5 Stupidly Simple Harmonica Riffs (Guaranteed to Impress)
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- čas přidán 19. 06. 2024
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Harmonica Riff #1
Do Wah Diddy is great because the words of the song are our articulations for the harmonica.
-123 Do Wah Diddy Diddy
1234 Done Diddy
-123 Do
Harmonica Riff #2
Here are the harmonica tabs in C for Back at the Chicken Shack:
-12 -12 -23 34 -34 34 -23
When we get up the draw -34 we can add in a shake on hole -4 and -5. And that makes it sound a lot bluesier. So now the harmonica tabs are:
-12 -12 -23 34 -34 -45 (trill) 34 -23
Harmonica Riff #3
-123 -123 123 123 -123
Dee Dee Hoo Doo Hee
A variation of this is to add one more fast Dee on the draw so it’s Dee Dee-Dee.
-123 -123 -123 123 123 -123
Dee Dee-Dee Hoo Doo Hee
For those of you who are more advanced I’ll just show you a couple licks you can play in between. If you’re more of a beginner, please skip this section. It will serve you well in the long run if you just focus on chords for now.
(Harmonica Lick #1:) We’ll go up the major pentatonic scale, skipping the note we’d have to bend (-3”) Here are the harmonica tabs:
-1 2 -2 -3 -4 5 6
(Harmonica Lick #2:) We’ll come down the “Almost Blues Scale.” If you haven’t learned the almost blues scale and you already know how to play single notes, you can check out my lesson right here: • Easy Blues Harmonica S... . Here’s the harmonica tabs for the Almost Blues Scale descending:
6 -5 -4 4 -3 -2.
And then after the third one we’ll try a -45 trill. So putting it altogether:
-123 -123 123 123 -123
-1 2 -2 -3 -4 5 6
-123 -123 123 123 -123
6 -5 -4 4 -3 -2
-123 -123 -123 123 123 -123
-45 trill
-123 -123 -123 123 123 -123
Of course ultimately, you’ll wanna improvise (make up your own stuff) between each chordal riff. But this can at least get you started!
Harmonica Riff #4
The train imitation groove is one of the most fun riffs to play on the harmonica, and according to Joe Filisko, who may be the foremost living expert on the harmonica, it’s one of the best riffs to play for improving your technique.
And there’s basically 2 components to this:
The whistle:
Drawing around -45 or -345
Saying “dwah” or “oy” for bending effect
Using hand-wah
The chugging:
Taka on -123 with open hand wah
Tuh-kuh on 123 with closed hand wah
One question I get all the time is:“After I finish the train whistle my lungs are too full to do the chugging.” The solution? Exhale all air before whistle, and then quickly exhale ALL AIR AFTER the whistle.
The fastest way to get air out of your lungs is to breathe out forcefully through your nose and mouth at the same time.
The traditional way of doing this is the train starts slow, speeds up, and then slows back down as it pulls into the station. Any time you’re growing tired with the chugging, you can stop and give a whistle.
Harmonica Riff #5
A traditional African-American spiritual, You Gotta Move was greatly popularized in the 60’s by Fred McDowell and then by the Rolling Stones, whose version was my first contact with the song.
Here are the harmonica tabs with some helpful hints:
Line 1:
-12 -23 34 -34
Now the 2nd half of this line is all draws and our lungs are gonna fill up quickly. You can out-gas on the blow 34 in the first line - outgas just means when you play a note on the harmonica you push air out your nose at the same time also called a “nose push.” You could also do a quick exhale AFTER the first 4 notes.
-34 -34 -23 -12 -23 Now you might have to exhale again before playing the 2nd line, because we have more draws coming:
Line 2:
We’re gonna play -34 four times in a row, and if you try saying “Kyuh” or “Dwah” that might help you get a little bend to make this more expressive
-34 -34 -34 -34 34
-34 -23 -23 -12 Again saying kyuh or dwah on -23
Line 3:
-1 12 -12 -23
-23 -12 12 -1
Line 4:
-12 -12 12 -12
So putting it all together, here are the harmonica tabs for You Gotta Move:
-12 -23 34 -34
-34 -34 -23 -12 -23
-34 -34 -34 -34 34
-34 -23 -23 -12
-1 12 -12 -23
-23 -12 12 -1
-12 -12 12 -12
Thanks for checking out this harmonica lesson. I hope you found it helpful. Leave any questions or comments below. Keep on rocking the harmonica, and making the world a better place (world, heart, music)
If you liked this lesson you might wanna check out • 5 Stupidly Simple Harm... - Jak na to + styl
![Eminem - Houdini [Official Music Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/22tVWwmTie8/mqdefault.jpg)
Thanks for this, my dog was impressed (I think), and he's the only friend I have.
