Best Harmonica for Beginners India

Are you a beginner and searching for the best harmonicas to train your mouth organ skills? Then this is the right spot for you as we will go through the various sections for the best harmonica for beginners in India that will guide you to select the best of the best.

There are a lot of popular musical instruments in India such as guitar, violins, piano, tabla, harmonium, and more. But, all these harmonicas are different as they add a different tonal quality to the music.

Thus, there are very few musical instruments that can beat harmonicas concerning ease of playing, affordable pricing, and portability. They are very small in size with a budget-friendly cost that can be your always companion while traveling or carrying it somewhere.

Harmonicas, also popularly known as mouth organs, can be one of the true loves for any budding musician as they produce a sweet, pleasant sound that makes everyone fall in love with music even if a person is not a music-lover.

Therefore, harmonicas are versatile instruments popular for different music genres like Classical, Jazz, Rock, Pop, etc. Since there are a lot of harmonicas and different types available, it is a daunting task to pick up the best one especially when you are just a beginner.

So, we have tried to present this guide for offering you an overall knowledge regarding the harmonicas and also narrowing down your search to the top 7 bets harmonica for beginners in India. Thus, roll your sleeves and start navigating through each of the sections.

Top 7 Harmonica for Beginners reviewed –

1. Vault Harmonica best mouth organ (HA1100)

Vault Harmonica’s best mouth organ (HA1100)

Product Description –

In the first place, this is the best cheap harmonica that you can buy whether you are a beginner or a professional. If you have any musician friends or relatives, then this one can be the best gift for them.

Built with long-lasting materials, it offers a very sweet sound and efficient performance. This is very simple to use and hence learning can be quite easy with this mouth organ for beginners. You will be so mesmerized by the sound quality that you will always want to play it during leisure times.

The harmonica comes in a black-colored hard case to prevent it from any type of damage while carrying it with you while traveling. The black brass cover gives it a stylish and elegant look thus making it unique from the other models.

Specifications –

  • Key of C – 10 holes.
  • Dimensions of the package – 15 x 4.4 x 3 cm.
  • Weight of the mouth organ – 100gm.
  • Brand warranty for this item – 3 years.

Pros

  • Compact and easiest to learn and grasp.
  • Exceptional quality.
  • The amazing sound quality is pleasant to hear.

Cons

  • The beginners can feel a little uncomfortable playing Western music with this harmonica.

2. EastTop Chromatic Mouth Organ Online (48 tones)

EastTop Chromatic Mouth Organ Online (48 tones)
EastTop Chromatic Mouth Organ Online (48 tones)

Product Description –

Whether you are a beginner or a professional and want to play in your school functions, parties, or at home this can be the best harmonica to buy online from one of the best harmonica brands.

The material of the reed is specially made Phosphor Bronze with an ABS comb that gives you a comfortable touch feeling. It is easy to clean with a stainless steel gray cover. This is an ideal choice to gift your beloved ones, friends, or as a business meeting gift as well.

It is equipped with a brass cover, round holes, and without a valve. Thus all these features make this mouth organ very easy to play so that beginners can easily grasp it with an amazing tone that offers a pleasant experience to your ears.

Specifications –

  • Key of C – 12 holes.
  • Dimensions of the package – 14 x 3 x 4 cm.
  • Weight of the mouth organ – 200gm.
  • Brand warranty for this item – 30 days money-back guarantee.

Pros

  • Perfect tuning and good airtightness.
  • The built quality of this harmonica is great.
  • Easier to hold with smooth and nice sound quality.

Cons

  • This is quite expensive.

3. Tower Mouth Organ with the option for scale changer (48 Tunes)

Tower Mouth Organ with the option for scale changer (48 Tunes)
Tower Mouth Organ with the option for scale changer (48 Tunes)

Product Description –

This is one of the best cheap harmonicas that you can buy if you are a music lover or want to gift your friends or relatives on their birthdays.

With this mouth organ, you can play almost all types of songs or styles like Celtic, classical, jazz, or blues. It offers a beautiful and awesome sounding tone with durable and sturdy built. The harmonica is equipped with metal covers, brass reed plates, and a plastic comb.

It is very easy to pick up for a beginner musician and being lightweight, you can carry it with you anywhere so that you can play it anytime. This item is one of the best harmonicas to buy online as it offers an awesome tonal quality that will make your mind fresh.

