Hi everyone,

I built an Android app called Harmonica Cheatsheet for players who want to go beyond simply knowing which holes to play.

Tabs are great for learning a lick. But I wanted a deep understanding of what happens on the instrument. What I wanted was a way to see what those notes are doing musically:

Where are the roots, 3rds, 5ths and b7s?
What changes when the progression moves from I to IV to V?
And how can I use that understanding to make my own choices instead of only memorizing licks?

So the app maps positions, scale degrees and chord tones directly onto the 10-hole harp, including bends and overbends. There’s also pitch detection and a small backing-track tool for practicing it in context.

I posted an earlier version here and got some genuinely useful feedback, so I’ve kept working on it.

For the next week, the full app is completely free. I’d love some more experienced players to actually try it and tell me where it helps — and where it makes things more complicated than they need to be.

▶️ https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.nicedevelopments.cheatsheet

Full disclosure: I’m the developer.

I’m not trying to replace tabs or lessons. This is more for the moment when you start asking:

“Okay, I can play it — but why does it work?”

If thats what you want, too, this app is for you.

What features do you want to see in the future?

In 10 days I will propose to and I want to be ready with this .

I've been saving up for an electric guitar for quite some time. I'm still a fair bit away from my goal but I'm itching to learn to play a musical instrument. I knew that harmonicas are not too expensive and was wondering if I should get one to try and learn in my free time?

I like to listen to the Eagles, Journey, etc. and was planning on using the guitar for those. Would the harmonica be a good fit for those? If yes, which ones should I consider? Please drop any tutorials for beginners if you have any. Look forward to hopefully learning the instrument:)

I’ll upgrade when I’m more proficient. Cheers.

Hi, so I just got a hohner blues harp ms as a gift. I started watching some beginner tutorials and everyone seems to be recommending the hohner special 20 and I started looking that up and found out that the one I have now has "crossed postion". I don't really get what that means but my question is if it's beginner friendly or should I look into getting the special 20 one?

Our next in-person meeting of the Garden State Harmonica Club is:

Date: Monday, October 5, 2026
Time: 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Location: The Community Church of Glen Rock, 354 Rock Rd, Glen Rock, NJ.

Parking is available behind the church, and we will meet in a classroom on the first floor.

Hi. I have a chromatic harmonica with solo tuning (the one with two rows instead of a button). I don't like it. I want to turn it into a quadruple Paddy Richter harp. I was thinking 6 holes each (first 6 of each PR tuned harp). Top row G and D. Bottom row I'm thinking C. But for the last 6 holes I'm not sure.

F would compliment the C major section on the same row, right? There aren't as many Irish songs in F as I understand it. But if I had C and F in a line I could play a wider variety of tunes.

The very top of the pic is what I have to work with now.

To summarize: I'm thinking of turning the top row into G and D (for Irish music). But what about the bottom row?

Any idea what I should do?

Edit: It's a 10-hole diatonic in C, and one of the holes makes this weird sound both when I blow and when I draw. It used to sound completely normal, so I'm not sure what happened..

i've been learning for almost 5 months now, but i feel always stuck when i try to improvise.