What has been the best-selling instrument in history?
The harmonica is the best-selling musical instrument during the 19th and 20th centuries and there are probably as many harmonicas in the world as all other musical instruments combined.
In the early 1900s, the Hohner Corporation sold a huge number of harmonicas in South Africa. The inhabitants of this country wore them hanging around their necks with a bow or chain because they simply lacked clothes with pockets.
The names of the harmonica are as varied as the terms used to name the musician who plays it. From? harmonica player ?, the equivalent of the most used in the English language? harmonica player? going through the already somewhat abandoned ones like? harmonica player? What Is The World’s Best-Selling Musical Instrument?
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On the other hand, there are expressions exclusive to some countries such as “harmonica” in Argentina, even the most widely used today, “harmonicist “, which curiously was not officially registered until 2015 in the RAE dictionary thanks to many requests.
The romantic idea of the cowboy playing the harmonica while the sun sets over the horizon is deeply rooted, also associated with the spectacular increase in the popularity of the harmonica in the West, in the Civil War (1861-1865) and in the War of the Lincoln County, New Mexico (1878), but is actually nothing more than a legend based on movie scripts and re-creations of Hollywood movies shot years later.
The debut of the harmonica in space occurred in Earth orbit on December 16, 1965, at the hands of astronaut Walter Schirra, who aboard the Gemini 6 spacecraft and after circling the Earth several times, played “Jingle Bells” with his harmonica ermbarcada incognito.
The best-selling musical instrument in times of confinement
Flour, toilet paper, yeast, pasta, rice, home gym equipment… and electric guitars! The months of confinement have given a lot of themselves and many decided to launch themselves to learn those things that they had on their list of pending activities. Among all the musical instruments, there is one that stands out among all and that has seen its sales increase, recovering the losses that had been dragging years ago.
Electric guitars have been chosen by a large part of the population who have wanted to start learning an instrument and the most recognized brands have stated that this year they will probably reach sales numbers that represent a true record. This has not happened only in Spain and in countries like Argentina, for example, from March to April electric guitars increased their sales by up to 85%.
It is probable that in this increase, in addition to greater availability of free time, the economy also played an important role: saving by reducing activity and leisure outside the home meant that many people could invest that money in learning to play a musical instrument.
The time that is dedicated to it and how long it takes to learn to play an instrument depends on each person and, of course, it is a matter of practice and insistence: you must not give up at the first chance! For this reason, many people who during confinement dedicated a good part of their time to learning online or self-taught through virtual classes, have continued with these lessons despite the fact that life outside the home has returned, relatively.
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