Are we supposed to breathe through our nose when playing the harmonica?

[Freddie]

#24479

I recently started to play the harmonica and became a member of Harmonica Time. When practicing I run out of breath very easily and I believe it’s because I breathe partially through my nose while playing. I tried to block air from coming in through my nose but it was very hard to draw notes in holes 1 and 2 on my C diatonic harmonica. I have been working on this and seem to be getting better tone and much better breath control while blocking air from coming in through my nose.

I tried to do some research on the internet to confirm if I should be blocking air through my nose but could not find anything confirming it. Can you please confirm?

Thanks for your help!

Dave Landstrom

[Mitch Grainger]

#24480

Hi Dave,

Great question. When playing the harmonica it’s best to breath through the harmonica and not through your nose.

Breathing through the nose changes the dynamic of the airflow and as you’ve found makes things a little harder, while impacting on tone.

While nose breathing is encouraged in most ‘life’ settings harmonica is the exception!

[Author]

Posts