The diatonic harmonica is arguably the most common type available, and certainly the cheapest. It’s tuned to a specific key, which can’t be changed. Most diatonic harmonicas are tuned to the key of C. Types of diatonic harmonica include the “blues harmonica,” the “tremolo harmonica,” and the “octave harmonica. ” In the western world, the blues harmonica is common; in east Asia, the tremolo harmonica is seen more often. The chromatic harmonica is a type of harmonica that uses a mechanical apparatus to control which holes make noise. Basic chromatic harmonicas with 10 notes can only play one full key (the same as a diatonic harmonica), but chromatics with 12-16 holes can be tuned to any key. Chromatics are considerably more expensive than most diatonic harmonicas; a quality chromatic from a reputable brand can cost several hundred dollars. [2] X Research source Because of their flexibility, 12-plus-note chromatic harmonicas are generally preferred for jazz music. A common shorthand term for the harmonica is the “harp. ” This comes from its other traditional names, including “French harp” and “blues harp. ” It’s also known as a “mouth organ”.
A chromatic harp’s sliding bar is also usually made of metal. Depending on whether you inhale or exhale through your harp, different notes are produced by the reeds. A typical diatonic harp tuned to C on the exhale is tuned to G on the inhale. These scales complement each other nicely, each filling in the other without having to add extra holes. The reeds inside your harmonica are delicate and will wear out over time. Gentle playing and regular care are required to maintain a good tone as long as possible.
Breathing is marked by arrows. An up arrow indicates a breath out; a down arrow indicates a breath in. Most holes on a diatonic harmonica produce two “neighbor” notes on a given scale; thus playing C and then D on the same scale is accomplished by blowing into the appropriate hole, and then drawing in from the same hole. Holes are marked with a number, starting from the lowest (left-hand) tone and moving upward. Thus, the lowest two notes are (up) 1 and (down) 1. On a 10-hole harp, the highest note would be (down) 10. Some notes on a regular 10-hole harmonica overlap, notably (down) 2 and (up) 3. This is necessary to allow proper range for playing scales. More advanced techniques are marked with slashes or another small mark. Diagonal slashes through the arrows indicate that note bending (covered later) is required to get the proper tone. Chevrons or slashes on chromatic tablature can also indicate whether or not to hold the button in. There isn’t a standardized system of tablature that’s used by all harmonica players. However, once you practice and get comfortable reading one type, most other types will make sense to you quickly.
Belly breathing gives you more control over your breath, and it also lets you take more air in.
This type of playing is called “straight-harp” or “first position. ” As you might suspect, the number of holes you blow through is partly controlled by your lips. To allow greater control over the notes you play, you’ll eventually learn to use the blade of your tongue to block holes as well. This is covered later. Try not to allow any air to escape through your nose. Push it all out through your mouth to get a full note.
This type of playing is called “cross-harp” or “second position. ” Cross-harp notes are often well-suited to blues riffs. If you have a chromatic harmonica, practice pushing and holding the slide button to further control the notes you produce. To make breathing out easier, try saying “hah!” Push the air out forcefully with your diaphragm to get a full note.
Try adding texture by playing multiple notes at once. The next step in your practice is to slightly relax your control and add two-note and three-note chords to the songs you practice by playing two or three adjacent holes at once. This will help you develop more control over your mouth and your breathing, and make the songs more interesting to listen to. Don’t play everything in chords! Try adding a chord at the end of a verse or phrase. The important thing is to get comfortable switching between single notes and multiple notes.
Even as you take lessons, continue to rely on guides and books to help augment your playing. There’s no reason to drop all your other material just because you’re supplementing it with professional lessons.
Practice skipping by pulling the harmonica slightly away and then returning it to the appropriate position (to further your familiarity with the position of each hole) and by stopping your airflow without removing the harmonica (to give you more practice with breath control).
Add a soft warble or wail by flapping your sounding hole open and shut. Use it at the end of a verse to add emotion, or just practice it anywhere you like. Create a train whistle effect by starting with the sounding hole open, then tapping it shut and open again once. Play a muted, soft sound by leaving the sounding hole mostly closed. You’ll likely find that this position forces you to hold your harp at an angle, with the left end pointed slightly down and inward. This position actually lends itself to other techniques as well, so embrace it.
Start by opening your mouth to cover the first four holes of your harp. Using your tongue, block holes 1 through 3 and play a straight-position note on hole 4. If you did it right, you should only hear (up) 4 being played. Once you can do this with ease, play a sustained note and then lift your tongue off halfway through to introduce the full harmony. Tongue blocks can be used to add a waltz- or polka-like airiness to songs by alternating them with individual notes, or in any of a number of other different ways. They’re very flexible. Practice using them until you’re comfortable improvising them from song to song.
The basic technique for bending a note is to make the opening in your lips very very small, and sharply suck air through them into the hole you want to bend. Draw a cross-harp note and gradually pinch your lips together until you begin to hear the tone change. By pinching your lips more or less, you can further control the tone of the note. Be very careful when you practice note bending. Because the air crosses the reeds so sharply, it can easily loosen or bend them, ruining your instrument. Patience and care are required to find a happy medium between not bending a note and bending it too harshly.
Ideally, your harmonica should be in the key of C (most standard ones are). If it isn’t, that’s okay—you’ll still be playing “Happy Birthday,” but it will be in a different key. If you’d like to get a harmonica in the key of C, you can buy a new one or take yours into a music shop to have a professional change the key. “Happy Birthday” is usually played at a tempo of 100 BPM, or beats per minute. Every note is played on a single beat, and the tempo stays the same through the entire song.
This is the “Birthday” in the first line of the song. Breathing in is often denoted with a minus sign. If you saw it written down, it might look like this: -6.
This is the “to you” in the line “Happy birthday to you. ”
This is the line “I’ve heard there was a secret chord. ” When you blow out into 6 three times, speed up a bit. The tempo gets a little faster on the word “secret. ”
Contrary to the line before it, you don’t speed up near the end on this one. Play each note on a single beat.
This is the line “But you don’t really care for music, do you?” Each note is played on one beat.
This is the line, “It goes like this, the fourth, the fifth. ”
This is the line, “The minor fall, the major lift. ”
This is the line, “The baffled king composing Hallelujah. ”
This is when the song goes, “Hallelujah, Hallelujah. ”
This is when the song repeats “Hallelujah, Hallelujah. ” However, the second “Hallelujah” is fairly drawn out, which is why there are more notes to play. Speed the last notes up just slightly so you can fit them all in.
