Main Screen

The first screen you should see will be the one above. As soon as this comes up, you should be able to start playing your harmonica. As you do, you will see notes "light up". The upper row (above the numbers) represents blow notes, whereas, the rows below the numbers represent the draw notes (or notes you breath in).

If you have trouble seeing notes, first try holding the microphone to the harmonica while playing (or quite close to the harmonica). This will help get more accurate note detection in any case. If you aren't seeing any response, you might try changing mixers (see below).

The notes are in standard musical notation. The picture above shows the notes in the key of 'C' as this is the harmonica pictured. You can also see this in the "Harp Type" dialog window (see below).

When you load a tab file one of the notes will become highlighted. Simply play the highlighted notes to play the tune. When you have to play the same note twice or more, it will highlight in red.

Harp Type - Harmonica Icon

Just to the left of the mic is a harmonica icon, click it, and you will get the "Harp Type" dialog. This allows you to choose the particular harmonica type you have. If you would like to change harmonicas (to a different keyed harmonica), simply change the selection to a different key and you will see the harmonica notes re-arrange appropriately to the key you select (when you press "Apply" or "OK"). Remember, you will need to change harmonicas at this point, because the notes you play will show up in the wrong places!

 Richter is the most common tuning (if you have a Hohner or most brands, you have Richter tuning), but you can choose other tunings if you like. The layout will let you see differing note selections based on what you want to see and play. This will also change based on a tab file you load, it will only show you the minimum set needed for the song. If you only want to play simple straight harp songs, then choose Blow/Draw. If you are intermediate player, you will probbly want to choose Bends. Advanced players will choose "Overblow", and those with a valved harp can certainly try the Valve setting.

Microphone Settings - Mic Icon

Clicking on the microphone icon will bring up the "Tune Settings" dialog box. This allows you to optimize the microphone settings.

The mic control allows you to set a cutoff level to avoid picking up background noise that may be shown as notes. The meter to right of control shows the sound (in decibels) of background noise. Adjust the control  downwards so you don't see any incorrect notes when you are not playing. NOTE: This is opposite of the original Bendometer. Upwards now means "more sensitive" which is more intuitive, so it was changed. You can also adjust it slightly lower so you can avoid incorrect notes while you are playing in "Quick detection" mode.

Quick detection will make notes show quicker and is better for playing faster riffs, otherwise Normal mode may work better to avoid spurious notes.

Changing the mixer (in the mixer dropdown box) may be useful if you have two mics, or if the default has selected the wrong mic to use. Change this setting to the proper mic input.

Your settings will be restored when you reopen Bendometer, so you shouldn't have to fiddle with these controls except when you first get started with Bendometer P.S.

About - (i) Info Icon

The most important information in the About box besides the contact information is the "Subscribe..." button.

 This allows you to type in your username and keycode when you register. This software cannot continue to grow without your support, if you like seeing software for the harmonica, or want to see a lesser used part of the software, please contribute by registering! Thanks

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Tab Loader - Tab Music Note Icon

The tab loader allow you to select a song in harmonica tab (tablature) format. The songs are in alphabetical order by title. The levels are beginner, intermediate, and advanced. For now, most of the songs are beginner level (beginner has no bends, intermediate has bends, and advanced has overblows).

After selecting a song it should load and highlight the first note to be played. You can also click the "View Icon" and see the tab for the song. Notes with the minus (-) sign are draw/suck notes, and the rest are blow notes.

Other Windows

Tab Window

Help - (?) Icon

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