Hi everyone, I`ve been practising the harmonica for about 18 months and I feel I`m really not getting anywhere. I can play tunes but the blues (my passion). I just can`t get `that` sound. I can bend and improvise and thought I was okay. I recorded myself playing today and frankly, it was terrible. I just can`t relax into it. I`ve tried different angles, emboucheres, tongue blocking etc and I can get single notes clearly and chords. BUT it sounds terrible.I don`t know what else to do and don`t want to give up. I try to practise every day and have watched endless videos and techniques. Just when I think I`ve got it, it`s gone again. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated as I feel I`m wasting my time and my husband and friends all groan when I ask them to listen! Sorry for going on but I`m despondent.By the way, I have Hohner Big Rivers and Special 20`s.
Hi #Rosey56. It's hard to imagine whatyou mean without being able to hear you. Any chance you can make a recording or short video to give us some idea? It would be much easier to see where you may be going wrong then. Have you tried playing along to backing tracks at all?
I have been playing off and on for an alarming number of yrs and I still suck badly. Lee Sankey has an excellent tutorial on this -- not MY playing, but generally expectation after so and so many months of playing.
I impress people, however, and that´s an interesting aspect of musicianship -- but definitely not the only one. (People have very low standards when it comes to harmonica playing.)
If you have the means to put up a video, or such, it would be a whole lot easier to point out your weaknesses etc.
First time on record can be a bit like hearing your own voice first time ("Can that wanker really be me?" (can a lady be a wanker?)) and the harmonica is a notorious bastard when it comes to recording.
Your attitude is excellent, BTW. If you had been sounding "good" after 18 months of playing, you´d been mistaken.
@rpavich: No, it´s only depressing if you have an urealistically ... stupid notion on what it takes to master a skill. (Once again: Lee Sankeye´s video.)
I didn´t mention the whole lot of fun you have meanwhile. (Plenty of evidence for that, crappy videos on YT.) The difference is, formerly you accepted this notion of slow learning (it´s a long process etc) but today they say, as in the Kingsley Amis´ novel "I want it now".
Rosey56, with her critical ear, is going to make headway in leaps and bounds.
Rosey, don't give up. You are already doing one of the most valuable things to help your playing: Listening to yourself on recordings or videos. Keep doing that. You will sound better soon, I promise.
Harmonica is an easy instrument to play but an extremely difficult instrument to play well. And with the blues we are playing the instrument in a fashion for which it was not designed. It takes time. After my first year and a half of playing I was, um, not very accomplished at all. But it was about that time it started to make sense.
I still remember the day I "got it" and it has been more than 30 years ago. One day I just tried something a little different and it all sort of clicked.
Keep playing as much as you can. At this point don't memorize songs and try to play them note for note. Play relaxed. Work on little things that you really like in others' playing. You will get there, for certain.
#Rosey. Another thought just occurred to me. If you have Skype, you may want to contact one of the harp masters on here who does Skype lessons. You may only need a couple to at least get you going down the right track at this stage. They'll be able to tell you right away what you feel you may be doing wrong and help build on your strengths.
Rosey56 - Have you tried subscribing to Dave Barretts www.bluesharmonica.com website? That might help you improve a lot faster. The lessons on there are superb and you get to send audio files to Dave for assessment. Also consider taking some Skype lessons from a good teacher or even in person from one if you can. That may also help you improve.
The main thing though is to have patience and realise that in the grand scheme of things 18 months is nothing. You will get better, things will sink in and stay there. Your friends and family will also notice that eventually.
Do you play with other musicians? That is an enormous help with learning. Also try playing along with CD's. Try copying what the person on the record is playing. Pick a simple blues song to start with. Learn the intro if there is one. Then when you can play that bit in your sleep, move onto the next 12 bars and so on and so on. You'll be surprised how much you'll start to learn in a relatively short time. Doing that trains your ear and can also teach you some basic musical structures without getting bogged down in the theory of things. Also go and see as many harp players live as possible. Talk to them and ask them questions. Most of us are a friendly bunch. We won't bite and are usually willing to help where we can.
