Hi All,
Fairly new to learning the harmonica, I’m making my way through the course (3month program) and I am wondering if after the course is completed if you still require the tabs or if you just ‘know’ the tab you should blow.
Thanks
Nick
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Short answer Yes. I often look them up to learn a tune or write them down once I’ve worked it out myself so I can play it again. My memory for sequences is terrible lately. I need to. If you have the time and inclination to learn to read music you would be able to play anything. Some people can just hear a tune and play it. Sometimes I can do that. Its very individual.
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Same, the memory doesn’t work well these days for whatever reason so I often reference tablature still. But now I can sight read tabs.
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Sometimes I do. If I’m copying licks straight from the song, like if I’m doing a song with Terry McMillan on harp for example, it’s useful to have the tabs done. But my issue with tabs is that if you don’t have the actual song with you, it’s hard to get the phrasing down. Which is why I always have Spotify or Youtube or an mp3 file for this reason. Occasionally when I hear a song that I’ve listened to a lot, I can do the licks verbaitum without any tabs. Learning ear training (mainly intervals) was a big thing for me in choir all those years ago.
I can learn a song from memory if I know the song well enough or have listened to it for a long time. For example, the first actual song I ever learned was “Ain’t Goin’ Down (til the Sun Comes Up)” by Garth Brooks. Everybody who has met me knows that it was the song that introduced me to Terry McMillan and it was my goal for a long time to learn that song. It was a challenge, but I listened to the song for so long at that point that eventually I got it down.
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Hi Nick and welcome. I don’t think there is a black and white answer. Some people do it easier than others. Of course, it also depends very much on how well you know the song.
Most of the songs I play, I have learned from tabs that others have kindly provided. Once I have the tune bedded down, I rarely think about the tabs anymore, I do think about the lyrics.
There are two songs that I tabbed out myself, i.e. scratched through every note, found the right tab and wrote it down. That is a laborious task, but I think worthwhile for your whole learning process.
I have learned four songs entirely by ear, i.e. just picked up a harp and played the tune. I don’t have any idea what tabs I’m playing. It’s a surprise and a fascination to me that I have been able to do that, but I reckon if I can do it, then anyone can.
However it works out for you, just enjoy making music, that’s all that really matters.
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@nickgauntlett Welcome to the forum. Great question!!!
The more you can rely on your ears and the less on your eyes the better! I always say the best way to do my course is with your eyes closed. Tabs are a great tool when necessary, but I ALWAYS try to commit whatever I’m learning to memory, and that’s by playing it over and over again along with the recording using my ears.
Grow them ears!!
Hope that helps.
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Yes Once I can play a tune without them i work on getting the rhythm closer to correct. I started about 22 months ago and the only thing I knew about music is how to spell it.
It seems that I learn a portion of a song and use tabs for the rest until I get it through a diamond tough head. The more I learn the quicker the rest falls into place but I speak for only myself. being able to play something without tabs is one thing but playing the tune correctly is another. I would focus on single notes as this seems to be the foundation for being able to play the harp. One thing about the course I really like is it helps you avoid grooving faults, which what to be broken. I feel getting on the right track is the best way to advance your skills. Bad habits are as hard to break as good ones and avoiding bad habits saves you time. Practice is the key along with persistence. Just my opinion.
This forum is a place you can ask questions and get good answers without anyone being condescending. Everyone started at go and went from there and got help along the way.
U Tube is a good place to get tabs and play them to work on timing, which I think is the toughest part of really knowing how to play a song along with consistent play of clean single notes.
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Thank you all, it’s most helpful, I would love to be able to play by ear and not be so reliant on tabs as my memory isn’t the best. I don’t have a very musical ear so I was worried that would hold me back but by the sounds of things that will come in time
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Its nothing practice will not defeat. It will not make you perfect but will move you up the latter faster and listening to a tune until you can hear it in your head really helps me.
