Harmonica Tab Symbols

The tablature here has been specially designed to make learning harmonica songs easier. The symbols consist of a square representing the hole on the harmonica with a number in it. The number is the number of the harmonic hole. There is also an arrow, either pointing up or down. The arrow tells you whether to draw or blow.

Here are some examples:

This is the tab for 2-hole draw. The 2 means the second hole from the left and the arrow pointing down from the hole means that you should draw your breath. (it is considered gauche to say "suck".)

This is the tab for 4-hole blow. The 4 means the fourth hole from the left and the arrow pointing up means that you should blow into the hole.

Bends and Button presses are just as easy.

This is the first bend on the 4 hole. The bent arrow means that the note is bent, either by using your mouth to bend a note as in Diatonic Harp or using the button as in a Chromatic Harmonica. Since there are several degrees of bend available to the diatonic player in the 2,3 and 4 holes, the angle of the bend gives you a clue.

Blow bends (Jimmy Reed style bends) on the diatonic work the same way. On the chromatic harp, this means blow on hole 9 with the button pressed. On the diatonic it means blow bend the 9 hole.

These 4 images represent the 4 notes in the diatonic 4 hole draw. The first is the straight note, the next is the first half step the second is a full note bend and the last is the 1-1/2 note bend. The last one is always a little sharp on the diatonic.

Overblows are show just the same as blow bends.

There are only ten holes in the tab. Occasionally, I may make a special tab that uses other holes for the chromatic or 1899 marine band. On those pages I will usuall use a + sign to indicate the use of the holes 11 or above.

You can Download the Harp Tab graphics for your own purposes.