The 21st century is in the yard, and the vociferous harmonica, like many years ago, pleases us with its iridescent, fervent tunes. And the lingering melody played on the accordion will not leave any listener indifferent. Independent learning to play the harmonica is available to anyone who loves its sound and really wants to play music on this instrument.

For amateurs, several techniques for mastering the accordion have been established. And therefore, the first thing you need to decide at the initial stage of training is which methodology to follow.

The first way - training "by hand"

Watching video lessons of experienced masters, watching them play from the outside, and relying on your ear for music, the first way of learning to play the harmonica is actually built. It lies in the fact that, bypassing the stage of studying musical notation, proceed immediately to playing the instrument. This option is suitable for folk music lovers who have never practiced professionally, but are naturally endowed with good musical abilities.

In this case, by the way, there will be recordings of reputable performers in video format, their training video materials. In addition, audio songs and tunes will come in handy for selecting melodies by ear. And you can master playing the instrument by notes later, when many technical issues have already been resolved.

Watch the video tutorial by Pavel Ukhanov:

The second way is the traditional

The second way of learning is the most fundamental and traditional, but also more interesting, more effective. And here, of course, you can't do without tutorials and music collections for beginner harmonica and accordion players. At the beginning of this path, you will get acquainted with the musical staff and its inhabitants, as well as with rhythm and durations. Mastering musical literacy in practice turns out to be much easier than many people imagine. Most importantly, don't despair!

If you are not familiar with sheet music, tutorials by such authors as Londonov, Bazhilin, Tyshkevich will come to your aid. In addition, from our site you can get an excellent gift (given to everyone)!

Both of the above options for learning to play the harmonica, with regular and meaningful practice, will give a good result. The speed of learning, of course, depends on your abilities, the quantity and quality of training. Well, if you use one and the other way, having planned their harmonious combination in advance, then the result will not be long in coming.

Rules for a Beginner Harmonist

1. Consistency in practice is the most important rule of any musician. Even if you dedicate only 10-15 minutes a day to mastering the harmonica, then distribute these small playing lessons evenly throughout the week. It is better if the classes take place every day.
2. Try to master all the learning technology slowly, but correctly from the very beginning, without postponing the observance of the rules until later (“later” may not come due to the fact that something stops coming out). If you are not sure about something, look for the answer to your question in books, the Internet, or from a musician you know. Otherwise, act independently and boldly!
3. The first exercise that you need to learn on the instrument is the C major scale, even if you master the game by ear, and not by notes, it is necessary to train on the scales. Vary them by playing the scale up and down with different strokes (jerky and coherent). Playing scales will improve your technique: speed of execution, coherence, bellows control, etc.
4. During the execution, lead the fur smoothly, do not pull, do not stretch to the end, leaving a margin.
5. When learning a scale or melody on the right keyboard, use all fingers at once, choosing convenient options, and not just one or two, since you simply won’t play with one finger at a fast pace.
6. Since you are learning the accordion without a mentor, it will be good to watch your performance on tape in order to see the game from the outside and correct mistakes.
7. Listen to many songs and tunes played on the harmonica. This will give expressiveness to your playing, help you build musical phrases correctly.

Well, perhaps that's all for a start. Dare! Get inspired by listening to popular artists and upbeat tunes! Work hard every day, and the results of your labors will be songs that your family and friends will undoubtedly rejoice at when they gather at the family table!

Can't believe that you can learn to play the accordion even without knowing the notes? It turns out that with a strong desire, you can do everything, even learn how to play the harmonica in just half an hour.

How to learn to play the harmonica

Even if you do not know the notes, it is not difficult to remember them, because the notes are always heard. From school, every child remembers a simple combination: do-re-mi, f-sol-la-si, and the last note is do. That's all knowledge, simple and easy.

Rule one: to learn how to play the harmonica, we learn the notes by heart. We sing them first in order, then in reverse order. You need to sing as much as you like, the main thing is that you remember all the notes. And without knowing it, we managed to learn the scale.

