Harmonica Articles

Article / Updated 07-10-2023

The diatonic harmonica is the most popular harp in North America, but many other types of harps are worth checking out. There are three other popular harmonicas that you may want to explore. You may find chromatic, tremolo, and octave harps in stores that have a broad selection of harmonicas, but many stores stick to the most popular models and keys of diatonics, rounded out by one or two chromatics. You may have to go online to find other types (though, depending on where you live, you may find inexpensive Chinese tremolos in variety stores). Chromatic harps A chromatic harmonica has a button on the right side. When you press the button, you get a different set of notes tuned one semitone higher than the main key. If you have a chromatic harp in C, you get the key of C♯ when you press the button. The two sets of notes provide you with a complete chromatic scale, allowing you to play any scale in any key. You can get all the notes without needing to bend (though you can still bend notes for expression). Chromatic harmonicas are used for jazz, classical music, movie soundtracks, and occasionally for blues and popular music, but for some reason the chromatic is most popular in Asian countries, where it’s used mainly for classical music. Credit: Photograph by Anne Hamersky Chromatic harmonicas evolved from the diatonic harmonica, and the two instruments have a lot of similarities. The note layout of the chromatic takes the middle register of the diatonic (Holes 4–7) and repeats it through three octaves. This repetition allows the note layout to stay consistent. In other words, there’s no top-octave shift and no missing notes in the bottom octave. This note layout is called solo tuning. Despite what you may have heard, the chromatic is no harder to play than the diatonic and takes the same amount of wind. And yes, you can bend notes on it. However, the chromatic does require a slightly different approach from the diatonic, but in some ways it’s actually easier to play than the diatonic. Some of the great harmonica music you hear, like most of what Stevie Wonder plays, is played on a chromatic harp. Most good blues harmonica players use a chromatic for some tunes, usually in third position. Most chromatic harmonicas come in the key of C, though you can get them in several other keys. The most popular types are the 12-hole chromatic, with the same three-octave ranges as a diatonic, and the 16-hole chromatic, which has a deep, low octave added. Several major manufacturers make solid, dependable chromatic harmonicas. Among them are Hering, Hohner, Seydel, and Suzuki. Listen here in Chapter 2, Audio Track 0201 for some third-position blues played on a chromatic harmonica. Tremolo and octave harmonicas The most popular type of harmonica worldwide is the tremolo. Inexpensive tremolo harmonicas are easy to find in the United States, even though few people play them here (Mickey Raphael of the Willie Nelson band is a fine exception). However, in many countries, including Canada, China, Ireland, Japan, Mexico, and Scotland, tremolo is a favorite melody instrument for playing folk music. Tremolo harps have two reeds for every note, mounted in two stacked rows of holes. One reed is tuned slightly higher than the other, and the slight difference in pitch causes a quavering sound, or beating, that produces the tremolo sound. Octave harmonicas are double-reeded harps that have two reeds tuned an octave apart. The low reed gives fullness to the tone, while the high reed gives it brightness. Credit: Photograph by Anne Hamersky Like regular diatonics, tremolo and octave harmonicas come in several different keys, including both major and minor keys. Major manufacturers include Hohner, Huang, Seydel, Suzuki, and Tombo. You can hear sample melodies played on an octave harmonica in Chapter 2, Audio Track 0202 and on a tremolo harmonicas in Chapter 2, Audio Track 0203.

