[Harp-L] Harp vs. harmonica

["Haka Harri" <harri.haka@xxxxxxxx>]

Recently there has been a lot of discussion on who's a harp player and who plays harmonica. I love debates but here I don't see the point in trying to put the instrument and players of it into those kinds of categories.

Harp and harmonica are interchangeable words for the same instrument. In real life, both names are widely used in most genres and neither suggests that the musician has a theoretical background in music vs. being "roots". Having said that, a player of classical music on harmonica might not be referred to as playing harp. But Billy Boy Arnold or Charlie McCoy could both comfortably be called either harp or harmonica players.

>From a global musical perspective, the harmonica plays a smaller role than many other instruments. But for us on this list it is a constituent part of any kind of music. No matter what you want to call it, what your genre is, or whoever plays it.

Harri