The Notation System Used In This Book

Single Note Notation

In the notation system used in the rest of this book:

• The Numbers from 1-10 indicate which hole to use (refering to the numbers on top of the harmonica).
• The Letter "i" indicates an inhaled Breath.
• The Letter "e" indicates an exhaled Breath.

When writing the notes to a song or exercise, the hole number will be written above the "i" or "e". For typographical convenience, when referring to a particular note in the text, the hole number will be written first, and then the "i" or "e" to the right of the hole number. Below, both ways of notation are illustrated.

For example, both and 1e mean: exhale through the number 1 hole.

Similarly, both and 3i mean: inhale through the number 3 hole.

Chord Notation

Chords (more than one note, played all together at one time) will be indicated by underlining the numbers of the holes to be played simultaneously.

If you were to cover holes 4, 5, and 6 with your mouth, and then inhale twice and exhale twice, it would produce a chord which would be notated like this:

Just as with single notes, if it is necessary to refer to a chord in the text, it will be written out horizontally. So the chords above, written in the text, would be written out as 456i and 456e respectively .

Timing Notation

The last part of our notation system is the timing slash. A timing slash shows you exactly when a tap of your foot should occur.

For instance, in the 456i and 456e chord pattern above, you might wish to tap your foot once for each chord. This would be written out as follows, below. The distance between timing slashes has no effect on the timing, although whenever possible they will be kept uniformly distant.

A Notation Example

The following is a simple example demonstrating the usage of the entire above notation system.

When playing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, and any other song, you have the choice of playing each note with a separate breath or puff of air, as described in the Staccato Effects section under Harmonica Techniques, below.

Or you can move smoothly from note to note, gently stopping and starting your breath to play the different notes (like the two beginning 4e notes), but without the sharpness that comes from using the puffing or tongueing effect.

In the traditional Afro-American song, Oh When The Saints Go Marching In, certain notes last for many beats. If you run out of air on the long notes, the version of Saints following this one may be more to your liking.

Notation For Silent Beats

Often songs have rests, which are beats or partial beats of silence. In this notation system, a rest is indicated by a timing slash which has no note written under it.

This version of Oh When The Saints Go Marching In with rests may be easier on your lungs than the former version. Use the rest after the long 6e to expel some breath while you locate the following note 4e.

Notation for Partial Beats, and the Repeat Sign

A single beat can be broken up into two or more notes, as represented by the following rhythm notation.

The most usual way for musicians to count a beat that is broken into two parts is to say: "One and Two and Three and Four and" instead of the usual "one" "two" "three" "four". You should be saying each "and" while your foot is in mid-air, between taps. Notice the repeat sign , which tells the reader to repeat once more the pattern which precedes it.

Play the rhythm as either a chord or single note, as you prefer. Use a "ta", "da", or "ka" tonguing to break the note into two parts, rather than two separate puffs of air, as described below in the section on Staccato Effects.

Using Partial Beats In Songs

It is often possible to notate the timing of a song in more than one way. For example, in the previous notation for Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, each note was played for one beat.

In the following notation version, many of the notes are only played for one half of a beat. Practice playing notes which do not occur on the beat, as indicated below.

Be sure to tap your foot only on the notes with timing slashes. You may find that the song has a "bouncier" or more "flowing" feeling to it, when played according to this notation. Otherwise it will sound exactly the same as the previous one note per beat version.

Swing Beats

In some types of music, especially blues and jazz, the partial or divided beats are treated in a special way. The "down" part of each divided beat is often held longer than the "up" part of each divided beat.

This can be demonstrated by saying each number (down part) a little louder and holding it for a little longer than each "and" (up part).

Emphasizing the down part in this way is known as "swinging" the beat, and makes for a livelier feeling rhythm. Practice saying the following new rhythm. Notice that the beat, as indicated by the timing slash, falls on the "one", "two", "three", and "four". The "ands" occur in between the slashes which represent taps of your foot.

This is a difficult and subtle rhythmic distinction, and you may wish to listen to the recording that accompanies Progressive Blues Harmonica to confirm that you are playing the swing beat correctly. Swing beats are only used to a very minimal extent in the most complicated songs towards the end of this book, so you are advised not to linger here if the concept of swing seems elusive.

Notation for Swing Beats

Swing beats will be represented by placing a dot after the timing slash, which tells the reader to hold the note under that ("down") part of the beat longer than the following note under the "up" part of the beat (which does not have a timing slash above it).

In the following example, the note "is" should be held longer than the "a", the note "house" longer than the "in", and the note "New" longer than the "Or".