| How to play harmonica
|
|
How to play harmonica
The 10 hole diatonic harmonica, also known as "harp, blues harp, short harp, French harp, mouth organ, tin sandwich, Mississippi saxophone" and lots of other affectionate names, is called "diatonic" because the first 4 holes (holes 1 thru 4) are set up to play chords, both blow and draw. There is not a complete musical scale in the first 4 holes unless you use a bending technique to add in the missing note and knowing it all makes your way to how to play harmonica
However, this tuning (also known as "Richter" tuning) gives you the ability to play both the melody of a song and also accompany yourself. This is the absolute bedrock technique of blues harmonica playing, made most famous by playing train imitations.
Things to consider before going for how to play harmonica
Harmonica is not as easy as it looks- Harmonica is not nearly as easy as most people would have you believe, but we\'ve tried our best to make learning to play it as simple and straight forward as possible. You\'ll start with simple techniques and melodies; but stick with it and soon you will graduate to jamming blues, rock, country, bending notes, and sounding like the pros if you want to seek how to play harmonica in easy way.
Follow the numbered blue links above in order- Not all sections of this website have numbered section page links, but when you see them, as in the gray box above, follow the links in order. You will find that time spent reading through these pages in the proper sequence will get you to where you want to be that much quicker
Hold the harmonica comfortably in both hands: How to Hold A Diatonic Harmonica
If you don\'t want to hold to harmonica in your hands or are not able, then playing harmonica with a harmonica rack or harmonica "holder" are a great alternative and a way for how to play harmonica.
To play a train song, first you need to imitate the "chug chug" sound of the train wheels. You can do this by a simple BLOW BLOW DRAW DRAW pattern on the first 4 holes of the harmonica.
Next, you need to add the sound of the train whistle, by drawing in at holes 3,4,5
Then, to give that accompaniment melody (so to speak) effect, you need to practice enough so that you can go from the train "wheels" to the train "whistle" without missing a beat. Once you learn this fully, you can master on how to play harmonica
How to play harmonica >
|
|