Most of all though. Don't give up. Keep on going. You will succeed if you're determined enough. Stop asking family and friends to listen and just keep playing for yourself. If they try ribbing you just ignore it and stay focused on your goal. Record your practice sessions and then in six months or a year compare the difference in your playing.
Don't give up. Just let it happen. All good advice posted so far. Take, for instance, my handle - 'ReedSqueal' which I gave myself. When I first joined this forum that is where I was at. Frustrated. And couldn't play the upper end without... squealing.
I read somewhere or maybe it was in a youtube video and they said in essence when you are frustrated you are on the verge of a breakthrough. Happened to me many times. Breakthroughs. Sometimes it may be just one simple thing. I'll take it. Sometimes putting the harp down for a few days - or a week. May not work for everyone but it did for me a few times.
But I gotta say Lee's video above is worth a million bucks.
And yeah, I remember my first recording. I knew it was bad, but holy moley when I actually listened to it I about quite. Forever. lol. I still have that recording. I now have a Zoom MP3 recorder when I do blues jams or get togethers. Click "record" and let it go. I listen to the recordings later. Good, bad, ugly. It's all there. But I learn from it. We are our own worst critics for sure and sometimes I actually hear some stuff that I played and think 'yeah, that was cool, I'll practice that lick some more' I gave up with the "I have been playing for X years and I should be .... "
I just play. And have fun. ---------- Go ahead and play the blues if it'll make you happy. -Dan Castellaneta
Hang in there Rosey. It does take a lot of time, something I have recently realised after three years of very intense playing, driving my wife crazy. But I am making progress. I listen to stuff I recorded a couple of years ago, a year ago, even six months ago and cringe/realise I have moved forward. Part of the sense of not moving forward may be due to progress day by day being incremental. There are a lot of subtleties to the harp, and the more I learn the more I am aware of what I am missing. But I'm never bored playing the harp. It's a life-long trip towards a receding horizon in my view. Sounds like you've got the bug bad. So enjoy! BronzeWailer's YouTube
Thanks so much everyone for your words of wisdom. I'm not going to give up no matter how much I'm teased about my playing. I really,really dig blues, I've gone to evening classes but the class was quite large so only got a couple of minutes each time. I'm hanging round the blues pubs and dreaming of having the confidence to play myself some day even if it`s facing the wall ala Nick Drake. You've all made me really welcome and tomorrow's going to be great! JP
You've got to be pretty keen to get even half decent on the harp. It takes a lot of patience and obsessive practice. At least its an instrument that you can carry and practice just about anywhere when you get a spare minute or two.
Like a lot of things, frequent (at least daily) practice is better than lots of it in one hit.
Get a woodshed, so others don't have to listen till you're worth listening to.
I can't count the number of times I wanted to chuck it in the bin, but let me tell you the satisfaction of getting even barely competent is most rewarding and worth it. ---------- Lucky Lester
Oh....Lucky Lester is absolutely correct in that frequency of practice sessions is more important than the length of the sessions. I have been instructed so by many teachers on different instruments over decades. You will be less productive beating your brains out for a couple hours straight than you will be with several shorter installments. ALSO...while you're not practicing and while you're going through your daily routine, I find it helpful to THINK about playing the harp and later trying to bring the ideas to fruition.
It is also worth spending as much money as you can on the best instrument, and getting in front of a teacher, IN PERSON. Don't get me wrong, I like (and play) Special 20s, but they are not the best harp you can find. Also, there are some online harmonica schools. David Barrett and Howard Levy both come to mind.
Also another thing to bear in mind, is that if you feel intimidated or uncomfortable by learning from a man as some women do. Then Annie Raines has good good online lessons too. Of course they are many excellent free lessons on YouTube from Adam Gussow, Jason Ricci, Ronnie Shellist and Lee Sankey. If you go the lessons route then I'd suggest trying a few out first and seeing which one you prefer. Then stick with that one until you start to feel more accomplished in your abilities. Sometimes flitting from one style of teaching to another can be very confusing, especially for a relative beginner.
