DIUOWIEH ayy AR|g 01 MOH snueW +e AN ALFRED HANDY GUIDE How to Play the | HarmonicaHARP CARE How to play the HARMONICA 48 1. The biggest problem you'll ever encounter with your harmonica is stuck reeds, that is, DIATONIC OR CHROMATIC notes that won't play. While this does not Indicate your harp Is ruined, often people do CONTENTS ruin their harps trying to solve this problem. aan ar The probable cause of the stuck reed is saliva, fo0d, or some other substance caught The Diatonic Harmonica... 2 between the reed and the channel. The best ‘The Chromatic Harmonica . . 3 way to free the reed is to firmly tap the Diatonie Construction. 4 hole side of your harmonica against the Chromatic Construction 5 palm of your hand. In fact, you should do this How to Hold the Harmonica 6 after every few minutes of normal playing. Blowing and Drawing Exercises 7 Playing Single Blow Notes. 89 If this technique does not work, | would Notes and Rests 10 recommend returning the harp to the dealer Music Exercises F sll or manufacturer. Often they will repair the Playing Single Oraw Notes. 12 instrument at little or no expense, but not if More Music Exercises 13 you've tampered with it. Some Simple Tunes. 14.15 Talking into the Harmonica, 16-17 The best way to prevent stuck reeds is to Music and the Harmonica 18.19 keep your harp clean. Particularly avoid grease How to Read Music... 20-21 and dirt Practice Tunes. : 22:35 Look Down That Lonesome road (Dia.) .. ..22 2. Many players soak their harps in water to Aura Lee (Chro.). 23 make playing easier. This technique does The Streets of Laredo (Dia.) 24 free-up the reeds and speed up the break- The Midnight Special (Chro.) 25 in process. However, manufacturers warn House of the Rising Sun (Dis.) . 26 against submerging the harmonica in any Scarborough Fair (Chro.) .. a liquid, and will not generally repair a “soaked” Shenandoah (Dia.h 28 harp. The County Jail \Chro.) 29 Worried Man Biuas (Dia.) . 30 A NOTE ON CHROMATIC HARP CARE The Entertainer (Chro.). feast Since chromatic harmonicas tend to be quite Wiidiwore aioe ible) poses expensive, il is often cheaper to repair a broken SEM es ora, wises (Chiro) ss fone than to replace it. Thus, it is particularly Important that you do not tamper with the instru- Part2 ment, but leave repair to professionals. ‘The 12 Bar Blues Progression 37 The Blues Progression for “Straight Harp’... 38-39 ‘The Blues Progression for “Crossed Harp. 40-41 The Blues Progression for “Third Position’... 42.43 ‘Summary of Blues Progressions. a4 Diatonic Note Reference Chart 44 Sampling of Blues Rhythms 45, Instant Chord Guide for Diatonic Harp. .... 46-47 Harp Care = 48 Gevpyrignt MCML XXX by Attred Publishing Co. Inc. All ighs reserved. Printed #9 USA.THE DIATONIC HARMONICA in the number of notes it can play. in the following keys: ©, D, E, F, Pictured Is a Hohner Marine Band No, 1896 in C. FOR DIATONIC HARP CHORD — Play holes F Harp G Harp A Harp Bb Harp F —ANY SET OF BLOW HOLES e-O©O"O@ c -O©0.0 00-00 c7-©O©O~ OOO G — ANY SET OF BLOW HOLES c-©O-@®@ > -9@9.00O+O® 17-@@O©* 9O® A —ANY SET OF BLOW HOLES D-O©©-O@ E-O@@©.