Practicing and listening go hand in hand in improving. I just really enjoy playing even on days when gravity is replaced by how back I can suck. No interest in playing in a band or anything else. Just sitting on my deck when the stars are really bright is all I need to be happy with a harp.
Tabs will help at the beginning and now the tunes I know are played better without tabs. It seems you will learn a song in parts and tabs be needed only on the portion you still don.t have down. Just never give up.
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Yes because I’m lazy and a bad musician.
Developing your ear and not relying on tabs/notation is a good thing and will help your playing, but, tabs as a tool and reference are no bad thing. Not everyone is blessed with the inate understanding and most folks are on a scale with it (I know from many years of playing guitar im way down toards the almost tone deaf end, but, not completely…quite…)
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Everyone sucked at the get go. Tabs have helped me with hearing a note played and know what it is, I play an A and B flat primarily. I’ll be playing at night in a dark place and just cannot get the sound I want. Its because i picked up the wrong harp but know know from the first note what I have done. In the beginning it took me longer and got a bit frustrating. I must be in the lazy class as well given the number or times I started playing only to find out the harp was upside down, which is much easier to tell on the first note. tabs do help with learning a song to a point and have helped me hear a note and know what it is. Start at age 68 and and completely void of anything about playing music. father time took most of what I was good at but the harp has taken a big slice of the knowing I will never hit a baseball far or run fast. Toots Theilsmen was I/M/O the best player to pick up a harp and played until he passed at age 92. I saw a video of him playing in a wheel chair and he was still great I’ll never be as good as I would like to but I will die trying.
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Welcome to the forum. I’m an older guy, will turn 80 next month and I’ve been playing seriously now for a little under a year. I play strictly by ear, can’t read music and don’t do well with tabs. Once I have sorted a tune out and play it some I just kind of go on auto-pilot after that. To me playing is sort of like therapy, it’s fun doing it and I feel better afterwards.
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@nickgauntlett If I wanna learn and memorize a song, I’ll listen to it on repeat for days and days. I’ll sing along with it. If you can sing it, you can play it a memorize it waaaayyyyyy easier. Pro tip. 
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Luke 2 ?s
Have you ever played El Condor Pasa? If so how would you rate this one on a difficulty scale?
I am learning another tune that requires everything from -1 to 10, bends and one over blow. When I play the=1 it seems so low and its tuned at 442. Is it normal and if so how does the musician that recorded make it sound better or a bit higher? HARPSMITH went through the harp and it plays very well. ( B flat ) as recorded and the harp I use so its not a issue of a different key. The -1 just sound so drab relative to the other notes. The first five are -2,-1,-2, -3,-2 and the second note just does not seem to fit sound right.
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No I’ve never played it before.
My understanding is that harps are tuned to 442 because when played hard they go a little flat. No problem bringing the -1 down a little with mouth position. Have you tried looking at Bend It Better when you play it?
Not the -1 yet. I play it very soft and its better. I’ll look back at B T B to see what how I can do to make it sound better. I have not had a problem activating a bend but sliding quickly into a -3// consistently is going to take time. Lots of practice. I am at the point making bends sound correct is here and suspect this is the real challenge. I do not use the third step on three but most of the riffs I like involve the first and second -3 and first on -2./ I did look back on B T B and went through the exercise on the tune that was -2 but I cannot remember the name. It is a good exercise.
Frankly its the seemingly small things like blocking vis dropping the jaw to clean up single note play. It does help. B T B helps avoid a new player groove faults at the start, which have to be broken and the correct method. The analogy of playing a note like -8 not quit hard enough to blow out a candle that really helped me and a good example of one single sentence really improve my high draw note play. As always your help is appreciated.
I do not play my harps hard but HARPSMITH ( Kinya ) ask me what I like and tuned my crossovers accordingly. I saw you post about lowering the aw to close the the jaw to in effect block contagious holes off and it is very good. I focus on single note play more than anything and its ok given I am two years into it but there is room for improvement.
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