Last week I had someone ask me which was better - the harmonica or the mouth organ? I was confused - the harmonica and the mouth organ are the same thing.
🤔 But it made me think - we use so many words in the harmonica world to describe the wonderful instrument that is the harmonica that it gets confusing for people.
So in this free harmonica (mouth organ, harp, mouth harmonica 🤣🤣🤣) lesson we cover:
Mouth Organ Harmonica
There are so many names for the harmonica. Harmonica players often refer to the harmonica as 'the harp'*, yet others call the harmonica mouth organ. I've heard the terms french harp, mouth harp, mouth harmonica as well as blues harp, blues harmonica, blues mouth organ and moothie.
My favourite term is the 'gob-iron' which is slang for harmonica and I like how brash it is. I'm sure some of our family, friends and neighbours who hear us practising might see the harmonica as a 'gob-iron'!
*Obviously calling the harmonica a harp can be confusing given there is actually an instrument called the harp!
😵💫 It can also get confusing as they are different subtypes of harmonica - diatonic, chromatic and tremolo are the main ones but there is also octave, orchestral, and bass harmonicas. You can read more about that here.
So, with so many names, what is the harmonica?
Regardless of whether we call it a harmonica, harmonica organ, mouth organ, harp, mouth harmonica etc. etc. the harmonica is a free reed wind instrument (I am sure you know this already; you've probably got a harmonica is your hand right now!)
The harmonica is played by blowing and drawing air into one (or more) of the holes that sit along the mouthpice. Each hole is a chamber containing a reed (or at least one read) - which is where the sound comes from.
The most common harmonica is a diatonic harmonica with ten holes (or air chambers) and twenty reeds. This type of harmonica is what people commonly refer to as the blues harp.
➡️ Want to know about the different types of harmonica? Click here to learn about the different types of harmonica.
🚨 Now you know all the different names, do you want to learn how to play the mouth organ? (I mean harmonica, err I mean blues harp? 🤭 )
At bluesharmonicalessons.com we are committed to providing high quality online harmonica lessons. Click here to see the blues harmonica courses we offer!
