Have a song you'd like to transcribe to harmonica music? The table below shows you how to convert notes from any key into a 10-hole harmonica in the key of C. First, find which key the song is in from the column on the left. Then find the specific note in the same row to determine which hole of the harmonica to play.
Some things to note about transcribing for harmonica:
- Due to how a harmonica is made it does not have all the notes in a scale. For example, look between holes
and 
and you will see there is no note A. - Because of this, sometimes it is better to play a song on the lower end of the harmonica (resolving around
) and other times it is better to play on the higher end of the harmonica (resolving around 
). - The key of C has no sharps ♯ or flats ♭ so any song that has notes not in the base key will not transcribe well. If in the original piece you see notes with sharps, flats, or naturals ♮ next to them it indicates that they are not in the base key.
- Just in general, some songs don't sound as good when transcribed to other keys or other instruments. Be aware.
| Key |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | C | D | E | G | G | B | C | D | E | F | G | A | B | C | D | E | F | G | A | C |
| D♭ | D♭ | E♭ | F | A♭ | A♭ | C | D♭ | E♭ | F | G♭ | A♭ | B♭ | C | D♭ | E♭ | F | G♭ | A♭ | B♭ | D♭ |
| D | D | E | F♯ | A | A | C♯ | D | E | F♯ | G | A | B | C♯ | D | E | F♯ | G | A | B | D |
| E♭ | E♭ | F | G | B♭ | B♭ | D | E♭ | F | G | A♭ | B♭ | C | D | E♭ | F | G | A♭ | B♭ | C | E♭ |
| E | E | F♯ | G♯ | B | B | D♯ | E | F♯ | G♯ | A | B | C♯ | D♯ | E | F♯ | G♯ | A | B | C♯ | E |
| F | F | G | A | C | C | E | F | G | A | B♭ | C | D | E | F | G | A | B♭ | C | D | F |
| F♯ | F♯ | G♯ | A♯ | C♯ | C♯ | F | F♯ | G♯ | A♯ | B | C♯ | D♯ | F | F♯ | G♯ | A♯ | B | C♯ | D♯ | F♯ |
| G | G | A | B | D | D | F♯ | G | A | B | C | D | E | F♯ | G | A | B | C | D | E | G |
| A♭ | A♭ | B♭ | C | E♭ | E♭ | G | A♭ | B♭ | C | D♭ | E♭ | F | G | A♭ | B♭ | C | D♭ | E♭ | F | A♭ |
| A | A | B | C♯ | E | E | G♯ | A | B | C♯ | D | E | F♯ | G♯ | A | B | C♯ | D | E | F♯ | A |
| B♭ | B♭ | C | D | F | F | A | B♭ | C | D | E♭ | F | G | A | B♭ | C | D | E♭ | F | G | B♭ |
| B |
B |
C♯ | D♯ | F♯ | F♯ | A♯ | B | C♯ | D♯ | E | F♯ | G♯ | A♯ | B | C♯ | D♯ | E | F♯ | G♯ | B |