on your part when blowing, since it is executed in a minor scale of Fa.
Regarding its appearance, we have that the body is compact, light and the plate has a visually quite pleasant chrome finish. In addition, the design incorporates some food-grade resin details and a total of 10 holes.
If low notes are your thing, you cannot leave this F minor scale model out of your purchase list.
Pros
Tunes: The harmonica is suitable for blues, jazz, soul, reggae, rock, country, and pop sounds.
Tuning: You will not have to worry about tuning because it is quite simple, since it is done in an F minor scale.
Manufacturing: For its manufacture, metallic material and food-grade resin stand out.
Holes: A favorable total of 10 holes is incorporated into the design.
Cons
Accessories: The purchase does not include a case or cleaning cloth, so you must purchase them separately.
harmonica for beginners
East top T008K
This harmonica has 10 holes to play up to 20 notes, so it can be useful for children and beginner adults. Also, it is made with different good quality materials, brass, plastic and phosphor-bronze tabs, so it provides a long service life.
In addition to this, we mention that it is in C Major, which is known as C, according to American encryption. This means that it does not come with altered notes, specifically, sharps or flats. For that reason, it is one of the favorites for people who are new to the world of the harmonica.
On the other hand, it should be noted that it has a beautiful black design with the brand logo printed and the numbers from 1 to 10 in each hole. Also, you should know that the harmonica comes with the cleaning cloth and a practical storage case.
These are the pros and cons of this harmonica model for beginners, perhaps they will help you discover whether or not it is the one you need to start learning.
Pros
Holes: It has 10 holes for a total of 20 musical notes, so it is a very useful harmonica for learning children and adults.
Tonality: It comes in C Major, so you can play songs with natural notes, without sharps or flats.
Accessories: The instrument comes with a cleaning cloth and a case to store or transport it comfortably.
Cons
Smell: At first it has an annoying smell, although this is gradually removed depending on the use you give it.
Harmonica Accessories
harmonica sheet music
The Great Harmonica Songbook
If you are starting out in the musical world with an instrument such as the harmonica, it would be convenient for you to have a sheet music notebook as a learning guide.
The Great Harmonica Songbook is a good alternative. It is some sheet music for harmonica belonging to the publisher Hal Leonard Corporation, which will definitely be of great help to you.
The book has a format of 22.9 x 0.7 x 30.5 centimeters, weighs 313 grams and has 104 pages.
In them you will find a total of 45 songs especially for harmonica in the key of C major, along with their respective tablatures, scores and lyrics. Among the repertoire you will find songs from Broadway, Rock and Roll, Pop, among others.
How to choose the best harmonicas
Harmonicas are instruments that are characterized by having a compact and light body, so they can be taken with you anywhere without taking up significant space. With them you will be able to reproduce sounds related to different musical styles such as jazz, blues, rock, pop, country, among many others. Of course, for this you must select the model that best suits your interpretation needs. In this sense, you will need to verify a series of characteristics regarding the manufacture of the product, which can influence its handling, quality of the tunes and durability of the structure. Here is a short guide to buying the best harmonica.
Shopping guide
Materials
If you spend a few minutes of your time reviewing the harmonica comparison lists, you will come to the conclusion that the manufacturing materials are a very important factor that cannot fail to be analyzed prior to the imminent purchase. Remember that the durability of the instrument and even the quality of the sound emitted depend on the raw material.
Therefore, it is important that you make sure that the structure is made of high-end metal such as stainless steel. Likewise, it is recommended that the holes be made of phosphor bronze, since it is an alloy that provides tunes that are more tuned, cleaner and with better projection. Some brands incorporate food-grade resin for the reeds. This is a soft polymer of medium stiffness and is free of toxic agents.
Accessories
Accessories are elements designed to complement the product, which some manufacturers include in the purchase package. In this sense, the user saves time and money, since they will not have to look for these accessories in the purchase catalogs or go to special stores to acquire them, thus avoiding making an extra investment.
Regarding the harmonicas, we have to comment that there are two accessories that are usually attached. It is a storage box, which has usually been made of rigid polymer and lined with a fairly thin, velvety textile padding. The closing of the structure is safe and the opening is easy to access. In this way, you will be able to store or transport the instrument without fear of it being damaged due to any impact or friction against another object.
The second accessory is a small textile cloth made of cotton or microfiber, being textiles with a soft touch that will help you keep the structure of the harmonica free of dirt and fingerprints. So no matter how good and cheap the harmonica is, you should try as much as possible that the selected brand incorporates both elements or at least one of them.
Format
The harmonica market is quite broad, so when you review the purchase catalogs you will find models with varied formats. This can undoubtedly influence how much the product costs, but you should not prioritize the cost, but rather try to acquire an instrument that really suits your handling needs. In this sense, you must verify both the dimensions of the structure and its weight, since, if they are not adequate, you could generate discomfort and fatigue in your hands when holding it during each of the interpretations.
Design and tunes
The design of a harmonica is basically standard, since it has a rectangular shape. The point of difference is marked by the finishes and details in the additional cuts of the lid, which may vary depending on the concept generated by the manufacturer. Many instruments have the brand name engraved on the metal on the main face, others have a smooth chromed surface in silver, gold or black, thus offering a minimalist, elegant and even striking aesthetic.
In relation to the tunes, it is imperative that you stay tuned and review the specifications in the model that has caught your attention, since it can have a tonada in C major, F minor or other scales and a variant in the holes that can be far from 48, 24 and 10.
Frequently asked questions
Q1: How to clean a harmonica?