Article / Updated 02-16-2023

Harmonicas can go out of tune with playing, and even new harps straight from the factory aren’t always in good tune. But you don’t have to accept what you get — you can correct out-of-tune notes. Harmonica tuning, as you can watch in Chapter 18, Video Clip 1805, follows straightforward procedures, but it has some ins and outs that you need to know. Always tune reeds after you’ve done any other reed work, such as embossing the slots, aligning the reeds in their slots, and setting the curvature and offset of the reeds. Any of these other actions can change a reed’s pitch. The first two things you need to know about tuning are: To lower pitch, you can either remove a small amount of metal from the surface of the reed at its base or add material, such as solder or heavy putty, to the surface of the reed near its tip. To raise pitch, you remove a small amount of metal from the surface of the reed at its tip. You’ll find that the easiest way to tune a reed is to have direct access to the reeds you want to tune. Diatonic harmonica reeds are mounted on one side of the reedplate, and that’s the side you want facing you. When you remove the covers from a harmonica, the draw reeds are facing you. However, the blow reeds are inside the comb; to expose them you need to unbolt the reedplates from the comb. You can tune the blow reeds on the comb, but it’s much easier with the reedplates removed. Plus, this way you’re less likely to damage the reeds or push them out of alignment. To tune a reed, follow these steps: Support the reed by placing a shim between the reed and the reedplate. Metal, thin plastic, or even a piece of stiff paper will work. Just remember to support the reed and not to pry the base of the reed up from the reedplate by using a shim that’s too thick. Remove metal from the reed by stroking it with a sanding detailer that has a medium-to-fine grit sanding belt. The grit number may not be marked on the belt, but you can feel the relative fineness or coarseness of the grit with your finger. Sand in a small area along the length of the reed. Don’t sand across the reed because doing so may create burrs that strike against the slot edge — and any marks across the reed can weaken it. Also, don’t press hard when sanding because pressure can change both the curvature and the offset of the reed. When sanding the tip of the reed, the safest procedure is to sand outward toward the tip. (If you sand inward, you may snag the reed and fold it in half.) However, be careful to check for burrs. When you sand near the base of the reed, you can safely sand inward. Every few strokes, test the tuning by removing the shim, plinking the reed, and then assembling the harp and playing the note. Credit: Photograph by Anne Hamersky Warm reeds vibrate at a lower pitch than cold reeds. Your breath warms reeds up, so it’s a good idea to tune warm reeds. Keep reedplates in an electric heating pad for a short time before tuning and keep them warm while you work.

Article / Updated 02-16-2023

As you can view in Chapter 18, Video Clips 1803 and 1804, Harmonica reeds can be adjusted so that they respond to a player’s breath in a particular way — for instance, to strong or gentle attacks or to heavy or light breathing. The result of these adjustments is called reed action. You set reed action by changing the curvature of the reed relative to the reedplate. For maximum efficiency in responding to your breath, the ideal reed curvature starts with the base of the reed as close to the reedplate as possible. The reed remains parallel to the reedplate for about half its length, and then curves up toward the tip. By changing the curvature of the front half of the reed, you can influence the reed’s response to hard and soft attacks and to bending. The reed should never dip into the slot and should never curve downward from base to tip. A reed that does this will respond poorly or not at all when you play it. You start setting reed action at the base of the reed, close to the rivet, and proceed toward the tip. You can raise the base of the reed by inserting a shim and lifting the reed. However, you’re more likely to want to lower the base to increase reed efficiency. You do this by gently pressing the base of the reed with your thumb or with a broad stylus. Credit: Photograph by Anne Hamersky After you lower the base of the reed, the rest of the reed may be pointing into the slot, which will prevent it from sounding. So you have to raise the rest of the reed out of the slot and then give it the curvature that will result in your desired response. If you flex the entire reed upward, you’ll raise the lowered reed base. Instead, you want to leave the base of the reed where it is and raise the rest of the reed. You can limit the effect of flexing to one portion of the reed by holding down part of the reed with a finger or tool and flexing the tip. However, the stroking method allows you to introduce a curve to a precise area of a reed. When you use the edge of a tool to stroke a reed while applying pressure, the reed will curl toward the edge — like curling a ribbon with a scissor blade. If you stroke the top of a reed, it will curve upward; if you stroke the bottom through the slot, it will curve downward. Always support the reed and stroke at the point at which you want the curvature to begin. Credit: Photograph by Anne Hamersky A reed’s response to breath If a reed is set so that it sits high above the reedplate, it will respond to hard attacks and high breath volume, but it will take a lot of breath to play at all. A reed set very low to the reedplate will respond to soft attacks and low breath volume, but it may blank out if you hit it too hard. A reed needs to have a gap under its tip or it won’t start vibrating. The gap width should be approximately equal to the thickness of the reed tip; keep in mind that long reeds require higher gaps than short reeds. A higher gap favors hard playing (the combination of hard attacks and high breath volume) and a lower gap favors soft playing. You should gap your harps to respond efficiently to your style of playing while delivering maximum volume and efficiency. Finding the gaps that work for you is a matter of experimenting. A reed’s response to bending When you bend a note down, both the blow and the draw reed respond. The reed that’s higher in pitch bends down and moves closer to the reedplate. Notes that bend a long way, like Blow 10, Draw 2, and especially Draw 3, can use a little extra curvature away from the reedplate. This curvature allows these notes more travel toward the reedplate as they bend down. The reed that’s lower in pitch bends up and moves away from the reedplate. This reed can benefit from being gapped slightly closer to the reedplate so that it has more travel range as it pulls away from the reedplate. On the other hand, when you bend a note up, the higher-pitched reed in the hole opens and moves away from the reedplate, while the lower-pitched reed stays motionless. Both reeds can benefit from being set close to the reedplate. The reed that travels away from the reedplate can travel farther from a starting point that’s close to the plate, while the reed that stays put can choke out more easily from breath pressure if it’s close to the plate. Overall reed response strategy An ideal reed response allows you to bend notes down and up with equal ease and play as hard or soft as you like. However, balancing these priorities sometimes leads to conflicts. Bending down and up have slightly conflicting needs, and soft playing and bending up (favored by low reed settings) may conflict with the ability to play hard (favored by higher reed settings). Sometimes you can help manage these conflicts by altering your playing technique. For instance, you can strengthen your bending-up technique so you can overbend reeds with higher settings. You can also learn to temper hard playing with a softer attack and a lower breathing volume so that reeds don’t need to be set as high as before. No matter how much you improve your technique, reed adjustment always plays a role. Your best strategy is to find a reed setting that gives you maximum reed efficiency — the most vigorous vibration with the least effort. Then you can tweak that setting just slightly to satisfy a specific need — a deep bend in this hole, an overbend in that hole, or an overall soft or hard attack.

