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How to Play the HOHNER

l0-Hole Diatonic Harmonica

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Blues, Rock, Folk, Country and Western

A Brief Harmonica HistorY

4,#J#:%T*ffi#ff
,l c}r.i.tlun
ft*

il1io::;"H;o '''n"

Buschmann. ABohemian named

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1833 - 1902

While originally invented to play European folk and classical styles of music, the harmonica has proven itself capable of
playing most every kind of music to come along, from
Beethoven to the blues and beYond!

Blues Legends, Rock Stars and Presidents

*'x****rlm* ?ffid*

Hohnet 1 857. in the little town of Trossingen, at the edge

of Germany's Black Forest' Here the young
clockmaker Matthias Hohner, along with his wife and one
employee, began to manufacture harmonicas, tuming out 650 in
ttr"it fttt year. The quality of Hohner's harmonicas, along with
the variety of models produced, quickly led the Hohner Company
to become the largest and most respected name in harmonicas'
Matthias

What could presidents Abe Lincoln and Ronald Reagan'

blues legends Little Walter and James Cotton' and rock stars
eruce Springsteen and John Popper possibly have in common?

Like millions of other satisfied customers around the world'

they all have played Hohner harmonicas similar to the one that
you'u" just acquiredl The Hohner 10-hole "Marine Band style"
tr "Blues Harp style" harmonica is the least expensive'
most expressive, easiest-to-play instrument everl

ffiasorigina1lycreatedbyDavidHarpforHohner,Inc.AllarrangementS,eXcerptS,andadaptationsusedbypeIm1SS1on,
Harmonica Songbook'@
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alr rights reserved, inctuding but not limited to Instant Btues liar^onica,a
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press,
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i;;;';;;,;;;a';;;;i"r*onica Made Easy,@ 1ee3. All o David Harp's musical

What YOU Can Play on the Harmonica

Notes and Chords: Building Blocks of Music

This booklet will teach you to start playing folk, blues, rock,
country and western, rap, and classical styles of music right away.
You'll start out by learning what notes and chords are, and
how to play them. Then you'Il learn the very basics of harmonica technique: How to hold the har:rnonica and breathe
through it. You'll play your first song, the crowd-pleasing
"Harmonica Train," with whistle, in just a minute or so.

The word "notet' just means one single, particular sound'

On the harmonica, we play a note by using our lips to single
out only one of the 10 holes on the harmonica. This takes a bit
of practice, for most PeoPle.
A ttchordt' means more than one note played at the same
time. We play chords by covering two or three holes on the
harmonica with our mouth and breathing through them'
Chords sound fuller and richer than single notes.

After a mini-lesson on harmonica notation and a few more

easy

folk and classical songs, you'll be ready to learn a little

more and blow some blues, rock, or country musicl

must be very careful not to use "wrong notes" in a chord' But

the harmonica is the easiest and most forgiving instrument in
existence. No matter where you place your mouth, or how
wide it's open, you'll always get a great sounding chordl

How To Hold Your Harmonica

High, Low, and Middle Chords

For now, hold your harmonica any way that feels comforlable, using one or both hands, so long as the 10 little holes are
facing you. A special hand technique, called the "wah wah,"
will be explained later in the Tone Section.

Look at the little numbers on top of each hole. If you don't

see them, you're holding your harp upside-down! With your

The Ins and Outs of H6rmonica

The harmonica is the only instrument that can be played
while breathing both in and out. Place your mouth over any of
the holes, and breathe. Notice that you produce different notes
on the inhale than the exhale. Spend a minute just breathing
through your "harp" now.

Some Mouth-On Hints for Playing

Your upper lip should be well on top of the harmonica and
your lower lip well below, so that the holes almost, but not
quite, touch your front teeth. Try to keep any air from flowing
in or out through your nose while playing.

All Aboard the Harmonica T[ain!

Now you're ready for your lrst harmonica song! Practice tapping your foot in the"l 2 3 4" rhythm. With nose shut, breathe
N two separate little IN breaths jasr as you tap the i and the 2.
Without losing your rhythm, breathe OUT two separate little
OUT breaths just as you tap the 3 and 4. Practice without harp
'til you can do it smooth-ly and crisply.

