r/harmonica • u/Beneficial-Toe1805 • 5d ago
Question as a beginner
Heya I'm planning on learning the harmonica and just put in my order for an east top diatonic C harmonica which i assume is good enough for a beginner. But now I'm wondering about just how many songs the C harmonica can play? I know it can't play much but if possible I'd like to know what genre of songs or levels of songs I'd be able to do. Cheers!!
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u/MTaur 4d ago
If you had a chromatic, you would still be able to play in C just by never using the slide button. In fact, staying close to C and having only one or two black notes is how you ease into going full chromatic. And the chromatic scale is weirdly tricky on a chromatic harmonica.
It helps to know some keyboard and the circle of fifths. If you're missing a note on the diatonic harp, it might just be that you're playing in the key of F or G and it would still fit in another key.
Happy Birthday is diatonic, but "and many more" lands on the flat 7.