How to Read Music for a Harmonica
- 1). Purchase a book of beginner's harmonica songs or refer to free tabs online. (See the Resources section for a link.) Examine your instrument as you look at the music: You'll see a horizontal line. Notation above the line represents the blow holes on the harmonica, and notation below the line represents the draw holes.
- 2). Read the information at the beginning of the music sheet. Sometimes the time signature of the song appears there. It will typically be a 4/4 time signature, indicated by those numbers. This is called common time.
- 3). Look at the numbers along the top and bottom lines of your sheet music. The numbers represent the hole numbers on your harmonica. If there is a "2" written above the line, this tells you to blow into Hole 2 on your harmonica.
Some harmonica music includes stems on the numbers similar to traditional music notes; these indicate note timing. For notes that are held out, a long straight line might follow the note. A small curved line resembling a "U" indicates you should bend a note. The line is often accompanied by an indication of whether the bend is a whole step (1) or a half step (1/2). - 4). Practice reading and playing as much harmonica music as you can. The more you play, the faster and more accurate your reading becomes.
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