Breathe:

IN ' IN

Tap: |

OUT

OUT

Now cover holes 1, 2rand3 with your mouth. The left side
of your mouth should be slightly wrapped around the left side of
the harmonic a. Keep your mouth, throat, and tongue relaxed*,
and gently breathe

IN IN OUT

OUT,like above.

This is the sound of the frain's wheels. To sound even better,

instead of .iust breathing the two OUTs, gently whisper (but do

*If

you have tension anywhere in your mouth, you'll get a "choked"

sound, especially if you're using the #2 hole INI (So if #2 IN sounds
funny, it's probably you, not the harmonica!)

mouth held wide enough to cover about three holes, practice

breathing in and out through some of the low sounding holes,
like the I , 2, and 3 holes . Now try breathing through some
middle holes, like 4,5, and 6. End up with some high notes'
like 8, 9, and 10.

You've Got Rhythm!

Practice tapping your foot in a steady beat, so that the time
between each tap is the same: I 2 3 4. Most music is based on
just this simple "I2 3 4" rhythm.

not say out loud) "chugga" during beats 3 and 4. Practice for a
few seconds without your harmonica, like this:

Whisper
Breathe: IN

Tap:

chugga chugga
OUT

IN OUT
234

Play the above over and over, through the I,2, and 3 holes.
Do it "crisply," and all your train needs is a whistle!

The T[ain Whistle: Shake

It!

For an easy whistle, put your mouth over the

middle holes (4, 5, and 6) of the harp. Start with
your lungs empty, and breathe IN only for as long as you like.
While you inhale, shake the harmonica about ll2 inch from
left to right, without moving your lips. This gives you a neat
wailing sound. Do this "IN shake" once or twice, then go back
to the IN IN OUT OUT of the wheels again. Speed it up,
slow it down, make it louder (coming closer) or softer (getting
Whatever you like: Ir's your trarnt
further away)

Adapted ftom Blues & Rock

Hrp

Made Easy, @ David Harp' 1993

Writing Down Harmonica Music

Four Different Harmonica Tablature Systems

There are two main ways of writing down harmonica music.

clefs and bars,
Standard notation
- with its lines and spaces,musicians
but
and other symbols
is very useful for serious
difficult to learn, so it won't be covered here.

In the first tablature system, "up" arrows tell you to breathe

out on that hole number, and "down" alrows tell you to
breathe in on that hole number. In the second, "INs" and
"OUTs" tell you how to breathe. In the third system, circled
numbers mean breathe in. In the last system, outlined numbers
mean breathe out. and filled in numbers mean breathe in.

Tablature notation, or "tab," is much easier to learn.

There are different tab systems, but they all tell you two
things:

My coun- try

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tf.r0t

1) Which of the 10 holes at which to aim your mouth

2) Whether to breathe in or breathe out

My

44

Let's take a look at four common tablature systems on this

page. Each line shows the first few notes of the song "My
Country 'Tis of Thee." In each line, the numbers tell you
which hole to aim your lips at (but please don't worry about
getting one hole at a time, yet). Because this song is so well
known, we won't worry about how long to hold each note, just
about which note to play.
Pages 6

10 Adapted

OUT

coun-

My

OUT
coun-

My

coun-

44

'tis

of

thee

4
.t

try

'tis

IN

IN

try

'ris

43

try

of

44

OUT
of

'tis

434

thee
IN

thee

of

thee

from The Pocket Harmonica Songbook, @ David Harp, 1993

Notating Chords and Rhythm: The T[ain

Musical Alphabets: The Scales

We'll be using the "outlined/filled in" notation system

(invented by David Harp) for the rest of this booklet, although
it's useful to know the others, in case you run into them.

A11 songs
- From Beethoven to the blues - are based on
"musical alphabets" called scales. Like the letters of the alphabet
that combine to form words and sentences, the notes of a scale
are building blocks that go together to form songs. Different
styles of music use different scales, which is why rock sounds
different from classical, or blues from country and western.

In this tablature system, chords (notes that are played

together) are written together and underlined. Dots above the
chords (or notes) tell you the beat, that is, when to tap your.
foot. So the train, with its steady "1 2 3 4" rhythm of two in
breaths on the 1, 2, and 3 holes, then two out breaths, would
look like this. Each dot represents one tap of your foot:

The scale used for most folk and classical music is the easiest one to play on the harmonica, so we'll learn it before going
on to blues, rock and country scales. It's called the Major
Scale
the DO - RE - ME that we learned in school.

