Frankie
35 posts
Jan 30, 2018
9:34 AM
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I mostly play guitar with music notations but find it hard to do so
with Harmonica.
Even though I have an application that tells me what I am playing I am still like blind..
Perhaps I am perfectionist I want to learn every thing from note
but it seems in harmonica world it is mostly ear that matters.
No matter how good you are with ear but still you need music notation to make it perfect.
Some times I watch youtube people playing pop songs with harmonica and I can clearly hear that some notes they are playing is wrong.
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MindTheGap
2472 posts
Jan 30, 2018
9:47 AM
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I think people mostly play the diatonic harp not from sheet music. Personally I wouldn't call it 'by ear' strictly - I have learnt the scale and chord notes and where they lay out on the harp. But I know what the scale degrees sound like and what they do in the song, so it's a mix.
Also, I've learnt common blues riffs, phrases and transitions that can be deployed at will. Again, it's not really playing 'by ear'. But definitely not from the written music.
The advantage with the diatonic is that playing in any key is then easy - swap harps! Or swap positions, or both.
In contrast, I think people mostly learn and play the chromatic harp from sheet music, like a 'normal' instrument (apart from blues-chromatic, which is similar to diatonic). Maybe you should have a look at a chromatic?
Last Edited by MindTheGap on Jan 30, 2018 9:49 AM
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MindTheGap
2473 posts
Jan 30, 2018
9:52 AM
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Re "you need music notation to make it perfect"...
I agree for non-blues music. But blues harp wasn't generally created from written music, so that's not the source material.
I have an instruction book/CD from Paul Butterfield. He played in his style, and a colleague wrote out what he played in high detail using standard notation. It's the 'Black Page' with all the little tricks and embellishments! Certainly PB wouldn't have been thinking about all that.
No one would successfully approach recreating it from the music. Instead they would learn the blues harp tricks and techniques (there's lots of them) and those sounds would emerge.
Last Edited by MindTheGap on Jan 30, 2018 9:55 AM
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MindTheGap
2474 posts
Jan 30, 2018
9:56 AM
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...and thirdly :)
"I watch youtube people playing pop songs with harmonica and I can clearly hear that some notes they are playing is wrong"
Ha ha! You've got that right! Welcome to harp-land :) Remember of course that some notes are not readily accessible on the diatonic so these may legitimate work-arounds.
Last Edited by MindTheGap on Jan 30, 2018 9:57 AM
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MindTheGap
2475 posts
Jan 30, 2018
11:15 AM
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There you are then. You just need to add the overblows and overdraws for a complete picture.
Then you need a different chart for each of key of harp, and variations for alternate tunings if you use those. Certainly some people do that.
As I say, worth considering a chromatic for the purpose of playing tunes. Only one chart required and you can play in all keys.
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Spderyak
194 posts
Jan 31, 2018
4:01 AM
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I don't know what to tell you. My instructor is blind.
He plays guitar and various harps.Being able to see what you are doing is not a prerequisite..knowing what you're playing is though.
Wouldn't want you to be spending a bunch of money on harps only to find you don't like playing them.
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pythonbeg
52 posts
Jan 31, 2018
5:31 AM
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I've had this one tucked away for a while, might be what you're looking for. Includes overblows and overdraws as well.
https://www.bluesharmonica.com/sites/bluesharmonica.com/files/private/Harmonica%20Chart%20%5BAll%20Keys%5D_24.pdf
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