“Busted flat in Baton Rouge, waiting for a train
And I’s feeling nearly as faded as my jeans.
Bobby thumbed a diesel down just before it rained,
It rode us all the way to New Orleans.

I pulled my harpoon (harmonica) out of my dirty red bandana,
I’s playing soft while Bobby sang the blues.
Windshield wipers slapping time, I was holding Bobby’s hand in mine,
We sang every song that driver knew.

Freedom is just another word for nothing left to lose,
Nothing don’t mean nothing honey if it ain’t free, now now.
And feeling good was easy, Lord, when he sang the blues,
You know feeling good was good enough for me,
Good enough for me and my Bobby McGee.”

Janis Joplin, “Me and Bobby McGee” – 1971. (click to listen to this masterpiece on YouTube)

What does this classic make you think about? Hippies traveling around with harmonicas? Freedom? Fun jams in the outdoors? Good music? Friends?

Many different connotations may arise from the word “harmonica” to different people. But it seems very common for harmonicas to be connected with traveling adventures.

So what is it about these little instruments that made them so attractive to young travelers along the years? Today we will point out what makes harmonicas the perfect travel companions and why YOU should get one before you head out on your next adventure overseas, in a different state, or just in a campfire sleepaway not too far from home.

5 Reasons Why Harmonicas Are the Perfect Travel Companions

harmonicas travel

Guess what I was playing right after taking this pic?

1 – Harmonicas the Most Social Instruments in the World and Will Make You Meet More Good People!

Why? Because you can literally join any jam or any guitar player, and just by having a harmonica in the correct key (more on that below) you can just start improvising along and you WILL sound good, even with very minimal musical knowledge. And what’s a better way to connect and make friends with new people than over some good music?

Another thing is that you can easily play any song you wish and “figure it out” by ear in the easiest way of all musical instruments, because harmonicas contain strictly the scales that all the songs you love are made of, and with no “wrong notes” around. That means you will easily be walking around and playing the songs you and your friends love without any need for music sheets from any sort, or jammin’ along the melody of Hallelujah (or whatever song you wish) with a guitarist who’s playing the melody. The more you’ll do it – the easier and more fun it will become.

2 – Extremely Compact – Can Fit Anywhere

Can you think of another actual music instrument which can fit in ANY pocket that your pants might have? Especially in those travelers / hiking pants with the many different pockets – they simply beg for a harmonica to go into one of them.

If you don’t like that feeling of an extra weight (as light as it might be) in your pockets, your bag is always another good choice, and the harmonica virtually takes no space at all while it’s in there.

Janis Joplin simply kept it in her bandana as the song suggests…

Janis Joplin hits

There she is. Without the bandana though…

3 – Harmonicas Are Super Affordable

Nobody wants to travel distant lands and backpack while carrying his 2000$ Taylor guitar of course. It’s too damn expensive and you will just be stressed out about hurting it.

But harmonicas cost less than 40$ even for the top, hand-made in Germany models, and you can get a decent harmonica even for 20$. So why not carry one with you? Actually, why not carry even two or three? (-:

4 – They’re Durable. Like a Tank.

Because of how small and light they are, and because most of them have metal casings, (at least all the ones that cost more than 20$) harmonicas don’t require any kissing and hugging. In fact, I traveled around usually without even ever keeping my harmonicas in their cases, and besides a very rare occasion where one of them was at the bottom of the bag for a long time and got sat on, (that was a Hohner Marine Band) they all still look and play great.

These instruments are built to last and built to take the abuse of the road. Take advantage of it. I never liked the hassle of storing stuff in cases anyway.

 

travel with a harmonica

A couple of my favorites. You can’t get any more compact than that.

 

5 – Pull out and Play. No Need to Tune.

What determines how often most people would be willing to use something is the ease of use and how fast it starts up. What’s true for cameras and smartphones is also just as true to musical instruments. And when you don’t really have to store a particular instrument in a fancy case, AND you don’t have to start tuning it every time you pull it out, that literally means that you can literally play it within 2 seconds of when the urge arises. That’s fun!

That’s exactly the reason why I don’t play my 12 string guitar as much as the others, even though I love it a lot. Taking it out of the fancy case and tuning 12 strings is simply not something that you feel like doing every single day.

Harmonicas for travelers

Jammin’ the blues with Drew from San Francisco.

Important Words About Harmonica Keys

One thing you need to be aware of with harmonicas is that what makes them so friendly for the beginner and easy to jam with is also a disadvantage:

In short: Different songs come in different keys. For example, the song “Under the Bridge” by Red Hot Chili Peppers is in the key of E, while the song “Let It Be” by The Beatles is in the key of C. When you have the right harmonica, jammin’ is easy and will sound great. How do we figure that one out? It’s easy:

Harmonicas also come in different keys. When you jam with someone, a guitarist for example, if you want it to sound good, make sure that he’s playing a song which is in the key of your harmonica. Ask the guitarist: “what key is the song in?” or “what is the opening chord of the song?” (the opening chord would usually be the key).

When you get your first harmonica, if you’re new to music, get it in the key of C because it is the most common key and also the easiest key to learn music on. Also, all the harmonica teaching methods and courses would assume that you’re harmonica is in the key of C.

When you’ll get more into harmonicas, you’ll start accumulating different harmonicas in different keys which will let you jam with more songs. Though I can easily say that even just getting a C harmonica and a G harmonica would “open up” at least 50% of the songs out there for you because they are the most common keys. (Along with A minor and E minor which are also covered by these two harmonicas respectively) Another option for when your harmonica skills are already good is to get a chromatic harmonica (the harmonicas with the button on the side) which will let you jam along with all the songs in all the keys if you know some basic music theory.


That’s it.

Wherever you’re headed, don’t forget to take the harmonica with you. Your journey would be filled with much more fun and good times when you do.

All the best,

Alon.

learn harmonica 2

Hohner Marine Band in the key of C. When you get your first harmonica, that’s the best choice .