Image: Wikimedia Commons

harmonica

Free reed wind musical instrument

Also known as French harp · blues harp · mouth organ · mouth harp · gob iron · harp

Instance of: type of musical instrument
Subclass of: set of free reeds
, musical instrument
1
Sources
1.tesauromuseus.com.br/detalhe-tesauro-ordem-alfabetica/gaita%20de%20bocaRetrieved 2021-06-24
View statement on Wikidata ↗
Founded: 1821

Overview

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia · Read full article · Text CC BY-SA 4.0

The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica include diatonic, chromatic, tremolo, octave, orchestral, and bass versions. The harmonica is played by using the lips and tongue to direct air into or out of one holes along a mouthpiece. Behind each hole is a chamber containing at least one reed. The most common type of harmonica is a diatonic Richter-tuned instrument with ten air passages and twenty reeds, often called a blues harp. The harmonica reed is a flat, elongated spring typically made of brass, stainless steel, or bronze, which is secured at one end over a slot that serves as an airway. When the free end is made to vibrate by the player's air, the reed alternately blocks and unblocks the airway to produce sound.

Overview

All data

65 statements · 15% with external sources · numbers in brackets are citations

Hornbostel-Sachs classification: 412.132
Used by: harmonicist
Different from: Mundhaarmonika
Jew's harp

On other databases

52 identifiers linking harmonica across the web's reference databases

Data quality

statements

15%

externally sourced

Source last edited August 17, 2026. AIDB refreshes this page daily.

Suggest a fact or correction

Links

Use this data

curl https://aidb.si/api/v1/entities/Q51290

API docs, limits & keys

Cite this page

AIDB. (2026). harmonica (Q51290). Retrieved from https://aidb.si/e/harmonica-Q51290