Article / Updated 02-16-2023

When a reed on your harmonica won’t play or makes some kind of sound other than a beautiful, clear note, it’s usually obstructed for one of the following simple reasons: Gunk (such as lint, hair, breakfast remnants, or something else that doesn’t belong) has lodged between the reed and its slot. Burrs have been created by something hard or sharp nicking the edge of the reed or the slot. The reed is out of alignment and is hitting the edge of the slot. Take a look here in Chapter 18, Video Clip 1802 to clear gunk and burrs from a reed. If you suspect that gunk or burrs are to blame, figure out which hole number the obstruction is in and whether it’s the blow or draw note. Then remove the covers. If the stuck note is a draw note, look at the reedplate with the reeds on the outside. If it’s a blow note, look at the reedplate with the reeds on the inside. Starting either from Hole 1 (with the longest reed) or from Hole 10 (with the shortest reed), count over to the hole with the problem. When you’re at the correct hole, follow the directions for the particular obstruction that your harp is afflicted with: Gunk: Look for lint, hair, or anything else that’s stuck between the reed and the slot and then remove it. Always remove debris by sliding it toward the free tip of the reed. That way you avoid wedging it farther between the reed and the reedplate. By doing this, you also avoid snagging or deforming the reed or yanking it out of alignment. If the stuck note is a blow note, you may need to shine a light on the reedplate or in through the holes to find the obstruction. Carefully remove any debris you find. You may need to remove the reedplates from the comb to get the obstruction out. Burrs: Examine the spaces around the reeds by laying a piece of white paper on a table and shining a bright light on it. Remove the reedplate from the comb and hold it so that you’re looking through the reeds to see the light reflected from the paper shining through the reedplate and around the reeds. With this technique, you can see any obstructions, such as burrs. To clear a burr, slide a piece of steel shim (about 0.002 inches or 0.05 millimeters thick) between the reed and the edge of the slot. You’re trying to sweep out obstructions and slice off anything that sticks out. Be careful not to shift the reed to one side, however; otherwise, you’ll have to shift it back into alignment.

