From "Harmonica World" June-July 2009
Every instrument has comfort zones. These are notes which come out easily, and are therefore often heard. The arpeggio is a comfort zone for most instruments, but surprisingly, not for the harmonica. To find out why, this article examines harmonica arpeggios.
An arpeggio (for those who don't already know) has 4 notes, a root, a third, a fifth and the octave above the root. When played separately these notes are an arpeggio, played together they form a chord. Play 1B, then 2B, then 3B, then 4B on a C harmonica. The result is a C major arpeggio.
Now play these blow notes up and down a few times. They sound like piano practice. For most instruments, arpeggios underpin student exercises. However most harmonica instruction avoids them, so they can be challenging, even for experienced players.
A common exercise for many instruments is arpeggios for the I chord, the IV chord and the V chord in a particular key. For first position harmonica (e.g. playing in C with a C harmonica), a root note for the I chord is 4B, a root note for the IV chord is 5D, a root note for the V chord is 6B.
Starting with these root notes try the arpeggios, played up and down. For the I chord arpeggio the notes are
4B 5B 6B 7B 6B 5B 4B
the IV chord arpeggio is
5D 6D 7B 9D 7B 6D 5D
the V chord arpeggio is
6B 7D 8D 9B 8D 7D 6B
Play these arpeggios, one after the other, with a slight pause between each one. Finish by repeating the I chord arpeggio.
How do you find this exercise? Easy, medium or hard? For most players, myself included, the IV chord arpeggio is hard due to the 7B 9D jump. If the whole exercise is difficult, then slow it down (a lot). Also practice the IV and V chord arpeggios by themselves, then try the whole exercise.
Now try the arpeggios backwards, starting with the top note. For the I chord we have
7B 6B 5B 4B 5B 6B 7B
the IV chord
9D 7B 6D 5D 6D 7B 9D
And the V chord
9B 8D 7D 6B 7D 8D 9B
This exercise is surprisingly difficult for many harmonica players, although elementary for most other instruments. Once again, the IV chord arpeggio is an easy place to stumble.
Now try the arpeggios in the bottom octave. The I chord arpeggio is (as before)
1B 2B 3B 4B 3B 2B 1B
The IV chord arpeggio is
2D" 3D" 4B 5D 4B 3D" 2D"
And the V chord arpeggio is
2D 3D 4D 6B 4D 3D 2D
Try these one after the other, repeating the I chord apeggio at the end.
Again the IV chord arpeggio is difficult, due to the bent notes. If you are not yet able to get these notes, then just play the I chord and V chord arpeggios.
The I, IV, V chord progression is bread and butter for most music. Close behind is the I, II, V chord progression, where the II chord starts on the second note of the scale.
In first position, a II chord starts on a 4D, the arpeggio is 4D 5D 6D 8D 6D 5D 4D. Try this arpeggio a few times. Do you notice it sounds different from the other ones so far? The II chord is a minor chord, whereas the I, IV and V chords are major chords. For those not sure about minor chords, notice that the II arpeggio (and chord) has a sadder sound than the other arpeggios.
Now try the I, II, V arpeggios, repeating the I chord arpeggio at the end. The notes are
4B 5B 6B 7B 6B 5B 4B
4D 5D 6D 8D 6D 5D 4D
6B 7D 8D 9B 8D 7D 6B
4B 5B 6B 7B 6B 5B 4B
Similar to before, try these arpeggios again, starting on the top. The notes are
7B 6B 5B 4B 5B 6B 7B
8D 6D 5D 4D 5D 6D 8D
6B 7D 8D 9B 8D 7D 6B
7B 6B 5B 4B 5B 6B 7B
The II chord arpeggio may cause stumbles, due the the 8D 6D jump. Play these two notes back and forth, slowly, to build accuracy with this jump.
Finally, try the I, II and V arpeggios in the bottom octave. For the II chord arpeggio the notes are 1D 2D" 3D" 4D 3D" 2D" 1D. This is hard, due to the two deep bends. Try breaking it in half. Play 1D 2D" are few times, then 3D" 4D. If these fragments are also challenging, then put them on a "to do" list. This arpeggio is a useful, and worth the effort to get it.
Now try the I, II, IV bottom octave progression. The notes are
1B 2B 3B 4B 3B 2B 1B
1D 2D" 3D" 4D 3D" 2D" 1D
2D 3D 4D 6B 4D 3D 2D
1B 2B 3B 4B 3B 2B 1B
The exercises in this article are basic for many instruments, hard for (most) harmonica players. They have challenged me over the years. However persistence with them will unlock previously unexplored musical paths.