# Harmonica sounds bad **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 28, 2019, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harmonica-sounds-bad/844143 "2019-11-28T20:41:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CastletonSnob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ea924/32.png) [@CastletonSnob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CastletonSnob)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2019, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harmonica-sounds-bad/844143/1 "2019-11-28T20:41:00Z")
Sometimes, my harmonica will be out of tune, and I won’t be able to make a sound, no matter how hard I blow. Then, it’ll go back to sounding fine. Is there something wrong with my harmonica? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2019, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harmonica-sounds-bad/844143/2 "2019-11-28T20:49:35Z")
Mine sounds bad when I try to play it. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2019, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harmonica-sounds-bad/844143/3 "2019-11-28T21:14:04Z")
> [@CastletonSnob](#): > > Sometimes, my harmonica will be out of tune, and I won’t be able to make a sound, no matter how hard I blow. Try Sucking. 😃 I got nuthin’. Happy T-day. ---
**Author:** ![Archeonomist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7cd45c/32.png) [@Archeonomist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Archeonomist)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2019, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harmonica-sounds-bad/844143/4 "2019-11-28T21:20:53Z")
Maybe you have gunk on the reeds that eventually falls off? Hard to say but a bit of googling brings a couple of sites you may want to look at: [Harmonica maintenance](https://www.harmonica.com/harmonica-maintenance-cleaning-594.html) [Hohner’s FAQ](https://www.hohner.de/en/service/harmonica/faqs) ---
**Author:** ![CastletonSnob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ea924/32.png) [@CastletonSnob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CastletonSnob)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2019, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harmonica-sounds-bad/844143/5 "2019-11-28T21:30:16Z")
I opened it up, and couldn’t find any dirt or any problems with the reeds. Could it just be dirty from saliva, since I haven’t cleaned it since I got it? ---
**Author:** ![jaycat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat/32/3015_2.png) [@jaycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jaycat)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2019, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harmonica-sounds-bad/844143/6 "2019-11-29T02:19:36Z")
What make and model is it? Some are just junk. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2019, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harmonica-sounds-bad/844143/7 "2019-11-29T02:34:41Z")
**Moderator Action** Moving thread from IMHO to Cafe Society. ---
**Author:** ![swampspruce](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampspruce/32/261_2.png) [@swampspruce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampspruce)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2019, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harmonica-sounds-bad/844143/8 "2019-11-29T15:26:52Z")
Are the covers dented at all? It could be the reeds are binding on the plates. If it’s given up the ghost, they’re not to expensive to replace generally, especially the diatonics. I’m partial to Hohners like the Marine Band, Hot Metal or Blues, personally. ---
**Author:** ![CastletonSnob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ea924/32.png) [@CastletonSnob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CastletonSnob)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2019, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harmonica-sounds-bad/844143/9 "2019-11-29T16:09:40Z")
> [@jaycat](#): > > What make and model is it? Some are just junk. It’s a Hohner Special 20. ---
**Author:** ![jaycat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat/32/3015_2.png) [@jaycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jaycat)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2019, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harmonica-sounds-bad/844143/10 "2019-11-29T17:29:37Z")
> [@CastletonSnob](#): > > It’s a Hohner Special 20. Those are good quality, so I don’t know what to tell you. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2019, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harmonica-sounds-bad/844143/11 "2019-11-29T17:41:54Z")
Normal wear and tear will cause all harmonicas to eventually go out of tune. Sometimes the reeds can be “retuned,” but if they’ve cracked or worn too far they will need to be replaced. ---
**Author:** ![RioRico](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f04885/32.png) [@RioRico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RioRico)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2019, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harmonica-sounds-bad/844143/12 "2019-11-29T23:52:02Z")
Switch to [Lee Oskar](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_Oskar#Lee_Oskar_harmonica) modular harps. When your reed plate goes bad, swap it out for a new one. ---
**Author:** ![River\_Hippie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/river_hippie/32/26_2.png) [@River\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/River_Hippie)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2019, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harmonica-sounds-bad/844143/13 "2019-11-30T00:10:06Z")
Honestly curious, what’s a new harmonica cost these days? ---
**Author:** ![Biffster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biffster/32/339_2.png) [@Biffster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffster)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2019, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harmonica-sounds-bad/844143/14 "2019-11-30T00:17:09Z")
> [@River\_Hippie](#): > > Honestly curious, what’s a new harmonica cost these days? Depends on the key, among other things. If it’s a common key like C, you can often get one more cheaply, like ten bucks. More unusual keys (and there are 12 altogether) may cost more because they are more specialized, like 30 bucks each. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2019, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harmonica-sounds-bad/844143/15 "2019-11-30T00:32:46Z")
> [@River\_Hippie](#): > > Honestly curious, what’s a new harmonica cost these days? A Hohner Special 20 costs under $40. A Hohner Blues Band cost $7. Of course, the German-made Special 20 is pretty much guaranteed to work well; while the Blues Bands can be hit or miss. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2019, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harmonica-sounds-bad/844143/16 "2019-11-30T03:17:29Z")
A Hohner Special 20 should be fine. Are you having this problem only with some reeds or all the reeds? If it’s a particular reed, it could just be gapped a bit too close and you’d need to bend it a little more open ever-so-slightly. Typically, though, I find harmonicas out of the box gapped a little bit more loose than I like them. You shouldn’t need a lot of air pressure to make a reed sound. The problem can also be your sounding technique (I was about to write “blowing technique,” but that didn’t sound right.) If you direct the air at a weird angle, it can cause the reed not to sound. Also, yes, saliva can gunk things up a bit while playing. I like to give the harmonica a few solid thwacks against the heel of my hand or side of leg or whatever after playing a bit to get any excess saliva out. When I was starting out, I seemed to have this happen a lot and after awhile, I managed not to need to shake up the harmonica as often. Playing louder/more aggressively tends to do that, at least with me. I’m guessing the last is the most likely culprit, especially if it’s bouncing back into normal playing conditions and not remaining difficult to play and out of tune.