MAMADERA2000 said, (in another thread)
"...i need someone to teach me through the site coz im a hard one....i understand the I IV V chords and how to play boogie but i dont know how to play single notes in the progression (this doesnt mean i cant play clear single notes it means i dont understand how to play single notes instead of chords) and riffs......hope you can help"

I said,
"I'll try to get something started. (I ain't gonna do much, myself...I'm just gonna try 'n' get somethin' started.) Look in the "Lessons" forum for for a thread titled "Help With the Blues"...

I still HIGHLY, HIGHLY recommend that Jon Gindick book/CD, though."
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(Somebody PLEASE correct me if I tell him something wrong. I'm no expert.)

I don't know what you know and what you don't know, so I guess I'll start with choosing the right harp for a song:
In the menu to the left of this webpage, look in the section "Tabs Listing." Click "View Files" then select "Circle of Fifths.bmp"
You'll want to play cross harp, so figure out what key the song is in that you want to play. Let's say that the key signature shows one sharp. (That would be an F#.) Look at the circle of...*sigh*...Look at the CoF and you see that a song with one sharp is in the key of G, as shown on the outside of the circle. To play cross harp you need a harp in the key that is one step counter clockwise to the G. So it shows you that you need a C harp.

Do you know what "tension" in music is? Imagine listening, for example, to someone playing a scale. But he don't finish it. He leaves off the last note. It don't sound right. Somethin's wrong...There should be more! It ain't finished!! COME ON, GUY...FINISH THE DANG SCALE!!!.....(That's "tension."
Then he plays the last note. Ahh...That's better. (That last note is called "resolution." Notes in betwixed tension and resolution are called...uhm..."transition" notes, I guess.

Besides being the root, the I chord is a resolution chord. The IV chord is a transition chord. The V chord is a tension chord.

There are notes that fit no matter where you play them, and there are two kinds of them: tension notes and resolution notes.

This stuff, below, applies to any key/harp. (Cross harp, that is.):

I'm gonna show the draws and blows, and show what kind of note it is.

1 Transition
-1 Tension
2 Transion
-2 Resolution
3 Resolution
-3 Tension
4 Transition
-4 Tension
5 Transition
-5 Tension
6 Resolution
-6 Tension
-7 Tension
7 Transion
-8 Tension
8 Transition
-9 Tension
9 Resolution
-10 Tension
10 Transition

When you're playing in the I chord, emphasize the resolution notes. It should also end with a resolution note.
When you're playing the V chord, emphasize and end with tension notes.
Don't hold transition notes very long, because they may not harmonize very well.

Sooner or later (probably sooner), you'll come across the term "turnaround." That's something you play at the end of the 12 bar progression to create tension, then resolve it to bring you back to the beginning of the progression.

Oh, by the way: You need to learn a bunch of riffs. That's important. Riffs are combinations of notes. You can play them with any rhythmic pattern you choose, and piece them together this way and that way. I really think you should buy the book. The book will give you a lot of riffs and tell you what chord to play them in.

Well, that's a bunch thrown at you all at once. That ain't exactly the best way to try learnin' somethin'. And that's another reason to buy a book.

Oh... Ya gotta bend notes, too.

OK, Somebody...Take over for me, please!



Post Edited (07-04-07 22:16)

All questions I move to the harmonica chat forum, so that all of the postings here are lessons only. So your response belongs here but I think I moved his orginal posting out of here.

Oh. That makes sense.

ok ive managed to make something out of everything gene said....lets see

please correct any mistakes:


12 bar blues in B (E harp 2nd position or cross harp)


riff 1 riff 1.5
I ; I I ; I

riff 2 riff 1.5
IV ; IV I ; I

riff 3 riff 2 riff 1.5 riff 3
V ; IV ; I ; V

RIFFS: (they were made by me so please have mercy on your corrections)


1) 2 -2 (1/2beat silence)
1/2 beat 1 beat


3 -3 3
1/2 beat 1 beat 1/2 beat



1.5) 2 -3 (1/2 silence) -2 3 (1/2sil)
1/2 1 1/2 1


2) 2 -2 1 -2 2 (1/2sil)
1/2 1 1 1/2 1/2



3) -3 4 -4 3 -3 (1/2sil)
1 1/2 1 1/2 1/2



NOTE: the silences were added so that the whole riff was one bar

I can't help you much. I am not a skilled player. That's why I said I won't do much, myself, but would try to get something started, and ended my last post with, "OK, Somebody...Take over for me, please!"

