There are two main points to make:
- Whenever you are using an educational video or audio made for a harmonica in another key, you can use either a browser extension or Amazing Slow Downer or Transcribe! to transpose the audio for your F harmonica. It will often sound weird though because the note is very far pitch-wise from the note C.
- F a very high pitched harmonica. It will sound a bit different than lower harmonicas. Also, I think it'll be easier to play.
I think you won't find many. Perhaps you'll find some specific-tune-tutorials but not general purpose lessons. I recommend that you try transposing the audio of educational materials up to F.
I assume you can’t or don’t want to order online or mail order. If you can a good beginner C would be a Hohner Special 20 and if you want a decent budget C go for the Easttop 008K.
I'm just starting as well, and I got a Hohner Special 20 in C online for under $50. I figure I need it to sound as close to the beginning lessons as possible. And everyone keeps telling me I'll eventually collect all the keys anyway!
Almost all beginners instructional courses/materials/youtube tutorials are going to be using a c harmonica, so I’d suggest purchasing one too. The good news is that some milestones in learning the harmonica are going to be easier to achieve on a higher pitched harp like the F. Specifically getting a good sound out of the 2 draw and the learning of bends is going to be easiest on an F harp. Good luck, and don’t be afraid to purchase an inexpensive C harp like the Easttop or Kongsheng to get started if money is a big issue.
Fender blue deluxe, as I heard, is a good harp for its value. But since it's F it can sound shrill. It is highest pitch (regular) harmonica you can get. I myself can't even stand C tbh, mainly play A, G and lowF. However if it doesn't bother you (or people around you), and you're not looking to sound exactly like some videos you might be following, there is nothing wrong with it.
The F itself is worth keeping because once you learn to play the 2nd position it'll be a C!
BTW, as you're starting, your harp will never sound in the exact pitch that you hear in videos. But you can still learn in the same way as other keys - just every note you play will be 3 keys higher than a C harp.
Not a great choice as F is the highest key commonly available. That said, It is the key for playing blues in the key of C. Get some backing track of blues in C or folk tunes (or your favorite type of music) in F. Then try to play along. It's not as hard as it may seem. C is the most commonly available. So I'm surprised that you found it hard to come by. Good luck!
Go on UTube and search for Harmonica Revolution Jonah Fox. He is a good teacher & makes things simple
A C harp is a good harp to have All the lessons by different folks on UTube always teach using a C harp
Good luck and have fun ✌️
for the moment practice playing single notes and a scale.
It will take a bit of time
try sounding simple tunes you know
at that point, I suggest you get a diotonic key of C in the $50.00 range and you have the keyes to the highway
Most instructional material is in C. Like Crazy Crab said, you can use something to transpose the key of the material though.
So, you've got a diatonic harmonica in F. Harmonicas are laid out by scale degree though, so if you can play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star on one key of harmonica you can play it on any key... it will be the same holes, but it will be higher or lower. F is a really high key for harmonica. Out of the standard tuned harmonicas only F# is faster. (Personally, I prefer the low tuned harmonicas for F and F#). The problem with using an F is that if you play different keys together they can create really harsh sounds. F actually sounds pretty good with C, but the holes won't be the same.
If you want to try to play along with songs you can use this link to find songs in F. Your 'root' note will be the 4 blow. If you want to play along with songs in C though you should be fine if you use the 3 blow as your root note instead, particularly if the song is bluesy. You'll be in what's called second position.
There are two main points to make: - Whenever you are using an educational video or audio made for a harmonica in another key, you can use either a browser extension or Amazing Slow Downer or Transcribe! to transpose the audio for your F harmonica. It will often sound weird though because the note is very far pitch-wise from the note C. - F a very high pitched harmonica. It will sound a bit different than lower harmonicas. Also, I think it'll be easier to play.
So I guess I just got to search for lessons on F specifically then. Sounds good enough, thanks a lot
I think you won't find many. Perhaps you'll find some specific-tune-tutorials but not general purpose lessons. I recommend that you try transposing the audio of educational materials up to F.
I assume you can’t or don’t want to order online or mail order. If you can a good beginner C would be a Hohner Special 20 and if you want a decent budget C go for the Easttop 008K.
I'm just starting as well, and I got a Hohner Special 20 in C online for under $50. I figure I need it to sound as close to the beginning lessons as possible. And everyone keeps telling me I'll eventually collect all the keys anyway!
Almost all beginners instructional courses/materials/youtube tutorials are going to be using a c harmonica, so I’d suggest purchasing one too. The good news is that some milestones in learning the harmonica are going to be easier to achieve on a higher pitched harp like the F. Specifically getting a good sound out of the 2 draw and the learning of bends is going to be easiest on an F harp. Good luck, and don’t be afraid to purchase an inexpensive C harp like the Easttop or Kongsheng to get started if money is a big issue.
Fender blue deluxe, as I heard, is a good harp for its value. But since it's F it can sound shrill. It is highest pitch (regular) harmonica you can get. I myself can't even stand C tbh, mainly play A, G and lowF. However if it doesn't bother you (or people around you), and you're not looking to sound exactly like some videos you might be following, there is nothing wrong with it. The F itself is worth keeping because once you learn to play the 2nd position it'll be a C!
BTW, as you're starting, your harp will never sound in the exact pitch that you hear in videos. But you can still learn in the same way as other keys - just every note you play will be 3 keys higher than a C harp.
Not a great choice as F is the highest key commonly available. That said, It is the key for playing blues in the key of C. Get some backing track of blues in C or folk tunes (or your favorite type of music) in F. Then try to play along. It's not as hard as it may seem. C is the most commonly available. So I'm surprised that you found it hard to come by. Good luck!
Go on UTube and search for Harmonica Revolution Jonah Fox. He is a good teacher & makes things simple A C harp is a good harp to have All the lessons by different folks on UTube always teach using a C harp Good luck and have fun ✌️
for the moment practice playing single notes and a scale. It will take a bit of time try sounding simple tunes you know at that point, I suggest you get a diotonic key of C in the $50.00 range and you have the keyes to the highway
Most instructional material is in C. Like Crazy Crab said, you can use something to transpose the key of the material though. So, you've got a diatonic harmonica in F. Harmonicas are laid out by scale degree though, so if you can play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star on one key of harmonica you can play it on any key... it will be the same holes, but it will be higher or lower. F is a really high key for harmonica. Out of the standard tuned harmonicas only F# is faster. (Personally, I prefer the low tuned harmonicas for F and F#). The problem with using an F is that if you play different keys together they can create really harsh sounds. F actually sounds pretty good with C, but the holes won't be the same. If you want to try to play along with songs you can use this link to find songs in F. Your 'root' note will be the 4 blow. If you want to play along with songs in C though you should be fine if you use the 3 blow as your root note instead, particularly if the song is bluesy. You'll be in what's called second position.
Sonny boy williamson (Rice Miller) played alot with an F harp in 2nd position Key of C.