What key to choose for a low tuned harmonica?
Hi. I have Hohner Rocket C, G, and A. I want to buy a low tuned harmonica. I know about Hohner Thunderbird and Hohner Rocket Low. I am a newbie and I don't have a clear goal but I just want to try a low tuned harmonica and see if I like it. What key would you recommend for me to buy? I want a key which will be compatible with most songs my friends play. So, I don't want it hyperfocused on blues.
Ukulele Rob has good advice.
What keys your friends/bandmates play in is always a first consideration.
But when it comes to low keys, they can be challenging to play. The reeds are the same size as on a G harp, but they carry more weight and are stiffer because they're thicker along most of their length (that's how the weight is added).
So, if you feel good about your G harp, a Low F can be a good next step. Bends in the first three holes will be especially affected. High blow bends tend to be easier on low harps, though.
When you get your first low harp, try starting out by just getting the first four holes in your mouth and just playing long blow and draw chords in alternation. Just getting used to that rich, low sound and the feel of the reeds vibrating in your air stream is a really nice feeling.
The, try playing single notes, both blow and draw, in the first four holes. Then try playing single note melodies and licks that don't use any bends. Again, you're just getting acquainted with the feel and response along with the sound.
Save bending until you've experienced the chord, single note, and melody stages. Start with the Draw 4 bend before working your way down to the lower holes.
Right now I'm working on recording a tune using a Thunderbird in Low D, converted to country tuning by raising Dfraw 5 one semitone. I'm also working on another tune that uses a Low/regular Ab (a Lucky 13 - I also have Hohner SBS harps that used the same note layout, but they never made one in Ab). Those will come out on my bandcamp channel over the next couple of months - I'm releasing singles there every week or so.
My friends mostly play in C major, A minor, D minor, G major, E minor. Should I pick up low C, low F, low Bb, or something else?
For second position, for songs in C you'd use a Low F. For G you'd use a Low C. Bear in minf that bends in the first two or three holes get harder to the point of impossible the lower you go in harp leys.
Minor keys are easiest in third position, though it's possible to play them in limited fashion using second position and bending Draw 3 down one semitone. But there are more possible wrong sounding notes in second position.
For thid position, A minor would play on a G. I'd recommend a regular G, as the bent notes in the first three holes are really useful and are impossible on a Low G. However, the middle register a Low G would give you, without needing to bend, all the notes of the bottom register of a regular G.
D minor you can play in third on a regular C harp. A low C will be like a low G for A minor - way-too-hard bending in the low register, but a middle register that eliminates the need to bend in the low register of a regular C.
E minor in third would be on a D or Low D. Same advice applies as for the other two.
Hope Winslow doesn't mind. And I'll be very interested in his perspective.
For starters, if you're talking about playing stuff with friends that isn't blues, there's the question of what songs and keys they play and sing. And what position works best on harp for those songs.
But if you're looking at starting to round out a collection of keys for blues for your harmonica set, Low F could be a good one. A mellower sound than the octave-higher regular F, and good for C in 2nd position (Gm in 3rd position, etc.) And David has some great study songs for which he recommends the Low F harp, e.g., his really fun "Blues for Paul DeLay" study song in C. And the Low F makes a nice sound for solo harp work, without requiring you have 55-gallon lungs. While some of Rice (Sonny Boy Williamson II) Miller's solo stuff sounds in recordings like what we now describe as a Low C, he reportedly used the now long-discontinued Hohner Echo Vamper, a 12-hole that went down an octave lower than standard C 10-hole.
I have a Low F Rocket Low that I love. But check out some of Joe Filisko's videos re the Thunderbird, which he helped Hohner develop. You're probably going to want multiple low keys eventually, but referring back to lung capacity, above, if you're like me you proably won't want to go any lower than Low C. A few years ago my wife gave me a Seydel Low A harp, and while it has a wonderful honking sound and is a fun surprise for a chorus or two when playing to an audience, any more than a minute or so on it and I just about pass out!