Specifications –

  • Key of C – 24 holes.
  • Dimensions of the package – 10 x 5 x 4 cm.
  • Weight of the mouth organ – 240gm.

Pros

  • Very nice and clean sound quality.
  • Well-built mouth organ online.
  • The scale changer works decently.

Cons

  • The built quality is good but not the best.

4. EastTop mouth organ (48 tones, T2403)

EastTop mouth organ (48 tones, T2403)
EastTop mouth organ (48 tones, T2403)

Product Description –

In fourth place, this is another best mouth organ online that you can go for at an affordable price from one of the best harmonica brands, EastTop.

No matter whether you are a beginner-level musician or a pro, every one of you can use this mouth organ easily. It will not let you down by providing excellent music tonal quality that can amaze the audience if you are playing at a party or some function.

The materials used for this mouth organ are copper, stainless steel, ABS, and high-quality timber. The box is also of good quality that ensures to keep this instrument safe from any damage.

Specifications –

  • Key of C – 24 holes.
  • Dimensions of the package – 18 x 4 x 3 cm.
  • Weight of the mouth organ – 240gm.

Pros

  • A good quality product is thus worth every penny.
  • The case provided is excellent.
  • Nice sound and good material used.

Cons

  • Nothing reported till now.

5. Tower Mouth Organ with the option for scale changer

Tower Mouth Organ with the option for scale changer
Tower Mouth Organ with the option for scale changer

Product Description –

This best cheap harmonica can be one of your ideal choices to gift your partner or loved ones or you can also buy it for yourself. It can be used to play all types of music and styles like Jazz, Blues, Classical, etc.

The harmonica has been built with high-quality material thus ensuring it be durable and sturdy. It is very simple and easy to use so that even beginners can play it smoothly.

The mouth organ has been crafted using lightweight construction that includes metal covers, brass reed plates, and a plastic comb. As it is light and compact, it can be carried wherever you want so that you can play it anywhere and anytime.

Specifications –

  • Key of C – 24 holes.
  • Dimensions of the package – 15 x 8 x 5 cm.
  • Weight of the mouth organ – 140.61gm.

Pros

  • Pocket-friendly option.
  • The product is built in a good manner.
  • The tuning and sound quality are great.

Cons

  • The built quality can be improved.

6. KETOSTICS mouth organ/best harmonica

KETOSTICS mouth organ/best harmonica
KETOSTICS mouth organ/best harmonica

Product Description –

This is the best cheap harmonica that you can buy; in fact, it is the cheapest option available. It is a stylish product with luxurious looks with less money.

It is equipped with a reed plate with electroplating antirust. This is ideal for beginners because it is very simple to use and learn. Thus, it offers you a different kind of experience while playing so it is suitable for all the harmonica enthusiasts and beginner musicians.

The harmonica comes with exquisite craftsmanship, a beautiful appearance, and also accurate tone with pleasant sound quality.

Specifications –

  • Key of C – 10 holes.
  • Dimensions of the package – 18 x 3 x 2 cm.
  • Weight of the mouth organ –60gm.

Pros

  • The harmonica’s finishing is superb.
  • Great sound quality.
  • Easy to play and learn.

Cons

  • The size of the harmonica is small.

7. EastTop Chromatic Mouth organ/Harmonica (T10-40)

EastTop Chromatic Mouth organ/Harmonica (T10-40)
EastTop Chromatic Mouth organ/Harmonica (T10-40)

Product Description –

Coming back to the best harmonica brand, ‘EastTop’, this is another best model at a reasonable price that you can go for.

You can gift this mouth organ to your friends or relatives on their birthdays or on Christmas. It is very light in weight that enables you to carry anywhere and play while traveling.

It is built with stainless steel material that makes it look shiny and polished with luxurious looks. It offers a good musical tone that offers a pleasant experience to your ears.

Specifications –

  • Key of C – 10 holes.
  • Dimensions of the package – 18.5 x 4 x 7 cm.
  • Weight of the mouth organ – 249gm.
  • Origin Country – China.

Pros

  • Nice quality for beginners or learners.
  • Beautiful looks.
  • The sound quality is good.

Cons

  • Blowing requires a bit of extra pressure.

