No! It is easy and fun. You can start right away with a little practical knowledge. It is fun to play alone and even more fun with other musicians. This guide will favor an improvisational jamming style, but will cover many basic questions and fundamentals about the instrument in general. There are many styles of playing and blues influenced rock style will feature prominantly in this article. It will also cover some suggestions for practice, how to play with others and a small amount of “theory” which will let you think like a pro so you can sound great right away! It probably leans towards beginners, but I am going to share a lot, so there may be something for more advanced players. And this was written with 10 hole, diatonic harmonicas in mind.

The harmonica is a very expressive instrument, and so intensity can take a small amount of knowledge and practice a long way. I am going to try to hold off on talking about notes until the end. This is because the diatonic harmonica “computes” most of that for you if you know ONE piece of information. And if you know that, most stuff a player does will fit right in. I tend to approach music in a practical way, so the first things learned contribute to playing immediately. So here we go…

Playing Harmonica, Everything I Know

How long does it take to learn to play the harmonica?

The answer is: it depends on your goals. If you want to play and quit your job to be a touring harmonica-ist, it make take a while. But if you want to make train wails, play around the campfire with musician friends, or just want to properly accessorize your sunglasses, this information might help.

Also, if you already play and instrument or have other musical background that will be a real advantage in learning the harmonica. particularly if you are used to listening critically.

Let me give you permission to play! Play out loud and with your friends! Regardless of your current experience, if you have a harmonica to play, you will be making musical noise before the end of this article.

What is the best beginner harmonica?

To this point i have assumed you have a harmonica of some kind. If not, or if you just want some thing new or better, or to be able to play in another key, this information should help

If you own a harmonica of any kind, i suggest starting with that. You can get a quality instrument fairly inexpensively. But experience shows the less expensive the instrument, the the more unpredictable the quality of the harmonica. I have purchased a wide variety in several price ranges and found several great sounding ones for around the ten dollar mark, but i also passed on several with flat or buzzing reeds to

i have used Honer, Oskar, and a bunch of off brands. Harmonicas i will use in writing this include a Chicago Blues by Kay, a really old Honer Pro harp, a Suzuki Easy Rider, and one labeled “harmonica.” I also have a tiny harmonica with just three holes, which is about one inch long, i will play it later too.

if you have a harmonica laying around, there is a good chance it is labeled C, on the upper cover near the right hand screw. even if it is not labeled it is most likely tuned to the key of C. For most of the article this will not matter, and the information will apply to any harmonica. only when playing with other musicians will this matter.

Harmonicare

Harmonicas are easy to care for. I think the main thing is: don’t eat immediately before playing. Keep your instrument in a box, plastic bag or other case, so debris does not get into it, jamming the reeds, or being sucked into your mouth. I like to keep a harmonica in my pocket, ant the lint is bad on several levels.

After playing tap the mouth hole side against your palm or thigh to knock out anything in the harmonica. remember the harmonica goes in your mouth…

Let harmonicas air dry thoroughly before storing.

Parts of the instrument

The harmonica is made up of just a few simple parts.

• holes – there are normally 10 and you put your mouth over these
• covers – the side with numbers points up
• reed rack or comb – holds the parts that make the sound

How to play harmonica

Holding the harmonica

When holding the harmonica properly you will see numbers above the holes. The hole farthest left is number one, and the numbers go up as they proceed to the right.

Number one is the lowest pitched note, the highest pitch is labeled number ten. While there is no no real reason for this, it will simplify any instructions, since you will “match” other players. Not only harmonicas, but most musical instruments ascend in pitch as the player moves to the right.

To begin with hold the harmonica with your thumb on the bottom, your index and second fingers on top. I reminds me of holding the last few bites of an ice cream sandwich. Your pinky should be hanging off the back of the harmonica.

You can go a head and open your mouth, let it hang open a little, bring the harmonica to your lips near the left end, and BREATHE IN gently….

You don’t have try to play just one note, just gently suck in and hear that chord. Don’t worry about what it is, just breathe in, and then let it back out. Just listen and feel it. your other hand may naturally come up to help. Try to put the base of your left hand index finger against the harmonica’s left hand end, cupping your other hand and the harmonica.

