How To Play The Harmonica

Harmonicas have many advantages, for example with them you can play anywhere you are, since they are easy to carry and play, you just need to know how to hold it and how to blow.

The harmonica has been used for years to play melodies, whether at home, at work, in the field, or on a trip, it is always possible that if you want to play a melody you use the harmonica. You can play the harmonica to compose songs at the moment they start to sound in your mind, they are less cumbersome than a guitar and they are perfect to start a musical project that you are doing and want a base where you can put your song or to create your melodies .

Whether it’s for fun playing, creating music, or performing other tunes, playing the harmonica will do you a lot of good. It is not really difficult to learn to play the harmonica and if you apply dedication to doing this, you will certainly be able to play the harmonica any way you want.

When it comes to music, never be disappointed that you can’t play an instrument, if your goal is to play the harmonica, then see how to play the harmonica so you know what to do.

Instructions for playing the harmonica

1. Learn to hold it and ring it. You will start by putting the harmonica in your mouth, to get it right and to hold the harmonica correctly, open your mouth as if you are going to eat a huge donut and stick the harmonica to the sides of your lips, then close your mouth with the harmonica there as if you were going to take a bite of the donut and stick your lips to the harmonica so that no air comes out from above or from below, only between the holes of the harmonica. As you place your middle finger and index finger on the sides of the harmonica without covering a single hole in it, just on the sides, remember that these are made to hold the harmonica. Lubricate the bottom and top of the harmonica with saliva so that you can slide it from side to side as you play it. then breathe in with your mouth and then breathe out with your mouth.
2. You will notice 2 different sounds, the sounds that the harmonica makes when exhaling through the mouth are called diatonic, and the crossed sounds, are those where you inhale through the mouth more than the times you exhale, that is, if when playing the harmonica you are taking out more air through your mouth the times you play, and the times you exhale are less frequent, you are playing the diatonic harmonica, you start by blowing and you end by blowing. While if you insert the flow of air you will be making crossed sounds.
3. In general, a harmonica brings 2 tonalities, one when taking in air and the other when taking it out. It is common when playing a harmonica that when air is drawn through it, the tonality in which the notes sound is D major, while when the air that enters the harmonica is played it would be an A. These are the sets of tones that the D major harmonica has, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La, and it is ideal for rockers and metalheads, as well as jazz players.
4. Now you will do your first harmonica practice with a small melody, you will place the harmonica in your mouth as we told you before and you will breathe out through the harmonica, then you will inhale through the harmonica and exhale again. The time you breathe out while playing the harmonica should be the same as the time you breathe in. You will exhale 2 times and inhale 1 time, always interspersing both and not very fast, since you are just beginning.
5. To differentiate the tonalities well, you will do this exercise. Put the harmonica in your mouth and hold it if you can only with your teeth, remember, press it well with your lips. Now exhale through the harmonica 3 times without inhaling, just 3 and last the same amount of time, then do the same inhaling, 3 times without exhaling, just inhale through your mouth as it passes through the harmonica. This exercise will help you distinguish tones.
6. Then we will do the following exercise that will be like a melody that will help us develop more versatility, you will blow 3 times, each of those times with the same duration one after the other, then a small cut in that rhythm and you will blow another 2 times, but much faster and finally another 2 times faster than all the previous ones, that is to say , 3 times you will blow, the last four times you will make them faster than the rest, first 3 with the same rhythm, then 2 faster and equal to each other, and finally another 2 even faster. Then you will do the same inhaling, you will start by breathing in 3 times, one after the other and all with the same duration, then you will make a small cut and you will do another 2 inhalations but a little faster than the previous ones, and then another 2 inhalations, these last ones will be the fastest of all.
7. Once you’re familiar with doing this, you can intersperse 3 exhalations with 3 inhalations, 2 exhalations with 2 slightly slower inhalations, and finish with 2 quick exhalations and 2 quick exhalations.
8. Now you will learn to slide the harmonica and play the low, middle and high notes. Move it a little to the right and blow 2 times, then without cutting that blow, move it a little more to the center and blow 1 time, then move it more to the edge and blow 2 times, then you will return the harmonica to the center where you had already blown once. Repeat the same procedure but now inhaling, take a breath 2 times, then slide towards the center 1 time and then on the right edge another 2 times.
9. Until now we have learned to play the harmonica with chords, now it is time for you to know how to handle and find the notes one by one. Before starting to play the harmonica notes, you must be clear that the same notes are not always found on the harmonica, in this case, as we are teaching you to use a D major harmonica, you will understand more where you should put your fingers .
10. If your harmonica has 10 holes, choose a hole, in this case we will use hole 5 and cover holes 4 and 6 with our index fingers, then we will blow. In order to cover these holes, you will hold the harmonica being careful not to cover the air inlets or outlets with your fingers, you can use your hearts and thumbs to hold the harmonica, then cover the holes we told you with your forefingers, now Gather your cheeks a little as if you were going to give a peck weight and blow.
11. The sound that comes out of hole 5 is Mi and when the air enters it is a Fa, for which there is a note when inhaling and another when exhaling. From hole 6 a G will come out and an A will enter, from hole 4 a Do will come out and a Re will enter. Guide yourself with these notes to find the notes Do, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La and the rest of the combinations.

What do you need to play the harmonica?

• A harmonica

Tips for playing the harmonica

• Use these notes to learn to play any tune on your harmonica.
• We recommend that you practice the notes without using your fingers to cover the holes, over time, you will see how you can play note by note only with your mouth.