octave substitution

Many of our licks on the lower thee holes of the harmonica contain articulate bending, requiring attention to our intonation (how well we play in tune). We often use another instrument (most commonly the piano) or tuner to reference our pitch. A common way harmonica players do this referencing without the aid of another instrument is to play the passage in another octave. For example, the challenging lick 1 2" 3" 2" 1 can be played one octave higher as 4 5 6 5 4. So, play 4 5 6 5 4 as your reference (no bends) and then play 1 2" 3" 2" 1 right afterwards and try to match the same pitches. continue reading...

Here's a cool ending you can use that makes great use of the knowledge of octaves on your harmonica. These notes are based on the familiar "and many more..." musical vocal phrase.

1 2+ 2" -to- 4 5+ 5 -to- 8 8+ 9

A pro would play it as...

1 2+ 2" -to- 4 5+ 5 where you slap the 4, the 5+ and flutter the 5 -to- 8 8+ 9 in octaves

You can hear this at the end of Rod Piazza's Blues harmonica instrumental "The Bounce," a killer example of great instrumental writing (both Alphabet Blues and The Best of Rod Piazza releases have this ending)