How to select the best harmonica for beginners India? | Buying Guide –

Purchasing the best mouth organ online requires certain factors to check because there are a lot of models in the market. Let’s see some of the factors to check:

  • Comb Material – This is an important factor that plays a vital role concerning maintenance rather than sound quality. There are four materials of comb available in the market,
  • Wood: Some musicians prefer wood for the comb of harmonicas but the disadvantage lies in the fact of swelling up with moisture. Thus, wood is moisture-sensitive more than plastic or metal.
  • Plastic: This material is the most-used material that is easier to maintain and also feels comfortable for your lips to play with.
  • Plexiglass: This type of material is mainly used in high-end models which are also easier to maintain like the plastic material but it may crack easily.
  • Metal: The most study material for the comb of a mouth organ. Mainly stainless steel is used for this purpose but these are more costly.

For beginners, you can go with the plastic material if you have a tighter budget whereas if you do not have any problem with the budget, then you can also go with the metal variants.

  • Cover – The cover of a harmonica is the main factor determining the acoustics mainly. The two main types of covers for harmonicas include traditional cover and cover-all. The covers are mainly made of metals that offer a brighter sound quality.

Key Choice –

Various types of keys are available for the harmonica like,

  • major is the standard key, especially for diatomics.
  • B major is the key that is used for Irish music.
  • G major and F major which is another common alternative key that you will find.
  • E-flat major and B-flat major that allows you to play the music for Saxophones, etc.

For beginners, we recommend going with the harmonicas tuned to the C-keys.

Type of the harmonica –

There are many types of harmonica available that we have explained in detail in the next section. Some musicians believe that diatonic ones are the easiest to learn than the chromatic types. The different types of harmonicas are used for different music genres like,

  • Matic: this type is used for Jazz, Classical, and sometimes Blues music.
  • Diatonic: this one is especially for Blues music, though sometimes these can be used for Rock, Country, Folk, etc.
  • Tremolo: these harmonicas are used for Folk music.

For beginners, these are the ideal types to go for but there are some other types too like Bass, Chord, and Octave which are hard to pick up.

Other essential accessories –

There are some additional tools that you may require for enhancing the skills required for learning mouth organs. You must buy the required accessories like the key guides, tutorial books, and transcription. We also recommend going through some of the online tutorial courses on YouTube to grasp all the basic needs.

Size of the device –

Coming to this factor, you must check the dimensions and weight of the harmonica before purchasing. This is required so that you can easily carry it wherever you want and do not require much space to store it.

  • Budget/Price –

You need to decide about the budget of the mouth organ before buying whether you are going to the shop or buying a mouth organ online. The prices of the mouth organs in India are reasonable though there are some best cheap harmonicas that you can buy if you have a tighter budget.

These are some of the factors to consider for choosing the best harmonica for beginners India. Now, let us move our attention to the different types of harmonica available that are very essential.

Types of Harmonica –

This musical instrument can be categorized into various types and you can choose the best one that suits your purpose and needs:

  • Diatonic Harmonica type –

The commonest type of harmonica that you can go for if you are a beginner harmonica enthusiast. This one can be used for various music genres that include pop, blues, and folk too.

These harmonicas are designed for a specific key and you have to use the overblowing technique for playing this mouth organ. For beginners, it is advisable to go with a 10-hole harmonica tuned with C-key.

  • Chromatic Harmonica type –

For producing high-quality sound chords and other rich musical effects or tones, this is an advanced ideal choice for all musicians. Once you have gained enough skills regarding the mouth organs, you can go for this harmonica to try out certain fat harmonica notes. If you have ever played the saxophone, then you will find similarities with some of these harmonica notes.

The tuning used for these harmonicas are mainly C and G keys and also produce the finest sound qualities that most musicians prefer. You can even buy these mouth organs to master your overblowing techniques.

We recommend you to buy these harmonicas only after you become well-acquainted with the diatonic types.

  • Tremolo Harmonica type –

These harmonicas produce sweet, pleasant sound-like accordions that make them ideal for Folk music. The diatonic harmonicas are easy to learn and play while these tremolo ones are a perfect choice to become more experienced in terms of sharp and flat harmonica notes.

They are generally tuned on a 3-octave harp of which the first octave is DO RE MI SO SO TI DO, the second one is full and the 3rd octave is DO RE MI FA SO LA DO. These harmonicas have also gained popularity in Asian rock and pop music and thus can be carried in a live concert to entertain your audience.

  • Chord Harmonica type –

These are generally used in the studios as they fall in the class of specialty harmonics. They are much larger by producing 48 different chords.

The sound quality of these mouth organs is of very high quality that provides your ears a pleasing experience. They are laid out in blocks of four-node clusters providing some of the best rhythmic tunes.