What a good and best friend 😊
I'm you're friend too
@@TheGixernutter God bless you my friend :)
Me 2
Sounds like you're on the right track sticky dude. 🎶🐶
My 2 year old son and I are learning together. Thanks for helping us make some solid musical memories. 😊
That is awesome!
Your spirited enthusiasm is hugely contagious. Blowing and drawing like a man possessed. Great stuff. Thanks for sharing. Respect.
Thank you for your kind words. I really appreciate it Joe! 👊🏼
The vibes are immaculate in all your videos. You were born to teach man.
Thanks Evan. I appreciate you.
I am back playing harmonica with my band after my stroke
God bless you my brother!
Thanks Luke been waiting for a new video for ages
Mahalo brah!! These simple lessons are gold, for newbies and vets (like me) alike. It reminds me to keep it simple and not too complicated. Thanks for sharing this. Cheers!
Yessah blessah! Don't gotta be complicated to be great. Play it simple, play it with all your heart = POWER. Thanks for your service. Honored to be part of your journey. Rock on! 😎
Awesome lesson man...thank you! 🤙
Thank you ! Always something good on your channel. 🥂
You're welcome. It's my pleasure. Cheers. 😎
Been playin "Back at The Chicken Shack" as my go to jam tune since I first heard it somewhere around '66. Been playin' sax for 60 yrs.
great lesson as always...:)) i heard the news about hawaii lately... its good to see you safe man... we love you...
Thank you so much David!
Holy cow, this video says a lot. I looked at Harmonica some years ago , had a nice book. All it said was suck and blow and nary any more. I think I still have, and I believe it was a C. I do know the wife hid it .
These videos are wonderful. Thank you, awesome human!!
Aw. You're so welcome!
I've watched several videos trying to figure out how to work my harmonica but it felt hopeless. I've learned more in 2 of your videos that in the cumulative videos I've previously watched combined. Thank you, I finally feel like I can learn to use this thing!
Awesome. so glad the vids are helping. You got this! 👊🏼 Rock on! 😎
Brilliant! Lots of ideas for beginners like me, and loads of encouragement. Great teaching
Awesome. Thanks for the note. Rock on! 😎
Simple & efficient , many thanks for making harmonica accessible.
Rhythm and fun is all we need :)
and thanks to reminding me to watch Crossroads again
Ha! Crossroads is so classic. Thanks for the note. It means a lot. RHYTHM AND FUN IS ALL WE NEED! This would be a great tag line for Harmonica.com, lol! Rock on! 😎
That’s awesome!
Good stuff! Most nites are jam nites but tonite was lesson nite. Thanks for the great lesson and especially “You Gotta Move”.
Glad it was helpful! Keep on JAMMIN'! 😎
You, good sir, are bloody excellent. Thank you!
Glad to help! 👊🏼 Thank you for your kind words. I really appreciate it.
Great as always! 🎉
Thanks again!
thank you very good music lesson good good !!!!!!
Great riffs and also easy ones. I'm now practicing all of them. Thanks!
Sweet! Rock on! 😎
Dude, you are an excellent teacher! Thank you! 🙏🏽
You're welcome. It's my pleasure. Rock on! 😎
Hi Luke, thanks for this video! Could you by any chance help me find out how to play the song Lovers Rock by TV Girl on the harmonica
Very cool lesson ❤.. best channel on CZcams..thanks for sharing
Wow, thanks Max!
Great video thank you
Glad it was helpful! You're welcome. Rock on! 😎
Hey, I'm Brazilian and my English is relatively average, but your teaching is so good that I can execute many of the tips you teach.
