Tips and Tricks for Playing Blues on the Diatonic Harmonica

Hello, my name's Matt, and I'm going to be showing you a few tips and tricks on the diatonic harmonica to improve your blues playing.

Understanding Key Positions

This harmonica is in the key of C. Interestingly, the easiest way to play blues on a C harmonica isn't in the key of C, it's actually in the key of G.

The Blues Scale

Every diatonic harmonica has a blues scale hidden in there purely by accident. This scale typically goes from:

• 2 Draw
• 3 Draw
• 4 Blow
• 4 Draw
• 5 Draw
• 6 Blow

You would play it like this to embody the essence of blues harmonica solos. Playing in this way is known as second position or cross harp.

Recap of the Blues Scale

To recap, on the scale that spans from 2 to 6, all the notes on the harmonica are at your disposal, and we can use those to construct solos.

Strong and Weak Notes

• Strong Draw Notes: The draw notes in the first six holes are typically stronger when playing blues in second position.
• Weak Blow Notes: Some of the blow notes are not quite as strong.

Rule of Thumb

As a basic rule of thumb:

• If you can't think of what to play and your mind goes completely blank, breathe in.
• Breathing in while using the first six holes is usually a safer option than breathing out.

Expanding the Blues Scale

The blues scale continues all the way up to the top. For instance, you can go from number nine to number six, like so.

Two Octaves

This gives you access to two octaves and a bit of the blues scale. You can further enhance your playing by adding bent notes.

• Bent Notes: You can bend many of the notes down in pitch, which provides additional notes to expand your palate.

Ultimately, the basic skeleton or framework to focus on is that foundational blues scale, as discussed.