Blow and Draw also known as in and out

Blowing into the harmonica is known as blowing, Breathing in is called drawing. Two different notes can be produced by each hole, one when you blow, one when you draw.

By blowing and drawing through the holes in a particular order, scales may be played.

In fact, one type of scale is played by favoring the blown notes and another by favoring the drawn notes. More on this later.

Bending harmonica notes

What is a draw bend on harmonica?

One of the most satisfying sounds you can make with the harmonica is the “train wail.” This is also known as bending a note or notes, and in addition to sounding great on it’s own, this is a fundamental technique in blues style harmonica playing. It is similar to, and named after, the guitar technique of literally bending the guitar string to raise the pitch of a played note. This is accomplished by changing the shape of your mouth cavity, or the embouchure in technical terms., and the note goes down instead of up.

The first basic movement is to yawn. That is it, just yawn while keeping your lips on the harmonica.

Begin by bringing the left end, labeled 1, of the harmonica to your lips. Draw in gently. As the note begins to sound, drop your tongue down and back as if you are yawning. The pitch of the note should bend down at least a little.

Harmonica bending exercises

Next, try forming the the shapes of vowel sounds with your mouth while drawing in on the harmonica. try combing the yawning move with a transition to a vowel shape.

With a bit of practice you will be bending and wailing many of the low notes.

Playing these bent notes also improves your ear. As you listen to the notes you are bending, you will hear the changes and start to control them.

Soon you will find you can actually start with the note bent, and release it as well.

Easiest harmonica to bend?

Some harmonicas are easier to play bent notes on that others. Most get easier as the harmonica gets “broken in” by playing, but some are manufactured with bending in mind.

Honer makes several models I have used which seemed easier to bend “right out of the box.” This would include the Pro harp Model and the Golden Melody. Both of these seemed quite smooth and the golden melody came with a plastic case, if i remeber correctly. These were not the most inexpensive harmonicas, but still reasonable.

I tend to keep my harmonicas a long time. Once they are broken in, they just feel right, like an old boot.

How to play harmonica blues

The Blues are a great starting point for harmonica, and music in general if you are new to the subject. Blues is a style of music with easily recognizable structures that lends itself to simple and complex improvising. It also leaves room for emotional quality and often has a slower tempo, which can be helpful as a player begins. The well known patterns associated with the blues mean we can learn some practical ideas that will match in many situations, we can begin playing sooner.

because of the design of the design of the harmonica, we can begin with two main ideas for practical playing:

• Focus on the draw notes
• Focus on the left hand half of the harmonica
• Try to put some feeling into the notes you play

Any of the blues style riffs or patterns you learn can be used alone or when playing with other musicians. Simple ideas performed on the harmonica fit in easily with other instruments. Many great sounding patterns may consist of just one or two notes, or perhaps even a single note! Bending really adds that feeling.

For now now concentrate on making some nice sounds and do not worry too much about what note you are playing. I personally am a little sloppy in my aim, but i feel a relaxed jaw is worth a little sloppiness. As you develop your technique will improve, and the balance between relaxation and accuracy becomes easier. For now focus on making rich, full tones.

Hold your harmonica in one hand. Bring it to your lips, aiming for around the #4 hole. Draw in, start to yawn and form your mouth into the vowel sound EE. Hold it and gently stop. That’s it! The first riff. If you want you can count 1-2-3-4- as you play, but you don’t have to, I think rich tone is more important. You can play this over and over until you can hit it consistently. It is the basic sound, and i still find it satisfying after all this time.

This time aim for the #4 four hole, but play one short draw, stop, then draw in again, yawn and form the EE. That should be starting to sound more like a riff, and probably a train whistle too! Relax your jaw, and see what happens if you play ore than one hole. It may take a bunch of tries to be able to consistently get the sound you desire, but that practice is what connects your ear to your mouth. Soon you will not be thinking as much as listening, this will become second nature.