©00- 00 7-©@@©+ 900 Bb — ANY SET OF BLOW HOLES. -O©O-O@ F -O©@0.9 OO- O80 F7-@@O©* OOO 47INSTANT CHORD GUIDE CHORD — Play holes C Harp © —ANY SET OF BLOW HOLES F-@0+0®@ 04} Uo sajou oy) i1e EXejd Kyse0 1! ‘so}ou BuIpueg 40 spioyo 40) ssajesn AyenIA OUR ‘eAlsuedxg, Pea] Senig B WUIAYY PUE YOON PU seIpojou! Buykeid 40) Injasn ysow 8) duey onBWOIYyD eyL VOINOWYVH SILVINOYHS SHL 6 -O@0.0900-0® 67- ©@@O©* OOO D Harp D —ANY SET OF BLOW HOLES ©O*O®@ A -O0@O.O0OO*O8 ee OOO 200 ©0-O®@ 8 -O0@©,@00"00 @OO-O00 E —ANY SET OF BLOW HOLES a7— Ar a E HarpDIATONIC CONSTRUCTION CHANNELS (reeds underneath) = iz b q cos =a p q I {i —s ae — SS |= bh gq —— = A —s Be s eg Ll ad s E a i £2823 geet Beis B2855 es2si aces 3 € 2 harmonica produces 20 pitches. ‘The diatonic harp only plays the notes of the SAMPLING OF BLUES RHYTHMS The Standard Train Rhythm foe 1a with an embellishment a oT), --syncopated Bvasia 3, 7 ‘Another Rhythm Tied) Jd d with a variation lA Oe Still Another Rhythm, ei ees. dk with a different downbeat 1 ePaee-), - -syncopated fy) fe ob One More (slow tempo) NATE NANT = witha variation As ID) DARNSUMMARY OF BLUES PROGRESSIONS Zi Aejd veo onewouys 8uy ‘saj0u yuaLe/Ip J Ae|d UBD BoIUOULeY 91UOTeIp e1um ‘snl “sKex 4OBIq pue eLIYM ‘oUeId By, UO Sejou oyy |e Aejd j1Im eo!uoMMEY SHEWOIYD ey, (sdueys oui) euBty ove Yeu) sp9o1 oy) OWUI JIE 94) SpUDS 1yBU oy UO Foy ey) Bulysng “JeUIO ey) UeYT J8YBIY BLO} [ey U0 payoild J98 au ‘spaai Jo 188 0%) 0} SS8008 Sey e104 Aejd yowe ‘snus “speed pue sjeuUEyo Jo 388 19430 ay) Jo uO 0} PeyosIP s1 JIE YB Oy) uo paimioid oy aun Aq pajosiuco sanjeA jo 128 B sa Oba MRO Seine cae yBnoiuy ‘exoqe paquosep souuew oy) ul punos ajay} sonpoud yorym ‘seoluoWeY o1UOWeIP OM, 40 sys18u09 4 NOILONYLSNOD SILVINOYHD 1SBq ROVOWEY ONFEWOIYO OU, .G, A, B, OF Bb,C,D,E of. 4,8, Ch DE a Cho FRc Fe 4,8,C,D,E,FR Bb, 6, 0, Eb, FGA EFS, FG, AB, oO STRAIGHT HARP or Blow into hole 6 CROSSED HARP THIRD POSITION Tonic - Draw from hole 4 DIATONIC ‘= Tonic- Blow into holes 4 and 5 * Tonic - Draw from holes 2and3 or Draw from holes 3and 4 = Dominant Draw from hole 4 ‘+ Dominant Draw from holes 7 and 8 + Dominant Draw from hole 6 ‘+ Subdominant - Draw from holes 5 and 6 + Subdominant- Blow into holes 4and5, * Subdominant - Blow into hole 6 NOTE REFERENCE CHART DE,HOW TO HOLD THE HARMONICA Hold in left hand between thumb and fingers Low notes (holes 1, 2, 3, etc.) on left. up right hand over, forming a tight cup. This enables you to produce bluesy, vibrato effects, Chromatic people: hold like above, only use your right thumb to press in the key. (When not playing vibrato, use the palm of your right hand to work the key.) VIBRATO Blow into the two or three lowest notes and Quickly open and close the cup, pivoting at the bottom of your palms. Try moving your whole hand, opening and ‘losing the cup. You should get a ditferent sound Experiment with vibrato and the sounds you get