How to Play the Harmonica - single notes

SINGLE NOTE PLAYING - PUCKER METHOD

Do you play single notes on the harmonica, or do you play “close enough” style (more than one note/hole at a time)? 

Here's a very simple song to play - if you've heard it before, it will help.  This song is ALL BLOW on the harmonica - no draw (inhale) notes whatsoever:

TAPS - ALL BLOW

3    3   4

3   4    5

3   4    5

3   4    5

3   4    5

4   5    6       

5  4     3

3  3     4

Single note playing can be done by either the pucker method (also known as lipping) or by tongue blocking.  With either method, you are making it so that only one hole of the harmonica is played.  If you are not sure what one note on the harmonica sounds like, then take any note on the harmonica, block off the holes to the left and right of it with your fingers, and then blow and draw the hole in between your fingers - that’s what a single note on the harmonica sounds like.

Let's get started with the PUCKER METHOD

Pick any note on the harmonica - lets use the #4 hole.  First, just blow and draw right there, listening to how it sounds as a “close enough”, chord style (more than one note played).

Now, push OUT your lips while you are at the #4 hole, much like you were trying to kiss someone who was a couple of inches away.  Your lips, if you looked at them in a mirror while doing this, will look some somewhat like a goldfish’s lips while breathing.  You are trying to achieve a position with your lips pressed out in this position to where is only a small round hole left inside your lips - this is the place where your single note will play. 

A mistake to avoid, however, is trying to push out your lips in a round position - this results in a “little old lady, prune-lips” kind of position which doesn’t work for playing the harmonica.

What works better is to think of imitating a fish:   Think of pushing your lips out, and slightly up also.  If you have ever seen a picture of a famous blues harmonica player from the side, you will see how far out their lips are actually pushed.

This position looks very funny, but that is not something to worry about because you will always have a harmonica in front of your lips, so no one will ever see your lip position.

With your lips in the pucker position, stay at the #4 hole and blow, then draw.  If you are not getting a single note, then just keep experimenting with your lip position.

With the pucker, think of your lips stuck OUT like a big carp or gold fish, and slightly up, and think of putting your harmonica IN, not on, your lips. 

Once you've got a good pucker, where you are playing only a single note, then KEEP IT.  Think of it as a mouthpiece you've created - you don't need to change it once it is working.  The note holes are all exactly the same no matter what number you are on, so your pucker shouldn't change because you are moving to a different note.

A few more tips:

Remember, think of the harmonica IN your lips, not on your lips.  The lips seal around the harmonica to a slight extent and help you with your single notes.  If you try to have the single note out at the end of a pursed out, “little old lady look” lips, you will never get a single note.  The harmonica must be inside the lips.

The harmonica is just a row of note holes - they are all exactly the same size, and the same width apart from each other.  For this reason, once you get a good single note lip position, KEEP that position for playing ANY of the notes on the harmonica, anything from #1 to #10.  In other words, when moving from, say, #4 hole to #5 hole, keep your lips exactly the same.  You are forming a mouthpiece - the mouthpiece doesn’t change just because you’ve changed note holes.  Watch yourself in the mirror to make sure that your lips aren’t moving up and down from hole to hole - they should stay exactly the same no matter what note.

Wet your harmonica slightly with your lips before you play, just enough to where it will slide smoothly across your lips when you move from hole to hole.  This way your pucker will stay the same, rather than being dragged right and left by a dry harmonica.

LISTEN to your playing to hear if you are playing a single note, or more than one hole.

Your easiest single notes at first will be the #1 and #10 holes - compare that single note sound to your other holes you are trying to play.  DRAW notes will be harder to keep single at first - listen to them more carefully.