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Classic Blues Songs You Can Play on a D Harmonica: Full Guide

Updated: 3 days ago

A key of D harmonica has a bright, cutting range of notes and is used a lot in classic blues tracks because it can be used for the very common guitar key of A (confused?!... more on this below). For this reason, it has been used by great players like James Cotton and Junior Wells as well as many others.


This guide focuses specifically on real blues songs you can play using an D harp because the original recording used one. The list below is a great resource for finding great blues songs that you can use your D harp to play.


Using a Key of D harmonica for Blues Music

Most blues is played in 2nd position (cross harp). On a D harmonica, this means the key of A. To learn more, check out my Guide to Harmonica Positions.


I will indicate in the table below when the song is played in anything other than cross harp.


Diatonic harmonica resting on top of several other harmonicas in a red and tweed coloured case.
A key of D harp is a valuable addition to your gig bag.

Classic Blues Songs Using a D Harmonica


Here is a list of more than 60 great blues songs by legendary blues harmonica players, all of which use a key of D harmonica:

Title

Artist

Notes

All Night Long (Rock Me Baby)

Junior Wells


Allergic To Work

Pat Ramsey


Blow

George Smith


Blues Before Sunrise

Muddy Waters


Blues With A Feeling

Little Walter

Boogie Thing

The James Cotton Band


Brave Woman

Paul deLay


Broke & Hungry

William Clarke


Born in Chicago

Paul Butterfield


Built for Comfort

Howlin' Wolf


Champagne & Reefer

Muddy Waters


Checkin' Up On My Baby

Junior Wells


Chitlin Con Carne

Junior Wells


Come On In This House

Junior Wells


Come On With It

The Paul deLay Band


Could We Just Shoot Your Husband

The Paul deLay Band


Crawling King Snake

Muddy Waters


Cut That Out

Junior Wells


Deal The Cards

William Clarke

Dealin' with the Devil

James Cotton


Don’t Shame Me

The Paul deLay Band


Done with the Devil

Jason Ricci & New Blood


Early in the Morning

John Lee "Sonny Boy" Williamson


Eyesight to the Blind

Sonny Boy Williamson II


Forty Days & Forty Nights

Muddy Waters


Good Things

George "Harmonica" Smith


Goin' Down Slow

Howlin' Wolf


Harpoon Man

Paul deLay


Hate to See You Go

Paul Butterfield


Hear Me Talkin'

Charlie Musselwhite


Honey Bee

Muddy Waters


Hoodoo Man Blues

Junior Wells

I Ain’t Got You

Sugar Blue

(3rd position)

I Turned Into a Martian

Jason Ricci & New Blood


Icepick’s Confession

James Harman


It’s All Right Now

James Harman


It’s Gettin’ Warm in Here

Charlie Musselwhite


It Hurts Me Too

Paul Butterfield


Just A Dream

Billy Boy Arnold


Just to Be With You

Sugar Blue


Keep It to Yourself

Sonny Boy Williamson II

Killing Floor

Howlin' Wolf


Learn to Treat Me Right

Kim Wilson


Little Car Blues

James Cotton

(outro A harp 1st position by Junior Wells/Carey Bell?)

Louisiana Blues

Muddy Waters

Mannish Boy

Muddy Waters


Mellow Down Easy

Little Walter


Miss You

Sugar Blue

(same key for original by Rolling Stones)

One More Mile to Go

Sugar Blue


One Way Out

Sonny Boy Williamson II


Orange Dude Blues

Annie Raines & John Sebastian

(D and low D harp duet)

Out Till Dawn

Sugar Blue

(3rd position)

Pistol in Your Face

Charlie Musselwhite


Ptryptophan Pterodactyl

Jason Ricci & New Blood

(3rd position)

Shelby County Blues

Charlie Musselwhite


Shoulda Kept On Runnin'

William Clarke


Skinny Woman

Sonny Boy Williamson I


Sloppy Drunk

Jimmy Rogers


So All Alone

William Clarke


Stop Breaking Down

John Lee "Sonny Boy" Williamson


Stop Your Groanin'

The Paul deLay Band


Sugar Mama Blues

John Lee "Sonny Boy" Williamson


Telephone Blues

Bacon Fat


The Harmonica Man

Billy Branch & The Sons of Blues


Walkin' Blues

The Butterfield Blues Band


Walking By Myself

Big Walter Horton

Wealthy Man

The Paul deLay Band


What I'd Say (It's All Right)

Buddy Guy (feat. Junior Wells)

(3rd position) Last Time Around - Live at Legends album

What's Coming Next

Paul deLay


I hope this table has helped you to find some great blues harmonica songs to play!

Also check out the following guides:


Want to Learn Blues Harmonica Properly?

If you want to go beyond just picking up songs and actually understand how blues harmonica works, I have an online harmonica school designed to take you from beginner to expert.


We focus on:

  • mastering cross harp

  • bending notes cleanly and consistently

  • building real blues vocabulary

  • developing tone, timing, and feel


These are the exact skills behind players like James Cotton and Junior Wells - and I even teach specific songs played by these guys and many more.


If you're serious about improving, click to start your free trial today.

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