TonalicsJOURNALOpen Tuner
β€Ή Harmonica songs

Top half blows, bottom half draws.

Hold a reed to blow or draw it. To bend, drag a draw note down β€” or a high blow note up β€” into the notes marked beside it. On a keyboard, ↓ sets a bend for the keys.

SongsWhen the Saints Go Marching In
Play a different song (34)

2 more songs need notes this instrument does not have. Changing the key brings some of them into reach.

Play along
  1. 4
  2. 5
  3. -5
  4. 6
  5. 4
  6. 5
  7. -5
  8. 6
  9. 4
  10. 5
  11. -5
  12. 6
  13. 5
  14. 4
  15. 5
  16. -4
  17. 5
  18. 5
  19. -4
  20. 4
  21. 4
  22. 5
  23. 6
  24. 6
  25. 6
  26. -5
  27. 5
  28. -5
  29. 6
  30. 5
  31. 4
  32. -4
  33. 4

Traditional American spiritual, published 1896. Public domain.

20 reeds Β· 10 holes Β· 12 bent notes Β· C harmonica Β· Every reed on the piano’s pitch. Melodies sound the way you expect; chords beat a little.

Tap a reed, or slide along the holes to run through the notes in one breath. On a keyboard the letters on the reeds are the ones to press β€” the number row blows holes 1 to 10 and the row under it draws them.

HarmonicaFree Β· printable Β· plays in your browser

When the Saints Go Marching In β€” Harmonica Tabs

When the Saints Go Marching In, written out for the harmonica as hole-by-hole tab with every blow, draw and bend and set up above on the Equal tuning. Press Play to hear it, Practice to learn it one note at a time β€” the harmonica waits for you β€” or Play along to keep time with it.

  • Notes33, 5 pitches
  • RangeC5–G5
  • Key hereC major
  • Tempo124 bpm Β· about 28 s
  • LevelEasy

Can a harmonica play When the Saints Go Marching In?

Yes β€” every one on this page plays it. The check is made note by note against what each one can actually sound. Where the tune does not fit as the library writes it, another key or octave is tried, and the table says which; where nothing fits, it names the notes that are missing.

  • Equal tuningβœ“ Plays as writtenIn C major, C5–G5 Β· loaded above
  • Just tuningβœ“ Plays as writtenIn C major, C5–G5 Β· load it

When the Saints Go Marching In: harmonica tabs

The large line is the hole β€” a minus means draw, each apostrophe a semitone of bend; the small line under it is the note it sounds. A dash holds the note another beat, an underline is half a beat, and a dot beside a note makes it half as long again. Each line is one phrase.

β–Ά Play it above

When the Saints Go Marching In β€” harmonica tabs (Equal tuning) Β· tonalics.com

The 5 notes it uses

Lowest to highest, with how many times each is played. Learn these 5 and you can play the whole tune.

  • 4C5Γ—8
  • -4D5Γ—3
  • 5E5Γ—10
  • -5F5Γ—5
  • 6G5Γ—7

What to expect on a harmonica

  • It runs from C5 to G5, a fifth, using 5 different notes. That leaves 12 semitones unused below and 17 above.
  • 63% of its moves are a step or a repeated note. The widest is a fifth, G5 to C5, at note 5.
  • 25 of its 33 notes are blown and 8 drawn, in holes 4 to 6.
  • No bends: every note is a plain blow or draw.
  • The breath changes direction 16 times.

About the tune

An American spiritual of uncertain authorship, in print by the 1890s. In New Orleans it was played slowly on the way to a funeral and fast on the way back, and after Louis Armstrong recorded it in 1938 it became one of the best-known tunes in jazz.

Traditional American spiritual, published 1896. Public domain. More about When the Saints Go Marching In β†’

When the Saints Go Marching In on other instruments

The same melody, in each instrument’s own notation. It is not offered for the guzheng, which does not have the notes.

More songs for the harmonica

All 36 harmonica songs Β· Christmas songs for harmonica Β· The online harmonica on its own

Playing it on a real harmonica?

If it sounds wrong, check the instrument before the notes. The harmonica tuner listens through your microphone and names what each note is actually sounding.

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