OT- Harmonica?

[GANJIRO]

While I'm sitting around healing I thought I'd finally make time to scratch an item off my bucket list- learning to play the Harmonica! My older sis' first husband was a professional Blues Haqrmonica player, and listening to him play when I was an impressionable youth first put that harmonica bug in me almost 40 years ago. At a local book store I found on sale a Harmonica how-to lesson book and CD which also came with a Swan C scale harmonica. I have been playing around with it having fun but still have miles to go before I even feel comfortable playing it for others. I'm already looking to upgrade my harmonica and was wonder how many of you here play the harmonica and what make, model, and scale (key) of harmonicas you would recommend to this rookie. Also besides this $6.00 how too kit, what would you recommend as the fastest route to learning to play this instrument? I want to plays Blues and Jazz eventually. Thank you for your input.

[new pig hunter]

the fastest way to learn is to practice all the time, play along with records, AND hang out as much as possible with other more proficient players .... that's how I learned tennis, guitar, and other endeavors.

Cheers,

Carl

[El Chivo]

Harmonica was my first instrument, though I don't play anymore and have lost all of them. I started with a Marine Band model and it sounded good. Then I tried a Blues Harp model which was slimmer and better sounding. I had these in several keys.

http://www.wwbw.com/Hohner-532-20-Blues ... 33701.wwbw

Later I bought a chromatic harmonica which means it has all the notes that are in-between the ones you hear on a regular harmonica. It's basically two harmonicas together, you push a button to switch from the notes in your key to the in-between notes. It's much bigger than the regular harmonicas.

This is the one I had:

http://www.wwbw.com/Hohner-980-40-Koch- ... 33580.wwbw

this last one looks like it might be even better. I think there were some notes missing on the Koch (which helps for certain chord effects but is a hindrance if you want to play tunes). But this one has all notes.

http://www.wwbw.com/Hohner-255-48-Chrom ... 86916.wwbw

Having all notes on the scale means you can play any tune, and "modulate" (shift keys) which can sound very cool. On the other hand, if you just want to wail, a collection of Blues Harps will do you proud.

Hey, I've been thinking about asking you about 'ukuleles. I'm about to order my first one. Any experience with them? I'm leaning toward a mahogany concert sized model.

[brucew44guns]

Someone asked Chet Atkins how they could learn to play the guitar. Mr. Atkins replied, "get yourself a guitar, go in your bedroom, and practice 10 hours a day". Good luck JI

[Gobblerforge]

I've played a little for years and years. I was always a drummer and then later in life picked up the guitar a little also. Can someone answer aquestion for me?
I was playing with the guitar and harp and found that a bluesy song in G on the guitar is accompanied by my harp in C. How does this work?
Gobbler

[alnitak]

I was playing with the guitar and harp and found that a bluesy song in G on the guitar is accompanied by my harp in C. How does this work?

It's called "crossharp" or playing in second position. I'm sure a Google would explain it better than I could, but that's why you need several harps...just choose the one that fits the key (cross-wise) of the song being played. Most popular is C, followed by G than D, if I remember correctly.

Here's a short Wikipedia explanation:

"Playing the harmonica in the key to which it is tuned is known as "straight harp" or "first position" playing. For example, playing music in the key of C on a C tuned harmonica.

More common, in blues and rock at least, is "crossharp" or "second position" playing. This involves playing music in the key five semitones below the key of the harmonica - for example, on a C tuned harmonica, a second position blues would be in G. This is because the notes of the G pentatonic scale (a commonly used scale in blues and rock) are more easily accessible on a C-tuned harmonica. The lower notes of harps in the lower keys (G through C) are easier to bend, but take more wind. Since much of crossharp is played on the inhalation, every opportunity for exhalation must be capitalized upon—blow out lots of air on every exhaled note and during every pause.

Another method is to play in the key one whole tone above that of the harmonica. On a C-tuned harmonica, this would mean playing in the key of D. This is known as "slant harp" or "third position" playing."

[Wind]

Ganjiro - I think the fastest way involves surgery. Every harp I ever owned had the holes numbered on the upper side of the harp. Every "How to" book I've ever had would say blow in hole three, then hole six etc. Unless you had holes in your upper lip, how could you see the hole numbers on the harp, and thus play the correct one?? Best of luck. Watch yer top knot. Wind

[C. Cash]

Just keep playing Ganjiro! I've been playing since I was 10 and I'm 40 now. It becomes second nature whether to suck or blow(no jokes ), how to add in bass notes and where you need to be on the harmonica. I wish I could play the blues though......just can't get that funky sound and just play Civil War and Cowboy tunes. Too white I guess

[Ben_Rumson]

The biggest obstacle I had to overcome to be able to get a good blues sound was training my tongue to block off neighboring holes so I could properly draw in enough air to bend a note from the corner of my lips/mouth.. Like to wore out the side of my mouth in the process using the Marine Band harp.. Later I found other harps that didn't have that sharp edge that the Marine Band harps have and wished I'd had one of those when I first started..