To play the Major Scale (see next page), begin by puckering

slightly (as if you wanted to whistle) and aiming your lips at
the number 4 hole. Don't worry if you include part of the 3
and 5 holes. Just try to center your lips on the number 4 hole.
Breathe out, then in, on the 4. Move just a bit higher, and
breathe out then in on the 5. Do the same on the 6 hole. but
reverse it on the 7 hole: first in. then out!

123 123 n23 n23

With a whistle then a breath, it would look like this:

aaao

oao

123 123 nzg n23 456 (breattre)

shake

Playing the Major Scale

Reread the instructions on the last page if you need to,
relax, and pucker up. Outlined means breathe out, all others
breathe in, and don't worry about getting one hole, just aiml

DO RE ME

44

FA

SO

66

LA

TI

DO

77

To see the actual letter names of the notes of the ,.C" harmonica (and other "key" harmonicas), see page 24. Onthat
page, you can find the Major Scale notes for each ..key" har_
monica in the holes 4 to J as notated above.

Your First Harmonica Songs: Folk & Classical

Once you've tried the Major Scale a few times, you're ready
to play lots of folk and classical songs. The better you know a
song, the easier it will be to play, so play a few of these before
going on to blues, rock, folk and counhy styles!

Look at the timing dots above the numbers and tap your
foot once for each dot as you play. Some notes are held for
two or more dots, and sometimes you have to play the same
note two or more times in a row, with separate breaths. Dots
without numbers are beats of silence. Numbers without dots
are short notes that fall in between your foot taps. Go for itl

My Country'Tis of Thee
oo

My coun-

444

aoo
Sweet

land

555

try

'tis

of

lib- er-

344

4434

thee

ooa

544

oaaaa

Of thee I

of

aa
sing

ty

4 = Out (blow)
4 = ln (draw)

7
Taps

aaaa

the pil- grim's pride

of

Land

This campfire favorite is easy tq play - It's all OUT notes!

Catch a quick breath after the long (three dot) notes,just like you
do when you need air while talking.

66655

aa
Land where

aoa

our

55

55
ao

From

55

5
o

Le-

65

et

free-

thers

54

v44

er-

ev-

fa-

dom

54

6naLAAr
v,
Cl/

died

aao

oaa

CJ

'T

"il

")

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moun-

tain-

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side

aa
ring

oao

[,

,4.

aaa

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aaaoa a

1i

These mangements from The Pocket Harmonica Songbook, @ David Harp, 1 993

will also help

as many of the notes as you can. This song

you practice jumping from the 4 hole to the 6.

for

Beginning Harmonica Tone Effects

There are certain things that even beginning harmonica players can do to improve their tone. The first is to keep your mouth
and throat as relaxed and open as possible while playing. Your
tongue too should be relaxed, and the back of your throat open,
as though you were in the mi(dle of a yawn.

Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star

oaaaoaoa

Twin- kle twin- kle

4466666

Your lips should extend pretty far onto the harmonica's cover
plates, so that your lips don't block any parl of the holes. Very
gently push the harmonica against your lips, and you'11 get a
good tight "seal" and clear, strong sound! Experiment a little to
find the mouth and lip position that produces your best tone.

are

555444
aoaoo

a- bove the world

Up

65555

ca, on out or in notes, we can break a note into two or more

parts without using separate puffs of air. You have already used
this technique by whispering "chugga" during the train. Try
playing the following song by whispering "da" or "ta" sounds

star

won- der what you

By whispering words like "da" or "ta" through the harmoni-

tle

aaoaoaa

H3*

Articulation

lit-

Like a

high

so

dia- mond in

665555

the

sky

(Now repeat first two lines to finish song.)

