HOW TO PLAY HARMONICA
HOW TO PLAYHARMONICA
PLAYING THE HARMONICAWelcome to HOHNER’S introduction to playing the harmonica! Your instructor will walkyou through the following exercises in class. For free audio recordings of these playingexamples visit BluesHarmonica.com/hohner recordings. You’ll also find a link on thispage to register for 30 days free access to BluesHarmonica.com to continue your studies(use access code “hohnerworkshop”).Enjoy your class!HOLDING THE HARMONICAPlace the harmonica in your left hand,with your fingers placed as far back onthe harmonica as possible. Your thumband forefinger create the first twocontact points of your hold (A). Allowyour middle finger to rest behind theharmonica (it will not affect the sound).Your middle finger helps to stop theharmonica from pushing away from youas you play.AABOUT HARMONICA NOTATIONStandard music notation is provided for those that have prior experience reading music.For everyone else you’ll focus on reading the provided TAB (tablature), which indicateswhere to physically play on the harmonica. When a hole number stands by itself you’reto inhale (draw). When a hole number is followed by a plus ( ) you’re to exhale (blow).If you see a stack of hole numbers, it’s indicating for you to play multiple holes at thesame time.BIf your hands are large, curl your fingersslightly into a C position so that youmake room for your right hand to cupthe harmonica. The last point of contactis the webbing of your left hand (B).Having the left, back corner of theharmonica nestled into the webbingof your left hand will also help theharmonica to not move away from youas you play.
HOLDING THE HARMONICACHORDINGPlace the thumb of your right hand infront of the harmonica (C), somewhereover holes 8, 9 and 10. The thumb willbe placed next to your cheek, movingwith your cheek to the right as youplay towards the upper register of theharmonica and to the left as you playin the lower register. The forefinger ofyour right hand is placed behind theharmonica, directly behind your thumb.CDThe cavity created when your hands areclosed can be used to create a mutedtone (D), a bright tone when open in theback, or what we call a tremolo whenthe hand is moved rhythmically from therear, opening and closing the contactbetween the two hands. Unless you’regoing for one of these effects, have theback of your hands slightly open all ofthe time so that the listener can clearlyhear what you’re playing.Example 1Example 2Tips1. Chording is generally performed on holes 1 though 3, but don’t sweat being over theexact notated holes—the rhythm and feel of what you’re playing are more importantthan the notes.2. Use a light touch with your lips on the face of the harmonica. This insures good toneand that you can move across the range of your harmonica with ease.
PLAYING A SINGLE NOTEPlace your lips over four holes and angle the face ofyour harmonica slightly downwards. Open your mouthand present the face of the harmonica to the top ofyour tongue. Using the top of your tongue, just behindthe tip, block the three holes to the left. Your tonguewill point slightly to the left in order to block the threeholes, but only slightly (angled around 11 o’clock).TipsSINGLE NOTE MELODY PLAYINGEExample 4 – Home Sweet HomeF1. Use a light touch on the face of the harmonica.Any pushing of the lips or tongue will causesoft tissue to squish into adjacent holes, causingairiness, unintentional bending, thin tone andexcessive drag as you play the harmonica.2. Play softly. The goal is to direct warm air (likeyou’re fogging a mirror) through the harmonica,never sucking or blowing.Example 3 –Practicing the Single HoleExample 5 – AmericaG3. Your mouth cavity is the tone chamber of yourharmonica. If you play with an open and relaxedmouth, with the middle and back of your tonguelowered, you’re in the position for good tone. Aslight yawn approximates this positioning well.4. If you find yourself having to push the tongue hard onto the face of the harmonica toblock the three holes to the left, then use more of the top of your tongue. The moreholes you need to block on the harmonica, the more of the top, wider part of yourtongue you’ll want to use.We hope you enjoyed this introduction to the harmonica. To continue your studiesvisit www.bluesharmonica.com/hohner recordings and follow the link to put inthe access code “hohnerworkshop” for your free month of online lessons.
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the harmonica. The last point of contact is the webbing of your left hand (B). Having the left, back corner of the harmonica nestled into the webbing of your left hand will also help the harmonica to not move away from you as you play. A B PLAYING THE HARMONICA HOLDING THE HARMONICA ABOUT HARMONICA NOTATION
George Winston Harmonica Tunings 6 . 3. Positions. on the harmonica are defined like this (on a standard diatonic harmonica that is. not . retuned): the 1st position is the key stamped on the harmonica, and each successive 5th interval up is the next position – for example, in a harmonica coming from the factory in the key of D
Sep 19, 2020 · Here’s the hole layout for the 12-hole chromatic harmonica I use to create this sheet music. If you are just starting out in harmonica, you should master the diatonic stuff first. It’s quite a bit more work to play a chromatic harmonica. The 16-hole harmonica has another octave on the low end, and the 10-hole is missing the upper notes. Key Out
An F harmonica will have a B-flat, but no B-natural, and so . forth. That means that if a song is written in the key of G, it is best played on a G harmonica. Nevertheless, the great thing about the harmonica is that the relative note layout is the same on every harmonica. On an F
20 notes of the diatonic harmonica cover a range of three octaves. They are arranged in such a way that only the middle octave contains a complete eight-note scale. How to play the diatonic harmonica in the key of C: 1. Hold the harmonica with one hand at each end, with the numbers facing you. Low notes are on the left and high notes are on the .
The Marine Band 1896 is the archetypal blues harmonica. Almost unchanged since it was patented in 1896, this harmonica embodies the real blues like no other. Initially designed for European folk music, it quickly found a promi - nent role in the American blues of the early 20th century, and was played by all harmonica players of this era. It’s
DIATONIC HARMONICA This is the most common kind of harmonica, usually a small as the blues harp. Diatonic harmonicas are tuned to a single major scale and are available in different keys. Their construc - tion enables playing techniques known as bending and over-bending, which expand the range of available notes and create CHROMATIC HARMONICA
The diatonic harmonica is by far the most common variety. The most popular version, often referred to as a “Richter” harmonica (see appendix on harmonica history) is a small instrument with 10 holes, each of which contains a blow reed and a draw reed. Most diatonics have a single reed for each note but some have two, which may
Divis ADVANCED ENGINEERING MATHEMATICS 2130002 – 5th Edition Darshan Institute of Engineering and Technology Name : Roll No. : ion :