Article / Updated 02-16-2023

To get at the reeds in a harmonica for tuning, adjustment, or to clear obstructions, you have to take the covers off. You may also need to remove the reedplates from the comb. If you’re careful, you can disassemble and reassemble a harmonica without mishap as you can watch in Chapter 18, Video Clip 1801. Just make sure there are no parts left over when you’re done. Some harps are bolted together and some are nailed together. The processes for disassembling and reassembling are different for each type of harp. Dealing with harps that are bolted together To remove the covers of a harp that’s bolted together, hold the harp in the palm of one hand and use your index finger to steady one of the cover nuts while you unscrew the bolt. Place the bolt and nut in your holding container and remove any other cover bolts. When replacing the covers, follow these directions: Make sure the top cover (the one with the name of the harp and any numbers) is over the blow reedplate (with the reeds inside the harp). If there are grooves in the fronts of the reedplates, align the front edges of the covers in those grooves. Place one of the nuts in or over the hole (depending on what type it is) and hold it in place with the index finger of your holding hand. Turn the harp over, place the bolt in the hole, and tighten it part of the way. Install the nut and bolt in the other end of the cover the same way. When you’re sure both covers are properly aligned, do your final tightening. To remove the reedplates, use an appropriate screwdriver to loosen the bolts. Be sure to place the bolts in your holding container so they don’t get lost. Before removing the reedplates, mark the outside of each one with a permanent marker so that later you can easily identify which reedplate is the top and which is the bottom. The top reedplate has the blow reeds and the bottom reedplate has the draw reeds. Here’s how you reassemble a harp after removing the reedplates: Place the blow reedplate on top with the reeds inside and the draw reedplate on the bottom with the reeds outside. Make sure the long reeds match the long chambers in the comb. Line up the bolt holes in the reedplates with the matching holes in the comb. Insert the bolts in any order and turn each one counterclockwise until you hear it click. This makes sure that the bolt thread is aligned with the thread in the bottom reedplate. When you hear the click, turn the bolt clockwise to make sure it grabs the thread in the bottom reedplate (but don’t tighten it all the way yet). Place the harp on a table with the holes facing down to ensure that the front edges of the reedplates are aligned with the front edges of the comb, and then tighten the bolts by starting at the center of the harp and moving outward to the right and left ends of the harp. This procedure helps keep the reedplates flat against the comb. Never over-tighten a screw or bolt. Tighten it only until the screwdriver resists your finger pressure (except when you’re cutting threads in a brand-new reedplate, which requires some additional pressure). Contending with harps that are nailed together Harps that are nailed together have to be pried apart with a stiff blade that’s slim enough to work between the cover and the reedplates and between the reedplate and the comb. The blade needs to be at least as long as the surface that you’re prying, and it needs to be stiff enough to lift it. A jackknife blade is fine for covers, but you may need an inexpensive kitchen knife to lift reedplates. When prying up reedplates, try not to cut the comb or press an indentation into the wood. Nails often go in at funny angles, and their heads aren’t at right angles to their shafts. Try to preserve the nails in formation so you can return each nail to its original hole. You can stick the nails into a piece of soft putty or clay or place them in sequence on the sticky side of some adhesive tape. When reassembling nailed-together harps, press each nail into its original hole and then press it down with pliers or a hard object or tool that can press the nail without touching the reeds. Don’t press so hard that you break the comb or warp the harp.

