Not at all covered here are the Comets, Tremelo harps, Melody Makers and other harmonica's with 2 layers of holes. The chromatic harmonica's, that let you sharpen the pitch by pressing a knob, are a different world.
This text is written in such a way that the key your harmonica is in
should not affect the understandability. I won't use stock notation at
all, since it doesn't make too much sense while playing harmonica. Typically,
beginners like the low keys as G and A. Later on high keys as D and F become
favourites.
You'll own harmonica's in various keys anyway, in time.
Please email me if you feel anything in this text
to be in error. That goes for content and language alike, as I'm not a
native English speaker.
Contents:1. Oh when the Saints
The style the 10 hole 'harp' was designed for.
2. Crossharp
The harmonica wasn't made for it, but it sure is a cooler way of playing it.
This paragraph covers bending of tones as well.
3. Three chords and the truth
About blues cord schemes
4. Tricks
Different sounds and effects
5. Hardware
Mikes and amps and effects
6. Walkman
always have one with you
7. Tables
Which note is where?
Which harmonica to that song?
Buy Guide?
The harmonica was not designed to play the blues, it was designed to
play songs like Oh When The Saints. Notice the way the notes are arranged
on the harmonica. Take a bite of this little piece of theory:
This is the C scale: C D E F G A B (C)
The C scale, like any scale, can be divided in two: Those notes that
belong to the C chord, and those that don't. These are the note to the
C chord: C E and G. These notes, and only these notes can be found on the
blow 'side' of the harmonica. Try it and you'll at least notice that any
combination of holes you blow will sound harmonic and in tune.
On the draw 'side' of the harmonica, you'll find all the none C chord
notes: D F A and B. In music like Oh When The Saints, not only the C chord
is of importance, The G chord is too. So the designers made
a G chord on the low end of the harmonica. Thatís how they
ended up with the note G on both ends. Both the 2 draw and the 3 blow is
a G on the C harmonica.
Remember the sound of music and check weather this table is accurate
for your harmonica. It probably is, so find your way around. Even a better
thing top do is to play a simple song.
BTW: Drawing and blowing are not to accurate words. In and exhaling
is more like it. You narrow your lips as if you're about to whistle, place
the lips on the hole you want to play and breath. You do not push or pull
the air, you just happen to breath the desired direction.
BTW 2: I'll keep using the word 'side' to indicate breathing direction.
eerste accoord
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do | mi | sol | do | mi | sol | do | |||
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1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
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re | fa | la | ti | re | fa | la |
Either by playing or by looking at the first diagram, you probably have
noticed some odd inconsequent habit in the harmonica. In holes 1 to 6,
the draw notes are higher in pitch then the blow notes, but in holes 7
to 10, it's the other way around. There are two reasons for this inconvenience.
a. there only seven notes in the octave. (It's called octave as an
octave is the eighth note to be counted from the root note). Seven being
an odd number leaves you with the need to come up with a solution in the
two-directional playing system.
b. the designers wanted the notes to the C chord to be on one 'side'
of the entire harmonica. Therefor they decide to simply move the draw notes
by one position to solve problem a.
They did a good job, as it is hard to play out of key on a harmonica.
You might hit a wrong note, but that not is bound to be harmonically correct.
Also, it makes it easy to improvise to a song or with a band. You can take
risks a guitar player can not. Still, most players avoid these high notes.
Possibly because these holes respond different, possibly because they find
the tones to be to harsh.
If I look at the Hohners from my early days, I notice that all the
chrome around holes 1 to 6 is gone, while it looks fresh to the right of
those holes. (And this is another reason to switch to start liking stainless
steel Japanese harps.)
It the guitarist claims to be playing in E, take an A harp. Remember
the G chord being on the draw side. Blues players use this cord as their
root chord.
This leaves them with 3 benefits:
Benefit #1: all the important notes are now on the draw side of the
harmonica, providing the possibility to do some tricks on them.