10

Oh,When The Saints Go Marchin' In

The Hand Wah Wah

oaaaoaa

The hand wah wah is a traditional and delightful harmonica

tone effect. Hold your harmonica like a hamburger in your left
hand, with the low notes to the left. Use your right hand to
form a "cup" by placing the heels of both palms together, as
pictured.
Open and shut this "cup" by bending the right hand downwards from the wrist. Do it slowly or quickly, especially on
long notes, like those held for three or more beats in the following bluesy folk song. And don't forget to breathe!

l' f-

Oh when the saints

4 5 5 6
o

oh

5565

ooooaoao

Lord

-->*.
-_.-,,,*,_._;t

^r+

aaoaaa

when the saints

{tsP"

go

i)

44456

aa

saints

oo
mar-

IE

I want to be

When the

go

aa

go

6544

oa

mar

556
54

in

in

oooao
that num-

al

aoa

mar- chin'

in

aa aaaa o

chin'

665

ber

aa

in

,'-'r***i;:Pf'
11

oaaaa

chin'

Anangements from Instqnt Blues Hatmoilica,@

D HW

1989

7
Beethoven's Ninth Symphony
Here's an arrangement of the fourth movement of
Beethoven's Ninth. Aim your mouth at the following notes, but
keep your mouth wide (covering three holes at a time) for a rich,
majestic, chord sound. Play this song slowly, with dignity.

55566
Armgement ftom

In

aaaa

55

ao

4
o

4555444

oaaoao
oooaa

14

aooaoa

66554

44455

aoa

45445

aaOl

555

4445.4

oaoa

ooo

55

3
a

6655

4
aa

aaol

444541

12

stant Blues Harmonica, @ David Harp 1989

Figuring Out Folk Songs by Yourself

First Notes: A Few Great Song Fragments

Most folk songs (and lots of pop and classical songs, too) are
based on the Major Scale. So once you can play the Major Scale,
you'll be able to pick out the notes of a song by yourself, with a

Oh Susannuft: This song just uses holes 4' 5, atd 6'

Here's a good start! Ignore the timing dots

the song should sound and good luck!

oaaoa

bit of practice.
Start with a song that you kngw well' Play the Major Scale a
few times. then think about the song. Figuring out the first few
notes of a song is often the hardest part. Luckily, most folk
songs begin either on the note 4 out or 6 out, so try them first'
You may want to write down the notes as you discover them,

Well I

from

4 4 5 6

Al-

a-

ba-

65

ma

Michael Row The Boat Ashore: Holes 4, 5, and 6 only'

oaoaoaaa
Mi- chael row

the boat o,

4 5 6 5 6 6

using tab.
Here's a hint: If you seem to need a low note (around the 3
hole) that just isn't there, you have discovered the missing Major
Scale note "A" in the low end of the harmonica! See the diagram
on page 8: No "A" or "F'in the low end, and no "B" in the very
high end. You'lI need to jump up and use the "A" note 6 in
instead (see " silent Night," ight) until you can "bend" notes to

shore

SilentNight: Usenotes6-6- V -7 - 6forthe "Roundyon

vi-ir-gin" part of song to avoid the missing low note "A'"
aaaaoaaaoo'o

5i- i-

lent

nrght

66(0566o5

supply the missing ones (more on this, later).

ho- o- lX

night

Harp 1989
Pages 13, 14 and 16 adapted from lnstant Blues Harmonica' O David

13

other notes'
The Blues Scale can also be played starting on
most
and
easiest
is
the
Scale
Blues
But this "2 to 6" based
is
Scale
this
on
based
songs
used' Playing

Blowing the Blues and Wailing with Rock!

rock and
The harmonica is perfectly suited to play blues'
However'
today!
music
of
styles
popular
country - the most
you
Scale
Major
the
on
based
not
are
these iyles of music
you
country'
and
rock'
play
blues,
to
already know. In order
Structures
need tt know just a bit about Cross Harp, Chord
and the Blues Scale. -

-Blues
or playing in "second Position'"
"urf"A ,ong, Uut"O on the 4 to 7 Major Scale is called playPlayini
ing'*5f.u'**t Harp" or playing in "First Position'"

"o*-only
pruv*g "Crois Harp"

What 'KeY'Are You In?

t'Keytt refers to the letter name of the first note of

The term
a "C" harmonthe scale that you are playing with' If you have
on the
i"u und are playing with the Major Scale that begins
playing
are
"in
note 4 (a "C" note' see diagram, page24)'you
and are playing
"C"
harmonica
a
you
have
If
C."
of
it t
(a "G" note)'
" "y
with the Blues Scale that begins on the note 2
you are playing your C harp "in the key of G"'
matter
If you are playing solo (by yourselt) it really doesn't
musiother
with
play
to
want
you
*ttat t ey you ur" in. Sut if
key'
cians, you must allbe playing in the same