Article / Updated 02-16-2023

The first time you play harmonica with amplification, you’ll probably play into a microphone that’s connected to a sound system. Usually the mic will be a vocal mic — a mic you would use for singing. And that’s fine; mics that work well for vocals usually work well for harmonica. Playing into a microphone on a stand When you play harmonica through a sound system, the microphone is usually on a stand, ready to amplify the voice of someone speaking or singing (or playing harmonica). Here, in Chapter 17, Video Clip 1701, you'll find pointers for getting the most out of using a mic on a stand to play tharmonica. Adjust the mic stand. Make sure to adjust the stand so that the end of the mic is at the same height as your mouth. You don’t want to scrunch down or stand on tiptoe to reach the mic — you’ll be uncomfortable and you’ll probably look strange to the audience. Position the mic. To maximize sound pickup of your microphone, point the length of the mic directly at the sound source. Your sound source is the back of your hands if you’re holding the harp, and it’s the back of the harp if you’re playing Bob Dylan style with a neck rack. Credit: Photograph by Anne Hamersky Position yourself in front of the mic. Get close to the mic so that it can get a strong signal. If you start to hear a loud howling noise, that’s feedback. Back away from the mic until the howling stops. Otherwise, you should get nice and close. Make room for your hands. An important part of the acoustic harmonica sound is the use of your hands around the harmonica. (Cupping and uncupping your hands makes the harp sound bright and dark by turns and makes vowels sound like “wah.”) Leave enough room for your hands to move without hitting the mic. Your first microphone experience may not involve a stand, however. Someone on the stage may hand you a microphone to cup in your hands along with the harmonica. In that case you need to know how to handle the situation. Playing with a microphone cupped in your hands Harmonica players often cup the harmonica and the mic together in their hands (perhaps a vocal mic or a bullet mic). As you can see in Chapter 17, Video Clip 1702, cupping a mic when you’re playing through a sound system gives you a sound that’s similar to that of a natural harmonica, but stronger and more concentrated. Cupping the mic has the following positive effects: The sound is louder than if you don’t cup the mic. Other loud sounds, such as drums and electric guitars, won’t get into your mic. You can move around the stage and still be heard because the mic goes where you go. Cupping the mic also causes other effects that you may or may not want. Consider the following: You have less ability to shape tone with your hands because the mic now occupies the space needed to create an acoustic chamber. The difference between loud and soft sounds is less pronounced. The tone of your harp will be different. High frequencies become less pronounced, giving your tone a darker, mellower sound. Don’t grab a mic to cup in your hands without letting the sound tech know first. He needs to know so he can turn down the volume on that mic. Otherwise you may hurt everyone’s ears and even damage the speakers, either with some very loud harmonica notes or with feedback. Always hold the mic one finger width away from the harp. Doing this keeps the harp from bumping the mic and making noise. You also create a small tone chamber that you can work for tonal effects by changing the shape of your hand cup around the harp and mic. Credit: Photograph by Anne Hamersky Hearing yourself through the chaos The first time you play on stage, you may have a difficult time hearing yourself and other players because of loud amplifiers, audience noise, and the distance between you and the other musicians. And when you can’t hear yourself, you may lose your place on the harp and play wrong notes. However, a good sound system provides monitors, which are little speakers on the stage floor that are aimed up at you so you can hear yourself. If there’s time before your performance, ask the sound tech to do a sound check. If you can’t hear yourself while you’re playing, you can do two things: Request more volume in the monitors. Motion to the sound tech by first pointing to your ear and then pointing upward. This tells him to raise your volume level in the monitor. Put a finger in your ear. If all else fails, a finger in your ear helps you hear your playing or singing. Hold the harmonica in one hand, and then use your other hand to create your body monitor. With high sound levels on stage, you may feel overwhelmed, and then you may start pushing too much air into the harp. Resist the urge to honk, screech, or beat up on the harp. If you play at a normal level, you’ll have better control of the harp, and you’ll sound better too. Avoiding the dreaded howl of feedback Feedback is the painfully loud howling sound that overwhelms a room when a microphone “hears itself.” Feedback happens when the mic picks up a sound, feeds that sound through a speaker, and then picks up the same sound again and starts feeding it back through the system again. Feedback happens in the following situations: When speakers and microphones are pointed at each other. When amplifiers are so loud that mics pick up sounds no matter which way they’re aimed. When a hollow space amplifies certain frequencies and makes them ring.

