Mistreatin Mama Harmonica Tabs

Use this tab as a guide to imitate the audio clip.

Two holes in parentheses (-3 -4) means play them both at the same
time.
Try not to get very much breath through the second hole, except in the
ending riff. The way I do this (We’re all different.) is to do a
Billy Idol sneer to reach over to the higher hole.

/ or indicates a slur.

By “Inhale” or “Exhale”, I mean to let a little puff of air in or out
with your lips barely touching the harp.

To get his vibrato, I do a kind of a nervous jiggle with my belly.

First verse:

Wail & moan on -4, at one point hitting -5 for a nano-second, then
gliss across -3 to -2 (hold the -2). Exhale.
-3 -4 -3 -2” -2 Exhale

Play the -3 with varying degrees of bend, then go up to -3 unbent and
down to -1.
Exhale -3 -4 -3 -2’ -2

He starts singing about something, here.

Second verse:

-4 -4 -4 -4’ -4’ 4 -4’ -3 -2
Slight bend…More bend

Exhale -3 -4 -3 -3’ -3” (-3 -4)

Exhale -4 -4 -4 -4’ -1 Exhale -3 -2 -4 -3 -2-2’/(-2 -3) Exhale

-4 -4 -4 -4 -4 -4 -4’ -4 -3 -2 Exhale -3 -3 -3’ 2 (-2 -3)

Now he does some more of that singin’.

-4 -4 -4 -4 -4 -4’ 5 4 (3 4) Inhale

-3 -4 (-3 -2) -2 -2
(Weak on -2)

More singin’.

-3’ -3’ -3’ -3’ -3” -3 -2 Exhale
Listen to the clip and imitate his degree of bends.

-3 3 -4 (-3’ -4’) -4 -3 (-2 -3)
–gliss–

Singing again.

-4 -4 -4 -4 -4 -4’ -4 -3 -2 Exhale

-3 -4 -3 -2 -2 Exhale

-3 -3 -3 -3’ -4 -1 Exhale -3 -2 -4 (-3’ -4’)

(-2’ -3’) (-2’ -3’)

“Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm”

-4’ -4’ -4’ 4 -4 -3 (-2 -3) Exhale

-3 -4 -3 -3 3 (-3 -4) Exhale

-3’ -3’ -3’ -3’ -3 -2 -1 Exhale

-3 -4 -3 -2 -2 Exhale

-4 -4 -4 -4 -4 -4 -4-4’ -4 -3 -2 Exhale

-3 -4 -3 -2 -2

(2:58)
(5 6) (-4 -5) (4 5) (-4 -5) (4 5)
-3 (3 4) (2 3) (-2 -3) (2 3) -2 2 -2