Traditional harmonica music is usually played in one of two styles: straight harp or cross harp. Both styles use a combination of blow and draw notes, but in straight harp, your melodies tend to resolve on the blow notes, while in cross harp, you emphasize the draw notes.
Straight harp is the classic position for cowboy songs, folk, and traditional major-key melody playing. Cross harp is ideal for blues, gospel, and soul sounds.
Why? The big difference lies in cross harp’s emphasis on draw notes. You can bend the inhale notes on holes 1-6, which produces wailing, bluesy sounds that are perfect for Southern roots music.
Straight Harp major scale
4 -4 5 -5 6 -6 -7 7
Cross Harp major scale
-2 -3″ -3 4 -4 5 -5 6
Cross Harp blues scale
-2 -3′ 4 -4′ -4 -5 6
Because of the possibility of bending notes on the low draw notes, you can actually get two different scales in cross harp. This starts to require some serious accuracy in your bending, so if you’re a beginner, you’ll want to take some time and get really solid on your single-note and bending basics.