I Walk The Line Harmonica Tab

Here’s Johnny Cash’s classic I Walk the Line on harmonica from Level 1: “EZ Peazy” to Level 5 “Argh!”. So whatever your level, you too can walk the line. 😉

LEVEL 1 We are going to play in 1st position with one note changed to keep things simple

LEVEL 2 We’ll play it up an octave, just like Johnny Cash sings it

LEVEL 3 We’re introducing a challenging bend

LEVEL 4 We’ll learn how to play it in 2nd position with many challenging bends

LEVEL 5 We’ll learn it in 12th position so that we can play the whole song with just one harmonica using 1st, 2nd, and 12th position

One thing many people don’t realize about I Walk the Line is that it’s in 3 different keys, changing key for every verse.

Verse 1: F

(Low F Harmonica recommended)

Verse 2: Bb

Verse 3: Eb

Verse 4: Bb

Verse 5: F

That’s why you can hear him hum before each verse – so he can be sure what key he is in before he sings!

One of the awesome things about harmonica is that the TABS don’t change between keys (you just need 3 different harmonicas to play: LF, Bb, and Eb). Note: LF stands for Low F harmonica which is recommended because F is very high and sounds too shrill for this song.

It may actually be possible for advanced harmonica players to do it all on one harmonica, but we’ll get into that in our “Aaarrrrgggh!” section.

But for our first few levels, as usual, I’m gonna do everything on our trusty C harmonica.

Level 1 – EZ PEAZY

We are going to play in 1st position, key of C, and modify one note in the melody (noted below in color) to avoid having to do a bend. Here are the harmonica tabs in C for I Walk the Line:

4 4 4 -4 -4 -4 -5 5 -4 4

4 -4 5 -5 -5 -5 -6 6 -5 5

4 -3 4 3 -4 4 -3 4

You can play along with me here:

If you’re a newbie thinking, “That’s not easy!” I understand 100%. I was there once! You can’t put the cart before the horse. Consider checking out my Beginner to Boss course for easy, foolproof step-by-step instruction for beginners.

Level 2 – NO SWEAT

Still in 1st position, if we play it up an octave, we can play the whole melody exactly as Johnny Cash sings it…BUT it is challenging because the notes are high.

Luckily, we learn the secret to high notes in 3 easy steps:

Let your jaw fall relaxed toward the ground
Keep the back of your tongue down like it is when you yawn
Don’t use too much force. A nice gentle airflow

I Walk the Line harmonica tabs in C in the upper octave:

7 7 7 -8 -8 -8 -9 8 -8 7

7 -8 8 -9 -9 -9 -10 9 -9 8

7 -7 -6 6 -8 7 -7 7

Those notes are obviously super high on a C harmonica. If you were to play those on a Low F harmonica, it would sound a lot less shrill and be much more workable. Otherwise…

Level 3 – TRICKY

We’re gonna go back to how we first played the melody, but this time play it exactly as Johnny Cash actually sings it, which requires a bend.

The bend we’re gonna have to play is the -3” bent down a whole-step, which is a very challenging bend.

Bending is not a beginner technique. I consider it to be an Intermediate technique. If you can play nice clean single notes consistently, and you want to learn how to bend, check out my lesson Harmonica Bending for Beginners.

Even once you CAN bend, learning how to bend IN TUNE takes a long time, and the -3” is one of the hardest. ( 💡 The Bend-it-Better tool can be helpful in learning this at first.)

On the flip side, this is a great chance for us to practice!

4 4 4 -4 -4 -4 -5 5 -4 4

4 -4 5 -5 -5 -5 -6 6 -5 5

4 -3 -3” 3 -4 4 -3 4

By the way, Verse 2 has a couple small alterations from Verse 1.

Here are Johnny Cash’s I Walk the Line harmonica tabs in C for Verse 2:

4 4 4 -4 -4 -4 -4 -4 -4 -5 5 -4 4

4 4 4 -4 -4 -4 5 -5 5 -4 4

4 -4 5 -5 -5 -5 -6 6 -5 5

4 -3 -3” 3 -4 4 -3 4

Level 4 – HARD

For our HARD level, we are going to learn how to play this song in 2nd position.

What makes this hard is that we’re gonna play the -3”, not just in one passing note like we did in the Tricky level, but now in the HARD level we’re really harping on that -3”. 😉 Plus we’re also gonna have to play the -2’ bend (which is also very challenging!)

Since we’re using our C harmonica to play in 2nd position here, we’ll be in the key of G.

For beginners this seems impossible, for intermediates hard but maybe achievable, and for the most experienced, an opportunity for more expressiveness.

I Walk the Line by Johnny Cash 2nd Position Harmonica Tabs:

-2 -2 -2 -3″ -3″ -3″ 4 -3 -3″ -2

-2 -3″ -3 4 4 4 5 -4 4 -3

-2 -2′ 2 -1 -3″ -2 -2′ -2

Level 5 – ARGH!

We are not moving into 3rd, 4th, or even 5th position, but we are going to play this in 12th position. 😲

What is ’12th position’ you ask?

12 position means using a C harmonica to play in the key of F, which means the -2” is now our root note.

Yeah that difficult -2” whole-step bend is now our home base! 😮

Though VERY CHALLENGING, 12th position is actually a really cool position. It’s got a very cool jazzy/bluesy feel.

The reason we’re using it in I Walk the Line, is so that we can use one harmonica for all 3 keys and play the entire song along with the original Johnny Cash recording on our Bb harmonica:

Verse 1: 2nd position, Key of F

Verse 2: 1st position, Key of Bb

Verse 3: 12th position, Key of Eb

Verse 4: 1st position, Key of Bb

Verse 5: 2nd position, Key of F

Here are the harmonica tabs for I Walk the Line in 12th Position:

-2” -2” -2” -2 -2 -2 -3’ -3” 3 -2”

-2” -2 -3” -3’ -3’ -3’ -4’ 4 -3’ -3”

-2” 2 -1 1 3 -2” 2 -2”

Is all this stuff about keys and positions confusing the heck out of you? Don’t worry, that’s totally normal! Check out my lesson Keys for Beginners.

Please leave any questions or comments below. Keep on playing harmonica and making the world a better place! 🌎❤️🎵

Aloha,

Luke

Level 1 – EZ PEAZY

Level 2 – NO SWEAT

Level 3 – TRICKY

Level 4 – HARD

Level 5 – ARGH!

Tabs Like a Boss

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