Grampa Jack's Top 100 Requested Harmonica Songs
This course is designed for the 10-hole Marine Band style harmonica (which comes with several names). If your harp has a single row of 10 holes with numbers 1 through 10 engraved in the cover over the holes, then this course is for you.
Introduction
The diatonic scale harmonicas are for us musical dummies. We don't have to know anything. But we do have to own a separate harmonica for each major key in which we plan to play. We could own as many as 12 harmonicas though I think you will find that 5 or 6 cover just about every song you will ever play. You can easily get by with just a C and a G harmonica if you are not going to be playing with a band.
A Word About Keys
It is important that you keep in mind that you can play any song, regardless of the key in which it was originally composed, on any harmonica. If the only harmonica you have is in the key of A, then every song you play will be in the key of A, even if was written originally in G or C. And if you pick up a harmonica in the key of D and play the same numbering system, you are playing the song in the key of D. You do not have to relearn a song when you change over to another harmonica.
If you are using these lessons in a class, then all the students should use the same keyed harmonica. I usually have them use the key of C because most of the cheaper harmonicas only come in the key of C. You have my permission to make copies of these lessons to distribute to a class or your friends.
What about the Chromatic Scale harmonicas?
Chromatic scale harmonicas come in a wide variety of sizes. They include all the notes in an octave while the diatonic scale harps only use the do-ray-me-fa-so-la-tee-do notes that you may have heard about in school chorus. Since the chromatic scale harmonicas do not have the numbering engraved in their covers, this harmonica course and the song tabulation in this web site will not work on these harmonicas.
My Simple Harmonica Notation System
The numbering system is really quite simple. Over each word or syllable in the lyrics to a song is a number. If that number is a 4 then you blow into hole number 4. However, if it is a -4 then you draw into hole number 4. If the numbers are not lined up over the correct word it is because your browser is set up for a proportional font. You can correct this by going into the options or preferences menu and changing the font to one of the monospaced fonts. Windows comes with at least two monospaced fonts, Courier New and Lucida Sans Typewriter.
So What If You Don't Know The Songs?
Only attempt to play familiar tunes. If you can hum it or whistle it, then you can learn to play it fairly soon. In fact, think of yourself as singing the song through your instrument and the reeds of your instrument as a substitute for your vocal chords.
LET'S BEGIN
Enough of the introduction. Choose a familiar tune and practice it at least twenty five times before moving on to the next lesson.
Play each line at least five times. Start slowly and increase speed with each repetition. Blow into the hole indicated unless there is a minus sign (-) in front of the number, in which case you draw through that hole.
It is not absolutely necessary that you play clear single notes. When trying to get a blow #4, it is OK if you include holes #3 and #5. Eventually you will want to learn to play single notes. Work at it and it will come to you naturally.
choose a practice song (play it at least 25 times before moving on to the next lesson)