blowing and drawing FOR “THIRD POSITION” 12BARBLUESIND G7 (Subdominant) on D (Tonic) Py @ @2® © 2Oe 7 @@OO @0® ‘AT(Qom) G7(Sub.) D (Tonic) . v- D (Tonic) sree ee @e @®@ @ 4342 THE BLUES PROGRESSION + 2MEASURES OF SUBDOMINANT. Blow into hole 6 + 2MEASURES OF TONIC. Draw trom hole 4or Draw from hole 8 + 1 MEASURE OF DOMINANT. Draw from hole 6. + 1 MEASURE OF SUBDOMINANT. Blow into hole 6 + 2MEASURES OF TONIC. Draw fromhole When playing in the “third position,” use a harmonica tuned one step below the key of ‘+ 4 MEASURES OF TONIC. Draw from hole 4. the piece you are playing. In other words, for a tune in the key of D, use aC harmonica, etc. use a harmonica tuned to. 8 3 z 3 5 2 2 £ = Forblues in the key of.. BLOWING AND DRAWING EXERCISES Blow and draw into the first three holes (or around there) and go up one hole at a time to the highest three notes, It doesn’t have to be perfect. just close. Exercise 1 2345678 910 BLOW Conawy | Cory Conan} BLOW. DRAW. (orawy CONTINUE HARP CODE 4 Blow into hole 4 @> Draw from hole 4 123 = Blow into holes 1, 2 and 3 Draw from holes 1, 2 and 3 Exercise 2° Try this exercise keeping an even beat Tap with your foot or count in your head. Play123 123 G3) GD 234 234 GD GD Tap- 4 + t A@tegetee 1 t tat 4 t § Continue Com 1& 2&3 R4R1KIRGAS Exercise 3 Pay -123 234 GD GD 234 Ms GD GB Tap— + 1 tate tat eta td t sContime &283&4R1K2K3KS TRY KEEPING AN EVEN BEAT!PLAYING SINGLE BLOW NOTES In order to play melodies, or Blues and Rock lead and accompaniment, you've got to play single notes It's probably the hardest and most important step in mastering the harp. There are two ways to do it-Tonguing and Puckering, Pick one that's best for you. TONGUING This is the best way to play if you'll be playing a chromatic harp. 1. Blow into holes 4, 5 and 6, making a chord. 2. Push your tongue forward against the holes so that only one hole is uncovered and sounds. ‘This can be either to the left or right of your tongue (hole 4 or 6), but pick aside and stick 3. Try to get a single, clear tone. PROBLEMS? Getting the wrong note? Try placing the tip of your tongue in the hole (hole 5) next to the one you want to play. Press the side of your tongue against the other unplayed hole. Getting two notes? ‘ou're not covering both holes. 1.reonen > Te rene a) ‘Try moving the harmonica very slightly to the left for right, making sure that you're still blowing into hole 4. ete se fatteetterstst tte om te ree ae FOR “CROSSED HARP” 5@®s eo ee 8 ee 08 ee 68 6 Oe G (Tonic) C7 (Subdominant) (e7(Subdominant) S e ° < preaeacasae $83 412 BAR BLUESING acne fe > Sa IE a gg Bg gi @DOQ @OO@ Dz (Dominant) ©o ©8 eo ee aaa aTHE BLUES PROGRESSION When playing “crossed harp,” use a harmonica tuned to the subdominant of the key of the piece you are playing. In other words, for a tune in the key of G, use aC harmonica, etc. w 2 5 3 a = < = 2 a 3 3 & & PUCKERING (Second Whatever the name, harp play this way. many who pick up on the 1, Tighten your lips as if to whistle and blow into hole 4. ‘Try