C Harmonica Holes 4–6: Read Blow and Draw

Hole 4 can give you C5 or D5. The number tells you where to play; the breath direction completes the instruction. On the standard C harmonica used here, 4 blow means C5, and 4 draw means D5. Changing the pitch does not necessarily mean moving to another hole.

This lesson turns that distinction into a readable route through holes 4, 5 and 6. You will name six sounding pitches, separate a hole change from a direction change, and read a four-bar melody with its rests intact. If you want a printable copy of the map, same-hole pairs and model, use One Hole, Two Notes: C Harmonica.

1. Confirm the instrument and the octave

Start with a teacher-confirmed standard-register ten-hole Richter diatonic harmonica in C, after you can already produce a comfortable single note. A C label alone does not settle every detail. Chromatic, tremolo, octave, alternate-tuned, low-C and high-C instruments are outside this lesson. Ask your teacher to confirm the layout before using the map.

The HOHNER tuning-chart catalog separates different instrument layouts. Its standard major C row gives C, E and G on the blow side of holes 4–6, with D, F and A on the draw side. Use that row, rather than transferring a chart from another harmonica type.

Only chambers 4–6 are shown. Each chamber has two targets, selected by the written breath direction.

We call middle C C4. C5 is the C one octave above it, and all six targets here belong to octave 5. The number in C5 names a register; it is not a hole number. The University of Puget Sound’s octave-register explanation uses this middle-C convention.

All the examples use 4/4: count 1–2–3–4 in each bar. A filled notehead with a stem is a quarter note, lasting one beat here; an open notehead with a stem is a half note, lasting two. A quarter rest gives one silent beat; a half rest gives two.

C4 locates middle C; C5 is hole 4 blow. The four symbols below give the note and rest values used here in 4/4. C4 is a register reference, outside the practice vocabulary.

Keep the register number when you write an answer. “C” identifies a letter that recurs in several octaves; “C5” identifies this target. If a keyboard or app uses a different octave-numbering display, ask your teacher to reconcile its labels with C4 = middle C before comparing results. Matching a letter alone could hide an octave error.

Check that any chart or advice you use is for a ten-hole Richter diatonic. For example, HOHNER’s FAQ describes repeated blow notes at holes 4 and 5 on a chromatic harmonica. Here, 4 blow is C5 and 5 blow is E5.

This is a reading lesson. Your teacher handles instrument identification and physical sound production; the page does not teach embouchure, bending, overblowing or blues positions. Rest and stop if uncomfortable. You never need to force an inhale, hold your breath or finish a phrase at the expense of comfort to demonstrate that you understand its notes.

2. Read the hole and breath word together

Treat every playing instruction as two coordinates: hole plus direction. BLOW means breathe out through the instrument; DRAW means breathe in through it. For example, “5 draw” selects F5. “5” by itself leaves E5 and F5 as possibilities within this map.

Each channel on this standard Richter harmonica contains a blow reed and a draw reed, tuned to different pitches. In ordinary unbent playing, breathing out sounds its blow note and breathing in sounds its draw note. That is why a hole number alone does not finish the instruction. Steve Baker’s HOHNER explanation describes these paired reeds.

Read the chamber and direction before naming the resulting pitch. Full breath words make this instruction unambiguous.

The staff and the annotation answer different questions. A staff note says which pitch should sound and how long it lasts. The hole and breath labels tell you the route on this instrument. If the staff says F5 but the label says 5 blow, the two disagree: 5 blow gives E5. Do not silently change the staff note to match an incorrect label.

On the treble staff, C5 is in space 3, D5 on line 4, E5 in space 4 and F5 on line 5, counting from the bottom. G5 is in the space just above the staff; A5 sits on the first ledger line above it.

Find each sounding pitch on the staff, then read its hole and direction. The half rest completes the second bar. All six targets are labeled.

Read the blow row alone: 4 blow, 5 blow, 6 blow gives C5, E5, G5. Then read the draw row: 4 draw, 5 draw, 6 draw gives D5, F5, A5. Neither row is the six-note stepwise climb C5–D5–E5–F5–G5–A5.

Moving through holes 4, 5 and 6 with one direction skips notes in the six-pitch collection. Each row ends with a quarter rest.

Say an instruction and its result aloud: “six draw, A5.” Then reverse the question: “A5, six draw.” Name the Note, Plan the Breath practices both directions with six instruction cards and six target cards. Start with the map visible. When those lookups are clear, try the following cover-and-check task.

Try a small paper check: cover the pitch result in the map and point to hole 6, DRAW. Say A5, then uncover it. Next cover the two coordinates and point to F5. Say “5 draw.” If you answer only “draw,” finish the answer with the chamber. Both directions occur on all three chambers here, so a breath word alone cannot identify one of the six pitches either.

Harmonica tablature, or tab, writes playing instructions using hole numbers and breath symbols. Here we write full breath words; the handout’s model instead supplies the legend B = BLOW and D = DRAW. Read the legend on the page before using its symbols.

3. Stay on hole 4 as C5 becomes D5

Begin by reading 4 blow → C5; 4 draw → D5. Point to the same hole number twice. The direction changes, while the chamber stays fixed. This is the first habit to establish before adding movement between holes.

