How to Figure Out the Holes of My Harmonica

To play the harmonica, you must first learn the notes.

The sounds of the harmonica have long been a staple of Blues music. Learning how to play a harmonica can be one of the most cost-effective ways to play a musical instrument. Since the notes of the harmonica are not printed on its surface, you must learn what each hole represents, and how to produce the ideal sound by drawing air in and blowing it out through the harmonica. The first step in becoming a harmonica player is learning the notes for each hole on your instrument.

Instructions

1. Examine your harmonica. A standard harmonica has 10 holes and makes different sounds depending on if you are blowing or drawing air back in. In order to learn your harmonica, you must learn what note each hole plays on the blow and on the draw.

2. Begin your harmonica lesson by learning which notes are played when you blow. The following is the hole number from left to right with the corresponding note played when blown: 1C, 3E, 3G, 4C, 5E, 6G, 7C, 8E, 9G and 10C.

3. Draw air back in through the harmonica. It will produce a different sound because it is playing a different note. Draw sounds have notes not found when blowing. They are 1D, 2G, 3B, 4D, 5F, 6A, 7B, 8D, 9F and 10A.

4. Focus on holes 4 to 7. These notes make up the major C scale.

References

• Harmonica Tunes: Harmonica Notes
• Dave Gage: Straight Harmonica