Cross HarP and the Blues Scale

called the
Blues and rock music are often based on a scale
Blues
the
of
Blues Scale. Like the Major Scale, the notes
..musical alphabet,' (see page 7) for blues
Scale are used as the
and rock music.
to play a
The harmonica was designed so that it is easiest
and
classical
Most
V
ro
4
from
notes
'
Major Scale using the
However'
Scale'
Major
the
using
played
lots of folk music is
using the Blues
the harmonica is also great for playing blues
from 2 to 6'
notes
the
using
done
Scale! This is most often

come

if you know the way

t4

I
However, since the black notes that fall "in between" the
white notes of the piano. called sharp ( fi ) or flat ( [)notes, are
also used. it's a bit harder than that, so below is a chart to tell
you which key harp plays which key blues music-

Key and Playing with Other Musicians

The first position Major Scale is mostly used to play folk
and classical songs. Whatever key your harmonica is in (the
letter name of the key is stamped on the cover, or printed on
the comb), that's the key in which you'll play your first position, Major Scale. If your harp's a C, your music will be in the

If you plan to play with others, you will want to memorize

the "cross harp keys" for however many different key harmonicas you own. The most commonly used harmonica keys lbr
blues, rock and country are C (used to play cross harp with
music in the key of G), A (used to play with music in the key
of E), and D (used to play with music in the key of A). There
are other positions, such as Third, Fourth, and Fifth, but these
aren't as commonly used as First and Second positions.

key of C. Harp in A, music in A. Harp in F, music in F.

Most blues, rock, and country is played using the second
position or cross hatp Blues Scale. Whatever key your harp is,
you'll need to count down four letter names to find the key
that your music is in. If your harp's an F, your blues'Il be in
the key of C. Harp in D, music in A. Harp in E, music in B'

Ke1' Chart for Cross

(2nd) and Straight
Harp (1st) Positions

Key of Your Harmonica: C

Plays Straight in Key
Plays Cross in Key

of:

of:

Db

Eb

Dt

Eh

Fi+

Ab

Bb

Db

_?a

18

flE)

Eb

F'

Fll

45

g\45 34a

345

1E

123 123

aaa

45

45
c

45

45

123 123 123

: -,:

123 123
oa
i,F
Atr, nY

1/t

aa

45 45

G
16

The Four Bar Country Chord Structure

This country chord structure is used in lots of well-known
(breathe)"
songs. Try aOilng a four beat "Tah Tu-ka Tah
great!
articulation pattern - sounds

aao'

tah tu- ka tah

123 123 123 123
G

ao

tah tu-

aa
ka

tah

3415 845 345

c
aao
tah tu-

ka

45 45 45

'--G)c)t
/4))

tah

45

Em
o

aoa

5l'a,5)

ao

Bb

aoaa'

3415 3415

The Twelve Bar Blues Chord Structure

-- i:
L-a

123 123 123

123 123 123

blues
Bar Blues Verse is 48 beats (12X 4) long, and an entire
verses'
10
song is made up of from about three to

Ab

123 123 123

In blues, Bar usually means four beats of music' Verse

a Twelve
means one verse of a song. So the chord structure of

Bars and Verses

1'f

oaa

123 123 123 123

Bb

+i

123 123 123

(create your own music) later on'

are written undemeath

to play
playing with a key of C harp' Get a guitar player
D
chords!
and
along, using these G' C

are put
Just as notes are put together to form chords' chords
the
are
structures
Chord
Structures'
together to form Chord
or
rock'
blues'
music
of
style
each
give
frimeworks that
country - their characteristic sound' Playing the following
simple chord structures will help you to play and improvise

Onh' frrur bars i 16 beats) long, this chord structure was

usec ii. hunCreds of songs, such as "Duke of Earl" and
not
5,;-.'i: .{,;.. ". The last tu'o chords are played as two note'
chords
,-:::.. nL]i.. cnLrrds lnerro\\r lips). Although all the other
one
ore plered using separate puffs of air, the last chord uses
chords
tonj 1tttt.. beal) breath. -\r with the blues, the correct
for another musician to use if you are playing a "C" harmonica

At

Adapted from B/aes Hqrnronica Positionr, O David Hary, 1990

Blues, Rock and Country Chord Structures

The '50s Rock 'n'Roll Chord Structure

'l'l

t5

Three chords make up this classic structure' Play it enough

The letso that you can begin to feel when the chords change'
when
used'
being
are
chords
which
you
show
D
ters G, b and

F+r

tz

ao

<,)Z nz

aaa

12
D

aaa

tah tu- ka tah

123 123 123 123
G

Fnm How to Plar C &

Hatp'@ Datid Harp'

1992

Chord Structure to Song

It's pretty hard, especially at firstl When you rapidly lift and
replace your tongue on the three left most holes, you alternate
between a single note and a four-note chord. This provides an
"accordion-like" sound
great for polkas orjigs!

