The term position refers to where on the harmonica the tonic (the first note of the scale of the key the song is in) is for the song you'll be playing. In other words, the note where you begin to play on the harmonica is what signifies the position you're playing in. For most players the useful positions are the first, second, and third positions, and those are the ones that will be discussed here.

First position, also known as straight harp, is the natural tuning of the harmonica and is played mainly using the blow notes of the harp beginning with the 1 hole as the tonic or key of the song. (Remember that the 1 hole and the 4, 7, and 10 holes are the same note but one octave apart, so those could be starting notes too.) Typically first position songs are folk songs or traditional songs associated with the harmonica like “Home on the Range” or “On Top of Old Smokey.” These melodies will often be played using the second octave note (4-hole blow) as the starting point to allow room for movement up and down the pitch range of the instrument.

FIGURE 8-1:First position on harmonica

4 5 6 7 Blow