Harmonica and Note Tabs

Anyone can produce sounds by picking up a harmonica blowing and drawing air through it. It’s even quite easy to pick out tunes this way. In fact many people never progress beyond this stage and thoroughly enjoy the music they make. This is only the beginning though, so much more is available. With the wealth of music written for the harmonica learning to read it can open up a whole new world of music enjoyment.

 

It is an easy thing to make sounds with a harmonica. It’s as simple as breathing in and out through the instrument. The harmonica is much easier to blow through than brass or other wind instruments. It also does not require the intricate finger placements of stringed instruments. This results in a much easier instrument to begin playing.

 

Breath control is a very important part of playing the harmonica well. While any breath blown or drawn through the harmonica will produce sound, using our whole lungs allows us to control the length of notes and the volume of the sound produced. Short panting breath can be used to play a song but using the diaphragm to force air out and draw air in not only improves our playing but also has the additional benefit of strengthening our lungs. Some COPD specialists encourage their patients to play the harmonica for this reason.

 

It is not necessary to read music to play the harmonica but it can be helpful.

A harmonica note chart can show what notes an instrument of a given key is capable of playing. While knowing this information might be helpful to the person who understands how to read music it is probably just plain scary to everyone else.

 

There is another much easier approach to harmonica music used by many people called harmonica tabs. Instead of the normal written music staff and note system a number and letter or symbol system is used. The number indicates which hole is to be blown or drawn through and either a letter such as “B” or “D” or some other symbol will indicate whether we should blow or draw air to produce a note or chord. This system works particularly well when we’re trying to learn a tune we’re already familiar with. Many examples of this system can be found online by searching for harmonica tabs. Websites such as harmonicatunes.com, harmonicacountry.com, harptab.com are just touching the tip of the

iceberg in the wealth of information available on the internet.

 

These and many more websites have music the beginner can start with and more advanced player can be challenged by.

Alan Thompson is a writer and amateur musician who loves to share the harmonica with others who love its sound and simplicity. You can check out his latest website at Harmonica Notes, where he shares advice and tips on harmonicas, how to choose the one for you at Harmonica Note and much more

Old Man In Hoi An


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Harmonica and Note Tabs