Cleaning a harmonica is a fairly simple task, for which you will need a soft bristle brush and a small container of water. To carry out this process, you will not need to disassemble the instrument, since you will only have to hold the structure being careful to place the embouchure in a downward direction. This way, you won’t have to worry about water getting inside the cells.
The next step is to moisten the brush and pass it on the ends of the cells, directing the sweep outwards, as well as on the plates that support the reeds, the embouchure and don’t forget the area that joins the cover. Remember that you must rinse the brush several times for the cleaning to be successful, thus eliminating the accumulation of saliva from each practice. To finish, gently tap the harmonica on a microfiber or cotton cloth to get rid of excess moisture.
Q2: How to make a homemade harmonica for children?
The first thing you should have on hand are two medium-sized chopsticks and another pair of toothpicks, three strings and a strip of paper. Then, you will have to join the paper with the two wooden sticks, fixing them with the help of rubber and the ropes. Next, insert one of the sticks below the paper and the other above it, thus achieving a better sound. Additionally, you can print color, using a sheet of colored paper or place some stickers of the child’s taste.
Q3: How to hold the harmonica?
Although the grip of the harmonica is an instinctive process on the part of the player that adds to the ergonomics of the structure, it is also true that there are some basic rules, such as placing the thumb of your left hand under the lower cover of the harmonica. harmonica and index finger on top. For their part, the middle, ring and little fingers should be joined in an upward position and projected backwards.
Q4: How to tune a harmonica?
To tune the harmonica, there are only two options, which are usually to raise the tune or lower it. In the first case, if you want to raise the tone of the reed, you will have to start by removing metal from the area that generates the vibrations in the structure. But if the case is to tone down, you will have to carry out the same process but this time where the joints of the cover with rivets are located. Remember that you have to blow or inhale the harmonica in order to achieve the required tuning to carry out the interpretations.
Q5: How to play blues harmonica?
The first thing you should know is that the blues require strong tunes, so you must learn to master the note “G”, that is, Sol, which is on the second hole. This sucking note can be a bit tricky. So you must be consistent and practice it over and over again, to get it out in tune. The recommendation is to play it repeatedly, starting with soft blows and gradually increasing the power.
Q6: What is a chromatic harmonica?
The chromatic harmonica is the one that offers you a scale of complete tones with respect to the notes generated when playing the instrument. In this sense, you will have a total of four reeds for each of the cells, two of them for natural notes and the other pair for altered ones. These notes are also known as flats and sharps, respectively.
Q7: What is glass harmonica?
A glass harmonica is nothing more than an idiophone instrument. This means that the sound generated is the product of the vibration of the material of the structure itself without resorting to the typical strings, air channels or membranes. This concept was devised in 1762, by Benjamin Franklin.
Q8: How to play the 48 cell harmonica?
All harmonicas require the same grip and tuning method prior to playing. The difference is that these models incorporate two lines of cells that add up to 48 holes, offering one of the rows tuning above the note and the other below. This will allow you to enjoy a greater variety of clean tunes, when interpreting genres such as jazz, rock, pop, country, among many others.
The method to play this instrument does not escape from the particular, being necessary to hold it with the index and middle fingers of the left hand, and with the right hand it covers the front area of the harmonica. Blow low, high, or sustained notes through the cells, as required by the melody you want to play.
How to use a harmonica
Harmonicas are wood or metal wind instruments that incorporate independent reeds arranged for the execution of each note. Its correct interpretation requires time and a lot of practice. Once you have the instrument in your hands, you will have to take some steps to start using it and take advantage of its full potential. So next, we will teach you how to use a harmonica through a few simple steps that you should take into consideration.
Check the purchase package
The review of the purchase package is your first contact with the product, being the perfect opportunity to verify its good condition. So carefully remove all the packing paper and confirm that the structure does not have any type of dent or indicator of deterioration. Then, you must confirm the incorporation of the respective instruction manual and accessories. Of course, in case the latter have been offered by the manufacturer at the time of purchase.
Read the instruction manual
Reading the instruction manual is a task that many people skip, since they consider it unnecessary. However, this is a step that does not require investing much time and that will allow you to familiarize yourself with the product. It does not matter if you are a professional when it comes to the use of harmonicas, you should always keep in mind that each model has specific specifications, for example, regarding the care of the raw material of the structure, cleaning method, among other aspects. So it never hurts to take a look at the manufacturers’ recommendations.
Tune the harmonica
To start your practices, the first thing you should do is tune the harmonica, since it is the only way to get clean tunes. So identify what type of harmonica it is, so you can define if you need to raise or lower the tune. This will also depend on the type of interpretations you intend to execute. In case you are a beginner, the invitation is to review the instruction manual, so that you clarify your doubts about the subject or you can also choose to follow the steps of a tutorial that you find on the web.
clean the harmonica
The cleaning process is a task that must be carried out very frequently. In fact, it is recommended to clean the harmonica every time we finish our daily practice, to remove accumulated saliva. All you need is to moisten the bristles of a brush and slide it from the inside out, emphasizing the areas of greatest accumulation such as the cells, plate, mouthpieces, embouchure and the joints of the cover. Make sure to remove excess moisture with a soft cotton or microfiber cloth.
Store the harmonica
Keeping the harmonica protected should be a priority, being necessary that, after cleaning, you store it in its respective transport case or, if it has not been included with the purchase, you could cover the instrument with a soft cloth. This way you will avoid any type of friction with other objects, which can deteriorate its aesthetics.
» Review information from previous years<
