tips for the beginning harmonica player

You'll be learning numerous songs in your studies, of which you'll forget if you don't review. As you complete each song, place its original (with harp) and jam track (without harp... if it's a study song and a jam track exists) in a playlist. Once a week, or at the very least once a month, start your playlist and play along as if you're on the stage, performing these songs in a gig. As time goes on you'll dial each song in well enough to play with the jam track version only, truly like a gig. continue reading...

The fully-closed cup, when playing acoustic, should only be used the moment before a "Wa" affect (closed, then open = Wa). Your cup should then remain open so that we can hear you play. The more open your cup, the less coloration from your hands. The more you close your cup (still leaving a little bit of room for sound to escape), the more hand muting you achieve, thus the more your hands color the sound. Experiment with this to hear the differences in color. How open or closed should you be?... this is personal preference. continue reading...

Now that you're focusing on tremolo for those long-held notes at the end of phrases, also decay the volume. Start that last note at the volume you played the previous notes in the phrase and then decay the volume over the length of the notated rhythm of that note until it disappears. It's rare that a final note of a phrase just stops... it decays until it dispersers into the mix of the band. This makes for a MUCH more musical phrase ending and is a common error comment to beginner, intermediate and some advanced student submissions on BluesHarmonica.com

One of the first, and most important, techniques you learn on the harmonica is the tremolo.

The tremolo is achieved by opening and closing your throat at the vocal chords. Try a couple blow coughs, then relax your breath and don't cough so strongly... nice and soft. continue reading...

Now that everything is relaxed and spit isn't running into your harp!... move around the harmonica, making every note played sound warm, full... beautiful.

If you get a little bit of an upper or lower note, adjust and then move on. If a note sounds flat, bent or airy, or the note squeals or stalls (won't sound at all)... adjust your tongue location (usually down). Your goal is to make every note sing with the least amount of effort as possible. continue reading...

Now that you have your hands, lips and tongue set into a relaxed position...

Place the harmonica a little deeper in your mouth, lower the middle and back of your tongue (the tip-top is on the harmonica, but the middle and back are able to move interdependently to lower for good tone), drop your jaw a bit, and finally open your throat.

A simple way to perform all of this is to use a slight yawn... it will place everything in the same position. continue reading...

Your lips are only used as a seal... around the comb and coverplates. Your lips should stay soft and relaxed... at no point should your lips tense (like when trying to bend).

Though holding the harmonica will surely become important within time... for techniques such as the Wa Wa, Hand Tremolo and playing through a Bullet Mic when it's time to have fun playing through an amplifier... focus more on your embouchure at first (lips, tongue, throat and jaw position), making sure your hands are not in the way of your mouth and are relaxed so that you don't introduce tension into your embouchure and body. So... relax your hands... use a loose hold (generally in the shape of the recommended hold) and focus on proper technique on the harmonica.