If a chord structure is like a framework or skeleton that a

song is built upon, we can say that it is the "melody," or
"tune," played with single notes, which fills out this skeleton
and brings the song to life. After you read some instructions
on playing single notes, you'll tind three songs
- blues, rock
and country
that are based upon the chord structures that
you have just learned, but which use single note melodies.

The Puckering or Lipping method is e asier (though not

easy). To pucker, just make a smali hole q ith r our lips, as
though you were about to whistle. Line rhe hole of your lips up

:.1:'n"''onthehar-

Single Notes for the Beginner

There are two main ways of getting single notes. Tongue
Blocking is the more traditional method, used for classical and
folk music. To tongue block, cover four holes with your
mouth, then press

mouth covers 1,2,3, 4 (tongue blocks 1, 2, 3)

mouth covers 4 onlv (tongue not

-E

usedt

.-- ,ounln'
;;: ;-,,-;;,..,.-""'
hl-t.'.. ,. -...

Each method has advantages. Puckenng _ien3:;i1;, n:h-s 1i

easier to produce a "gritty" tone and to "bend" nrries re\plained
later). Tongue blocking produces a s\\'eeter tone. and is used in
advanced techniques like octave blockin-e. Good players use
both methods, sometimes even changin-s method from one note
to the next, to get the tone they want.

the tip and front

left side of your
tongue against the
three left holes.
18

aao

The Trvelve Bar Boogie Woogie Blues

This is one of the best-loved of the 12 bar blues song styles'

Lrterailr' thousands of variations exist' Here's a simple one'
Pla. each note with a separate breath and a "da" or "ta" articulution and tap your foot. Make it bpuncel

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O

aaa

3455

aaa

e
c
a

56676

to

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34

t=

ir)

o!)

,a

E
p)

After you can play the above verse, try breaking each note
into two parts with a "da da" or "tuka" articulation' for a
bouncierieel. Here's the first line - but try it all this wayl
a

aa

tu-

ka

tu-

ka

tu-

ka

tu-

ka

tu- ka

445
aa

aoaaa'

oa

aa
Ie

aaaaa'l

565

D
o

tu- ka

443

tu-

ka
rE

6j-)

tu-

ka

G
FrcmThe Pocket Harnlonica Songbook.A David Harp' 1992

19

Building on the Rock: A'50s Solo

AnEasyC&WSolo

Here's a more fleshed out verse based on the '50s Rock

chord structure. It makes a simple but effective harp solo,
played soulfully in the middle of a '50s rock song.

This verse, based on the four bar country and westem chord
structure, uses notes chosen from the Country Scale (page 22).

aa

aoa

n 2

23

Em

ooo

For a four verse song, try playing the '50s chord structure
(page 17) twice, then the above solo once, then play the chord
structure once more, but fade it out as you play it this last
time.

2234

t-

o)

tu-

ka

tah

45

45

45

ao

tah

45

4
c

4534-

D
o

123
G
C & W Harp.@David Harp, 1992

7
What is 'Bending?'

note! The mouth motion is somewhat like singing "whee" in a

noflnal voice, then going slowly to the lowest possible "oh" sound
you can hit: "Whee-oh." Increase the volume on the "oh" part.

