How to Play I WALK THE LINE on Harmonica (5 Levels)

► Need a fast track for learning harmonica? https://www.harmonica.com/lessons/
► Full "I WALK THE LINE" on Harmonica lesson here: https://www.harmonica.com/tabs/i-walk-the-line-by-johnny-cash/

Johnny Cash's "I Walk the Line" changes key every verse. You can play this song by changing harmonicas each verse:
Verse 1: F (Low F Harmonica recommended)
Verse 2: Bb
Verse 3: Eb
Verse 4: Bb
Verse 5: F

Level 1 - Easy - 1st Position, lower octave, one note changed. Here's theTabs:
4 4 4 -4 -4 -4 -5 5 -4 4
4 4 4 -4 -4 -4 -5 5 -4 4
4 -4 5 -5 -5 -5 -6 6 -5 5
4 -3 4 3 -4 4 -3 4

Level 2 - No Sweat - 1st Position, upper octave, all notes correct. Here's the Tabs:
7 7 7 -8 -8 -8 -9 8 -8 7
7 7 7 -8 -8 -8 -9 8 -8 7
7 -8 8 -9 -9 -9 -10 9 -9 8
7 -7 -6 6 -8 7 -7 7

Level 3 - Tricky
We’re gonna go back to how we first played the melody, but this time play it exactly as Johnny Cash actually sings it, which requires a bend. The bend we’re gonna have to play is the -3” bent down a whole-step, which is a very challenging bend.

Bending is not a beginner technique. I consider it to be an Intermediate technique. If you can play nice clean single notes consistently, and you want to learn how to bend, check out my lesson Harmonica Bending for Beginners: https://youtu.be/moVpn-mBFr8

Even once you CAN bend, learning how to bend IN TUNE takes a long time, and the -3” is one of the hardest. ( The Bend-it-Better tool can be helpful in learning this at first: https://www.harmonica.com/bending-tool/ ) On the flip side, this is a great chance for us to practice!

4 4 4 -4 -4 -4 -5 5 -4 4
4 4 4 -4 -4 -4 -5 5 -4 4
4 -4 5 -5 -5 -5 -6 6 -5 5
4 -3 -3” 3 -4 4 -3 4

By the way, Verse 2 has a couple small alterations from Verse 1.
Here are Johnny Cash’s I Walk the Line harmonica tabs in C for Verse 2:

4 4 4 -4 -4 -4 -4 -4 -4 -5 5 -4 4
4 4 4 -4 -4 -4 5 -5 5 -4 4
4 -4 5 -5 -5 -5 -6 6 -5 5
4 -3 -3” 3 -4 4 -3 4

Level 4 - HARD: 2nd position.
What makes this hard is that we’re gonna play the -3”, not just in one passing note like we did in the Tricky level, but now in the HARD level we’re really harping on that -3”. Plus we’re also gonna have to play the -2’ bend (which is also very challenging!)

Since we’re using our C harmonica to play in 2nd position here, we’ll be in the key of G.
I Walk the Line by Johnny Cash 2nd Position Harmonica Tabs for C harmonica:

-2 -2 -2 -3" -3" -3" 4 -3 -3" -2
-2 -2 -2 -3" -3" -3" 4 -3 -3" -2
-2 -3" -3 4 4 4 5 -4 4 -3
-2 -2' 2 -1 -3" -2 -2' -2

Level 5 - ARGH: 12th position
12th position means using a C harmonica to play in the key of F, which means the -2” is now our root note.

Yeah that difficult -2” whole-step bend is now our home base! Though VERY CHALLENGING, 12th position is actually a really cool position. It’s got a very cool jazzy/bluesy feel.

The reason we’re using it in I Walk the Line, is so that we can use one harmonica for all 3 keys and play the entire song along with the original Johnny Cash recording on our Bb harmonica:

Verse 1: 2nd position, Key of F
Verse 2: 1st position, Key of Bb
Verse 3: 12th position, Key of Eb
Verse 4: 1st position, Key of Bb
Verse 5: 2nd position, Key of F

Here are the harmonica tabs for I Walk the Line in 12th Position:
-2” -2” -2” -2 -2 -2 -3’ -3” 3 -2”
-2” -2” -2” -2 -2 -2 -3’ -3” 3 -2”
-2” -2 -3” -3’ -3’ -3’ -4’ 4 -3’ -3”
-2” 2 -1 1 3 -2” 2 -2”

Is all this stuff about keys and positions confusing the heck out of you? Don’t worry, that’s totally normal! Check out my lesson Keys for Beginners: https://youtu.be/V2aokP8GriI

Please leave any other questions and comments below. Keep on playing harmonica and making the world a better place!

Aloha,
Luke