How To Play The Harmonica?

How to play the harmonica?

• I was given an harmonica recently an I really want to play it properly. For the time being I've just been blowing randomly in the holes making my own little melodies, but I want to know if every hole corresponds to a note, like does it go C D E F etc or does it work differently? It's a diatonic 10 hole harmonica by the way. Thanks a lot!

• Answer:

  "What every hole corresponds to" is called the scale of the instrument. The 10-hole diatonic harmonica that is most common is Richter tuned and the scale of a Richter tuned harmonica is not straight do-re-mi Each hole has a blow and a draw reed in it so hole one, for example, is two notes. You can find that Do-re-mi-fa diatonic scale on a 10-hole specifically between holes 4 and 7 4 blow - C 4 draw - D 5 blow - E 5 draw - F 6 blow - G 6 draw - A 7 draw - B 7 blow - C If you blow each hole working up the harp from 1 to 10 you'll find: C E G C E G C E G C any holes you blow together makes a C chord. If you draw each hole working up the harp from 1 to 10 you'll find: D G B D F A B D F A so some of those together make a G chord (V) and some make a short F chord (IV) and some make other things. This is what makes the harmonica suitable for blues wailing and the "three chord trick". Of course, different keyed harmonicas have different notes in those holes but the pattern is the same no matter what key. It's also important to note that blues harmonica players play in crossharp (second position) such that a C harmonica is used to play in G. Technically it's G mixolydian because the scale becomes G A B C D E F G (no F#) but that's probably more than you'd like to know right now. hole 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 blow C E G C E G C E G C draw D G B D F A B D F A Add: - OnTheRocks: look at the Hohner Marine Band or Special 20 or a Lee Oskar in C. Harmonica is one of the coolest portable folk instruments - inexpensive, not too hard to learn, and it fits in your pocket. :-)