Mayhem's answer (which doesn't really fit the harmonica), it would look like this: This is why the harmonica has twice as many holes. Each hole, by which they mean a vertical stack of two holes, alternates as a blow or draw hole. They add a mi ti at the end for 23 holes, and a so at the beginning for 24 holes. so^ re do^ fa mi^ la so^ ti do^ re mi^ fa so^ la do^ ti mi^ re so^ fa do^ la mi^ tiīlows are indicated as ^, draws are indicated as `. re do^ fa mi^ la so^ ti do^ re mi^ fa so^ la do^ ti mi^ re so^ fa do^ la mi^ ti re do^ fa mi^ la so^ ti do^ re mi^ fa so^ la do^ ti mi^ re so^ fa do^ la` I have a Paloma Harmonica with the following charts included for 21, 23, or 24 holes: The example I provide below of a tremolo harmonica in which blow and draw holes alternate. That being the case, it's more likely to be a chromatic harmonica in the first place. No draw notes at all, and the extra blow holes are interspersed to provide those missing notes instead. The possibilities include:Ī repeated major chord (no complete major scale), with a range of more octaves.Ī different scale altogether, or at least more recurring notes than just the major chord. Once you have more holes across than that though, you are likely looking at a different scale arrangement as well. Practice this a bit and this initially confusing aspect of harmonica will soon become second nature to you.Standard diatonics (aka Richter or blues harmonica) typically have only 10-16 holes across.Ī blues harmonica is primarily laid out to repeatedly create a single major chord on the blow notes, I-III-V-VIII, do mi so do, however the upper octave is arranged to provide an entire major scale when combining blow and draw notes by including alternative draw notes. Play these notes to go up the major scale:Īnd play the same notes in reverse to go down the major scale. Playing the major scale is a great way to feel the shift. Have the courage to explore the high notes and, the more you do it, the easier it will be for you to include all the notes on the harmonica to play the songs you love. Because of this, many harmonica players do not continue exploring the high notes (and they feel intimidated to play songs on the higher notes). They know something is different, but they cannot put it into words. Many players get confused when exploring the high notes. The blow notes are higher than the draw notes.īecause of this, most harmonica players call holes 1 through 6 the low end of the harp and holes 7 through 10 the high end of the harp. From holes 1 through 6 the blow notes are lower than the draw notes. Where does that happen?īlow draw into 3, then 4, then 5, then 6, then 7…! The switch happens between holes 6 and 7. Somewhere on the harp, the pattern goes from the draw notes being higher to the blow notes being higher. The blow note is the higher pitch than the draw note. Hopefully your ear can tell you this is different. Now try blowing into 10 and then drawing into 10. So from these two examples you might conclude that the draw notes are higher than the blow notes, but, if so, you would only be partly correct. Now blow into hole number two, then draw. Right? Check for yourself and you’ll see this is correct. Which is higher? The draw note is higher. If you don’t know the answer to this trick question, you may have trouble playing songs forever.įirst, blow into hole number 1 and follow that by drawing into hole number 1. If you play any blow hole on a standard key of “C” 10-hole diatonic harmonica will the pitch be higher or lower?
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