Article / Updated 02-16-2023

When you play through amplification, whether you cup the mic or not, you can use several effects that enhance your amplified harmonica. Some effects enhance the natural sound of the harmonica, while others are designed to actually alter the instrument’s sound. Here, in Chapter 17, Audio Track 1701, are the most useful effects for harmonica: Equalization (EQ): With EQ you can boost some parts of the sound spectrum and de-emphasize others to make your overall tone darker, brighter, or warmer. EQ can also counter some of the thin sound associated with the harmonica. For instance, emphasizing frequencies around 250 Hz can make the harmonica tone sound thicker. (Hz is the abbreviation for Hertz, which measures vibrations per second.) Rolling off, or strongly reducing, the highest and lowest frequencies (below about 150 Hz and above approximately 6,000 Hz) can help you avoid feedback. Compression: Also called limiting, compression reduces the extremes of loud and soft in your playing so that loud sounds aren’t too loud and soft sounds aren’t inaudible. Compression delivers a louder-sounding signal without turning up the volume. It also helps avoid feedback and gives you a richer sound. Delay: This effect sends some of the signal from your mic directly on to the next point while delaying another part for as little as a few thousandths of a second. At this point, the signal is delivered as one or more distinct repetitions. Delay helps the harmonica sound fuller and richer. Reverberation (reverb): This creates the impression of ambient sound reflecting off the walls of rooms of various sizes. Reverb can create the impression of sound occurring in a large space. However, remember that reverb is easy to overdo. Distortion units: A distortion unit contains two preamps, or small amplifiers that boost the mic signal at an early stage in the amplification process. One preamp overdrives the other to create distortion. An effect unit is only one of many ways to create distortion. Feedback suppressors: As the name implies, these units are designed to prevent feedback. Feedback suppression is especially useful when playing through an amplifier at high volume levels. Most sound systems have EQ, compression, delay, and reverb built into the mixing board. So when you’re playing through the house sound system and have time to dial in effects before the performance, you can ask the sound tech to adjust these effects to give you a fuller harmonica sound. Musicians often use stomp boxes, small metal boxes that contain a single effect. You adjust the box to the desired setting, place it on the floor, and then turn it on or off with a foot switch. Stomp boxes are usually made for electric guitar, but they can be adapted for harmonica as well. If you look at a harmonica player’s onstage rig, or amplification equipment, you may see a whole series of stomp boxes all plugged into one another in a chain, ready to be activated in various combinations at the tap of a toe. If you have your mic connected to one or more effects units onstage, you can send the signal to the sound system or to an instrument amplifier.

Article / Updated 02-16-2023

When you play in second position on the harmonica, your home note is Draw 2, and the surrounding draw notes form the home chord. However, notes are missing from the scale directly above and below the home note. In earlier times, people played second-position fiddle tunes in the upper register, where those missing notes were available. Today, however, the compelling sound of the low draw chord has caused players to learn how to bend notes in Holes 2 and 3 so they can play tunes in the middle and low registers instead. These tunes all require some bending in Holes 2, 3, and 4. Second position gives you a scale called the Mixolydian mode. The seventh note in this scale is flat (lowered), giving it a distinctive sound. Some of these tunes take advantage of the unique qualities of that scale. You can play each tune two ways: As a single-note melody, where you play just the top line of the tab. With harmony notes provided by splits, where you place your tongue on the harp and play notes in both the right corner of your mouth (the melody notes) and the left corner to provide a harmony or a drone. Try each tune with single notes and then filling out your sound by adding the exciting, fiddle-like splits. “Over the Waterfall” Listen in Chapter 15, Audio Track 1504 to “Over the Waterfall”, an old-time tune played under a variety of names in Ireland, the British Isles, and the American South, where it may have been spread by circus and riverboat performers. It includes the flat note in the second-position scale and isn’t too hard to play. Here, you see it with lots of split intervals. However, if you just play the top note in the tab, you can learn it as a single-note melody. Later, if you decide to tackle learning splits, you can add a new layer to your rendition. Either way, however, you need to get a good command of the Draw 3 bend to play the tune accurately (though you can kind of fake it by playing Draw 3 without bending). “Over the Waterfall” is usually played in the key of D using a G-harp. Here you play it in G on a C-harp. You can make a nice set, or medley, by playing “Over the Waterfall” and “Angeline the Baker” together. “Angeline the Baker” “Angeline the Baker”, found in Chapter 15, Audio Track 1505, is one of the most popular old-time and bluegrass tunes in the basic repertoire. It’s an instrumental version of a Stephen Foster song first published in 1850 as “Angelina Baker,” though its melody has changed considerably during its life as a fiddle tune. It works so well on harmonica that two versions are shown here, one in the lower part of the harmonica’s range and one in the upper middle part. Splits are notated in the high version of “Angeline the Baker” in Chapter 15, Audio Track 1506. As with “Over the Waterfall,” you can learn the tune first by ignoring everything but the top note and then adding the splits when you get good at that technique. Eventually you’ll be able to play this tune three ways: down low, high with single notes, and high with splits. “Bat Wing Leather” In Chapter 15, Audio Track 1507, you can hear “Bat Wing Leather”, a companion to “Cluck Old Hen.” Both tunes end their phrases using the pull-off technique. You can play “Cluck Old Hen” at a relaxed tempo and then speed things up a bit as you swing into “Bat Wing Leather.” This tune makes use of splits, but you can play just the melody notes and sound fine. Credit: Winslow Yerxa

