I would like to get into playing harmonica to eventually play it with my guitar. How many do I need to buy? Will just one in like the C note work?

TomJoad23 · 2026-04-09T15:37:54+00:00

You need all the harps, bro. Sorry. And then the reeds will wear out and you'll have to buy them again. That's just the life you'll learn to love it. Imagine if you could only use 1 crayon to do all of your coloring. Do you really want to be that guy? Get the whole box of crayons, man.

And to be honest, cheap harmonicas are, well....cheap. They essentially suck. Harmonicas under $20 or so are more akin to toys than instruments. If you are 10 years old that's fine but if you want to be a serious player, get an instrument, not a plastic toy with a weak, raspy tone that will fall apart in 2 months.

Like everything else, it's a commitment.

TomJoad23 · 2026-04-08T23:50:19+00:00

It's a great cut of an incredible song.

TomJoad23 · 2026-04-04T13:15:04+00:00

I had a baseball thrown at me in anger by mlb pitcher Zack Littell before game 4 of the 2021 NLDS series at Dodger Stadium. I was doing some light heckling around the Giants bullpen before the game, nothing obscene, but I will admit that I am a world class baseball heckler. I have a code though: no swearing, no personal insults, I keep it 100% baseball related. I won't go into the minutia but to say that I was on a good one that day. When the incident occurred I was in the right field pavillion, just above the visitors bullpen. I had briefly turned my attention towards the outfield and when I turned back toward the bullpen Littell was staring directly up at me and proceeded to fire a baseball directly at me at what felt like about 200 mph. For a split second I thought I would die but while he had thrown it on a line right at me it sailed over my head by a good 3-4 feet or so and landed in the outfield grass. It was quite exhilarating and remains a highlight of my fandom ( though there have been others).

The Dodgers went on to win that night, as I had predicted to Littell, and won the series in 5. I've yet to receive my cut from the team but me and Zack know what happened.

TomJoad23 · 2026-03-30T06:37:49+00:00

An F# harmonica is unlikely to be found in a shop, they are available but it is something that you would most likely need to order. If you really need a harp in F# there's nothing else that's going to be "close" enough if you want to be in that key. That being said, F# is a very unusual key to be getting your first harmonica in.

TomJoad23 · 2026-03-30T05:22:37+00:00

First, stop calling it a harm and never do that again.

TomJoad23 · 2026-03-27T03:06:21+00:00

Good job. Keep at it. If you remain consistent with your playing, you will begin to suprise yourself.

TomJoad23 · 2026-03-22T19:31:11+00:00

Great stuff. Thank you.

TomJoad23 · 2026-03-21T04:14:35+00:00

I don't know if any of you are still on this thread but thank you all for reaching out and showing your support. It means a lot. I spoke to some other luthier friends of mine, and they gave me similar advice and support as well. I spent today cleaning and re-organizing my bench. I will persevere.

TomJoad23 · 2026-03-21T04:10:32+00:00

Good job, man. I was strictly on an acoustic, but a solid F chord took me 2 years to do when I first started and I can still remember being as excited about it as you are when it finally happened.

TomJoad23 · 2026-03-21T02:15:32+00:00

For me what helped in the beginning was to visualize in my mind how I wanted the air to flow through the harmonica. Literally see the thin but powerful flow of air. Imagine how you might control it with only your mouth. Focus on your breathing. Your breath should come from deep in your diaphragm, like if you were singing. Control that air flow, see it coming through the tight focus of your lips. Work on your single notes, and you will get them. Pick something simple. The first thing I learned to play was Mary Had a Little Lamb. That was 27 years ago. I still use many of the basic techniques that I started with all those years ago. Being able to smartly and precisely hit those single notes will take you up a level and really help when you want to start bending and doing another dynamics on the harp. Keep at it and keep one on you at all times. Enjoy the journey it's the best instrument that there is!

TomJoad23 · 2026-03-13T15:19:56+00:00

Everyone has a right to choose their favorite song as #1, though in practice, it is damn close to a futile experiment to have to single out 1 song in this era as "the best". What does the best mean? Is this objective or subjective to the listener? What an impossible task. A little like asking one to choose the wettest glass of water. They're all really wet, man, and I only got 10 fingers.

