Salaam =)
Hi there,
so I had this "Hohner special 20 in key C" few months ago, on my way to learn more about music production and step inside this magnificent world that someday i can at least make covers for my favorite bands/artists.
I picked harmonica 'cause it's almost the cheapest music instrument and "i thought" it's easy to play with, and of course 'cause i love rock, blues and jazz.
Anyway, I started learning on youtube and stopped when it came to Bending ... that's when i decided to take advantage of the coupon that came along with the harmonica "that gives you 30 days free trial"
I found that there are tons of videos, i started the achievment thing and learned about couple of things.
the thing is that i know i can't cover all these lessons in less than 30 days and i can't afford the subscription, in fact even that harmonica a friend of mine in germany sent it to me as a gift!
sounds awkward but i'm a student and don't have time to work!
so the question is, what topics should i focus on in this site, stuff i can only learn from here, maybe some basic techniques like bending, tongue blocking or puckering.
I just wanna make use of this opportunity!
Sorry for making it so long and thanks for reading
appreciate any suggestions
PS: I'm really impressed on how much efforts exerted on this site, i think it's a pride for harmonica world.
Salute to the founders and the staff!
Thank you for replying.
Your outline was very helpful.
I might get that book as well, so thank you again!
The foundation for all harmonica playing is breathing, and opening up your airway from the bottom of your lungs to the air passing through the harmonica. Focus on:
As you work on these things, learn to alternate between inhaling and exhaling, sustaining each breath until it's time to change breath direction. Listen to the sound you get.
Next comes single notes, both tongue blocked and pucker.
Next comes moving from one hole to its neighbor smoothly, keeping the harp in your mouth wihtout removing your lips and sustaining your breath flow as you move.
Next comes finding melodies. At first, concentrate on the middle holes (4 thru 7). These are the easiest to sound without problems. As you do this, you start to learn by ear what happens when you move around the harp and you start to find the notes by ear.
This might also be a good time to start bending in the middle holes.
Next, you start playing the draw chords in holes 1, 2, 3, and 4. When you start bending these notes, you'll really start digging into the blues.
I'm not sure how well this accord with Dave's LOA, but it's a quick picture of one way to get started. It's what I use in my book Blues Harmonica For Dummies.