Questions tagged [harmonica]
Questions related to playing the (chromatic or diatonic) harmonica.
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Note bending on harmonica
I'm trying to learn to play the harmonica, and one thing I haven't quite figured out is how to consistently bend notes. (I can only hit two and three draw, inconsistently, for a semitone, and can only ...
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Breathing practice for harmonica
What are some good breathing practices for playing the harmonica? I have been learning the harmonica for a while now, I can play small time rhymes and some songs.
But when I try to get into high ...
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Why are notes on the harmonica laid out the way they are?
This is a chart of a standard ten hole diatonic harmonica in the key of G that I copied from Wikipedia:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
blow: |G|B|D |G|B|D|G |B|D|G |
draw: |A|D|F#|...
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What is the best way to introduce my 4 year old to harmonica?
My 4-year-old son just got a standard 10 hole harmonica in C from his grandmother, and I would like to give him a good start that will encourage him to enjoy playing.
I myself started out just like ...
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Music Cognition-Are people who play just by ear and intuition good in music cognition by natural talent?
I am learning to play the harmonica. As with so many people around the world, the approach I use is to take a song and its notes somewhere from the internet and practice it until I can play it well.
...
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How do I clean my harmonica without taking it apart?
I have seen many videos on "how to clean harmonicas", but in all of them, you have to take the harmonica apart, clean it and reassemble it.
The thing is there's no marine band harmonica in ...
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Why call a harmonica a harp?
A harmonica is a wind/reed instrument, while a harp is a string instrument. Not much in common really. So why did the humble harmonica (mouth organ) get dubbed 'harp'? And, is it only Blues harps ...
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Can I play `A scale` song on a `C scale` harmonica?
Here is how to play a C scale on a harmonica. But I found a song which is in the A scale. So, is this possible: to play the A scale song on the same harmonica? If so, What would the table look like? ...
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How to Tune a 10-hole Harmonica?
My harmonica went out of tune, what should I do? Do i need to dissemble it for tuning?
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Are low key harmonicas harder to bend?
Are lower key harmonicas (G and A, for example) technically harder to bend than the ones with a higher key, such as E or D? If so, do I need to use some other technique on lower key harmonicas in ...
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How to avoid excessive saliva when playing the harmonica?
When playing the harmonica for more than a few minutes, I'll often run into the problem where I produce way too much saliva, which all ends up inside the harmonica itself. Sometimes this even clogs ...
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How can I learn 48 holes tremolo harmonica?
Probably not the best harmonica to start with, but this is the one that I used to play around with when I was a kid. So, I just picked it up at the store and thought it might be easy to learn. And ...
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As a beginner, what should I look for in a chromatic harmonica?
I want to buy a chromatic harmonica and I've never had one before nor played one. As a beginner, what should I look for in a chromatic harmonica?
Are there certain features I should look for or ...
Dom♦
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Choice of Wind Instrument for self learning
I've been playing the piano (learning on my own) for over 2 years now and I would call myself above novice. I can't read sheet music but I have a good ear.
However, I was diagnosed with a problem and ...
user2890
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How to clean a marine band harmonica that cannot be unscrewed?
I've discussed that subject before, and you all insisted that i have to unscrew it.
Now I have this marine band, you have to see to believe!
Here's a folder containing all the photos that you may ...
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Which harmonica to accompany guitar tuned 1/2 step down?
I am a guitar player and I am thinking of trying some harmonica (mouth organ) as well. My guitar is tuned to half step down: E♭ (D♯, G♯, C♯, F♯, A♯, D♯) and ...
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How do I sustain long draw notes on a Harmonica?
I love the drone you can get fron a harmonica if you sustain the note for a long time. However, I'm not sure how to keep the note sustained for a long time without having to breath.
I read about ...
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Which amplifiers for a blues harp?
I'm interested in playing the (diatonic) harmonica with the distorted sound they use in many rock and blues bands (Jason Ricci is one example among many others).
From what I understand, how you hold ...
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Can flat notes be played on a chromatic harmonica?
Can we play flat notes on a chromatic harmonica?
I already know that a chromatic harmonica could play regular (natural) notes and sharp notes, but what about flat notes?
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Tired mouth after practicing blues harmonica
I've been practicing playing blues harmonica for over a year now (with some breaks of a few weeks)
I'm noticing that after about 20-30 minutes of practice time my lips and mouth become tired and my ...
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How to fix a not-working key on a Hohner Melodica
Hohner Melodica is a 50s-era keyboard instrument which sounds close to a harmonica and which you play with your mouth. Cool-looking, but the one I got from someone to review has a non-working G#. It's ...
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Diatonic Minor Harmonicas?
Played the other night with a harp player who mentioned harps that he had in minor keys. Sadly, never had chance to hear them used.
Since there are different notes involved in minor keys, which would ...
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Choosing the right harmonica and key
My husband is a seasoned singer songwriter and I want to buy him a harmonica for Christmas. He tunes a half step down (keeps one guitar in regular setup and another guitar in open G, though still ...
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Is it possible to Overblow in Hohner Silverstar Harmonica?
I am trying to overblow in silverstar. Almost worked in 6blow. Is is possiblie in 4blow overblow in Silverstar harmonica?
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How to practice the overblow
I've managed to learn bending down somehow by trial & error but I yet have to hear my first overblow.
How can I do to get the feeling for overblowing, so that I have a good start for the ...
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Diatonic vs chromatic harmonica
The hohner super chromonica has the pattern
Do re mi fa sol la ti do
^ | ^ | ^ | | ^
| v | v | v v |
____ ____ ____ ___
...
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Am-Dm-Am-E songs (usually powerful folk songs) what key could they be in? What diatonic blues harp or penny whistle to use?