"Breakthroughs. Sometimes it may be just one simple thing. I'll take it. Sometimes putting the harp down for a few days - or a week. May not work for everyone but it did for me a few times." -ReedSqueal
@ReedSqueal - Love that perspective.
I have only been at this four months, so take my advice with a grain of salt. What I have found is that instead of stopping, change what you are focused on for awhile.
Try playing straight harp on the melody lines for a while. Play rock, country or folk tunes or buy a cheap tremolo (and really screw with the people who listen to your practices). I have find that when I loop back to the blues from folk music (and visa verse) that the things that were impeding me are easier to move past.
Like much of the fine advice above, there is so much to learn that we will never master it all. Next year at this time you will laugh at what is not working for you now and be frustrated by something else. ---------- Gibbo Harp Player in Training
Last Edited by Gibbo on Jun 16, 2013 9:03 AM
I bet I quit at least 3 dozen times in the first 10 years. A funny thing happened though. When I would hear the harps calling to me from the closet, I'd go get them out, and somebody would have put NEW RIFFS in them! I'd play a bit, go to a jam, and all this new stuff would just be flying out of the harp. Where did it come from??? a-HAH. the unconscious mind is a wonderful thing.
I would venture to guess that you, Rosey, have to keep putting stuff in your mind and eventually your mind and your muscles will conspire to bring new stuff out.
My biggest asset was never musical ability. It was stubbornness. It took me a long long time to get anything like decent sound out of a harp. It was never the harp's fault. I kept trying and I would get a bit here, a bit there. I went through a lot of amps looking for the one that would make me sound better. It was a zen moment to realize that if I sucked acoustically, I'd suck LOUDER with an amp! I kept trying. I worked on acoustic only. I listened to about a million harp guys, and sounded like none of them except the "bad" ones. I listened to guitar licks, keyboard stuff, horn lines. I kept trying. I'm going to guess it was at about the 20 YEAR mark for me when I began to really catch on. My ignorance, cheapness, false pride, and addictive behavior kept me back. But finally things began to make sense and actually work. The internet is a great place. I've been online for maybe 13 years now. Things have improved so much for harp players, there are so many great resources now, this site among them for sure. Lots of choices of instrument, amp, mic, effects, and a world of folks willing to share experiences and encouragement. The first very basic thing you need is a stubborn desire to learn this crazy instrument! If you have that, the rest will follow. ---------- http://www.reverbnation.com/jawboneandjolene
Hi everyone, really good comments here. Like jbone, I`ve quit at least once a month, but then I get a song in my head that just won`t go away. At the moment it`s `Since I fell for you`. Out comes the harp again and the sound that comes out is NOTHING like the song in my head. What have I done? Changed it around a bit so it sounds okayish. I actually find the tremolo much easier to play and I`m better on that but it`s not my aim. I tried to learn the violin at school (many years ago) and my nickname was `VileDin` so you could say I was pretty bad. Harmonica is my baby tho and I`m keeping on with it. Thank you all so much and I`ll be checking out the links and being patient.
Rosey56 I have worked with countless students. If you can improvise and tongue block you are doing great after 18 months. Just to have an understanding of what improv IS is amazing.
Personally, I spent 10 months reading single note melodies. I had heard of bending, but couldn't do it. One day, I accidentally bent a notes. 2 weeks later I understood the basic concept of improv. Where did that leap come from? I do not know, but improv is creating your own melody and for 10 months I had been studying melody.
I have a tape I made with a friend that month. I had single notes in the pucker style, tongue articulations and a very bad shake. I repeated my 4 licks a million times.
Two months later I was in my first band. The next year's tape, no vibrato. The next year's tape, crappy vibrato. The next year's pro vibrato. 26 years later, much better vibrato.
Except for octaves, I didn't tongue block at all until I had been playing 10 years. I couldn't get all my overblows until I had been playing 15 years. The story goes on and the message continues to be the same, do not quit and you will get it.
Check out my video series at Michaelrubinharmonica.com and know they are theory heavy. When I teach privately I teach everything. If you ever have a question, shoot me an email. The address is at the site.