What will help you learn to play faster:

• In order not to confuse notes, you can quickly learn them like this: mark the working keys, and those that are not yet needed for simple melodies can be glued. Or vice versa, highlight the desired keys with stickers. We just recommend highlighting the main notes: this is the note “F” and the note “Sol”. They divide the accordion keyboard into 2 parts. It turns out that there will be 5 buttons in the bottom row, and the same number in the top row. These are 4 sectors.
• Pick up an accordion, sit comfortably so that nothing interferes. If height does not allow, place a small stand or stool under your feet for balance.
• Now you need to put all 5 fingers on each sector. It turns out that the fingers are on the notes, through one.
• Counting from the notes "F" and "Sol" from below, press the keys. We listen to the sound, remember the location of the fingers.
• We worked out, we move on to the next: we are working on sectors from 1 to 4, placing our fingers on each. To consolidate this part of the lesson, a special table will come in handy, on which columns and rows are indicated, as well as numbers and notes. How notes are written - it is better to learn right away so that there is no confusion: “Before - FROM, Re - D, Mi - E, Fa - F, Salt - G, La - F, Si - H". If you concentrate, then in a couple of minutes it is easy to learn all the notes.
• To consolidate the learned material, you can, armed with felt-tip pens of different colors, draw a musical staff, designate notes. In order not to get confused, it is better to draw a musical staff with light felt-tip pens, the lines should be thin.
• The next 5 lines are of a different, brighter shade. Total: 11 line stave, base - 5 lines + treble clef.
• On the top line, you need to put 2 notes: “F” and “Sol”, remember their location, in order to work out the notes later and fix this skill on the accordion.
• It remains to apply and work out the acquired knowledge, learn to perceive notes on a sheet of music and find them with your fingers on the accordion. When everything works out without pauses, you can say that you have practically learned how to play.
• Further - everything is simple, take notes with a simple piece for a beginner - try to play.

• you need to learn to play the accordion every day, allocate at least 15 minutes for lessons. It is best to play 10 minutes in the morning and the same in the evening;
• do not rush, master the musical alphabet gradually;
• the first task needs to be worked out thoroughly: learn the C-major scale, you can play not by notes, but by ear. Be sure to train on scales;
• when performing a melody, the fur does not need to be jerky, move it smoothly. The fur is not stretched to the end, this is superfluous;
• all fingers should be involved - put them on the keyboard, even if it is still difficult to play with all fingers, you need to gradually get used to new movements;
• if you master this musical instrument without an assistant, then listen to audio recordings, video lessons, record your game to look at yourself from the side and note mistakes.

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The harmonica is a small versatile instrument that most of the peoples of the world play almost any kind of music. Although at first glance it may seem difficult to learn how to play the harmonica, actually playing the harmonica is easy and fun. Read the steps below to learn how to play the harmonica.

Steps

Getting Started

Choose a harmonium. There are many different types of harmonicas available for purchase that vary in purpose and price. To date, you can purchase a diatonic or chromatic harmonica. To play the most popular music like blues or folk, you can use any kind.

Learn about the harmonica. The harmonica is a reed musical instrument that uses brass reeds. The reeds are used to create tone when you blow or blow air through the holes. The reeds are mounted on a plate called a reed plate, which is usually made of brass. The part of the harmonica where the reed plate is installed is called the crest; as a rule, it is made of plastic or metal. The harmonica's mouthpiece can be built into the comb, or, as with chromatic harmonicas, screwed on separately. The protective panels for the rest of the tool can be made of wood, metal, or plastic.

• The guide rail of the chromatic harmonica is also made of metal.
• Depending on whether you inhale or exhale into the harmonica, different notes are produced by the reeds. A typical diatonic harp is tuned to C (C major) on the exhale, and G (G major) on the inhale. They complement each other perfectly and there is no need to add extra holes.
• The reeds inside the harmonica are thin and wear out over time. Light play and regular maintenance will keep the sound good for as long as possible.

Learn to read harmonica tablature. Like guitars, the harmonica can be played in tablature, which simplifies the notes on the music sheet into an easily observable pattern of holes and inhales/exhales. Tablature is also suitable for large chromatic harmonicas, but it differs somewhat from diatonic tablature and is usually less commonly used.

• Respiration is marked with arrows. The up arrow indicates exhalation; down arrow - inhale.
  • Most holes on a diatonic harmonica produce two "adjacent" notes at a given scale, so playing C and then D on the same scale is done by blowing into the corresponding hole and then drawing in air from the same hole.
• The holes are marked with numbers, starting with the lowest (left) note and ending with the highest. So the bottom two notes are (up) 1 and (down) 1. On a 10-hole harmonica, the highest note would be (down) 10.
  • Some notes of a regular 10-hole harmonica overlap, especially (down) 2 and (up) 3. This is necessary to ensure proper playing range.
• More advanced methods are indicated by slashes or some other small label. Diagonal slash arrows indicate that note curvature (discussed later) is required to produce the correct sound. Chevrons or slashes on chromatic tablature indicate whether the button should be held down or not.
  • There is no standardized tablature system that is used by all harmonists. However, once you practice and master one type of reading, most of the other types can be easily mastered.