C5 and D5 share hole 4. Read blow–draw, then draw–blow. Each half note lasts two quarter-note beats in 4/4.

First say “four blow, four draw” away from the instrument. Next name “C5, D5” while following the staff. If locating staff notes is the slower step, The Staff & the Treble Clef explains how its lines and spaces receive their names. Use the six-pitch reference above to locate C5 and D5 before reading their playing labels.

When you try the pair, use the comfortable single-note production your teacher has already checked. The instruction to remain on hole 4 is a route instruction, not a demand to freeze your body or manufacture a particular mouth position. If the sound is unclear, return the physical question to your teacher.

Now read the return: D5, C5, D5, rest. Its annotations are 4 draw, 4 blow, 4 draw, rest. Starting on draw tests whether you can read the direction rather than replaying a memorized blow-first sequence.

The route begins on draw and returns to draw. Keep hole 4 for all three note attacks, then count the silent fourth beat.

The repeated 4 labels do not mean repeat C5: the breath row changes. Follow the notehead and both annotation rows together.

Check the written plan before repeating it. If you wrote 5 blow for D5, you changed the wrong coordinate: that instruction gives E5. If you wrote 4 blow, you retained the chamber but selected C5. Those are different mistakes, even when both sound like “the next note went wrong.” Naming the error gives your next attempt a specific purpose.

4. Compare holes 5 and 6 without assuming equal gaps

Hole 5 gives E5 blow and F5 draw. Apply the same two-coordinate reading process you used on hole 4, but notice the distance between the resulting pitches. E5 to F5 is one half step, also called a semitone.

Hole 5 stays fixed: E5–F5, then F5–E5. Each direction of this pair spans one half step.

Hole 6 gives G5 blow and A5 draw. These pitches are two half steps apart, a whole step. C5 to D5 on hole 4 is also a whole step. The Puget Sound half-step and whole-step lesson explains these distances, including the adjacent E–F half step.

Hole 6 gives G5–A5, then A5–G5, two half steps apart. A5 has a ledger line through its notehead above the staff.

A direction change therefore does not represent one fixed musical interval across these three holes. “Draw is the higher member” describes these three pairs, but it is not a rule for every hole or tuning. Keep this lesson’s map within its printed boundary instead of extending its pattern to the rest of the instrument.

Compare the three pairs on the C harmonica handout. Its neutral piano references provide six isolated targets and three same-hole pairs. They check the expected pitches, not harmonica tone or breath technique. The pair recordings include pauses and do not reproduce the half-note rhythm of the printed pair examples.

Cover the map and write the hole and direction for F5, G5 and E5, in that order.

Changing the question order tests whether you know each pair rather than only a six-item sequence. Write all three answers before uncovering the map.

Then check: F5 = 5 draw; G5 = 6 blow; E5 = 5 blow.

5. Plan the pitch route before playing it

Read the six targets upward: C5, D5, E5, F5, G5, A5. Their hole numbers are 4, 4, 5, 5, 6, 6. The repeated numbers are essential information: there are six pitches but only three chambers in this route.

Read the pitch climb and its repeated hole numbers together. The six pitches have quarter-note values here, followed by a half rest.

Before playing, make three passes. Name each staff pitch. Supply its hole and direction. Then count the rhythm, including silence. These passes separate decisions that can otherwise collide at the next note. The goal is to arrive at a clear written plan, not to race through the passes.

C5–D5 keeps hole 4; D5–E5 changes both coordinates; G5–C5 keeps BLOW. Brackets connect each pair with its exact change.

Look especially at boundaries. D5 to E5 changes from 4 draw to 5 blow: both coordinates change. E5 to F5 keeps hole 5 and changes direction. F5 to G5 changes from 5 draw to 6 blow. The staff rises step by step, but the physical instructions do not all repeat the same kind of change.

Mark one boundary you need to think about, then say its two complete instructions. “Five draw, six blow” gives you more useful preparation than “go higher.” Avoid adding a hole movement just because the notehead moves upward. Equally, do not retain a chamber just because two notes are adjacent on the staff.

Check an annotation in reverse too: after writing “5 draw” beneath F5, look up 5 draw and confirm that it returns F5. Repair any mismatch before playing.

Write a 4/4 bar using a half note, two quarter notes and only these six pitches. Include one change that keeps the hole and one that keeps the direction. One answer is E5 half, F5 quarter, A5 quarter: 5 blow, 5 draw, 6 draw. E5–F5 changes direction; F5–A5 changes holes. Check the four-beat total before trying your route. Count that answer as E5 on beats 1–2, F5 on 3 and A5 on 4. The two changes happen on successive beats, but only the second changes the chamber.

The route exercise’s final round asks you to fill missing annotations and repair a starred error. Use the staff as the pitch target, then compare both coordinates with the map. A correction is complete only when the repaired label produces the printed note. Guessing a familiar hole number without checking the direction leaves half the task unfinished.