Bending notes is a technique used by intermediate and

advanced players. Bending a note makes the note sound lower
and "more gritty" or "growly" than normal. The bent note is a

Change tongue position very slowly, taking many seconds to go

from the normal "whee" to the low "oh." As your tongue travels
down and back in your mouth, listen for a slight change in the
sound quality. When you hear this, you know that your tongue is

completely different (lower) note than the same note unbent,

so bending provides notes usually missing from a harp.
To bend a note, we use the middle and back parts of the
tongue to block and change the air flow through a hole. Each
different note on each different key harp requires a slightly
different tongue position to produce a bend. The most common bends are on the notes 1, 2, 3, 4,5, 6n 8, 9, and fl 0.
Before you can bend, you mustbe able to
get clear single notes. Experiment with the
note 1 ihole one, in). Once you can get a
single note. begin by breathing in normally
on the note. with tongue flat and relaxed. As
1 ou inhaie. drop yourjaw and tongue, and
push chin fonvard slightly. Keep your single

ffi

getting close to the right position to cause the bend. Continue to

experiment with tiny variations in the tongue position. Be patient:
it often takes months for beginners to get their lust bend, especial-

ly without help.
The correct position for the 1 bend on a key of G or A harp
is so low that it may feel as though you are "almost swallowing
your tongue." On a high harp like F, your tongue only moves
back half an inch to bend 1, and it's easy to move your tongue
too far back, and go past the right position. Also, the higher the
hole number, the less movement needed. High blow bends are

rtnr"l]}m,;+-rtf-ar\

--_J

very difficult, and use an "ah-hiss" sound.

21

Adapted from Berding The Bhres, @ D. Harp, 1990, Drawing: Don N1alne

What Are 'Riffs'and 'Licks?'

Blues/Rock and Country Scales

After you have learned to bend, you will

"Riffs" and "licks" are short sequences of notes chosen

from scales and memorized. Many famous riffs are used in
more than one song. Each riff below is written twice, first with
a simplilied rhythm, then with the real rhythm. As you can
see, these riffs use only Blues Scale notes. Ignore the bend on
it'll still sound fine!
the third note of the first riff

be able to play the

actual bues, rock, and country scales. Most players require
between six months and two years of practice with book,

audio, video, or in-person instruction to play these.

The little "b" notations'indicate bent notes. A double b (bb)
means that the note is bent further than a single b. Different
notes can be bent to different degrees: some only to b, some to
bb, and a few can even be bent to bbb! Al1 scales below are
played in cross harp, or second position.

Blues

ao

#2 4

(d

Riff

3b

3b

Blues/Rock Scale:

23b44b456
Blues Riff

Country Scale:

2 3oo 3 4 5
Adapted from Blaes & Rock Httrmonica Made Eas!-, A D.

6
Htp

aaao aao
ao

aaao oaa
oo

22

1993

2. Don't blow too hard, as

Advanced Harmonica Techniques

it strains the reeds.

3. Keep your harmonica in its case to avoid getting dirt,

lint, or coins under the cover plate and damaging the reeds'
4. Never soak your harmonica. Soaking damages wooden
bodied harps, doesn't help plastic ones, and voids the warranty'

Advanced players use many techniques, such as:

Throat Vibrato: A series of fast, controlled "coughs" through
both in and out notes give a heavy, shimmering tone effect.
There is also a Stomach Vibrato, created by vibrating the
diaphragm muscle of the stomach back and forth.
Overblowing: This is a very hard bending technique that
forces the out notes 4,5 and 6 to raise by 1 or 1% steps.

Last Licks
By now, you know enough to play a variety of simple music
on your Hohner harmonica! You'll enjoy exploring the wide
variety of models available from Hohner, each with its own characteristic sound. These include Marine Band types in all keys
and various tunings as well as chromatic (greatfot jazz), octave,

Amplification: Microphones (like the Hohner Blues Blaster)

input the sound of your harmonica into an amplifier. This is
often used for rock music or Chicago blues.

and tremolo models. Also, Hohner's XB-40 Harmonica on which

Harmonica Care

every note bends! For more infotmation contact your local dealer
or send a request with a stamped, self-addressed envelope to

Your harmonica is a precision musical instrument. Follow

these simple rules to prolong the life of your harmonica.

Hohner at the following address:

Hohnerr lnc.

your mouth after eating and before playing, to

avoid getting food parlicles in your harmonica.
1. Rinse

1000 Technology Park

23

Dr.

'

Glen Allen, VA 23059

Visit our website www.hohnerusa.com

are available in all 12 keys (for explanation of "key" see page 14). Here are the letter
names of the notes produced by each key harmonica. But don't worry: You won't need to "read" musig to play!

NOTE CHARTS: Certain Hohner harmonicas