Basic harmonica playing technique

Play the notes as you exhale. The very first thing to do is to practice your new instrument by playing notes. Choose a hole or holes on the mouthpiece and blow gently into them. Neighboring holes are usually designed to automatically harmonize the melody with each other, so try blowing three holes at the same time to produce a pleasant sound. Practice blowing into one hole, then playing chords into several holes.

• This type of playing is called "straight harmonica" or "first position".
• As you might guess, the number of holes you blow through is partly controlled by your lips. Eventually, you will learn how to use the front of your tongue to block holes (this is necessary to maintain control over the notes you play). We will talk about this below.

Take a deep breath to change notes. Remembering that the air should be inhaled through the reeds gently, inhale, increasing the notes by a step. By inhaling and exhaling through the mouthpiece, you can access all of the tuned notes for the harmonica.

• This kind of playing is called "cross harmonica" or "second position". Cross harmonica notes are often suitable for blues riffs.
• If you have a chromatic harmonica, practice pressing and holding the button for extra control over the notes you play.

Try to play the whole range. On a diatonic harmonica tuned to C, the C scale starts at (to) 4 and rises to (to) 7. The standard in/out pattern repeats except for the 7th hole, where it switches (inhale, then exit). This scale is the only full scale on a C-tuned harmonica, but it is sometimes possible to play songs on other ranges, as long as they don't require the missing notes of the range.

Practice. Keep practicing playing the range and individual notes until you feel comfortable playing just one note at a time. Once you can achieve the desired control over the instrument, choose simple songs and practice on them. Tablature for songs like "Mary Had a Lamb" and "Oh Susannah" is easy to find online.

• Try adding some flair by playing multiple notes at the same time. The next step in your practice is to loosen control a bit and add two-note and three-note chords to the songs you practice by playing two or three adjacent holes at once. This will help you to have more control over your mouth and breathing and play songs more sonorously.
  • Don't play everything in chords! Try adding a chord at the end of a verse or phrase. The important thing is to master switching between single notes and multiple notes.

Advanced Techniques

Pay for lessons. From now on, if you start studying under the guidance of an experienced player, you will see fast and technically sound results, although you can, of course, continue to study on your own. Harmonica lessons vary in price and frequency; feel free to try a few lessons with one teacher and then move on to another if the first one doesn't suit you.

• Even if you are taking lessons, continue to rely on guides and books to improve your game. There is no reason to abandon other materials just because you supplement them with professional activities.

Skip holes. It's easy to get used to the pattern of constantly forcing air in and out through the harmonica, but once you start playing more advanced songs, you need to practice skipping some holes to reach others. Play songs on notes that require you to jump over a hole or two, such as the American traditional tune "Shenandoah", which has you jumping from the 4th to the 6th hole, towards the end of the second phrase (on standard C diatonic).

Play with two cupped hands. To begin with, you probably held the harmonica with the index and thumb of your left (or non-dominant) hand and moved it as you played. Add the right (or leading) hand to the game. Rest the heel of the right hand and the thumb of the left hand, and then place the edge of the right hand together with the left so that your fingers close around the left little finger. This will create a "sounding hole" that can be used to influence the sound coming from the harmonica.

• Add a quiet melody or yell as you slap the sounding hole open and close. Use this technique at the end of a verse to add emotion or just to practice.
• Create a train whistle effect by starting with the sounding hole open, then closing it and opening it again.
• Play a muffled, quiet sound, leaving the sounding hole almost closed.
• You will probably find that this position forces you to hold the harmonica at an angle with its left edge pointing down and in. This position is actually perfect for other techniques, so take advantage of it.

• The basic technique for changing notes is to make the lip opening very, very small and forcefully draw air through the lips into the opening to be changed. Stretch the notes of the cross harmonica and gradually purse your lips until you hear a change in tone. By squeezing your lips to a greater or lesser extent, you can further control the tone of the note.
• Be very careful when you practice changing notes. Because air crosses the reeds so abruptly that it can easily loosen or bend them, destroying the instrument. Finding the sweet spot between not changing a note and changing it too much requires patience and caution.

• When people start playing the harmonica, it doesn't sound very good at first - it takes time for most people to learn how to play good sounds. Practice every day and don't give up.
• When changing notes, inhale/exhale very deeply. Changing notes on the harmonica requires thorough preparation and strong lungs.

Hello, dear beginners (and not so) harmonists! I am glad to welcome you to the site "".

