How to play On the road again by Canned Heat on harmonica

Mar 14, 2012 | Intermediate Harmonica Lessons, Songs

This lesson introduces you to a different form of blues known as a one chord blues. As its name suggests there is just one chord. This is the I chord.

The example of a one chord blues that I am looking at is “On the Road Again” by Canned Heat.

The original version of this song uses an A harmonica in 2nd position (key of E). However, for the purposes of this lesson I will be showing you how to play it on a C harmonica in 2nd position (key of G).


In order to play this song you will need to be able to bend the 2 hole draw a whole step. The way to do this is imagined that the clean note is an “Ah” sound and the bent note is a “car” sound. Really make sure that the harmonica is very deep inside your mouth. This will help getting the bend.

Sitting on the 2 draw

Because this is a one chord blues you will be emphasising the root note of the one chord. So, you will be sitting on the 2 hole draw.

You are also accentuating the offbeat. This means playing in between the beats. If you are not sure how to do this check out my lesson on –  offbeat and rhythm chugging for beginners

On the Road Again

You should definitely check out the original song by Canned Heat. It is a classic harmonica tune. You can hear it by clicking this link – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRKNw477onU

Thank you so much for taking part in this lesson. I hope it was useful for you. If you enjoyed this lesson, please share it with your friends.

See you again for the next harmonica video!

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