Harmonica tab converter
Type a melody in letters or Do Re Mi (E E F G or Mi Mi Fa Sol), with or without octave numbers, and get the tab for a 10-hole diatonic harmonica: 4 means blow hole 4, -4 means draw and each ' is a half step of bend. It also works backwards: paste a tab and see its notes.
Notes on a C diatonic harmonica
On a C Richter harp, holes 1 to 10 blow C4 E4 G4 C5 E5 G5 C6 E6 G6 C7 and draw D4 G4 B4 D5 F5 A5 B5 D6 F6 A6. The tab for each bend is in brackets.
| Hole | Blow | Draw | Draw bends | Blow bends |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | C4 (1) | D4 (-1) | D♭4 (-1') | — |
| 2 | E4 (2) | G4 (-2) | G♭4 (-2'), F4 (-2'') | — |
| 3 | G4 (3) | B4 (-3) | B♭4 (-3'), A4 (-3''), A♭4 (-3''') | — |
| 4 | C5 (4) | D5 (-4) | D♭5 (-4') | — |
| 5 | E5 (5) | F5 (-5) | — | — |
| 6 | G5 (6) | A5 (-6) | A♭5 (-6') | — |
| 7 | C6 (7) | B5 (-7) | — | — |
| 8 | E6 (8) | D6 (-8) | — | E♭6 (8') |
| 9 | G6 (9) | F6 (-9) | — | G♭6 (9') |
| 10 | C7 (10) | A6 (-10) | — | B6 (10'), B♭6 (10'') |
How to use it
- Choose Notes → tab and type the melody with spaces between the notes, or tap the keyboard. Example shows how it works.
- Pick the key of your harp, stamped on its side (C, G or A, for example). Without octave numbers, the melody goes where it fits that harp best.
- Check the note-by-note list: bends are highlighted, orange means overblow and red means a note the harp does not have.
- Tap Play melody to hear it and Copy tab to paste it anywhere. The +4 and -4 style is under Tab style.
- To read an existing tab, choose Tab → notes and paste the numbers: 4, +4, -4, -3', -3'' and -3b all work.
Help and explanations
The C harp comes first, and there are 11 other keys and the three positions players use most. Notes that need an overblow show in orange and notes the harp does not have show in red, with the nearest playable octave and the harps that play the whole melody. Everything runs in your browser, with no sign-up.
How to read 10-hole harmonica tabs
Each number is a hole, from low (1) to high (10). No sign means blow; a minus sign means draw. On a C harp the blow notes are C E G and the draw notes are D G B D F A B D F A, so the full major scale only appears between holes 4 and 7: 4 -4 5 -5 6 -6 -7 7.
A bend lowers a note by changing the shape of your mouth, without moving to another hole. Only the higher reed of each hole bends: draw bends on holes 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6, blow bends on holes 8, 9 and 10, as Harmonica.com explains. Hole 3 draw has three on a C harp: -3' (B♭), -3'' (A) and -3''' (A♭).
Positions: one harp, three keys
In 1st position the harp plays in the key stamped on it, with a major scale. In 2nd, cross harp, the music sits a fifth higher: a C harp plays blues in G, with -2 as the home note. In 3rd, the same harp plays in D minor.
For a song in G, for example, use a G harp in 1st position, a C harp in 2nd (blues) or an F harp in 3rd (G minor). The notes of every key follow Hohner's Richter tuning chart, the same layout as the Marine Band and Special 20.
Tips
- Start with melodies between holes 4 and 7 on a C harp: they need no bends.
- Too many bends in the tab? Try a suggested harp or move the melody up an octave.
- Before working on bends, check your harp with the harmonica tuner and practise each bend in the bend trainer.
- Only found guitar chords? The chord transposer moves the song to a key that suits your harp.
Frequently asked questions
How do you read harmonica tabs?
The number is the hole and the sign tells you what to do: 4 means blow hole 4 and -4 means draw. Some sites write +4 for blow. Apostrophes mark bends: -3' drops a half step, -3'' a whole step and -3''' a step and a half.
Why are some notes orange or red?
Orange marks a note that only comes out with an overblow or overdraw, advanced techniques. Red marks a note outside the harp, such as B3 on a C harp. The converter shows the nearest octave that is easy to play and the harps that play the whole melody without overblows.
Can I type notes without octave numbers?
Yes. The converter keeps the shape of the melody, each note close to the previous one, and picks the range that fits the harp best. To fix the range, add the number after the note, like C5 (middle C on a piano is C4).
Does it work for chromatic or tremolo harmonicas?
No. It uses the Richter tuning of the 10-hole diatonic harmonica. Chromatic harps, 24-hole tremolos and special tunings (country, natural minor, harmonic minor) have different notes in each hole.