First, a small introduction ... With this article I will try to open, I hope, a whole cycle of harmonica lessons for beginners and I will try to reveal this science from, based mostly on my own experience. I feel that it will not be easy, because it will be difficult for a person who already more or less owns the instrument to fit into the shoes of a beginner and look at this process through his eyes. Actually, this most often happens when the teacher loses sight of points that are not at all obvious to an inexperienced student ...

But I'll try. And I hope that these lessons will be really useful for someone who wants to learn how to play the 25x25 two-row chrome harmonica (we will talk about it, but, in general, these lessons can be applied to harmonicas with a smaller number of keys, both in the right and left keyboards, for example, 23x12). And one more important point: try to understand the very principles of the game, and not wait until the end of your days, when the “kind uncle” will lay out the “number” or show how to play a specific melody and which buttons to poke with which finger ...

If the numbering of buttons is mentioned somewhere, then you should know that it is standard (pictures). So let's go!

This lesson is for those who pick up an accordion for the first time, wanting to learn how to play it, but do not know at all which way to approach it. Those who already know how to stretch the fur and even extract some sounds can safely skip it.

Planting an accordionist

To begin with, let's decide on the landing of the harmonist. Although, even among experts there is no consensus on this matter. In the tutorials, it is proposed to use the same landing as accordionists use. But some adherents of the traditional game consider it wrong to transfer the bayan school of playing to the accordion. Therefore, the main principle here: landing should be comfortable. In general terms: the accordion is placed with fur on the thigh of the left leg, the fingerboard of the right semi-body rests with the lower corner on the right thigh and remains motionless, while the left hand stretches the fur. In this case, the instrument is either close to the body (it is so convenient to play using the thumb of the right hand), or moves forward.

Some accordion players keep their legs closed and their accordion rests with fur on both legs at once. Shoulder straps can be worn on both shoulders, or only on one right. From personal experience: when playing while sitting, I myself most often use one strap, if the piece being played does not require the obligatory and frequent use of the thumb.

In general, after several years of training, I began to notice a reluctance to put on a second belt, and the one that I put on, I put it on my arm just above the elbow - so you feel somehow freer or something ...

If you wear both straps, then the tension of the straps should be adjusted so that the accordion is not hung on your shoulders (as when playing while standing), but rests on the thigh with fur. But here, too, you can look from the other side: after all, someday you will have to play standing up, but here you already need a slightly different skill, so, in principle, you can hang the accordion on your shoulders. I can only say that once you learn to play sitting with one strap, it will not be difficult for you to play standing up, you just need to practice a little. In general, I repeat, the landing should be comfortable for you personally.

Hand position

A few words about the position of the hands. When playing the accordion, the right hand is positioned so that the thumb is behind the neck, and the palm itself rests on the neck in the region of the lowest joint of the thumb. Moreover, the palm rests on the neck not with the entire surface, but only with its upper part. The lower part of the palm is slightly laid aside. So, in my opinion, it is most convenient to play.

If you need to use your thumb, it is displayed from behind the neck to press the right button at the right time. The thumb is usually played on semitone keys (keys 1, 2 and 14), but many professional virtuosos use it on other keys when playing difficult passages.

How the right hand is located when playing, you will see in the video below. In fact, if we consider the position of the right hand from the point of view of the old bayan school, then there are two main positions depending on the melody being played: this is the position when the fingers are perpendicular to the fretboard, and the position when the fingers are directed diagonally down. This is quite applicable to harmonica as well. I think, in relation to accordion, there is no particular need to strictly observe any rule for the location of the right hand: you yourself will find the most convenient “grip” for yourself in a given situation.

We extract the first sounds from the accordion

Now let's perform a simple exercise: we press some button in the right keyboard and start at the same time as pressing it; stretch the fur with your left hand. For those who don't know, the right keyboard is the one where the buttons are located on the neck (not on the body like on the left). We try to pull the fur smoothly, without jerks and loosening, so that the sound is even. Now we squeeze the fur without releasing the button.

As you can hear, the sound remains the same. The same sound when changing the direction of movement of the fur on the same key is one of the characteristic features of the harmonica-khromka, unlike most Russian accordions of the past, which are not very common now and have, as a rule, different sounds on the squeezing-unclenching of the fur or in one of keyboards (left, right), or both (the exception is the Yelets piano accordion and).

Now we will do almost the same thing, but when changing the direction of movement of the fur, we will press another key with another finger, the one in the neighborhood (it doesn’t matter, top, bottom, side ...)