I found this site:
[www.harptab.com]

and it says I told you something wrong. It says the IV chord is tension.

OK, here's some more:

Here’s a collection of riffs.

3 -4 3___3 -3 4 -4___-4 4 -3 3___3 -3 4 -5 -4___-4 4 -3 -4___-1 2 -2___
-1 2 -2 -3___-1 2 -2 -3 4 -4___-4 4 -3 6___-6 6___6 -5 -4 4 -3 3___
6 -5 -4___9 -9 8 -8 -7 -6 6___6 -7 -8 8 -9

Memorize the riffs, but play them any way you wanna. For example, in the first riff in the list, you can hit the 3 a few times before you hit the -4...or you can hit the -4 more than once…Whatever. It’s the order of the notes you need to learn, but play any rhythmic pattern you want to.
But try to end a I chord with -2, 3, 6, or 9;
a IV chord with 1, 4, 7, or 10;
a V chord with -1, -3, -4, -5, -6, -7, -8, -9, or -10

(I still think the IV chord is "transition." --Somebody...?)

thanks....i will work on that....is the 12 bar progression that i showed you ok??

i mean the riffs and stuff

I don't really know. I guess anything could work, but some work better than others. (I keep tryin' to tell ya-I ain't the right guy to be teachin' this stuff. )

Oh, I forgot to mention in my last post: Add some bends here & there in those riffs. Play around with them; experiment.



Post Edited (07-11-07 00:43)

Hey, Mamadera:
Go to YouTube.com and in the search box, type in "Blues Harmonica Secrets Revealed", and look for lessons 14, 15, and who knows what else. I decided to post this while listening to lesson 15, so I don't know what's ahead.

You'll love these two lessons...At least these two...

You can also do a YouTube search for Jon Gindick and find some good stuff.
(Speaking of "good stuff": I, for some reason, tend to think of Jon Gindick as "His Highness." )

Here's an example:
(Do a YouTube search for "Playing Over the Beat ", and look for
Gindick Blues Harp Lesson ---Playing Over the Beat Part I.
Also look for his "Add Percussion & I-IV-V to Blues Scale." This helps with what to play in each chord.
Listen to what he can do with just one note, and think what you can do with just a few notes of the blues scale.



Post Edited (07-15-07 17:18)

fank-Q very much

Here's some very helpful videos. (Copy/paste them to your browser.) I think I have them in the right order.


[www.youtube.com]

[www.youtube.com]

[www.youtube.com]

[www.youtube.com]

[www.youtube.com]

[www.youtube.com]

[www.youtube.com]

[www.youtube.com]

[www.youtube.com]

OK, now you need to find an agent.

Search "Band in the Pocket." You can buy CDs that have backing music with no melody. Play a CD and you improvise the melody. The Band in the Pocket website has samples you can listen to.

(Edit):
I just found a bunch of good one for free here:
[www.bluesblast.com]



Post Edited (07-20-07 04:47)

Sorry, a bit off-topic, but I think you can only play an C chord on a C key harmonica.

Is this true?

Gr, Casper.

Thank you all for your helpful hints and direction. I've only been playing a month and it's great to see more skilled players helping out us new guys and gals.

The Gindick book is really helpful but I'm struggling to find some more up to date, familiar songs to accompany with a 'c' harp like he suggests. The ones he lists are helpful but I need some more recent ones. I think the songs should be in the key of G but can't tell from listening to them whether they're G or Z! Could you suggest some suitable songs, please?