The harmonica is capable of sounds unique to the instrument. Many of these sounds are created through the use of more than one note. Blues players for decades have been using the beautiful chords on the harmonica as a means of self expression. There are numerous techniques such as tongue trills, head/hand shakes, tongue slaps, bleedage and chords. In this article we'll touch on all of these techniques.

Two Hole Shakes
I've seen players shake their heads, hands and a combination of both. The same sounding shakes are obtainable all three ways; however I have personally found it is difficult to maintain an airtight cup on a bullet mic while shaking the head and or hands. I experimented with moving the jaw back and forth to play the shake. This worked well but it hurt my jaw. An alternative is to move the tongue back and forth over the desired holes to create the shake (which we'll call a tongue trill). With this method, it is possible to maintain a good seal in the cupped mic while moving between the two holes and reduces movement for playing a harmonica in a rack.

Over the blues try holding the 4 draw/5 draw tongue trill for a few bars. It helps to experiment with different rhythms in the tempo of the tongue trill, like triplets or 16th notes. The tongue trill, if steady, can also be played as an independent rhythm which weaves in and out of the rhythm of the tune. Strive for consistency. Try playing a 2 draw/3 draw trill over the first chord (I) in a 12 bar blues progression, then bend the 2 draw/3 draw down by half step over the IV chord in the second bar of the progression and then slide back up to the natural 2 draw/3 draw in the third bar on the I chord.

When first trying the 2 note shakes, take care to avoid common pitfalls such as air leakage, poor tone, and unintentional bent notes.

Three Hole Spread Trills
It is also possible to block two holes with the tongue and play a trill between the holes on either side of the tongue block. Start by tongue blocking holes 1 and 2 and play the 3 draw out of the right side of the mouth. Then block holes 2 and 3 with the tongue and play the 1 draw out of the left side of the mouth. After going back and forth between the two blocks, you can minimize the movement of the tongue and play the 1 draw and 3 draw sequentially at high speeds. This trill works great between the 1 and 3 blow notes as well.

Four Hole Spread Trills
Try blocking three holes and play the 1 draw/4 draw trill. In other words, play the 1 draw and 4 draw back and forth in a trill by blocking holes 2 and 3. Speed will come with time. This block also sounds great on 2 draw/5 draw.

Flutter Tongue
Another sound unique to the harmonica is playing a chord while quickly placing the tongue on and off the harmonica. Try blocking three holes (1, 2 and 3 draw), leaving the 4 draw to sound. Then flutter the tongue on and off the harmonica. A variation of this is using a split embouchure. Try playing the 2 draw/5 draw together while blocking holes 3 and 4. This gives you the root and 7th in cross harp which works well over the I chord in the blues.

Double Stops
I encourage players to practice tongue blocking out of both sides of the mouth as well as learning how to block 1, 2 and 3 holes at a time. This enables intervals using bends and varying tongue blocked holes. With string instruments, these chords are called double stops.

Start by playing 1 and 2 draw together. Then bend 2 draw down a half step bend while maintaining the 1 draw. This will give you a major 3rd interval. With slight tweaking, you should be able to bring the two notes into pitch. Then, try bending both the 1 and 2 draw down a half step. Again, this is a major third, but a half step down from the previous bend.

Take the 2 draw down further to the full bend (whole step bend) while playing the 1 draw. Play this double stop just before the V chord, then bend up the 2 draw a half step bend over the V chord.

Another great double stop is to block the second hole and play 1 draw and 3 draw (lips over three holes, with the tongue blocking the middle 2 draw). After you are able to get the two notes clearly together, try bending the 3 draw down a half step while maintaining the 1 draw. This gives you a minor 6th interval. Then bend the 3 draw down another half step to the middle bend. This creates a perfect 5th and is a great doublestop to play over the V chord in a blues.

Another double stop is to block third hole and play the 2 draw and 4 draw together. Again, this is a perfect 5th. Both notes may be bent down a half step to give you another perfect 5th a half step down.

Bleedage (Called a two-note combination in Mel Bay books)
Bleedage is another technique which creates sounds unique to the harmonica. A basic bleeding is to play the 4 draw and then open up your embouchure to the right slightly to allow the 5 draw to play a bit. How much you allow the 5 draw to sound is based on personal preference. Experiment with a tone barely audible to a full 5 draw tone. Any two notes can bleed.

I feel this technique works especially well when tongue blocking and often naturally occurs during a tongue blocked passage of a song. In other words, a "looseness" can be obtained while tongue blocking which enables bleedage beautiful for the blues."

Double Stop with Bleedage
The last sound I'll cover is a combination double stop with bleedage. Block the second hole with your tongue, play the 1 draw and 3 draw half step bend together, then allow the 4 draw to bleed in. This is a nasty, bluesy sound, which works great in crossharp.

The doublestops, trills and bleeding note techniques may be used all over the harmonica. many intervals and chord combinations are possible. I believe the doublestops especially are a relatively untapped ability of the diatonic harmonica.

Next issue I will write some examples for you to try.

Overbend Chart
Bottom holes are draw. Top holes are blow. Colored boxes are overbends.