6 Easy Blues Harmonica Riffs (No Bending)

► Need a fast track for learning harmonica? https://www.harmonica.com/lessons/

► Get all 6 Riff's here: https://www.harmonica.com/6-easy-blues-riffs/

Thanks so much for watching my free harmonica lesson on how to play six easy blues harmonica riffs that require no bending. You CAN play Blues harmonica without knowing how to bend!

1.) Riff #1 works great as an opener, but can truly be played anywhere in the form and will sound great. Playing the 1st note twice and the last note twice are great variations on this one:
-4 4 -4 -3 -2
Variation 1: -4 -4 4 -4 -3 -2
Variation 2: -4 4 -4 -3 -2 -2

2.) Riff #2 fits really well over the IV chord, but also can be played anywhere:
4 4 -3 4 -3

3.) Riff #3 is a great one used by many Blues harp masters to lead into the 1st bar of the 3rd 4-Bar phrase where we go to the V chord. It’s important to slide from -1 to the -4.
-1 2 -2 -1 -4

► Haven’t memorized the 12-Bar Blues? https://www.harmonica.com/blues-harmonica-for-beginners/

4.) Riff #4 is a great illustration of the draw-more-than-blow principle, and is a kind of sound you can hear in the playing of Big Walter Horton and James Cotton, among others, and it’s a really fun one.
-5 5 -4 -3 -2

5.) Riff #5 is a Turnaround riff. The word turnaround refers to the last 2 bars of the 12-bar form, and it’s named such because those last 2 bars “turn us around” back to the top of the form.
This riff is a legit turnaround riff that requires no bending and is a variation on one played commonly by Chicago Blues master Big Walter Horton. It’s a little tricky to learn, but it’s worth taking the time to work it out because it’s super-fun to play, and once you get it you’ll be able to play it (and simplified versions of it) for years to come!
-2 -2 2 3 2 -2 -1 -1

6.) Riff #6 is also a great riff that sounds like what many blues masters will use to end a song. You’ll probably recognize it. Having something in your back pocket that you can play for intros, turnarounds, and endings is a fast way to get from sounding like a hack to sounding like a pro, so I wanted to include a killer ending riff for you here, and this is one of the best that requires no bending:
6 5 -4 4 -3 -4 5 6

Congratulations! My advice is to put on backing tracks and use these riffs to make up your own solos. Take just one of these riffs and try playing it throughout a whole chorus. That can be a really great exercise because you’re naturally going to want to vary the phrasing to add interest.

You can just Google “Backing track blues in G” to find some different grooves to jam over, besides using the one here:

If you’re looking for a fast track to learning the harmonica, you may wanna consider my course Beginner to Boss. Other than that, thanks for checking out this lesson 6 Easy Blues Harmonica Riffs for Beginners. I hope you liked it. Keep on rocking the harmonica and making the world a better place.

Aloha,
Luke