I’ve been trying to find the right tabs for ‘My heart will go on’ and finding a lot of conflicting information. One version suggests very high notes that are difficult to play, but probably match Celine Dion’s voice.
7 -8 6 9 -9 8 -8. etc
I then discovered the tabs are already posted in the songs section of this forum. What a pelican I am sometimes. Why didn’t I check first? The tabs here are lower and much easier to play.
4 -4 -2 6 -5 5 -4 etc
Self-admonishment dealt with, I didn’t find the beginning bit here, I think it’s maybe a flute and it chimes in at other times throughout the song also. Below is what I’ve put together from what I did find, but I deleted a note that I’m sure is wrong and added two notes in its place that I think sound right. I still feel like there’s a note missing.
Those of you who know better than me, (that’s most of you) could you please let me know if it sounds correct to you, or otherwise suggest some changes.
Also, the key - I’ve been using C
All of that said, it’s been a useful exercise to put my ears and brain to work and try to figure things out myself rather than just copy everything. I believe it has helped my learning, even if I’m wrong.
Great exercise to learn by ear for sure. Definitely keep that up, no point in just reading tabs if you can’t imagine (and thus improvise) all the sounds.
Harptabs is a great website to play songs as a beginner to get the single notes, rhythm and moving around the harp down to perfection. And it’s fun!
The song itself seems to be in E major from what I found online. So to play along (assuming these tabs are in first position) you would need an e harmonica. If you just have a C, I suggest just keep working with that one. E is quite high in first position.
If you learn how to bend some notes, it’s worth trying to play the song in second position (song in E on a A harmonica). I quickly transposed the tabs here below (based on harptabs’ version). Keep it up and have fun!
Thank You @jago. That must have taken you a lot of time to put together.
As a beginner, I ask questions of those with more experience but I’m not able to contribute much to the forum reciprocally. I can only offer my gratitude.
I did find the song on harp tabs. What confused me is that I found different versions in my search. The same song with very different tabs. Some with high numbers, some with low numbers, as you have posted.
I played the different versions, always with my GM in the key of C, and they all make the same tune. That was a revelation to me! The whole first position, second position thing had me completely baffled. Now, a little window has opened. So that got me started with trying to learn a few notes by ear, albeit tentative steps. Slowly, slowly learning.
Thank you again for taking the time to help me.
My pleasure @PapaCurly. And no worries, I’m happy to pass along the (limited amount of) things I have learned throughout the years.
Basically a diatonic harmonica has different octaves, that’s why you can play it in high notes or low notes as you said. Take a look at a note chart for a diatonic harmonica and you’ll understand: https://www.harmonica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/C.png
The position stuff is a little more confusing. I would suggest just watching as many YouTube videos on it you can and reading up. Don’t pressure yourself, keep trying and fiddling with the harmonica and at a certain point it will make sense.
Harptabs is user generated content so you’ll find songs in different octaves there and also in different positions. Hence the confusion. Also, some tabs are for chromatic. And some tabs are just plain wrong
I go back and forth between learning more about positions, scales et cetera on the one hand, and perfecting my technique (everything from tongue blocking to vibrato and speed) on the other. That keeps me from getting frustrated.
One day you’ll back at this post and realize you’re ready to help the next cohort of future players. Only way you can stop progressing is if you put the harmonica down. If not, you got this.