Happy to hear that meu irmão!
opa blz kkkk
Thanks Bud 😊🤗👍! You're absolutely awesome 😎😊🤗👍! I've got your course and am being told I'm making progress 🎼🎵🎶👍!
Fantastic! Keep it up John! Thank you for your kind words. I really appreciate it!
@@Harmonicacom You bet Bud 🤗👍! Will do 🤗👍!
I’ve come back to this vid at least 20 times so far
Thanks for watching! 😎🙌🏼🎶
Good teacher man
Nice start for me...I'm motivated..
You can do it!
thank you very much.
You're welcome. It's my pleasure. Rock on! 😎
Muito bom. Adorei
🙏🏼
Thank you so much...
You're welcome. It's my pleasure. Rock on! 😎
Thanks Luke, really helpful lessons ( I prefer a lower key harp for the train
Right on Richard! Good choice!
Incredible! :-)
Glad you think so!
dude u r alegend u r the best dude plz review jdr gentle
monster gm1920
I love your tutorials but please for the love of god show us the tabs for the last rift you did after the "You gotta move" rift. It makes it soo much better to end on that.
It's a bit tricky tho: -4' -4 -5 -4 -5 -4 4 5 4 5 4 -3 -3" -2 -2 -2" -1 -1
Thank you sooo much!!!! I've been practicing it all morning and I almost got it down!@@Harmonicacom
Wow 🎉
The chicken shack riff is mostly inhales, so when do I get to breathe out? I feel as if my lungs are gonna bust.
First, exhale all the air out of your lungs before starting.
But here's the real secret: "Outgassing" is pushing air out your nose when you're blowing on the harmonica so that you can get more air out of your lungs more quickly. Also called a "Nose Push."
Also, make sure you're not allowing air to come in through your nose when you're breathing in. You can confirm this by pinching your nose while you're playing. I check myself like this and find all the time that I am allowing air to come in through my nose when I'm drawing on the harmonica.
@@Harmonicacom Thanks Luke. I'll work on that.
Hey these are great licks, thanks 👍
O lord give me the strength to practice more 🙏
🏴😁😁👍👍😉
Amen and amen. You got this! 👊🏼
Super description
Thank you for your kind words. I really appreciate it! Rock on! 😎
Hi thank you so much for your tutorials!! My harmonica doesn't sound good. Which one do you have can I buy on Amazon? At times mine are hard to breathe thru.I have several cheap ones Horner etc. They cost about 10.00 I'm willing to pay more just need advise. I appreciate your help in this.. thanks
Right on Pat! Lee Oskar or Special 20 if you can afford it. East Top 008k if money's tight. www.harmonica.com/which-harmonica-to-buy/
I am not particularly a fan of the band but Aerosmith do a really rocking version of 'You Gotta Move' on the 'Honkin On Bobo' album. It even gets me dancing around the kitchen and I don't dance 😅
Weirdly the harmonica riff seems to be stolen from the Stones 'Not Fade Away' instead 🤔
Who would have thought smoking would get me into harmonicas. Got me a free Hohner Bluesband i know cheap but man im having a blast ty for these videos! Got a free one from a Marlboro event 😂
Oh yeah that harmonica will do fine for this video. 👌🏼
Lmao...I just got mine from marlbo too...good luck
Very good video thanks. I am a (real) beginner. One question: there are 6 intakes and only 2 exhales…. When returning to the beginning (and it is very fast) I do not know how to exhale all that air! Please help me. Is there a video explaining how to manage that?
2 Tips here:
1: Make sure you are NOT letting air come in through your nose on the inhales (you can confirm this by pinching your nose while playing.)
2: On the blow notes, you can push air out your nose at the same time, called "outgassing" or "nose push."
Very goog. ❤😍😍😍😍...
Thanks! 👊🏼
Epic tutorial! Been practicing it for the last few days - -1 2 -2 -3 -4 5 6 has been giving me a bit of an issue, I've gotten to the point where I have it memorized can can do it quickly-ish, BUT it sounds nowhere near as good as when you play it - I'm either able to play each not separately but then it sounds just like a series of notes and not a contiguous song OR if I move my lips and try to do it "in a single breath" (I get that you inhale/exhale but you know what I mean) it sounds like a broken piano, is there some secret?
