About Single Notes: Read, But Don’t Worry
Now that you have learned to use chords, it is time to begin working on isolating one hole at a time to produce a single note.
The sound produced by inhaling or exhaling on a single hole is called a "note", as opposed to the chord formed by inhaling or exhaling on more than one hole.
However, since chords may be used in the place of single notes for the entire first half of this book, you may want to simply read this Lesson, rather than spending a great deal of time practicing either of the two techniques for obtaining single notes.
Tongue-Blocking
Traditionally, harmonica players have used the method known as "tongue-blocking" to get single notes. This method involves covering four holes with the mouth, and then blocking the three leftmost holes with the side of the tongue. In the past, all beginners were forced to learn this difficult way of single-noting.
However, tongue-blocking, although essential for very serious classical harmonicists, is not really appropriate for those beginning students interested in playing mostly folk, blues, rock, or country music.
If you have already learned to get single notes in this way, please learn to also use the easier "pucker" method described below. If you can’t tongue-block now, don’t consider learning it now.
Eventually all serious or professional players will want to be able to obtain single notes both ways, but for beginners the pucker method is both simpler and more versatile.
A specialized form of tongue-blocking, known as "Octave-Blocking", lends a full, rich sound to the harmonica and is explained in the Supplementary Songbook.
The "Pucker" Method of Single-Noting
Whistling, or drinking liquid through a straw, provides a mouth position similar to the mouth position needed to get single notes with the pucker method. Simply make a small hole with your mouth, approximately the same size as one hole on the harmonica.
Tighten the muscles that circle your mouth to form a round, tight, hole as pictured.
"Pucker" Method
Tongue Blocking
Cover the number 1 hole of the harmonica with your "puckered" mouth. You should not be "reaching out" towards the harmonica with your lips. Instead, make sure that the harmonica is well in between your lips, with your upper lip well on top, and lower lip well beneath.
This will put the harmonica in contact with the wet, inner part of your lips, not the dry, outer parts. The muscle between the bottom of your nose and your upper lip should be shortened, as if you were curling your upper lip in an upwards direction. Gently exhale into the number 1 hole to produce a single note.
If you aren’t sure that you’re getting a single 1 note, you can put your finger over hole number 2. Although having to cover both the hole and your finger with your mouth may feel awkward, this will allow you to hear exactly what the single 1 hole note should sound like. Remove your finger, and try again.
After you’ve worked with exhaling on hole 1, try inhaling on it. Most people find the inhaled single notes harder at first. If you want to try something really difficult now, begin working on the single notes from holes 2 through 9. Holes 1 and 10 are the easiest, since they only have neighboring holes that must be avoided on one side.
This exercise demonstrates what the single notes from hole 1 and then hole 2 sound like, with the exhale played first, and then the inhale.
Getting single notes is not easy for most people, so don’t allow yourself to become discouraged, or spend more than five or ten minutes on this today at most. Fortunately, all of the Section One material will work reasonably well even if you cannot obtain clear single notes at first.
Keep practicing single-noting for a few minutes each day, and eventually you’ll be able to get clear single notes when practicing. Of course, it is far simpler to locate and play a single note during a practice session than it is during a song. But as time passes, you will be able to locate just the note you want more and more often. The ability to consistently hit any single note at will can take months of diligent practice.