Benefit #2: it gives the opportunity to play the root note both as
a draw (hole #2) and a blow note (hole #3).
Benefit #3: you're able to play the IV chord. (Say what?)
If you are not familiar with chord numbering: Chords are numbered like
the notes in the scale. So in the C scale, D (minor) is called the second
chord, and E is called the third. F is the forth, G the fifth. They are
often notated in Roman script. When you start counting from G, G is I,
C is IV and D is V.
So benefit #3 is, in different words: What used to be the first chord
(C on a C harp) will become the forth chord when playing crossharp.
Take a look at this diagram, and compare it to the first diagram by
playing on your harmonica.
1-3= I accoord
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fa | la | do | fa | la | do | fa | la | do | fa |
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1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
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sol | do | mi | sol | ti | re | mi | sol | ti | re |
See the tables 'down under' for the exact notes. Also check those tables to find out which harmonica fits a certain key.
When playing crossharp, you find yourself drawing most of the time. You'll find ways to release air through your nose, or in an occasional blownote. Listen to the blues harmonica masters, and notice they make 'uhm' throat sounds while trying to get rid of the air in their longs. On the other side, you can toggle between singing and harping in no time at all, without the need to in- or exhale in between.
Here are a few basics on articulation. Playing articulate is more important
then anything else, as far as I'm concerned.
- Start all notes with a "t" or "k" like "ta tata ta taa taa". Try
other letters to articulate your moods, or whatever you want to express.
- By shaping your mouth cavity, like you would while speaking, you
can articulate your notes to "we" and "you" sounds.
This is the major trick to minor key blues harmonica playing.
The goal is to lower the pitch of a note. There are several reasons to
want this. First, you'll want to play notes that are not on the harmonica
straight on. Second, you'll want to slide from one note to the other. Third,
you'll want to do it because of the sonic effects it comes along with.
It's for the 'Once upon a Time in the West' way of doing things.
Itís my job now to give you the analogy that will get you doing it,
but first:
Draw a single note, make sure no air is leaking in.
Forcing air will bend the note, but this is not the trick. Try playing
on moderate volume to prevent the harmonica from getting out of tune permanently.
analogy #1: it's like whistling. Whistle a tone while inhaling. Let
the pitch drop. Do it again and again, and notice the shape your tongue
is in, and how it changes. Go from the note you are playing on your harp,
and let it drop to the note you want. Apply these tongue positions on while
actually playing that harp. No extra air pressure is needed, the pitch
should drop. Bending a note this way feels like thinking it lower.
analogy #2: study your tongue. Raise the middle, lower the front, touch
the low end of the roots of your lower front teeth with the tip of your
tongue. A little cavity is formed right behind your front teeth. This cavity
is resonating and forcing the reed to vibrate in a certain pitch. Change
pitch by changing cavity size. That's done by pulling the tongue backwards,
but leaving it in shape. Bending a note this way feels like pulling it
with your tongue.
A few more remarks on this:
Try your new technique on holes 1 to 5, not only on one hole. You'll
raise your change on getting it done, and you'll notice each hole on each
harmonica needs its own tongue positions.
The bending process itself it not a trick of finding the maximum (like
it is when you use air force) but it is a matter of finding the optimum:
the right tongue position, and it we talk about millimetres.
Don't worry, your tongue is good at these precise jobs. Think of how
delicate speech movements are, and how you are able to spit out the pits
of a grape, while swallowing the flesh of it. I know you're excellent in
doing this.
Blues is essentially built from three chords, spread over 12 bars. I
wrote it out in chord numbers (the roman numbers I explained above).
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In standard blues, the chord in the second bar is a I when played fast
and a IV when playing a slow blues. Listen to that music, and try to get
familiar with this scheme. Once you got it, you've got the base to improvise
along on any blues session in your local pub. Or, put negatively: you'll
be bored heavily, as you'll not able to listen to a blues song without
having it's structure being revealed to you instantly.