I've figured it out - instead of focusing on the notes per se, focus on the actual sounds that come out, also I found that ''zig-zagging' with my breath really helped and it's more like a dance than "hit note -1, then note 2, etc"
Thanks again for sharing
You bet Jim. Rock on! 😎
Luke , if you can play the key of G 2 ND position on a key of c harmonica and key of D on a key of G harmonica then why would you need a G harmonica , and if I got a G harmonica how would I know what key tob get it in. Thanks , Bob
The SOUNDS of the positions are different. 1sr position is great for folk kind of stuff and 2nd position is great fro blues kind of stuff. I have a video on how to figure out keys called czcams.com/video/V2aokP8GriI/video.html
Positions are confusing at the beginning and take time to understand. But the gist of it is:
1st position means using a C harmonica to play a song in the key of C.
2nd position means using a C harmonica to play a song in the key of G.
To get a little more insight on 1st vs 2nd positions, click here.
The other answer is that playing in the key of G by using a C harp means you are playing mostly draw notes. This allows you to add a lot more 'colour' to your playing as well as more bending which is extremely hard to do on a blow note. As an example, on your C harp 3-blow is the same note as 2-draw. Try out both and see how much easier it is to alter the sound on 2-draw.
Hey Luke, do you know how to prevent my lips getting really irritated from sliding them across the harp?
Lip balm. Won't hurt the harp. Give her a nice wipe with a clean cloth when you're done playing. (I use the inside of my t-shirt lol.)
cool video, would be cool if Blow was red and Draw was green
I think ditty ok with you calling him dumb ,beats what the rest of the world calling him 😂😂😂
Paul Jones is President of the British Harmonica Society or somesuch. Ive seen him live and he's great.
Yeah I've heard that too! He's a monster harmonica player!
Rnadomgm bought a harmonica on a trip with some friends as a joke, now I wanna learn it
YES!!!! DO IT!!!!! 😎
Please add captions
Honestly i get this is a slow course but its still a bit too fast in my oppinion, at least on some parts. I just cant do the notes individually and its just a mess of the three notes on the side of what im supposed to play
Paul Jones still playing with the Manfreds here in the UK.
Right on Peter! I bet he rocks quite a bit of harp at the performances, eh?
Paul Jones is freakin epic
funny time to see a diddy reference
🤣
I can't play a single however i'm learning to play a few songs and riffs.
WOO HOO!!!! 🙌🏼 Rock on! 😎
Now I wanna hear Daft Punk on harmonica
I never really get to go out because of being disabled. However whenever I play the harmonica, my audience are my cats. I never get heckled.
Nice Stanley. Keep on rocking my friend. god bless you.
😂😂😂❤❤❤👍
👊🏼
Numbers on my mouthharp are upsidedown!! It works beter!!!
Impressionner qui ?
Diddy do it?
Nice. 😉
All you got to do is practice
👊🏼
What you are paying is just background noise. I play the melody of a song by notes (I read sheet music) and then add the harmony behind the melody. ANd anyone can make out what song I'm playing. I've been told my harmonica style sounds like a calliope.
This did not age well
Why?
Diddy
lolol I guess not!
Mick hardly a harmonica player. Changed the World but harmonica talent....NOPE
🤣 There's worse rock star harmonica players than him tho. 😉
Countless. And you know also playing through a mic and amp helps lots. You know my buddy HarmoincaWizard Mark Ford?
Watching from Ireland
You said these were GUARANTEED to impress! I just tried some of these riffs in front of a group of hot college girls and they LAUGHED at me. Youre a liar and I want my money back
Aw man! Good thing it was free or I'd be in TROUBLE. 😉
@Harmonicacom im sorry I was drunk when I wrote this 🤣🤣🤣 Happy harpin
lolol@@Harmonicacom
😂
Don't listen to that.. you are awesome and much appreciated for all your hard work😊
Oh Diddy. 🫢
Thanks Luke been waiting for a new video for ages
You're welcome. It's my pleasure. Rock on! 😎