Introduction and couple of questions
Feels like I should at least say something before throwing out questions. New person here. I have been working on Level 1 for about 2 months now. I am finally getting the second page of "Walk with me" under control - meaning I can actually play it. Not with the music or anything, but I feel like it is in reach. My goal is to test by EOM April
I have no musical education, but that is not going to stop me from this goal. Having a great time, but I fear I will never play that song again once I master it.
I have a Hohner Big River C harp and a Hohner Blues Harp (A) just for reference. I am going to the UK for a trip to visit my son and think it might be neat to pick up another harp in London. It would appear the Hobgoblin store might be my best bet???
I also see that I do not need another key for some time yet, so what to buy??? A better C harp? I am thinking about another brand just to try something different?
Finally, any other harp related stuff in London? A private lesson is on my harp bucket list as there is no one in Nebraska I have been able to track down. So far all my education is this site. Not sure that is reasonable, but any ideas are welcome.
I am going to be at Oxford for a few days checking out my son's college, and then we will travel to London for several more days to see the sights. Should be a great trip since Des Moines is a big trip to me.
Thanks for this site and any insight.
rod
The Big River and MS-Blues Harp are both OK harps, but you might experiene a pleasant uptick in quality if you were to acquire a Marine Band Deluxe while you're in the UK. This model is no longer sold in the US but remains available in Europe and the UK. (It's almost the same harp as the Crossover, which does remain available worldwide.) Both the MB Deluxe and the Crossover have sealed combs that won't swell.
I can't say what he best store is in England, but aside from the thrill of actually making a purchase while in Old Blighty, you may find better pricing from US sources, especially online.
There are several good teachers in the UK, including Ben Hewlett, Tomlin Leckie, and Lee Sankey. You might find out more about that and about general harmonica goings-on by getting in touch with someone at the UK's National Harmonica League at http://harmonica.co.uk.
As far as direct one-on-one harmonica lessons, there may not be much vailable to you locally, but several of us who teach harmonica do so via online video chat.
Oh I would not exclude the Suzuki Manji M20 in you decsion. See my earlier post. It will depend on what you want to pay but if the prices are similar to Japan it would be my first choice.
Found a few shops to check out. So we will see what I can dig up per the recommendation.
rod
Hi Rod
I also recently started and bought few harps. This is my story.
First I bought SilverStar and realized that is really bad harp so I bought Marine Band Classic in C. When I discoverd this site, I went and bought Marine Band in A. After 4h practice session I basically ruined it as comb swelled like crazy. So I realized that as a beginner I have to go with plastic comb, and as I like sound of MB, I bought Special 20.
After, I realized that I like more brither sound of MB so I took vented coverplates from MB and put them on SP20. In same time I rounded corners and make it nice.
So for now I have a harp that I am very satisfy with. Next one will be in key of G so I am planning to try Golden Melody as I really like the shape of it.
Cheers