Posted by Erik W. on March 24, 2002 at 17:27:33:
In Reply to: Can someone explain to me the difference in KEYS?? posted by Jeff on March 24, 2002 at 15:27:30:
I pasted this explanation in from this site:
Diatonic harmonicas come in all twelve keys (G, Ab, A, Bb, B, C, Db, D, Eb, E, F, F#), but for beginners it's easier if you start with a basic 10 hole harmonica in the key of "C" (generally speaking, the "G" harmonicas are very low and the "F" and "F#" harmonicas are very high pitch-wise, while the "C" is right in the middle).
Regarding your second question: The "4" in eg. "F4" means that its the fourth "F" on a piano from the left. On a piano there is a lot of "F's" one for every eight of the white keys. Your tuner shows which "F" you are playing. You cant use that for much on a harmonica, so just forget about that.
You also ask WHY there is different keys of harmonicas. Thats because a harmonica can only play in one key. And you gotta buy a harmonica for every key you wanna play in. The good thing about it is that it makes it a lot easier to learn to play.
But start by buying only the C-harmonica. Then go read on this site. Most of the information you need is allready on this site.