Questions tagged [harmonica]

Questions related to playing the (chromatic or diatonic) harmonica.

Questions related to playing the (chromatic or diatonic) harmonica.

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Note bending on harmonica

I'm trying to learn to play the harmonica, and one thing I haven't quite figured out is how to consistently bend notes. (I can only hit two and three draw, inconsistently, for a semitone, and can only do it with my tongue "out of position".) Do you…
Willie Wong
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Breathing practice for harmonica

What are some good breathing practices for playing the harmonica? I have been learning the harmonica for a while now, I can play small time rhymes and some songs. But when I try to get into high intensity mode or try to play continuous blows or…
kamaal
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Why are notes on the harmonica laid out the way they are?

This is a chart of a standard ten hole diatonic harmonica in the key of G that I copied from Wikipedia: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 blow: |G|B|D |G|B|D|G |B|D|G | draw: |A|D|F#|A|C|E|F#|A|C|E | As you can see, blowing in the…
user6591
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What is the best way to introduce my 4 year old to harmonica?

My 4-year-old son just got a standard 10 hole harmonica in C from his grandmother, and I would like to give him a good start that will encourage him to enjoy playing. I myself started out just like this, and I own a 10 hole chromatic harmonca which…
awe
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Music Cognition-Are people who play just by ear and intuition good in music cognition by natural talent?

I am learning to play the harmonica. As with so many people around the world, the approach I use is to take a song and its notes somewhere from the internet and practice it until I can play it well. But somehow I feel I'm missing something very…
kamaal
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How do I clean my harmonica without taking it apart?

I have seen many videos on "how to clean harmonicas", but in all of them, you have to take the harmonica apart, clean it and reassemble it. The thing is there's no marine band harmonica in my country. I bought it from the US on Amazon and I can't…
Lynob
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Why call a harmonica a harp?

A harmonica is a wind/reed instrument, while a harp is a string instrument. Not much in common really. So why did the humble harmonica (mouth organ) get dubbed 'harp'? And, is it only Blues harps which get this monicker, or all, chromatics included?…
Tim
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How to Tune a 10-hole Harmonica?

My harmonica went out of tune, what should I do? Do i need to dissemble it for tuning?
VVK
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Can I play `A scale` song on a `C scale` harmonica?

Here is how to play a C scale on a harmonica. But I found a song which is in the A scale. So, is this possible: to play the A scale song on the same harmonica? If so, What would the table look like? or how can I change the C scale to A scale? Is…
Ted Wong
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Are low key harmonicas harder to bend?

Are lower key harmonicas (G and A, for example) technically harder to bend than the ones with a higher key, such as E or D? If so, do I need to use some other technique on lower key harmonicas in order to achieve a nice sounding bend? I'm asking…
streppel
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As a beginner, what should I look for in a chromatic harmonica?

I want to buy a chromatic harmonica and I've never had one before nor played one. As a beginner, what should I look for in a chromatic harmonica? Are there certain features I should look for or avoid?
Dom
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How can I learn 48 holes tremolo harmonica?

Probably not the best harmonica to start with, but this is the one that I used to play around with when I was a kid. So, I just picked it up at the store and thought it might be easy to learn. And later that I found out that it's called a tremolo.…
Sufendy
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How to avoid excessive saliva when playing the harmonica?

When playing the harmonica for more than a few minutes, I'll often run into the problem where I produce way too much saliva, which all ends up inside the harmonica itself. Sometimes this even clogs one or more notes completely. Most often, this…
Lee White
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Choice of Wind Instrument for self learning

I've been playing the piano (learning on my own) for over 2 years now and I would call myself above novice. I can't read sheet music but I have a good ear. However, I was diagnosed with a problem and can't really play piano for long so I'd like to…
user2890
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Which harmonica to accompany guitar tuned 1/2 step down?

I am a guitar player and I am thinking of trying some harmonica (mouth organ) as well. My guitar is tuned to half step down: E♭ (D♯, G♯, C♯, F♯, A♯, D♯) and most of the songs I play using this tuning. I want…
Imrul.H
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