Examples include some (best ^_^) interpretations of Katyusha, La Llorona, Bella Ciao, Cariñito etc. They often go into short C-major type sequences during emphasis so everything points to an Am scale. ...
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Is it possible to play all melody songs on 10 hole diatonic harmonica?
I know that melody songs can be easily played on a chromatic harmonica. I have horner Chrometta 12 as well as Horner golden melody. However I feel tunes from 10 holes diatonic harmonica are better ...
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Why does classical music sound out of tune on a Hohner Marine Band Deluxe Harmonica?
A few months ago I tried my hand at my fathers old diatonic harmonica. Since I can sight read well and have good breathing technique as a vocalist, I found that I could make some of my favorite ...
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Which key harmonica I should use for playing All along the Watchtower - By Bob Dylan (in C# minor)?
The song 'All Along The Watchtower' by Bob Dylan is in the key of C#m. Which key Harmonica should I use to play the harmonica parts in it? I wish to play the harmonica along with rhythm guitar and ...
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How should I choose the key of my harmonica?
I've read few articles about it, but none of them seem to help me with this problem.
Let's say we have a song in certain key - which harmonica should I choose?
Let me give you an example, we have a ...
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Can a 4-hole harmonica play more than the 8 diatonic notes?
I have a 4-hole harmonica. It is too simple; so, I can play
simple songs only.
Yesterday, I asked a short question on this site. And, they told me that harmonica bending technique can help me play ...
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Note designs on the 10 hole major diatonic harmonica [duplicate]
Here is the typical note design on 10 holes major diatonic harmonica in C major:
I have a few questions:
Why there is a G key in the 2nd draw and the 3rd blow? But it omits the F key? also omits the ...
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Why does the blow/draw sequence reverse between B and C on the chromatic harmonica?
An octave of C Major on a standard chromatic harmonica is laid out this way: [ (n) == Draw ]
C - 1 | D (1) | E -2 | F - (2) | G - 3 | A - (3) | B - (4) | C - 4
Why is the sequence of Blow-Draw-...
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Diatonic harmonica: How to play the draw bend with the three semitones down (effectively)?
For the diatonic harmonica, in the 3rd draw position B, how to play the draw bend with the three semitones down (marked in blue rectangle) B, Bb, A?
I could play a semitones down, most easily in the ...
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Harmonica for pop music chords
Are there harmonica types out there that play the chords most frequently used in pop music—the 1, 4, 5 and 6 minor, or in the key if C, they chords of C, F, G and Am?
A standard blues harp harmonica ...
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Noise when attempting to bend the 8th hole on a harmonica
I've noticed that when I bend on the 8th hole, weird things happen. If I blow normally, the sound is OK, but upon an attempt to bend (downwards, during the draw), the sounds stop to be melodic and all ...
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What is the difference between 10, 16 and 24 holes harmonica?
I just bought a harmonica, it has 24 holes.
When i tried to learn it, i know that there are 10, 16 and 24 holes harmonica.
There are two questions that i want to ask
what is the difference between ...
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Learning chords on the harmonica
I have been teaching myself to play the harmonica since the start of the covid virus in 2019. I've never been focused enough to play a musical instrument until the 59th year of this life I'm living, ...
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Choosing the right harmonica to fit with guitar part transposed using an alternative tuning
I play a song in standard tuning on the guitar. The song requires a 'G' harmonica.
I tune the guitar down to D-G-C-F-A-D. What key of harmonica would I need for the same song in this tuning?
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Harmonica on blues should be same Key as guitar?
I love blues and everytime I listen to harp (harmonica) on some Sonny Terry with Brownie McGhee for example, I really want to play Harp, the problem is how to know which Key, should I be based on the ...
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Should I get a 12 hole or 16 hole chromatic harmonica?
I wan to learn a chromatic harmonica and want to start with whatever is standard for a beginner (I can somewhat play a diatonic)
There seem to be many types of chromatic available (12 hole, 16 hole,...
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Making 12 bar blues more interesting
I'm trying to write a blues song for my GCSE composition. I'm trying to make it sound like Led Zeppelin crossed with Muddy Waters' Harmonica. At the moment the piece contains the following instruments:...
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How to learn & play sheet music with diatonic harmonica
I think 'just learn to read notes and which holes do what' isn't probably the best way - since there are harmonicas tuned to twelve different keys and all differ in note placements.
So I did some ...
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C Minor Chord on a Chromatic Harmonica in the key of C
Simple Question:
I have a chromatic harmonica tuned to the key of C, with a slide that raises each note by one half step. It's very similar to a piano, with some exceptions: slide out == white keys; ...
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How does the use of tablatures impact one's learning and sight-reading abilities?
The first instrument I learned was the piano, where having sheet music in staff notation is sufficient to know exactly what you need to play. Lately, I started to learn the guitar and the harmonica, ...
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Is it possible to make a single free reed that plays on both air directions?
If you open an accordion, you will find that for every button there are two reeds, one which plays when in the pull direction of the bellows and one in the push. Sometimes these reeds are tuned to ...
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Do 16 hole chromatic harmonicas exist in the key of F?
Some songs are in the key of F so trying to fill in or accompany the singer on a key of C harmonica is nearly impossible.
I have a chromatic harmonica in the key of F but it"s only a 12 hole so doesn'...
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Can tremolo harmonica use diatonic harmonica tab?
I just bought a harmonica. It turn out to be tremolo. It has 24 holes on both sides.
I want to know:
Can I play diatonic harmonica tab using tremolo harmonica?
If I can, do I need to convert ...
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Playing Folk Songs on a Chromatic Scale (C) Tremolo Harmonica
I have a guitar campfire songbook which contains folk songs in different keys. Most of them are in D and G, but I also have seen few in Am and C. Now I plan to play the melody with an Asian tuned ...
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