Lets add a connecting riff. This will use two holes, the one we started on #4, and the next one to the left, #3. The breathing pattern will be: blow – draw – blow – draw. so together :

• #4 – Blow
• #3 – Draw
• #3 – Blow
• #4 – Draw (and yawn, then make the EE shape)

Now try putting these riffs together:

• #4 – Draw, stop
• #4 – Draw, yawn, make an EE
• hold
• hold
• #4 – Blow
• #3 – Draw
• #3 – Blow
• #4 – Draw (and yawn, then make the EE shape)

To close it up try sliding even further to the left, open your mouth wide and:

• #1, #2, #3 – Blow
• #1, #2, #3 – Draw

That should really be starting to sound like a blues riff!

So how about a blues Rhythm to set it off?

• #1#2#3 draw,
• 4 blow,
• #2#3 draw
• #2#3 draw
• #1#2#3 draw, draw
• #1#2#3 draw , draw
• #1#2#3 draw, draw

At this point you may be getting the idea of how this style of playing works. You may notice that even your mistakes seem to fit in, at least to a degree. That is extremely helpful in exploring the instrument in an improvisational manner.

Some ideas for exploring might start with:

• try the same riffs and phrases up or down in pitch by moving the harmonica to the left or right.
• physically move the harmonica while playing it. Shake it. wiggle it. twist it in a circle.

Diving deeper, but getting more

In some ways it is easier to play in a group, because you do not have to play the entire time, and the music lets you feel the bends. you can play support, fill, take a solo, or drop out entirely. Each choice contributes to the vibe of the piece. but it brings more challenges. You do have to know a little bit (of theory) to play with other people.

But trust me, it is worth it. Playing music with other people is one of life’s greatest joys.

So if you are ready, let’s jump in deeper…

Harmonicas are built to play in one specific key. This is the single most important thing you can know in order to play with other musicians. The key is the main or root pitch of the song. Its tonal center. The harmonica has a tonal center too. Choosing a harmonica that complements the key of the music is critical.

Resulting in this Universal Truth:

You will need different harmonicas to play songs in different keys. Using a mismatched one usually sounds spectacularly awful. Even more confusing, the key marked on a harmonica is not the easiest one to play in for most people!

10 hole harmonicas are usually diatonic. Diatonic literally means favors one key. Google dictionary sez:
(of a scale, interval, etc.) involving only notes proper to the prevailing key without chromatic alteration.

And the harmonica is tuned to a major scale. This key is usually stamped on the cover, by the screw on the right hand end. Stray harmonicas are often tuned to the key of C. So if you want to play a song in C major you are in luck. You could play a C major scale from C to shining C on a C harmonica.

But let’s not. It is impractical and somewhat rigid for a quick start, though worth studying later. What is important is to know that if two musicians are using the same notes they stand a good chance of sounding good together. In this way a scale is a list of notes the musicians limit themselves to, for the sake of playing together with a minimum of comunication.

Blues uses a lot of minor chords and scales, and the major scale is sort of happy. Even by name the blues implies a certain mood. The result of a major scale over minor structure is often a somewhat ugly collision. But thanks to mathematical musicians of the past, there is an awesome solution, and it is already built in to the harmonica!

And as a weird music theory thing, there is a minor scale that has the same notes as a (related) major scale. It is called the mixolydian mode, and the blues and rock music often employ this scale. The only difference is the note the player starts on when using the scale.

Using this minor scale way of thinking is called “playing Cross harp.” On a C major harmonica this works out to be the let you play along nicely with many songs in the key of G. Playing in C major would be called “straight Harp” and will not be covered here.

Happily, this corresponds to the left hand end of the harmonica, and the root note (G) is found at holes #2 blow, #3 draw, and #6 draw. All the notes surrounding these root notes have a higher than average chance of sounding correct against a song in the key of G, allowing you the artist, to focus on the rhythm you produce with your breathing.

When playing in this manner a simple rule of thumb is to focus on drawing in, rather than blowing. The simple reason for this is that it makes the root note be that of the minor scale rather than the major.

I am including a recording of myself playing acoustic guitar that you can play along with. I am playing in the key of G. Again the reason I have these examples in G is That most random, stray harmonicas people have seem to be in the key of C.