But it isn't about the composition in the blues, it's about the mood
you try to get across. This chord scheme can be used for building up tension
like no other. It's possible to repeat the melody you played over the first
four bars over bars five to eight, thereby creating an harmonic tension
instantly, as the cords are different. Secondly, the IV chord maximises
this tension, nicely releasing it via the V into the I. Therefor, singers
repeat their first line of text, and give a conclusion or explanation in
the second.
"Wait a minute, something's wrong the key won't unlock the door.
Wait a minute, something's wrong the key won't unlock the door.
I've got a bad bad feeling my baby don't live here no more."
Between two sung phrases, the harmonica fills in. Notice my remark on
the usefullness of draw notes. The more the harmonica contributes to the
song, the more it's appreciated over just any silence-fearing fill in.
And if you copy pieces of the sung melody, your fills and solo's will
be more coherent. Thus being more 'speechfull'.
Wah Wah: by closing your hands around the harmonica, you can do wah wah sounds. Hold the harmonica tightly between your right thumb and stretched index finger. The nails of these are exactly on opposite sides of the harmonica. Close the hole in the palm of your hand, by placing your left hand more or less stretched, with closed fingers, to the back of your harmonica. This way, you can open and close your hands optimally. Add a little 'we-you' to it and you'll be OK.
Alternating notes: Move the harmonica to the left and right over one hole distance, at a rate of 5 times per second or so. Single noting becomes altering between two notes.
Vibrato: Move youíre the tip of your tongue at a 5 times per second rate for a nice vibrato (pitch variations).
Tremelo: Cause fast volume fluctuations by changing breath speed. It will happen when your at the top of your longs anyway.
Percussion: Add steam train sounds to your playing, for optimum pre
WWII style. Experiment to get your style up to date.
There are a lot of tools for harmonica players. One of them is the harmonica
stand free your hands to play guitar. They com in different versions, but
not a single one allows the height to be adjusted, stupidly enough.
When performing with an electric band, you'll need to amplify your
sound. Or you want to change your sound. The trick is to find a bad mike
and a heavy amp. Bassguitar valve amps are favourite, but heavy to carry
around. Christal mike give the right distortion, no guitar distortion pedals
are needed. The default singers mike Shure SM58 is definately not what
you want. Try to find an old mike. (prefarably my stolen 1927 Acos
PA Mike, and send it back to me.) Or you can try microphones drummers use
for their snaredrum. Just go to a store and play all odd mikes they have.
You can settle for shure's green bullet, headlight shaped harmonica microphon
at anytime anyway, and have the avarage harmonica bluessound rightthere
in your hands.
Take a look at all the EQ's, filters and reverbs guitarists use and
see if they are of use for you. We've heard the delays though.
Being an harmonica player, your not only a musician in the weekends
or on Tuesday night when the band rehearses. You can put one in your pocket
and take it out whenever some music is needed, or whenever you are about
to be bored. Railway stations are excellent places to play in, and it will
be appreciated, as it fits the surroundings. If you can handle the extra
attention you'll get, you can play where ever you going, thus being your
own walkman.
As it is written on the old Hohner advertisements: Keep on harping!
harmonica in C
1-3= C chord
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C | E | G | C | E | G | C | E | G | C |
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1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
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D | G | B | D | F | A | B | D | F | A |
harmonica in A
1-3= A chord
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A | C# | E | A | C# | E | A | C# | E | A |
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1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
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B | E | G# | B | D | F# | G# | B | D | F# |
Blues Schemes, or I IV V schemes, one four five blues.
BLUES IN G (use harmonica in C)
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BLUES IN E (use harmonica in A)
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| CROSSHARP: | Guitar plays blues in: | Mondharmonica is gemerkt: |
| Which harmonica
to play which key? |
D
D# E F F# G G# A A# B C C# |
G (the lowest bluesharp)
G# A A# B C C# D D# E F F# (the higest Bluesharp) |
______________________________________________________
email Dave Krooshof
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