I was approached by someone in my industry about learning the harmonica. He lives a couple hours away from me, so personal instruction is out. Also, I don't think he wants to spend $ on lessons. So, what (free) websites can I point him to? I know Adam is more for intermediates to experts.
I really don't think this guy will follow through, but I want to at least point him in the right direction.
I would also recommend Jerry Portnoy's lessons. He's on Sonic Junction now. You get guitar lessons from Duke Robbilard and Corey Harris for the same nickel. Fantastic deal for just $19.95 a month. They send out a new lesson every week. Jerry starts with the basics, then goes on to break down classic blues tunes illustrating various techniques and giving you a bit of his philosophy on blues and life along the way. Jerry is a blues harp master who is a direct link to both Walters and most of the legends. ---------- LSC
Don't do his work for him, especially if he wants free stuff. Tell him to do a search on the internet. ---------- The Iceman
I agree with this statement. If he's not motivated enough to do some searching himself then he's really not interested in learning harp. Who's gonna practice for him??????? :o) Just my opinion.
One should always remember that any question or statement posted on any forum will always receive quite a bit more judgemental or negative responses than actual help.
(Not meaning the judgemental responses are always negative---they are, in fact, usually quite truthful.) ----------
Just when I got a paddle, they added more water to the creek.
Have him look over the Wikipedia harmonica page to get a basic idea of the terminology.
Have him join up on here and encourage him to ask questions. Depending on what style he wants to play he should adjust his music listening accordingly. If he wants to play the blues Adam's list of blues greats is as good a list as any to start YouTube searches on.
Just to update and clarify: I doubt he will ever visit one of these sites. But he is a good customer to my company, and a nice guy. Asking a question on a forum and emailing him the link is probably as far as this will go. Thanks for the help, I do appreciate it.
its like learning a language if you copy everyone you will sound crippled speaking it. i based my dutch on the stupid intonation of bullwinkle. my spanish i base on the guys voice you hear on the phone and automatic doors in malls in south florida. and i cant prove it but i think hes also an announcer on telemundo. pick a harp god any harp god stick to it about a year then try to be yourself.
hoi ik ben billie, i actually cant read dutch so well. i know a few things to blow off the politie when they ask me questions. shit like "kweenie" which is slang only dutch people know and isnt in books. but yeah french is far more beautiful and they really love l'armonica and accordion, i mean as much as americans think guns and roses have actual talent and axl rose is the new fred astaire. oh and im not english read one of my past diatribes about english blues and england.
Billy, for the record, even us Guns & Roses fans don't think Axl is the new Fred Astaire! It's kind of a love hate relationship where we listen for a while until he gets a chance to pull some prima donna BS and we give up on him, then we crawl back. And we all really miss Slash's guitar riffs. :(
Still, Lies, Appetite for Destruction, and the two Use Your Illusions albums all stand up pretty head to head with the other bands in their genre, and as big a prima donna as Axl is I'll take him over Lars any day! :)
@Philosofy: If he doesn't want to spend money on lessons, would he at least buy a book? Winslow's Harmonica For Dummies is the one of the best beginner-to-intermediate resources available.
