shimkwan
7 posts
Jan 19, 2017
1:05 PM
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Hi,
Looking to get a beginners book on blues harp playing - and have settled on David Barrett as the author.
Can someone please comment on which is a good starting point please? He seems to have two "Level 1" books that look interesting:
1. Blues Harmonica, Level 1 (published 2015)
ISBN-10: 0786690895
2. Basic Blues Harmonica Method Level 1 (published 2000) ISBN-10: 0786656565
So is the first book above just the latest edition of the same book?
Thank you,
SK
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rogonzab
1012 posts
Jan 19, 2017
1:16 PM
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www.bluesarmonica.com !!
Better than the books for sure.
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Sorry for any misspell, english is not my first language.
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Mirco
456 posts
Jan 19, 2017
4:06 PM
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If it must be a book: "Blues Harmonica, Level 1."
If you can subscribe to bluesharmonica.com, that is vastly preferable.
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Marc Graci
YouTube Channel
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shimkwan
8 posts
Jan 19, 2017
4:46 PM
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Thank you, don't think I can afford a monthly fee at present (which bluesharmonica.com requires), hence a book option, with exercises I can follow.
Cheers
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Sundancer
76 posts
Jan 19, 2017
8:18 PM
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I highly recommend "Blues Harmonica for Dummies" by Winslow Yerxa. It has loads of good lessons to improve your ability to manuever around the harp.
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MindTheGap
2053 posts
Jan 19, 2017
11:21 PM
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shimkwan, I have a few of these books and I like them, very precise and straightforward. And arranged in a series that is logically laid out.
You should be aware that a lot of the material is repeated verbatim between the different books - the overview of the 12-bar format and verse-chorus form. It seems an odd choice to do that, but there it is. So the specific material of a particular title occupies a lot fewer pages than you might think.
It seems ripe for compiling into one large, spiral-bound book and cutting the repetition. But I guess they make more money from selling individual books.
I 2nd Mirco's suggestion of Blues Harmonica for Dummies.
Last Edited by MindTheGap on Jan 19, 2017 11:21 PM
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Truth2012
60 posts
Jan 20, 2017
9:51 AM
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Hi Shimkwan
I bought Jon Gindick's 'blues harmonica for musically hopeless/hopeful' when I started out.
He has a couple of great YouTube videos to back it up. Helped me a lot.
He has a great way of explaining things for the beginner.
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Rontana
364 posts
Jan 20, 2017
12:03 PM
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Ditto on Jon's books (his Rock 'N Blues Harmonica is good too). JG's approach strikes me as a bit less academic than DB's, although both really do cover much the same territory correctly. That said, I much prefer lip pursing to tongue blocking, so that could explain some preferential bias on my part.
Also, I think Winslow's book should be part of any harp player's library. It's invaluable.
It just depends on your own preferred style of learning. Jon's strikes me particularly as being geared more toward having fun while learning . . . a bit more laid back than other options.
Last Edited by Rontana on Jan 20, 2017 12:06 PM
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shimkwan
9 posts
Jan 22, 2017
7:05 PM
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Hi,
Thank u for all your feedback.
Book Depository was having a special, so I ordered the "Blues Harmonica for Dummies" by Winslow Yerxa.
Look forward to working thru the book :)
Cheers
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Killa_Hertz
2129 posts
Jan 22, 2017
7:43 PM
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Winslows book is great. And full of information. I just have a real hard time with book learning for some reason. Its just hard for me to take in and make sense of. But it's all there.
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jason campbell
98 posts
Jan 23, 2017
12:44 PM
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+1 on Jon's book
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