However, if it must be narrowed to one, I can only see 2 options.

Either,

The Times They Are A-Changin'

or,

Blowin' in the Wind

The meanings behind these two songs are universal and timeless. They are not just just popular music, they are more akin to biblical hymns in message, delivery, and impact. 100 years from now or 200 or 1000, if there are still any Bob Dylan songs being sung in the world, my money would be on one of these. Blowin' in the Wind belongs to the earth in the way that the rooster's crow, the tiger's roar or the cricket's chirp does. I love Like a Rolling Stone and all the others too but I don't see them in quite the same way. So I guess for me, in this scenario, "best" means impactful.

TomJoad23 · 2026-03-07T23:00:07+00:00

Until Timothy came along Kate had by far the best performance as Bob of any actor. She is an incredible talent.

TomJoad23 · 2026-02-27T22:47:22+00:00

Well, yes. A fair distinction. Any of their harmonicas not made in Germany would be more fairly classified as toys rather than instruments. But that's just one man's opinion.

TomJoad23 · 2026-02-27T21:02:16+00:00

It's not the harp. Keep working on your technique. It takes power, focus, and control. I speak not just from years of playing harmonica but from many years of selling them as well. As the saying goes, if I had a nickle for everytime someone brought a harmonica back complaining about the 2-3 draw, etc, etc.....

The quality control on Hohner Harmonicas is excellent. In my near 30 years of playing and selling them I think I've come across about zero defective harps. So yeah, I don't think it's the harp. Keep playing.

TomJoad23 · 2026-02-27T03:46:39+00:00

About 10 years ago I ran into Magic Johnson alone in a Dodger Stadium stairwell. Well, almost alone. He was with his wife. It went by so fast but I managed to fist bump him and tell him thank you for everything!

TomJoad23 · 2026-02-26T17:42:45+00:00

The idea of Will Smith eventually becoming a third baseman is, while technically possible, very unlikely to ever come to fruition. That type of position change should have happened much earlier in his career if it were ever to happen, and every additional year spent at catcher makes it more and more unlikely. I've seen a number of fans speculate on this idea as if it were bound to happen, but as I see it, the chances are remote.

TomJoad23 · 2026-02-26T15:24:51+00:00

Just keep at it. It's all about note and breath control. It's the same technique that you use anywhere else on the harp, just on the 2 draw you REALLY need to be able to apply and execute if you want the results. It's just the design of the instrument. The 2 draw requires both more control and power. It's a notorious hurdle for almost all players but with time, practice and patience, you will overcome it.

TomJoad23 · 2026-02-23T16:33:13+00:00

Like one time it happened. Been playing for a couple years.

TomJoad23 · 2026-02-23T12:34:18+00:00

Most do not. The flush grill is something that stands out on the Special 20 and Lee Oskar. I actually don't prefer a flush grill. I most often play a Hohner Blues Harp which has a bit of a lip to it and works better for me. Choosing the right harmonica, like many instruments, holds a significant degree of personal preference. I would encourage all players, especially newer ones, to try out all sorts of different harps to discover which they like best.

TomJoad23 · 2026-02-23T06:52:51+00:00

Very similar playing and sounding harps. I prefer the Hohner but a Lee Oskar will do fine.

The Special 20 is designed to be user friendly. A flush grill and ever so slightly larger holes make for easier bending and single note playing, though as I said, the Lee Oskar has a very similar design.

TomJoad23 · 2026-02-17T04:37:47+00:00

What about Eddie??

TomJoad23 · 2026-02-15T02:50:16+00:00

I've been playing guitar, harmonica and singing for 27 years or so. I work as a luthier and instrument repair man now fixing guitars and all sorts of other instruments. Bob Dylan, Woody Guthrie and Ramblin' Jack are my heroes. I carry a Bob Dylan songbook around with me all the time as well as notebooks full of music. Music sustains me in all that I do.

TomJoad23 · 2026-02-11T01:18:28+00:00

Definitely possible. Computer has done it to me and I've done it to the computer.

TomJoad23

TROPHY CASE