Harmonicas, known also as mouth organs or harps are popular instruments in the U.S. Their popularity comes from being small, light, inexpensive and easy to play. Even beginners can produce a pleasant sound after minimal practice. The history of harmonics is fascinating. Harmonicas are heard in many musical styles, among the styles to use harmonicas are jazz, blues, rock and country western music.
The harmonica came to the West from China. The Chinese instrument, sheng, was a bundle of bamboo tubes attached to a curved pipe. Music is produced by a free reed flapping up and down when the player blows through the sheng’s holes. Five layers of wood and metal make up a harmonica, the top and bottom covers, the comb, the blow and draw reed plates. The center of the instrument is a block of wood, plastic or metal that has channels cut into it. Attached to the top and bottom of the comb are the blow and draw reed plates. The reeds, thin strips of metal are attached to each reed plate. The reeds are riveted at one end leaving the other end to vibrate when the player blows on them, creating sound. Metal covers are applied to the to and bottom of the harmonica protecting the reeds. The cover also gives the player something to hold on to and acts to project sound to listeners.
The most immediate ancestor of the modern harmonica was invented in 1780 by Dutch physician Christian G. Kratznstein to study the mechanics of the human voice. In 1820, the pocket-sized mouth organ was used as an aid in tuning pianos and as a pitch pipe. This small instrument gained popularity and rapidly spread throughout Europe and the United States. Almost 40 years later, in 1857, Matthias Hohner, a German clockmaker formed his company to sell his harmonicas. By the 1880s, Hohner found a huge market in the United States. Hohner, a major manufacturer of harmonicas went from making 87,000 instruments in 1880 to 2.1 million in 1892. Ninety percent of Hohner’s sales were in North America. Large numbers of Germans immigrated to the United States and Canada in the 19th century. Harmonica makers sent instruments with them the immigrants. German Americans bought harmonicas as souvenirs of home.