Article / Updated 02-16-2023

First position on a harp plays the major scale. Your home note is Blow 4 or Blow 7, and the blow notes together form your home chord. The harmonica was designed to play in first position, and hundreds of traditional tunes can be played in this position successfully without any special adaptations. Here are three fiddle tunes to get you started playing traditional tunes in first position. “Jerry the Rigger” Listen in Chapter 15, Audio Track 1501 to “Jerry the Rigger” (sometimes he’s just “Jer” or even “Ger”), an Irish tune that requires you to make a clean leap between Blow 6 and Blow 4 (like you do when you play “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star”) but is otherwise fairly easy — and catchy to boot. “Jerry the Rigger” is usually played in A on an A-harp. “Soldier’s Joy” “Soldier’s Joy”, found in Chapter 15, Audio Track 1502, is one of the widely played fiddle tunes that beginners learn. It sounds complex, but on harmonica, at least, it’s simple to play because for much of the tune, all you do is breathe in one direction and move from one hole to another. “Soldier’s Joy” is usually played in the key of D on a D-harp. On a Low D-harp you can make a deep, rich sound that fits nicely with a fiddle. “The Stool of Repentance” In Scottish and Irish traditions, a jig is danced to a tune whose rhythm divides the beat evenly in three. Jigs can be a lot of fun to play, and “The Stool of Repentance,” despite its dour title, is a fairly jolly jig. When you play the B part, you can play some of the quick jumps cleanly by using corner switching. Check out this tune in Chapter 15, Audio Track 1503. Under the tab, an L is shown to indicate when to play a note or series of notes out of the left corner of your mouth, and an R for when you play a series of notes out of the right corner. “The Stool of Repentance” is usually played in the key of A and works best on an A-harp. For this version you need a C-harp.

Article / Updated 02-16-2023

Harmonica players have proved very clever in adapting a C-harmonica to play in many keys. While first, second, and third positions are the most popular, you can make some great sounds in twelfth, fourth, and fifth positions as well. “À la claire fontaine” in twelfth position Twelfth position has been seldom used until recent years. Its scale is nearly a major scale, except that the fourth degree doesn’t sound normal because it’s sharp. Sometimes that note can create cool effects, especially in movie music. However, while folk songs rarely use such exotic sounds, a few of them omit that scale note entirely, making them good vehicles for exploring the unique sound of twelfth position. “À la claire fontaine”, which you can hear in Chapter 14, Audio Track 1411, first appeared in France near the end of the 18th century and immediately caught on in Canada as well. Even though it tells of the disappointment of lost love, its simple yet haunting melody is often sung by small children (for a notable example, check out the film The Painted Veil). This version of the melody, from Québec, differs slightly from the version sung in France. On the harmonica, this song can be played in first or twelfth position. By the way, the backing chords on the audio track are more sophisticated than you might hear in the simplest renditions of this song. However, they reflect the way of harmonizing folk tunes currently used by French-Canadian folk musicians. “The Huron Carol” in fourth position In the 1640s, Jesuit missionary Jean de Brébeuf was living among the Wendat people near Lake Huron. He wrote a fascinating account of his mission and also wrote a song in the Algonquian language, “Iesus Ahatonnia,” to encourage the Wendat nation to forsake worshiping evil spirits and take up Christianity. Later translated into both English and French, it has become famous as “The Huron Carol.” “The Huron Carol”, found in Chapter 14, Audio Track 1412, matches the scale found in fourth position. The easiest way to play in fourth position is to use the high register because the home note in the low register requires well-honed note-bending skills. Playing up high doesn’t require any bends to get missing notes, although you can try bending the high blow notes for expression. If you’re reading the music notation above the tablature, it’s written an octave lower than actual pitch for more convenient reading. “Poor Wayfaring Stranger” in fifth position The minor-key gospel song “Poor Wayfaring Stranger”, which you can listen to in Chapter 14, Audio Track 1413, has been recorded by many folk and country artists. If you go looking for the song’s history, you’ll find many conflicting claims about its origin, but it seems to go back in American tradition at least to the early 19th century. On harmonica, “Poor Wayfaring Stranger” can be played in fourth, fifth, and even second position (with a little note bending). However, it works especially well in fifth.