The Lowdown on the Lower Key Harps!

There has been a lot of buzz about our new Lee Oskar Harmonicas in the lower keys (Low C, Low D, Low E and Low F#)… and here’s the lowdown as to why!

First and foremost, these new harps—which allow you to play music a full octave lower than our other harps—are made with the same exceptional quality and superior design features that the entire Lee Oskar Harmonicas system is known for, as manufactured since 1983 in collaboration with Tombo Mfg. of Japan.

The main reasons behind our rollout of these lower key harps are all about the music! Consider this:

• Because people commonly play the guitar in the key of E, the normal E harp that would accompany that happens to be quite high. So, the new lower key of E is more pleasant-sounding to many ears, and it is very practical for people playing in the first position (straight harp). This is also true for the regular F#, which for some of the higher notes can be very high and hard on the ears. The low F# is nice and mellow sounding.
• Often guitar players like to tune down a half-step (or a full step) to adjust to a vocalist and/or give a richer sound, and now there’s a lower key harp to go along perfectly with that. For example, if a guitarist is playing blues in D, usually using a G harp in second position (cross harp), they would tune down half a step, and the lower F # would be perfect rather than playing a high pitch F#. Similarly, if you are playing blues in the key of C in second position (cross harp), if you tune down, you will be playing in B and here again, the low E would also be a great option.

The good news is, our lower key harmonicas are uniformly (and reasonably) priced with all Lee Oskar Harmonicas in the entire system, which now includes a total of 47 different harmonicas in four different models (the standard model and three other models with altered harmonica tunings), available in multiple keys. (MSRP $64.99 | MAP $43.99). Check out our Where to Buy page on the website to find a retailer near you.

As players all around the world appreciate, the entire Lee Oskar Harmonicas system is designed to work together, so that means that our replaceable, interchangeable components work with the Low C, Low D, Low E and Low F# harps as well.

In the words of harmonica player, teacher and technician Pat Missin, the new low key harmonicas are “very impressive, with a nice crisp response to both soft and hard playing pressures.”  Read his entire review here.