Harmonica Lab
Pick a key, pick a position, and see exactly where every note lives on a 10-hole diatonic harp — bends, blue notes, and all.
Song in C (relative minor Am) — each position below names the harp to grab.
Positions
F harp · 2nd position
Playing in C — blues scale
Tip: Resolve to draw 2. Live in the draw notes — they carry the blues. The blue bends are your blue notes (draw 3 bend = ♭3, essential). Blow notes are available but use them as passing tones, not home base.
' = half-step bend · '' = whole step · ''' = 1½ steps · struck-out notes are outside the blues scale · the filled cell is home (root)
Why 2nd position sounds this way
That flat 7th (W W H W W H W) creates dominant/bluesy tension — add draw bends for the ♭3 and ♭5 blue notes and you're in full blues territory.
Feel: Bluesy, dominant, tension · Used for: Blues, rock, R&B — ~90% of blues harp
Full matrix — all 12 harps × 5 positions
| Harp | 1st Ionian | 2nd Mixolydian / Blues | 3rd Dorian | 4th Aeolian | 5th Phrygian |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | C Am | G | D | A C | E |
| Db | Db Bbm | Ab | Eb | Bb Db | F |
| D | D Bm | A | E | B D | F# |
| Eb | Eb Cm | Bb | F | C Eb | G |
| E | E Dbm | B | F# | Db E | Ab |
| F | F Dm | C | G | D F | A |
| F# | F# Ebm | Db | Ab | Eb F# | Bb |
| G | G Em | D | A | E G | B |
| Ab | Ab Fm | Eb | Bb | F Ab | C |
| A | A F#m | E | B | F# A | Db |
| Bb | Bb Gm | F | C | G Bb | D |
| B | B Abm | F# | Db | Ab B | Eb |
Read as: "[harp] in [position] → play in [key]" · small line on 1st / 4th = relative pair (same notes: C and Am, etc.)
Select any position card to update the note map above.