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Most diatonic harmonicas have 10 holes. Each hole
contains two reeds; a blow reed to produce a note when you exhale, and a
draw reed to produce a different note when you inhale.
 Diatonic harmonicas contain only the notes of the primary scale of a
single key -- the major scale (do-re-mi-fa-so-la-ti-do) being the most
common. A 10-hole diatonic in the key of C, for example, is like a
three-octave piano with only white keys. While that sounds a little
limited, we're fortunate that inventive musicians through the years have
found ways not only to overcome these limitations but to turn them into
assets as well. Using techniques like note bending
and overblowing, the seemingly-simple
diatonic has become the expressive voice of most blues, rock,
country, and folk players. When you hear harmonica players talk about their
"harp," they are using a slang term for a diatonic harmonica.
The advantages of the diatonic harmonica are its price (relatively inexpensive
even for pro models), light weight, and a configuration that makes them
the easiest to learn to play. The main drawback is
that even moderately accomplished players will need to have several in
different keys if they want to perform songs in more than a couple of
keys. Most models are available in all 12 keys, the most popular being C, A, D, G, Bb and E.
While diatonics are available with tuning patterns other than the
major scale (minor, country, or melody maker), the major
scale is
overwhelmingly the most common. Famous diatonic harmonica players include Neil Young, Little Walter, Bob Dylan,
James Cotton, Kim Wilson, Paul Butterfield, Huey Lewis, and Sonny Terry. |
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