► Need a fast track for learning harmonica? www.harmonica.com/lessons/
The full written free Beginner Harmonica Lesson #1 here: www.harmonica.com/your-very-f...
More info about the 3 Types of harmonica here: www.harmonica.com/exploring-t...
STEP 1 - Get the Right Harp
✅ Why? The 10-hole diatonic harmonica in the key of C is the easiest and most fun harmonica to learn to play, and all beginner lessons are on C harps.
I recommend getting something like a Lee Oskar or Hohner Special 20, or comparable.
Lee Oskar:
rockinronsmusic.com/products/...
Special 20:
rockinronsmusic.com/products/...
Or if you’re on a tight budget, the best cheap harmonica I’ve found is the East Top 008k which is in $20 range:
www.amazon.com/Easttop-Diaton...
For more info on brands: www.harmonica.com/which-harmo...
STEP 2 - Hold the Harp Right
Just pinching it on one or both sides is perfectly fine right now.
STEP 3 - Learn How to Breathe
Most beginners heave into the harmonica. That excessive force creates terrible tone,
causes reed to choke, and over time makes reeds go out of tune, and eventually break
STEP 4 - THE DEEP RELAXED MOUTH POSITION
If the moist inner portion of your lips is touching the harmonica, then you’re in great shape and you’re ready to start making music.
STEP 5 - Playing Chords
C chord = Blowing anywhere
G chord = Drawing between holes -1234
If you wanna know more about that theory stuff check out my lesson Harmonica Chords for Beginners:
• Harmonica Chords for B...
STEP 6: TONE & ARTICULATION
The darkest, roundest tones are taller vowel shapes, “UH” or “OO” as in book.
The brightest icepick tone comes from wider vowel shapes, with the brightest being “EE”
The harmonica players drumsticks are Tuh Kuh.
“T” is the tip of the tongue of the back of the top teeth
“K” is back of the tongue touching of the roof of our mouth at a place called the hard palette
The Train Groove:
1: Start by doing Tuh-Kuh breathing in, then Tuh-kuh breathing out, nice and slow
2: Next, make notes shorter "staccato" = Tut-kut
3: Slowly speed up tempo.
4: The train whistle = draw anywhere above holes 1 and 2. You want the train whistle to sound as lonesome as possible. Try "dwah" articulation and hand wah.
STEP 7: GROOVE WITH THE MUSIC
Any time you listen to music, there’s a pulse that you can bob your head or tap your foot to. Feeling that pulse is step 1 to grooving with the band. Each one of those pulses is called a “beat”. We name our rhythms after how many beats they last.
STEP 8: SINGLE NOTES
One thing you’ll notice I haven’t addressed is playing single notes. That’s cos, if today’s your first day playing harmonica, I wouldn’t even worry about single notes. Harmonica is unique in that learning how to isolate notes is a challenging technique.
A sneak peek into playing single notes: we’re just gonna draw the corner of our lips together and allow our lips to go up and down, keeping them relaxed. RELAXATION is the key to everything.
If you feel that you’re ready to learn how to isolate notes, you can check out my lesson Harmonica Single Notes for Beginners: • Harmonica Chords for B...
Piano Man by Billy Joel is a great harmonica song for beginners that doesn’t require single notes:
• How To Play Piano Man ...
Heart of Gold by Neil Young is another:
• How to Play Heart of G...
If you have any questions or comments please leave them below. I hope you never quit, and always keep playing the harmonica because it makes the world a better place!