getting a single, clear tone. ESS PROBLEMS? Can’t get one note? ‘= 4 MEASURES OF TONIC. Draw from holes 2 and 3 or Draw from holes 3 and 4. ‘+ 2MEASURES OF TONIC. Draw from holes 2 and 3 or Draw from holes 3 and 4. * 2MEASURES OF TONIC. Draw from holes 2 and 3 or Draw from holes 3.and 4 * 2MEASURES OF SUBDOMINANT, Blow into holes 4 and 5. + 1 MEASURE OF DOMINANT. Draw from hole 4. + 1 MEASURE OF SUBDOMINANT. Blow into hole 4, a against the harp. Tighten your lips and press them more firmly use a harmonica 2. Problem + Forblues in the (ay A common problem with this method is getting the pucker over the hole. Try moving the harp slightly to the right or left in order ee to better center your mouth over the hole.NOTES AND RESTS “STRAIGHT HARP” (First Position) Before you can practice any rhythms, you've got to pick up on a bit of musical notation. It's simple and really helpful NOTES RESTS (means don't play) © = awhole note “= = awhole rest TAP— 1 t 5 POLS COUNT- | & 2 &3 & 4 & = 4BEATS = adotted half note patat & 2&3 & = 3BEATS | or a half note. om = ahalfrest t 2 & = 2BEATS eon IE: © (Tonic) (Repeat) <— © (Tonic) a quarter note , | & = 1 BEAT - 6 ieee Of a Ht = a quarter rest 5 ets by @O® ®@@O® Peep eee @20® ©08 7 (Subdominant) — 12BAR BLUES INC € (Tonic) 5565 2448 F7(Subdominant) ®@OQO® ®OO® G7 (Dominant) 4 = rr @O® OOO © ®O®DD BOO ® -% lie Asinteenthnote = V4 BEATo® J =) i J a siscenh note ee ‘Simple. Just remember that a beat can be as long or short as you want for each piece, depending upon how fast or slow you want the tempo of the song tobe. Guitar Ace. achorg, osTHE BLUES PROGRESSION FOR MUSIC EXERCISES o+ +e AYIA :p ostuaxy rs eB & aera ‘tyre + 9 t+ + f 2 ee ? f r AWId —:¢ 281010xq aewrat fete Ute + 9 * e = f ~ abe te aeeenret Pebtet ef 2 ° - AVI #1 ospiexg ‘§ PUP y S0}0\| O}U! MOIA|“DINOL 4O SBUNSVAWZ "g 2104 wos) meig 10 9 pue ¢ Sejoy WO} MEI "LNVNINOGENS 40 3ENSVaNW | "9 2/04 oyu) Mojg 40 g PUP J S9}04 WOH} MIG “LNVNINOG 4O SHNSVAW | “G PUR y S9IOy O1UI MOG “OINOL JO SIUNSVANZ “gpue gsejoy Woy Mesa “LNYNINOGENS 40 S3HNSVAN Z PUR y Sel0y oWU| MOIG "SINOL JO S3ENSWAN y ‘28 'eo}UOUEY 9B 96N ‘D Jo Koy BUY UY BUN Bx uy “ulkejd xe nok aoaid oxy se Koy owes oy) 0} pouny eoJuUNeY e asn ,'diey IY ‘spu0m 19410 Suykeid vou, 1"PLAYING SINGLE DRAW NOTES. TONGUING Do the same thing as you would to blow through hole 4. Try drawing air into your mouth. Try to get a clear, single tone PROBLEMS? Don't worry. Most mortals find drawing harder than blowing at first. Stick with it, you'll get it Getting two notes or no sound” 1. A major problem is that your tongue tends to pull into your mouth when you draw. Try pushing it hard against the harmonica when drawing. ‘Try adjusting how much of the harp is between your lips. You might find one position works better than others. 