Diatonic vs chromatic harmonica

[@Subhabrata]

At first, I used think diatonic harmonicas are only for Blues. Thanks to KZbin's tonnes of diatonic tutorials. So I tried hard to learn bending for few days and abandoned the little harmonica. But somehow, a while back, somehow I picked it up again and casually started playing the filmy songs I know, instead of blindly following the Blues gurus. Believe me, the little 4 inches thing surprised me to the core. It's way too capable of doing things! Still exploring it.

[@barrysmith4094]

Well friends, you can' compare the two. They're two different types of harmonicas. Each one is designed to play different types of music. You wouldn't play Blues on a chromatic. You could, but it wouldn't sound the same. The diatonic is more for folk, country, sitting around a campfire...you get the idea. A chromatic can play song like Waves of the Danube, Jazz tunes and so on.

[@SusanDoran]

Didn't Little Walter play both. He was definitively blues, wasn't he?

[@twilightsparklegirlytl2796]

You answered my question about diatonic and chromatic thanks !!!!!

[@eyesoffloraandfauna8728]

For Bollywood music chromatic 1 to buy ?

[@yskharmonica]

Very instructive!

[@k.rbalakrishnan9276]

I have been playing a chromatic for 60 years and a diatonic for 15 years.once you learn overblow, most songs are possible in diatonic .the newer harps like Trochilus from china have the advantage of a slider or scale changer with diatonic tuning and bendability

[@k.rbalakrishnan9276]

Do you teach over lows without tampering g with reed gaps ?

[@truptishetye4144]

Informative

[@RTJ6185]

Sir, please make a Harmonica cover of Yeh Honsla - Dor ( bollywood)

[@chiararossolini5651]

I would like to start with a chromatic, do you think it s a mistake?

[@bimanchatterjee8462]

I want chromatic harmonica c scales how many piece

[@siddpandya]

I am guessing you are asking how many chromatic C scale should you own, well that's a personal choice I own over a dozen but at least a 2 to 3 is a good investment. Don't buy very Cheap Harmonicas I have a video on that too. kzbin.info/www/bejne/nXTbfqVtYq6EqKs

[@V_Y_music]

Nice and useful video thanks for this sir

[@siddpandya]

Thank you!!

[@Spacez3n]

@@siddpandya sir , which one would be better to beatbox with

[@siddpandya]

@@Spacez3n A diatonic with a key of G will be my first choice, with a plastic comb and not a wooden one to protect from extra saliva while beat boxing. I personally do not possess the skill for beat box but have heard quite a few with this key of Diatonic. Happy harping!

[@smile2success]

Hello Sir, Amazing music! As an absolute beginner I was going to buy Hohner special 20, just wanted to check if it was a good choice and I could also play bollywood songs on it. Thanks

[@siddpandya]

It is a good choice!! Do start with a C scale then build forward!!

[@ngwengongstandly452]

Does it mean chromatic has many keys. If yes. How many

[@adityabhattuk07]

What is model of the chromatic you are playing?

[@klejnotnilu560]

Good to know, thank you sir.

[@raka0407]

nice video! may I ask? Can songs that can be played on a chromatic harmonica be played on a diatonic harmonica?

[@8754roberto]

Thank you

[@romucdy1012]

Sir i need help, i am thinking to buy Tremelo and diotonic both harmonica, which key should i buy. Should i buy key C both harmonica? Or different key??

[@roopakchaudhuri2360]

In case you are a beginner, it would be best to go for a diatonic harmonica in the key of C. As for tremolo, you could go for Hohner Echo harp which plays on both sides-- on one side you have 'C' and on the other side you have 'G' key.

[@siddpandya]

I agree. But you should have both in the scale of C atleast.

[@gautambasu1153]

Would love to see a video teaching how to produce clear single note.....

[@siddpandya]

Surely, will make one soon. Thanks, Regards

[@EpicVitto]

I AM BATMAN!

[@claudetroester5337]

BRAVO BRAVO !!!!!!

[@siddpandya]

Thank you!!

[@HarmonicaShala]

There are tonnes of Bollywood songs which can be played on a diatonic without bending. One can always play in different key positions to get the minor scale songs or raga based songs. The major problem that most people face is the two missing notes in the lower octave of a standard Richter tuned diatonic. That problem can be solved if the diatonic harps in solo tuning ( just like Tremolo harps ) were easily available. But unfortunately, that is not the case. Another myth is that diatonic is for blues and jazz. Trust me, it is far easy to play jazz on a chromatic than on a diatonic because jazz music is full of chromatic notes and you need to learn overbends on a diatonic to be able to pull off a jazz composition. Same with blues. It is true that diatonic is an instrument of choice for blues players. However, you can not play a blues scale without mastering standard bends in low octave and overbends in middle and high octave. So we are again back to square one. We HAVE to learn bending in diatonic regardless of genre of music. Also, try to watch George Harmonica Smith video for listening to blues on chromatic. One can play the blues on chromatic and that too beautifully ! IMHO, one should start on a diatonic for its simplicity, size and economy. And then later decide based on how much effort they want to invest in mastering the advanced techniques. Thanks for this video. I liked your narration a lot 👍

[@siddpandya]

Thank you very much Sir, your kind words are encouragement to me. Have just subscribed to your channel too. Will try to keep learning and sharing. Regards. Thank you!

[@Hazara26]

Diatonic harmonica needs more expertise to play and learn like bending and over blowing. But chromatic with slider you can play any notes. If you master diatonic and learn bending and over blow notes then chromatic is piece of cake.

[@siddpandya]

True that, but one has to remember and train for slider use as well!! Thank you!

[@AsadAli-jc5tg]

No, they're altogether different instruments. Chromatic Harmonica's learning curve has many complexities. You're making things way too simpler.

[@Hazara26]

@@AsadAli-jc5tg since how long you are playing harmonica?

[@cyrusghosh]

Absolutely Loved your video and I hope to see many videos for this wonderful instrument coming by, but sir I've a question I want to pick up Harmonica and start from scratch but i want a durable and a 'one-time-investment' kind of piece to start i.e the one which can allow to me to play a majority of songs, what should it be... a diatonic or chromatic? ps: im ready to do hardwork..and i just need a piece to suit my ever widening musical interests and would last long too it would be really helpful if you kindly mention some popular names in this field too ❤

[@siddpandya]

Dear Cyrus, I believe you will not be able to stop at one. Generally The better your playing gets, the more instruments you will want to get. Each has it's different feel, weight, resonance, tuning, etc. Also you might want to get multiple scales. However as per your question, for a rugged one I would suggest a Suzuki scx-64 that if cared for will last longer and has 4 extra holes for playing lower notes. Regards

[@cyrusghosh]

@@siddpandya thank you so much for the input sir 🙏

[@cyrusghosh]

@Erin Stevens thank you so much sir

[@HarmonicaShala]

@Erin Stevens A chromatic 20 hole harmonica with a tremolo slider? Can you please name the model?

[@prsir3872]

Nice👌👌

[@siddpandya]

Thank you!!

[@andresprieto6554]

Very well explained. Thanks

[@siddpandya]

Thank you

[@pradipkumargoswami8191]

His experience in playing diatonic is very limited and deceiving. If don't know don't come on you tube.

[@tejram4024]

Exemplary

[@siddpandya]

Thank you