The body of a harp upon which the reed plates are attached. The comb has the holes or chambers into which you play. Combs are made of wood, plastic, or metal. See picture above. A tuning that uses only the 8 notes from a major or minor scale. This is the tuning for normal hole "short" harmonicas, also called diatonic harps. Often used to refer to the harmonica itself, as opposed to a chromatic harmonica. Notes played by inhaling. The draw notes are created by the lower reeds numbers up where the reeds open outside the harp.
Seems to originate from the early term "French Harp". An advanced type of bend that plays the opposite reed in an opening rather than closing fashion. Overblows raise the pitch of the natural note, whereas normal bends lower the pitch. Overblows are available on holes and overdraws are available on holes Relates to the starting place e. The natural notes of the harmonica when played in different positions yield characteristic modes. A thin rectangular metal strip normally brass attached to a mounting plate that is activated by the players breath to spring back and forth through its slot, which chops the airstream and produces the harmonica's sound.
The mounting plate for the harmonica reeds. Normally brass. A rectangular hole in the reed plate just slightly larger than its reed. The reed vibrates through its slot to produce the harmonica sound. Short for tablature. A shortcut notation that indicates how to play a note on the harmonica. This is different from standard musical notation, which indicates what note to play including its relative duration.
Note Low Med Hi C. Note Low Med Hi F. Playing should be done by breathing through the harmonica , not by thinking about blowing or sucking. The breathing should come from the diaphragm. Breath control is as important in harmonica playing as in singing.
The air should be slowly inhaled and exhaled. Practice playing a note and holding it for as long as you can, being careful not to get dizzy.
Many traditional "camp fire" songs are easy for the beginner, like "Oh Susanna", "Red River Valley", "Clementine", etc. The harmonica lets you play chords as well as single notes, and the chords are easier to get than single notes. The chords can be used as backing rhythms to compliment melodic play.
Because of the close proximity of the holes on diatonic harmonicas, some technique and practice is required in order to get clean single notes. The way of putting the mouth on the harp is called embouchure , and several different embouchures can be used to get single notes. The main embouchures are the pucker or lip block , the tongue block , and the U-block or slotted tongue. The hole-2 draw is often problematic for beginners, and sometimes the 1 draw as well.
Many beginners think there's something wrong with the harp, because this note won't play. The beginner should concentrate on a mouth shape for making an "eeeee" sound, and might want to let a little air in through the nose at first to help play the note. If you can draw holes and hear the 2 draw note, you know the harp is okay. The key is getting a very air-tight cup with the hands, which mutes the sound. Opening and closing this cup creates the characteristic "wah-wah" sound of the harmonica.
Diatonic harmonicas come in all different keys i. C, D, E, Ab, Bb, F , etc. The normal range of harps from low to high such as when harps are offered in a set is G at the low end to F on the high end, but doubled keys add high G and low harps from D or even low C. The sample has chords for A, C, and D harps, 3 of the most common keys. Note articulations e. Ta, Da, Ka, Ha. The tongue can be used to start or attack notes differently, which changes the color of the notes and adds variety to the sound of the harp.
These articulations can be associated with various spoken syllables, like saying "ta" or "ka" or "da" or "ha" or "ga", etc. Articulation can also be done by slightly lifting the upper lip off the harp and replacing it in a sort of "biting" or "kissing" the harp fashion. A shake is a rapid alternation between adjacent holes. Shakes are commonly done by shaking the head from side to side probably where the term comes from , but can also be done by moving the harp from side to side, twisting the harp, or some combination thereof.
The scale for 2nd position is a 5th higher than the natural key of the harp, for example, for a key of C harp playing it in 2nd position means playing in the key of G. The draw notes provide more possibilities for bends and expressive vibrato than the blow notes. When beginners first achieve draw bends, which are available on holes , they are primarily quick changes from the natural note, like a quick flattening of a note continuously bending a little down and then back up to the primary note.
In other words, the bent notes are not used as notes in their own right. The note bends, but the player has little control over the depth and duration or the note. The sample has a thin weak sounding draw bend, and is an example of what NOT to do. Blow bends are available on holes The sample has a thin weak sounding blow bend, and is an example of what NOT to do.
