To my ears the higher two blow chords sound less pleasing than the one from the bottom 4 holes. Now try (4B 5B 6B 7B), a C chord an octave higher, sounding like this.Īlso try (7B 8B 9B 10B), the C chord from holes 7 to 10. The notes are the C chord root (1B), 3rd (2B), 5th (3B) and root an octave higher (4B). (1B 2B 3B 4B), the resulting C chord sounds like this. To hear this, blow the bottom four holes together, i.e. So for a C harmonica all the blow notes come from the C chord. Others may differ with me on this, at the end of the day your own ears choose what sounds best.Īll the blow notes come are in the chord of the harmonica key (more details on harmonica notes are here). Again, to my ears this four note chord sounds muddy and cluttered, compared to the two note chords shown above. This is a G7 chord, with a root (2D), 3rd (3D), 5th (4D) and 7th (5D) and sounding like this. Your ears will guide you.įinally try the four note chord (2D 3D 4D 5D). If these details make your eyes glaze, just listen to the samples. The harmonica in the examples is a Neil Graham custom diatonic in C, tuned to just intonation. Some harmonicas are tuned to just intonation, others to equal temperament, the chords sound different for these respective tunings. Note also that the chords will sound a little different depending on the harmonica tuning. To my ears this version of the G chord sounds muddy, and is less useful. Try the 4 note chord (1D 2D 3D 4D), sounding like this. As you can hear, the sound is brighter because the higher 4D has replaced the 1D This has the same G chord notes as the previous chord, i.e. Now move your mouth along one hole and play the three note chord (2D 3D 4D). Sometimes this fuller sound works well, other times the simpler (1D 2D) chord is better. It has the G chord root (2D), the 3rd (3D) and the 5th (1D). Notice that the chord sounds a little fuller. Now open your mouth a little wider and play the bottom three draw holes (1D 2D 3D), sounding like the track below. This is the root note and 5th of the G chord (for the theoretically minded), and gives a tight punchy sound, great for chugging type rhythms. A nice second position feature is that the first five draw hole notes are all from the G7 chord, the starting chord (usually) for blues in G. So, (1D 2D 3D) means these 3 notes played together.Ī harmonica in the key of C is used for second position blues in G, we use it for the examples here. Brackets around a group of notes means they are played together as a chord. 4B means blow into hole 4, 6D means draw (or breathe in) hole 6. This comprises a number for the hole and “B” or “D” to indicate blow or draw. To describe harmonica chords a simple tab is needed. Details about using these chords are in my online harmonica lessons at Harmonica Academy. Here the more useful second position chords are outlined. Also, chords on the bottom 4 holes are the ones most commonly played, often just two or three notes. Harmonica chords are used frequently with second position playing (an explanation of second position is here). Harmonica chords are powerful tools when understood, this article describes the common ones. Beginners often play chords, or multiple notes by default while learning to play single notes (not easy at first). The harmonica is unique among wind instruments as it allows chords as well as single notes.
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