  • Orchestral Harmonica type –

This type of harmonicas is available in different pitch ranges and note-layouts that can be used in various harmonic ensembles. You will find both diatonic and chromatic models for this kind of mouth organ.

  • Solo-Tuned Harmonica type –

Throughout the range of an octave, these harmonicas have all the notes of the scale that make them ideal for playing tunes and solo music. In the terms of use, they can be considered chromatic harmonicas and can be used for Classical, Irish, Pop, Blues, Jazz, Rock, etc.

So, as it can be seen, there are different types of harmonicas based on the size, type, makes, and music keys. We have highlighted the popular models here but being a beginner, the ideal model stands out to be the diatonic one always.

How to play mouth organs?

There are various YouTube videos that you can refer to know how to play mouth organs but if you are confused, then follow the below steps:

  • Step 1: You need to hold the harmonica in your right hand so that the numbers are facing up with the lowest note on the extreme left.
  • Step 2: Then the harmonica has to be positioned deep in your mouth, and make your lips relaxed and moistened.
  • Step 3: The harmonica has to be then rotated to make the back-side face the ceiling thus you have to properly angle the harmonica into your lower lip.
  • Step 4: Then a mirror has to be used for checking the upper lip is deep enough over the harmonica.
  • Step 5: After this, the lower lip has to be unfolded so that the harmonica can perfectly touch the inner surface of the lower lips.
  • Step 6: If the harmonica or the mouth organ is not touching the inner surface of the lower lips, use your finger to pull down more so that the mouth organ touches the tender inner surface.

So these are the certain first steps that you need for learning harmonica in the right way.

For playing one note, there are two main methods:

Pucker method – In this method, you need to relax your lips. Now, while breathing, there are multiple notes that you can hear from the mouth organ. Then you need to push your lips forward like you do while kissing someone. It may seem tough to do initially but with practice and experiments, you can play one note in this method of playing the mouth organ.

Tongue method – In this method, you have to relax your mouth for covering multiple holes and use your tongue to cover those which you do not want. This way can be used for splitting the notes so that you can play two notes that are not consecutive.

Guides you can follow for learning mouth organ or enhance your harp skills –

Some of the books that you can follow for sharpening your harmonica skills are:

  • The Mel Bay Easiest Harmonica Book is a perfect choice for beginners that let you gain enough knowledge regarding a diatonic harmonica.
  • The Hal Leonard Blues Harmonica Collection Songbook is the next choice to make for mastering songs recorded by Little Walter and Sonny Boy Williamson.

Also Read: Best Clapbox Cajon in India 2022

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) –

Which are the best harmonica brands in India?

The best harmonica brands in India include East top, Tower, Hohner, Suzuki, Vault, Ketostics, etc.

I am a newbie to these harmonicas, which is ideal for me?

If you have gone through the full guide, you may have got your answer by now. But, no worries, we will give a brief explanation here as well. For beginners, it is advised to go with 10-holes harmonicas in the key of C. Along with that, please buy some tutorial books, guides and you can also watch certain online tutorials on YouTube.

How much do the harmonicas cost in India?

There are varied ranges of prices of harmonicas available in India from 350 INR to 3500 INR. You can go with the one that you like and of good quality within your budget.

What are the different types of harmonicas in the market?

There are different categories of harmonicas or mouth organs available in the Indian market ranging from diatonic to chord tones. You can go through the detailed discussion on the harmonica types above in this article.

What are the factors one must consider to choose the best harmonica for beginners in India?

We have provided you with all the relevant information required to buy the best mouth organ online in the buying guide section. If you are still not sure and feel like not have enough knowledge then you can consult the above list of the top 7 models that you can compare and select the best one within your budget and as per your needs.

Is it recommended to buy a harmonica with a side button?

We suggest you refrain from using a harmonica with a side button being a beginner because that can be a more challenging instrument to play.

Which type of harmonica is ideal for Bollywood songs?

Chromatic Harmonics are the ideal choice to play Bollywood songs.

The Final Thoughts…

We have consolidated all the important information that you might require for selecting the best harmonica to buy online. Not only that we have presented the reviews of seven products, but we have also given you the types, buying guide, and several questionnaires that can clear almost all doubts regarding harmonicas before making a purchase.

You can go with any one of the above models as per your liking and budget. Thank you for reading this guide and making a proper choice for the best harmonica. 

Best of luck and wish you a successful musical career ahead!

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