Diaphragm vibrato is distinct from throat vibrato, and as its name implies it emphasizes the diaphragm instead of the throat, though each is used to a certain degree. It is usually characterized by a volume oscillation vibrato as opposed to a pitch oscillation.
However, when using vibrato on a held bend, the diaphram is used to gently add the vibrato, and the pitch will vary due to the pressure changes. Diaphragm vibrato is basically achieved by repeating "ha ha ha ha" as when making a laughing sound. The sample vibrato is somewhat exaggerated so you can easily hear it. Draw note alterations are so-called bends that alter the natural pitch of a note to a different usable on-pitch note.
The word "bend" implies a continuous pitch change, but bends on the harmonica do not have to be changes from other notes--in other words, a bend as an altered note can be played separately from other notes, and the natural note need not be played at all.
Holes 2 and 3 have bend ranges more than a single half step semi-tone. Bends tend to alter most easily to the extreme range, and notes between the natural note and the most altered note are called intermediate bends, and are more difficult to achieve, control, and maintain on pitch than normal bends. The sample has a number of draw bend notes mixed in with normal notes. Using a tongue blocking technique, rhythm chords and melody can be played at the same time.
Normally a chord containing the melody note is played, and then notes of the chord are blocked from being played by using the tongue. Similar effects can be achieved with a lip block by opening and closing the embouchure or rolling the harp up at the back to go from a chord to a single note. This technique is often used on the bottom 3 holes where lip blocking is more difficult.
The glissando is a strictly increasing or decreasing sequence of notes played in succession so fast that the individual notes are not given separate specific time values.
It's easy on the harmonica! Just blow or draw and slide the harp around--you're doing glissandos. The key is to make the notes clean, even and smooth, in rhythm, and leading to a clean melodic note. Even response can be greatly affected by the reed gaps. You need to set the gaps so that a consistent playing pressure produces notes of the same loudness up and down the length of the harmonica.
Traditional blues style harp is played amplified through a microphone. The mic and the amp work together to produce the sound, and what you should get depends on what you like to hear. The Shaker mics are smaller, lighter and easier to cup. Preferred amplifiers are normally tube amps , and vintage Fender amps are highly valued as harp amps.
Many players prefer amps with reverb, or use separate reverb "tanks". Digital or analog delay pedals are a common effect in amplified play. A slur is where a bit of an adjacent note is played along with the primary note. A double stop is where two notes are played at the same time with essentially equal strength. Double stops can be played using bent notes and combinations of bent and un-bent natural notes, especially on holes A slur has a primary note and a softer secondary note.
Slurs can add a "bite' to a note, especially when amplified. Chords come in a wide variety of types based on the specific notes they contain. For instance, some chords sound harmonious and pleasant, while others sound jarring or foreboding. The most popular types of chords are major, minor, and seventh chords. Major chords : Sound bright and pleasant Minor chords : Sound dark and menacing Seventh chords : Sound unresolved and somewhat dissonant—neither bright nor dark. All harmonicas, including diatonic harmonicas, are capable of producing at least a few chords.
The chords you can play, and the notes you must play simultaneously in order to sound them, are:. Play it by drawing holes 3—4—5—6 or 7—8—9— For instance, to play a C major chord: Place the harmonica in your mouth.
Move the harmonica to align holes 1—2—3 with the area that your lips cover. Exhale from your diaphragm to blow notes 1—2—3 and sound the C major chord. Start with the C major chord by following the steps above.
The chord you play should sound bright, happy, and resolved. Try playing the D minor chord next draw 4—5—6 or 8—9— It should sound dark and brooding, entirely unlike the C major chord. Harmonica players such as Bob Dylan and Neil Young have popularized this style of playing harmonica chords. Since the number of actual chords that can be played on a diatonic harmonica is very limited, harmonica players usually play chords as arpeggios. An arpeggio is a version of a chord in which you play the notes of a chord separately rather than simultaneously.
For instance, if you wanted to play an E minor chord, you would instead have to play an arpeggio containing the notes of the E minor chord: E, G, and B. In order to play arpeggios, you need to know: The individual notes that make up the chord: Consult a chord dictionary online or in print. How to play those notes on your harmonica: Some chords include notes that will require special techniques to sound, such as bends.
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