3. Try changing the angle of the harp in your lips. 4, DON'T DRAW TOO HARD! Sometimes if you try to play too loud the reeds won't sound. Keep it cool 5. See page 8, “PROBLEMS.” PUCKERING Do the same thing as you would to blow through hole 4. Try drawing air into your mouth. Try to set a clear, single tone. PROBLEMS? No sound? Sometimes when you draw, your cheeks and lips collapse, so no air gets through. Adjust how tight you keep your lips.-Sometimes keeping them loose works, sometimes not. The most important thing is experiment until you get that clean tone. Soon you'll be able to do it every time 12 THE 12 BAR BLUES PROGRESSION 4 MEASURES OF TONIC + 2 MEASURES OF SUBDOMINANT = 2 MEASURES OF TONIC - 1 MEASURE OF DOMINANT 1 MEASURE OF SUBDOMINANT 2 MEASURES OF TONIC EQUALS, ‘THE 12 BAR BLUES BLUES PROGRESSION GUIDE Ifthe the andthe TONIC chord SUBDOMINANT DOMINANT (Astnoteot scale) thnoteot scala) _(Sthnotect scale) Is. chordis... _chordis. c ce D > E E FA s A™™gogowg>go wore orPart 2 The following section, pages 37 to 47, is for playing blues harp. Generally, only a diatonic harmonica is used, as it is capable of the “bending” and chording associated with the blues sound. Thus, this section is geared toward the diatonic harmonica. However, many blues tunes can be played on a chromatic harmonica and the ones following are no exception. Just read the music and ignore the holes indicated. MORE MUSIC EXERCISES E PLAY — 1BHOW DRY 1AM SOME SIMPLE TUNES Start playing these songs slowly at frst, until you can play them clearly. (Note: At first it’s important you zet the notes right, though you should also always try to keep an even beat.) | é | 3 2 sig 2 Pela 4ea} ~+o os ae $0@ § ae —e oc F as 3 Sao os 43 ees 5 > 7067 5 to ew Ff * = soe 8 2 ee ~ 2 = ™ fee, © -& SSy- “to 28, ates } sOTR -loat~ g ere. 1.7. tue Chromatic 8 5 © 6 TUNES He Wt i i bi oe nee | | 5 [trol Fis] ° N tf» E| sol D7 = ©s =a ? Gm Eb7 Gm DTPRACTICE 7@O 4 Oo ®@@ @ @s «f ¢& rnwmoys ®@@ @er »& » sumer Sit oe COFALSD LE EPRI a rae AYTOOd WOL ‘LLWWOUHO 93078 AUVINUIINI SWE “LS 15TUNES = = —— = os SSS wo 2 a @e ® se ‘ G:-® © + © © a» @ « = = 9 —s = Ree gee oO Lo sz @ee ‘ GO © + O@ = ao @ «© O8 — = ==: Se = o Lo * °o {suoneuen) GOODOOGD QGOQOHOGO i i a eo i of Bees € pur TT SaIOH s2t10}1eK0 awios 1091 ‘aroy ayy out, VOINOWHYVH 3H.L OLN! ONDIWL 16PRACTICE oneaqa = ae O® vi Ori: OO -w OO [ee pe ge el ig el CHOGOOOQSOOOM tem fei laheiy Cth Call Cah halal, eve sueas 3p0y-S9ntg, utys nos unos 490%, suawusdxy wHW1 - HVL, Wo. rex, a 10x Buyuodo “dxey cone moo} PECL TOL - MOL, ce ® 3 ® a oo s s s 2 ae + + * == 9 o wo ° @e @ s e * @® e e ° a SE a — = a 9 0 a 9 pe @s @ s © s « © ° an £ o ae e |— = — = 3 1 2 Zot © ws ® ee a) * @ 4 2 — fs eh = * o Lo 9D “90yseyND SOINOLVIC ¥3MO14 GOOMATIM 7TUNES ee of 19, 9 wa a GGe 8 2-88-28 @) — ees = = — Dd 19 2 wo ts 80 20 ©@ © © a@®ew pee te et ate =! ~ 2 2 we WaNIvLuaINa aHL oUWWOUHO m4 ane S3jOuy 20xy}) SAY OY? LOSBaL xy]. °L YEMOM p S2}ou| WO4y etd ay Jo Sax YoRIA ay Jo Aue Avjd j,usaop . Jo Aay ax ut die sang Aryd 0X 1j Ajuo 24 pu (SIR, “398 una nox SY 0 912g ——— 2s 21008 8 >} oe Jule probe og [ine af. -ge opae [iq [Boe par] DO cae LOr | | A ei | al ele acy or 6 g é o s r 2 it 