Learn me some harmonica!
April 15, 2007 12:20 PM 
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Has anyone had any success trying to learn how to play the harmonica with online lessons?
What with YouTube and all that, there seems to be lots of people with "lessons" that just amount to them showing off that they can play... or teases to try to sell an instructional CD or DVD or book.
I don't mind parting with a few bucks to learn... I'd just rather not get shafted.
So any advice/guidance would be appreciated!
Theory:
First thing is to understand that each harp is keyed differently - you're going to want to get the right harp for each song. It's complicated but suffice to say, you play "straight harp" when you play the same key as the song's written in, and "cross harp" when you count up three harps from the key the song's written in. (i.e. if the song is in G, you play a C harp. Count up, A, B, C, there ya go). Cross Harp = bluesy sounding and Straight Harp = uh...happier...sort of bluegrassy, folk sounding. That's all the theory you need.
Form:
Hold the harp in your left hand, highest note on the right. Sandwich the harp between your index finger and your thumb, as though the fingers are the bread and the harp is the fixins. These two finger hold the harp. Now take your right hand and cup it around the back of the harp. You don't want to hold it too tight - but rest your right thumb against the rightmost side of the harp. Now when you flap your right hand you get your vibrato going. Blow from deep in your diaphragm. If it gets too hard, you can breath through your nose a bit when you're blowing. Blow hard. You'll screw up more reeds but it'll make you sound like a rock star, and that's what you want. We're not playin the penny whistle here.
Performance:
STEP ONE. Learn how to play one note at a time. It works exactly how you think it does. You make a kissy face and you blow or draw over a reed. Until you've learned to do this well, over and over again, all over the harp, don't practice anything else. ONE NOTE AT A TIME.
Did you learn how to play one note at a time? Good. Step two is to learn how to bend a note. Easier to do this on a draw than it is on a blow, and this is what makes you sound like a badass. Basically, bending a note forces the reed back on itself. Or something. You're going to take a nice big draw, and pull the back of your tongue up toward your soft palate, so the tip of your tongue is pointed at the bottom of your mouth. Do this (ONE NOTE AT A TIME) over and over again. Just keep sucking on that harp and moving your tongue to the back of your mouth until it happens. When it does, it'll be like a bolt of lightning and you'll never forget how to do it. You can bend on a blow, but it's much more difficult.
Beyond that, if you can say "tikka-tikka-tikkity-tikka-tik" you can do staccato stuff and punctuate your notes with rythm. If you want to sound good on stage, buy a Green Bullet and play it into a Fender tube amp or any other amp with a good distortion peddle.
THAT'S IT! Everything else is theory and you can leave that to the dorks at the music dept. You'll be too busy catchin' panties on stage and bangin roadies.
posted by Baby_Balrog at 1:26 PM on April 15, 2007 [7 favorites]