6. Count the four-bar model, including its rests

The original model uses 4/4: four quarter-note beats per bar. Quarter note = 60 means 60 quarter-note beats per minute. These are separate instructions about grouping and speed; Puget Sound’s meter lesson distinguishes meter from tempo. Tempo & the Metronome offers a separate introduction to following a click.

The complete model. Count four beats in every bar, including beat 4 of bar 2 and beats 3–4 of bar 4.

Now look more closely at bars 1–2, keeping their four-beat totals intact.

Model bars 1–2: four quarter-note attacks, then G5 for beats 1–2, A5 on beat 3 and silence on beat 4.

Bar 1 is C5, D5, E5, F5: 4 blow, 4 draw, 5 blow, 5 draw. In bar 2, begin G5 with 6 blow and let its written duration cover beats 1–2. A5 is 6 draw on beat 3. Beat 4 is a quarter rest, not another draw note or an extra beat added after the bar.

Bar 3 descends G5, F5, E5, D5 in quarters: 6 blow, 5 draw, 5 blow, 4 draw. Notice F5 to E5. You stay on hole 5 while changing draw to blow, the reverse of the earlier pair.

Model bars 3–4: descend through four targets, then give C5 beats 1–2 and the half rest beats 3–4.

Bar 4 ends with C5, 4 blow, for two beats, followed by two silent beats. The complete score has 11 note attacks, six distinct pitch targets and 16 quarter-note beats including rests. A half note has one beginning even though it lasts two beats.

Count the model’s silences inside the bar. Neither rest lengthens its bar beyond four beats.

The Rests introduces the silent counterparts of note values; Open Music Theory likewise defines rests as written silence. Keep the pauses when practicing. They are not directions to hold your breath. Stop earlier whenever comfort requires it, and ask your teacher to choose a manageable pace and segment length.

For an initial attempt, count and point through all four bars without the harmonica. Touch G5 once at the beginning of bar 2, keep counting through beat 2, then point to A5 on 3 and the rest on 4. Do the same with C5 and its rest in bar 4. If you lose your place, restart the counting exercise at that bar rather than trying to recover by deleting silence.

Use the handout’s full-model audio after planning. Four count-in clicks precede the melody, with quiet beat clicks during it. Compare pitch order and timing. Matching the recording cannot prove which chamber or direction you used; that needs a teacher’s check.

7. Test another route and record one question

Read this second route without copying the model’s annotations: E5 quarter, F5 quarter, G5 half; then A5 quarter, G5 quarter, C5 quarter, quarter rest. Write both coordinates under every note before looking at the answer below.

Second route: complete the playing instructions from the six-entry map. The final rest occupies beat 4.

Check the test rhythm separately from its pitch answer. The first bar contains two quarter notes plus one half note: one beat, one beat, two beats. The second contains three quarter notes plus a quarter rest. Both total four. A correct string of hole labels does not show whether you retained those durations, so point to the note or rest while counting the bar aloud.

Before checking your answers, compare the opening E5–F5 with the final G5–C5. Which coordinate stays the same in each pair?

The answer is 5 blow, 5 draw, 6 blow; then 6 draw, 6 blow, 4 blow, rest. The final G5 to C5 changes holes while retaining blow. That is a third useful comparison alongside a direction-only change and a change of both coordinates. E5–F5 keeps hole 5 and changes direction; G5–C5 keeps blow and changes holes.

Two wrong instructions for F5 preserve different coordinates. Repair the direction in 5 blow; repair the hole in 4 draw.

Now try Name the Note, Plan the Breath. Its two staff routes have four blank fields each and one starred annotation to repair per route. Each starred annotation preserves one correct coordinate. Identify which coordinate is wrong, repair it, then check the upside-down key or reveal recording. Both routes retain explicit rests.

Example log: name the planned transition, record what happened and ask one specific question.

Separate written accuracy from performance in your notes. You might complete all six lookups correctly but lose the count during a rest. Or you might keep four beats while selecting the wrong target. Check four items separately: one note sounding at a time, the correct pitch target, counting through rests and comfortable execution. A finished worksheet is evidence about your reading decisions; it does not certify the physical technique behind a sound.

Record one useful observation: “At F5 to E5, I planned 5 draw to 5 blow, but I moved to hole 4.” If you cannot identify what physically happened, write that uncertainty instead. A Tissimo lesson gives you time to ask a teacher to check the instrument, listen to the transition and confirm comfortable single-note execution. Your reading goal is precise: name the target, select both coordinates and keep the written count.

Free worksheets for this lesson

• One Hole, Two Notes: C Harmonica — the six-entry map, three pitch pairs, four-bar model and neutral pitch references.
• Name the Note, Plan the Breath — note naming, coordinate lookup and two route repairs with reveal audio.
• The Staff & the Treble Clef — locate notes on lines and spaces.
• The Rests — read quarter, half and whole rests.
• Tempo & the Metronome — understand beat speed and practice following a click.

Sources

• Harmonica terminology: paired reeds — Steve Baker, HOHNER
• Harmonica catalog: tuning charts — HOHNER
• Harmonica FAQs — HOHNER
• Octave Registers — University of Puget Sound
• Half Steps and Whole Steps — University of Puget Sound
• Meter — University of Puget Sound
• Rhythmic values — Open Music Theory