1 :89[0H 1uo3e1g ay ‘moj2q wpssoyp ay) uy “ssuIU daey BULAe|d Ud>q 24,n0K sa}Ou ‘4a no} 2502 Lasso] 9 S910 MDEp 214) “SH VOINOWHVH 3HL GNV SISNIN a 8PRACTICE 1J [P| 1G ]e® [ed [eP 1H] 400 [sD] A] 20 El o Mo oe Wee ce teen, ores, 10995 —— JoPP | Ae. CP a] O197.9| 4| 3 i a) a ee onewosy9, ‘ @s 8 a @e ® ‘ — E Da a “ 3 19 © o Ge es ° SSS ts - ° ‘ @ee @® ‘£ 4 ©8® 8 @® 9 3 = tt = 7 SES a iy “a 3 soysno) (Guog powiom® Bulg 0} VEW PeLHOM & Sexe 31) SANTE NVIN G3IHUOM SINOLVIG 19 30HOW TO READ MUSIC Since songs have been written out a couple of million years this way, and will probably continue to be for at least the next ten (after that, what's it to you’) it, might be a good idea for you to pick up on it. But don't worry, we'll always give you the holes for the songs in this book. STAFFS Sth LINE-@ 4th LINE, 3rd LINE 2nd LINE Ast LINE “ath SPACE ‘3rd SPACE 2nd SPACE @ ist SPACE During the evolution of musical notation, the staff had from 2 to 20 lines, and symbols were invented to locate certain lines and the pitch of the note on that line. These symbols were called. . CLEFS Music has three clefs, the C, F and G clefs. Most music for the piano, guitar and harmonica uses the G and F clefs. G Clef G Clef Notes SE TUNES CHROMATIC ‘THE COUNTY JAIL es = 1 ® 3 = ai. Gultar Ace. « = ® © =. t 79 @@®@ @ wo os @ ®@ © @ = dotted eighth note. It receives % of a beat, © ©DIATONIC ‘SHENANDOAH 5S: ote ees @O® LY oe sf i) = ® pas © » ® pon == weer PRACTICE ole + sit © Lely ie 1p Guitar Aco. © ° MEASURES Music is divided into equal parts called MEASURES. A BAR LINE divides one measure from another. BAR LINE BAR LINE double bar line i means the end. [ONE MEASURI To Indicate the number of beats in each measure, weusea. TIME SIGNATURE ‘The Time Signatures: 2 3. 4 6 = beatsineach measure, mean 4 4 4 BS cnanote getting one beat KEY SIGNATURE indicates what notes, if any, should be played sharpor flat in the piece. Sharps or flats next to individual notes only apply within the measure. Play F, Cand sharp. F Play Band E flat. f Naturals cancel a previous or within a measure. = " aTUNES PRACTICE 2 } lel oe «® © ® © 8 . dS = # SS Se [ee J ee Hg am a ow a wa 5° i eo PO tf © HO p © = te ee Jt SF a tae 7) be ° wg a tug o9yse1IND wma | ‘SULYWOUHO | YOU SWOS3NOT LVHL NMOG 4001 OINOLVIG. gTUNES PRACTICE = 7S ee =o gas firs Se 4 5 1a db OLD 4 © 060 + SOOO Shae $F Litter — | Bl — @2@2@s OOS 4 © 4@+@TO « 910OGe a zadaae ee =e ERS 7 Sntrey = Yor? ®@ © O20: @ +o t © 6©+@6®@ etree lpr ieer ee e® ba © -oyseunD ‘OLLWINOWHO ‘WI93dS LHOINGIN 3HL ot eee eee ee a = See E itt Coro 2 1 3 1 3 19 3 » © *@s ©30 » a he *®s ©°@ s@2 8 ei ie ei == FS ere Lo a Lo o uo o uo O00 se}ND ooauyi so sizauis 3HL olnouviaTUNES PRACTICE © OFF ®GO Fores * ®OoF eee oS ie v a va EA v wa a saacenes Tue som PRO Obese seve = : = = 3 = eve poveojpu se1ou SSS SS SS Ge Ww Vv a a fey ssaideg = ®©' oF Rt (ee © 6 © © OLS) (OW HE tGiorn 9|o oO SS == SSS SSS ane [reowomnoe ss ¥ a i ¥ -90y ND ULWNOUHO aan vuny OINOLWIG NAS ONISIY 3H. JO aSNOH 28