[adirondakjack]

I taught myself at age 47 or so, using tabs found online. Pick out songs you know, and go for it.

The BEST hint I can give ya is get a GOOD harmonica. A cheapie is gonna frustrate ya to no end. They are hard to play when ya know how, and really bad when ya don't. I highly recommend "Bushman" "Souls Voice" harps. http://www.bushmanharmonicas.com/ I bought em in C, D, A, and G. The Souls Voice is smooth, with a big sound without blowing yer head off. Oh, for a real sweetie, get their "Delta frost" in G too. It has a real raspy, old time blues sound that is just great.

[GANJIRO]

So what keys besides C do I need to begin with lets say the top 4? Should I get a chromatic too? 10 holes good enough?
Thanks for all the input so far, really appreciate it.

[GANJIRO]

Hey, I've been thinking about asking you about 'ukuleles. I'm about to order my first one. Any experience with them? I'm leaning toward a mahogany concert sized model.

When you're raised in Hawaii public school system it's pretty manditory to have a few classes in Ukulele, but I had the advantage of having a Ukulele playing Dad, he preferring is Koa wood Pineapple tenor Kamaka. I in no way consider myself a musician but I do love playing the Ukulele and have about a half dozen (1916 Koa Kumalae, 1920 Banjo, Mahogany Pineapple, etc.) but my dream Ukulele is a Mahogany Martin Concert model. Koa wood is native and beautiful but I feel Mahogany is the best sounding wood along with Spruce though Spruce face Ukulele are rare. I don't know if you have heard of Lyle Ritz but he is a personal friend of mine a great professional Ukulele artist. Actually I want to learn to play Ukulele and Harmonica at same time.

[Cast Bullet Hunter]

Ji,

Go here: http://www.leeoskar.com They sell their own brand which is a re-branded Japanese Tombo. Much easier blowing that the Hohner harps. They have everything you need no matter what type of music you want to play.

So far as learning is concerned, if you have figured out tongue blocking you are mostly there. Just play, and play, and play every opportunity you have. Carry one with you all the time so it is handy when the mood strikes.

Depending if you want to play in specific keys or not you could need anywhere from one to 2-3 dozen harps of different keys and tunings. For just playing around I prefer a Lee Oscar in B flat.

[adirondakjack]

I guess it depends what kind of music ya wanna play, but I went with C, D, A, and G. In reality, you can play lots of stuff in multiple keys and get away with it. Those folks who create tabs often argue about which is the "proper" key for a certain song.

I use C or G the most, especially like the G "Delta frost" with it's bronze reeds, as it has that nasty, wound up, burnin' down the joint kinda sound. As my son would say "it's kickin some big a.. "

[Rusty]

JI,
I have a G harp because I play my banjo tuned to an open G.

We have a fellow in our church that plays along with the guitar pickers and the piano for all our services. He comes into the building with a small case that holds all his harps in the different keys he needs.

You might try looking on this site http://www.funkyseagull.com/ which belongs to Pat and Patrick ( father and son) Costello. They play all manner of folks type instruments and really do give most of their information away for free.

[El Chivo]

I was playing with the guitar and harp and found that a bluesy song in G on the guitar is accompanied by my harp in C. How does this work?

Here's another way to look at it:

In blues a very important harmony is the flatted 7th, which in G is the F natural.

The harp in G wouldn't have an F natural, only an F sharp. But the key of C does have an F natural. All the other notes in the two scales are the same. If you start on G instead of C, you're playing a G scale with a flatted 7th. When I play along with blues and jazz I usually end up flatting the 7th all the time.

Another blues note to try against G would be Bb, a great emphasis note. And in the key of G, the C7 chord is the next most important chord, and guess what, Bb is the flatted 7th of C.

You would find a Bb in a key of F harmonica. The F is to the C as the C is to the G. When the guitar player changes chords, if you changed harps, you'd have the same effect.

I have a music website with free blues scales and play-alongs if you're interested, you can print out the 'real' blues scales. One good reason to get a chromatic harp (you can't play them on a diatonic harmonica). You can also jam along with the house band in any key.

http://www.musicstudents.com

Thanks for the 'ukulele info. It gives me more confidence to hear you like the mahogany, having heard them all. Sounds like your collection is worth some bucks. I've been pretty amazed to find out there is a real market for 'ukuleles, they are like violins almost. Some of best new ones are listed at $7,000, and I bet the sky is the limit for a special old one.

The one I'm looking at is the Pono concert in mahogany. I might be interested in spruce, but I have spruce guitars and am ready for something different. Martin makes a mahogany soprano model as well.

[GANJIRO]

I want to play Jazz and Blues, but also want to play along with my Ukulele so not for sure what key or keys I need. I did not know Tombo still existed, haven't heard that name in 40 something years, had a Tombo harp as a kid in Tokyo. Cool I'll check out the Lee Oskars being a long time fan of Lee Oskar from his WAR days and several solo albums afterwards. Will check out the other recommended websites too. I did find a series of lessons on Youtube I'll check too. Thanks again everyone for all your help.