First exercises

That's it, indulged and that's enough, now let's move on to more serious exercises. Let's try to play the major scale. Despite the formidable name, there is nothing complicated here. We simply cycle through eight keys in a row in two rows, starting with key 3 and ending with key 18, and then go back the same way. In this case, the ring finger presses the keys of the first row (starting with key number 3), and the index finger presses the second row (starting with key number 15). It should turn out like this:

Now let's complicate the task: we do almost the same thing, but now we move to the very bottom of the keyboard, to the very last key and go back again:

We play first at a slow pace, then, when everything turns out without errors, we can add “speed”.

About fur management

About changing the direction of the fur in this exercise: I don’t know exactly what the professionals would say, but it seems convenient to me to change it after every eighth sound. We start playing on the stretch, slightly (very little) spreading the furs in order to have a small supply of air. Remember a small rule: try never to part or compress furs to the stop. This will inevitably lead to pauses and jerks where they should not be.

How much time to devote to exercises and whether to look at the keyboard

It would be nice to devote a couple of minutes to these exercises every time you sit down at the accordion. This scale can also be “driven” only with the ring finger and little finger for their development (and it is very desirable to develop them as soon as you start learning).

Should I look at the keyboard while playing? I will say this: you will have to watch the first time, because otherwise you are unlikely to get into the right keys. But with the acquisition of some experience, the need for this will disappear by itself. Your fingers will get used to and feel the keyboard.

On this, perhaps, the first lesson will be completed.

This master class is simply indispensable for all those who want to learn how to play the accordion.

A musical instrument that has a very pleasant sound and great features has always been popular. You can learn to play the harmonica yourself and it's not at all difficult! And for those who sing beautifully, learning is a must! Songs with own accompaniment will become the hallmark of the singer, who will be invited to many evenings and events.

Video lesson "Lessons of playing the harmonica"

Part 1. Combat Options

Part 2. Chords on the right

Part 3. "Snakes" from chords

Part 4. Four button chords

Since ancient times, the Russian folk instrument has been an attribute of holidays, fun, and warm, friendly evenings. The exact history of the accordion is unknown. No one can say exactly where and by whom it was invented. However, it is widely believed that the accordion comes from Germany, and was born in the early 19th century. There is also an opinion that the accordion first appeared in Russia, namely in St. Petersburg, in the 18th century. An interesting fact is that during the Great Patriotic War, accordions were also massively sent to the front, among ammunition and provisions, to maintain the morale of the population. It was at this time that the accordion gained its wide popularity in Russia, becoming the favorite musical instrument of many people. At this time, many author's songs appeared, which were performed precisely to the accordion.

1. First, you should familiarize yourself with the structure of this tool. It is small in size, compact and easy to transport. The accordion consists of a right and left half-body, each of which contains keys or a keyboard with buttons. The musician needs to play with both hands, simultaneously squeezing or unclenching the accordion and pressing the keys or buttons. The main melody is played on the right keyboard, the left one is for accompaniment. The design between the keyboards is called a fur chamber. It is designed to pump air to the harmonica sound bars.
2. It is useful to know that accordions can have a certain key (major or minor).
3. There are two types of Russian accordions, depending on the type of sound extraction: there are accordions on which, when the bellows are stretched and compressed, the button gives the same sound. For other harmonicas, the pitch may change depending on the position and movement of the bellows.
4. For successful mastery of playing the harmonica, it is worth strenuously developing an ear for music and a sense of rhythm. The musician is simply obliged to hear and feel the music he plays.
5. It is better to start learning to play the harmonica from the very basics: the positions of the harmonica player during the game. Until now, there is no consensus on this matter. Many tutorials suggest using the same posture as accordion players. However, most professional musicians believe that you should not mix the techniques of playing the accordion and the button accordion. The main thing is that the pose should be comfortable for the harmonist himself. The most common posture looks something like this: the accordion is placed with fur on the left thigh, the fingerboard of the right semi-body rests on the thigh of the right leg, the left hand stretches the fur. At the same time, the tool is either tightly pressed to the body, or moves forward a little.
6. The accordion has special shoulder straps, which are used to give the accordion reliability and stability. When playing while sitting, one shoulder strap is enough. If the musician wears both, they must be carefully adjusted so that the accordion does not hang, but rests on the thigh.
7. It is worth paying great attention to the position of the hands. The video shows in detail how to hold your hands while playing the accordion.

These tips, in combination with a training video that shows in detail and clearly the basic principles of playing the accordion, will help beginners to master this beautiful musical instrument. You should not study only from lessons or books, an important part of the lesson is improvisation, your own musical searches and experiments. Good luck!