0Hole arrangement in 24 holes Chromatic Harmonica :
Now a days chromatic harmonicas are available with 24, 16, 12 and 10 holes in market. The learner should have acquire basic knowledge about sequence of notes in a harmonica.
Figure 1 shows the sequence of holes and notes in a harmonica with 24 holes, which are arranged in zigzag order. The order can be reversed by pressing the slider in the right side.
24 holes are divided into three octaves name as Lower, Middle and Upper Octave.
An Octave means summession of seven natural musical notes. The term 'Oct' means eight, The first note comes back in eighth position with higher sharpness after playing the seventh note. The sequence is as under :-
Do, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La, Ti, Do
(Sa) (Re) (Ga) (Ma) (Pa) (Dha) (Ni) (Sa)
Figure 1: - Hole sequence in 24 hole harmonica
The Figure shows arrangement of hole and notes in a 24 hole chromatic harmonica as follows : -
a) Lower Octave starts from hole no. 1 and ends at hole no. 8 and the sequnce of notes are as under :
| Hole No. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
| Notes | Sa | Re | Ga | Ma | Pa | Dha | Sa | Ni |
| Activity to be done to play | Blow | Draw | Blow | Draw | Blow | Draw | Blow | Draw |
| Denoted as | Sa\ | Re\ | Ga\ | Ma\ | Pa\ | Dha\ | Sa | Ni\ |
b) Middle Octave starts from hole no. 9 and ends at hole no. 16 and sequence of notes are as under :-
| Hole No. | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 |
| Notes | Sa | Re | Ga | Ma | Pa | Dha | Sa | Ni |
| Activity to be done to play | Blow | Draw | Blow | Draw | Blow | Draw | Blow | Draw |
| Denoted as | Sa | Re | Ga | Ma | Pa | Dha | Sa/ | Ni |
c) Upper Octave starts from hole no. 17 and ends at hole no. 24
| Hole No. | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 |
| Notes | Sa | Re | Ga | Ma | Pa | Dha | Sa | Ni |
| Activity to be done to play | Blow | Draw | Blow | Draw | Blow | Draw | Blow | Draw |
| Denoted as | Sa/ | Re/ | Ga/ | Ma/ | Pa/ | Dha/ | Sa// | Ni/ |
The sequence at which sargam being played is Sa, Re, Ga, Ma, Pa Dha, Ni, Sa and its reverse Sa, Ni, Dha, Pa, Ma, Ga, Re, Sa.
A learner of harmonica at beginner level having 24 hole chromatic harmonica with him/her should practice in sargam in the sequence Sa, Re, Ga, Ma, Pa, Dha, Ni, Sa and the holes to be used in sequence are as follows:-
i) Lower Octave : -
| Hole Number | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 7 |
| Note | Sa | Re | Ga | Ma | Pa | Dha | Ni | Sa |
| What to do | Blow | Draw | Blow | Draw | Bolw | Draw | Draw | Blow |
The onward and return sequence are 1-2-3-4-5-6-8-7 and 7-8-6-5-4-3-2-1 respectively where the numbers represent the hole numbers
ii) Middle Octave : -
| Hole Number | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 16 | 15 |
| Note | Sa | Re | Ga | Ma | Pa | Dha | Ni | Sa |
| What to do | Blow | Draw | Blow | Draw | Bolw | Draw | Draw | Blow |
The onward and return sequence are 9-10-11-12-13-14-16-15 and 15-16-14-13-12-11-10-9 respectively.
iii) Upper Octave : -
| Hole Number | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 24 | 23 |
| Note | Sa | Re | Ga | Ma | Pa | Dha | Ni | Sa |
| What to do | Blow | Draw | Blow | Draw | Bolw | Draw | Draw | Blow |
The onward and return sequence are 17-18-19-20-21-22-24-23 and 23-24-22-21-20-19-18-17 respectively.
There are six Sa(s) in chromatic harmonica. In case of 24 holes the holes containing Sa are 1,7,9,15,17 and 23. It must be noted that Lower octave ends with Sa in hole number 7 and middle octave starts with Sa from hole number 9. Both Sa(s) are same. Similarly Middle Octave Ends with Sa/ in hole number 15 and Upper Octave starts with Sa/ from hole number 17. Both in hole number 15 and 17 are same.