The limitation is that you can pretty much only play in the key of G, particularly at this early stage. To play along you will have to ask the other musicians to play in the key of G so you can join in. G is not completely uncommon, but most guitarists are much more comfortable in certain other keys.

Everything you learn to play alone will sound great with other people, and everything you learn will transfer from one harmonica to another, and so from one key to another. If you play guitar this is roughly analagous to moving a scale shape up and down the neck, except instead of moving you change instruments.

The one theory thing you do need to know

Key is the one thing you need to know to successfully play with other people. Key is just the name of the list of notes used to construct the scales, melodies, and chords of the song. You want to be using the same list as the other musicians.

Choose a more useful harmonica

if you are going to buy a harmonica, either to get a better one, or to expand the number of songs you can play with, consider buying a different key. You might consider several keys, to match common songs and guitar tunings. in simple terms the most common guitar oriented keys are E and A followed by G and D. Some guitarists play with their entire guitar tuned down a half step, like Jimi Hendrix. this is becoming more and more common. In this case the keys become Eb, Ab, Gb, Db. Finally there is a common dropped D tuning favored by a bunch of blues players. Its most common keys are D and A.

So the keys most likely to be used by guitarists are: E, A, D, Eb, Ab, G

So if i were to buy a bunch of harmonicas so i could walk in and play with a guitarist and just start jamming i would choose these harmonicas in these keys:

• to play along in E get a harmonica marked A
• to play along in A get a harmonica marked D
• to play along in D get a harmonica marked G
• to play along in Eb get a harmonica marked Ab
  
• to play along in Ab get a harmonica marked Db
• to play along in G get a harmonica marked C

There are large and small groups of harmonicas available, I keep considering a large pack of many keys, but am hesitant. Curiosity may get the best of me yet. A three pack may be a reasonable investment.

Play harmonica easily with others

Armed with several harmonicas you should be able to jump in with other musicians and start jamming. Remember that making music is actually a listening activity, so playing less and listening more is a great strategy.

Most people are thrilled to have the harmonica-ist play along, so just know they are on your side to start. Start slow, do just like in the instructions before, hold the harmonica and start gently, get louder when you start to feel it. Sit out for a little while, then come back in.

if you are in a loud situation, like a rock band, you may need to use a microphone. The harmonica may need to be almost touching the microphone in that situation. You may wind up cupping your hands around both the mic and the harmonica. If the mic is too hot, it may feed back, with a loud squeal. Moving the microphone farther from the speakers usually helps.

How to teach yourself to play the harmonica

Practice, practice practice

Seriously just play a lot. A cool thing about the harmonica is it fits in your pocket, so you can take it anywhere. You can play it in a traffic jam. You can play it at break and annoy smokers. You can make a train wail whenever you feel like it! Practice is fun and getting better is more fun. Just log some time!

Setting a goal to play every day is a good start and having your harmonica with you is a good start.

Walking and playing is a great way keep rhythm with out think about it, to log some time, and get some exercise.

Play with a metronome

If you want to get better faster, play with a metronome, drum machine or recorded track. Even if you struggle to play in time you will getter better at it quickly. Set the tempo quite slow, so you can make the changes. 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 -. You can find an app for your phone.

Record yourself playing

if you REALLY want to improve quickly, record yourself and listen to it back. It is hard and sometimes disappointing, but this method really steps up the process. The recording does not need to be good quality, you are mostly interested in tone and timing. you do not need to keep the recordings, but keeping a few for comparison over time might prove interesting!

A super simple way to record yourself is with the voice recorder on your phone. It is fast and easy, and mine actually makes pretty good recordings. And you can listen to them in the car or on other bluetooth devices, not just the phone

How hard is it to play the harmonica ?

See? Not hard at all! Harmonica is super fun and really straight forward, just start!

How i recorded the stuff for this post

I recorded these tracks with a USB microphone plugged into my really old laptop. The harmonica is about 8 inches away from the microphone. The same for the guitar. I think it sounds pretty good, way better than the laptop microphone. I would recommend this as an inexpensive way to make a decent recording with almost no setup.