hi every one can i ask for some free advice before i go insane ive been attempting to play the harmonica for around 16 months now , i practise every spare moment i can find , in the car in traffic, in front of the pc in fact i keep a harmonica in me pocket every waking hour,the thing is ive worked hard at picking out individual notes ,i can bend notes a bit,and work a lot on tongue blocking , i can play one or two notes but for the the life of me i cant put anything together at all it seems .Well the thing thats driving me crazy is when i listen to cds and stuff ,and look at some of the guys on youtube i sound absolute crap ,ive got some good harmonicas so i cant blame the instrument i just wonder sometimes will i ever learn to play the dam thing properly ,adams lessons have helped ,ive got cds books the lot , is there advice or anything i can do which would help push me onto the next level or do i just give up its doing me head in ive invested quite a bit in me harmonicas got about 30 odd all in all a few custom built ,brought a decent amp and a good mic from r.sunshine im not looking to be a master just wanna be able to play some blues , i know your gonna have a snigger lads but any friendly advice would be appreciated, all the best for now dambuster p.s talk about going round in circles never ever thought when i picked the harmonica up to play it would also drive me so crazy , dam
Play with jamtracks and with other musicians as much as possible. You will learn more playing with a band than you will playing anywhere else. This was my experience. I started just playing at picnics and porch jams then eventually on stage. Great way to learn.
Do you know nastyolddog - you kind of resemble each other. HAHA - no harm intended Nasty bro..
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"I have a high tolerance for boredom as long as it has a groove" - Scrapboss
Sounds to me like you need to be able to play a whole tune all the way through. Maybe you are rushing to get into the blues thing. That takes time I'm afraid.
I'd recommend learning say "Scarborough Fair" and keep playing till it's note perfect from start to finish and then move on up from there.
It's a hard one because you are frustrating yourself and maybe set your goal too high to start with. Calm down and have fun with it. If it ain't fun it just isn't worth doing. It will eventually all fall into place.
All great stories and advice...I absolutely agree with everything. What a great thing this forum is. Thanks Adam. Dambuster,sounds to me like you should forget the whole thing, sell your harps (to me) and pick up a guitar...NOT! perserverence my friend!... Maybe? slowing down a bit..alter your consciousness... maybe, but not too much!! ..you want to remember what you did. Challenging yourself, and emphasize playing everything EXACTLY like the record...I promise you...doing this will teach you how to play with musicality and precision... I know exactly what you're going through...so don't give up. Maybe take a break, and "cross train" with another hobby..The only thing I would recommend strongly, too.. is basics, repetition, and mastery of one song at a time. From start to finish. Seek counsel from other harp players like this forum, and briefly study the Greats. I think it was Charlie Musselwhite who said this one, "listen, listen again, and then listen some more."
you have to start over confussis says sell all that nice equipment,to Hobostubs real cheap:) and go get you a Hohner blues band in C.(just kidding) theres lots of stuff on the net.some free some not,but its there jamtracks are good and record your self and find one note the sounds right like a 2d and just keep time during the song,and then find another like the 4b work with them to in time then go to 4d work with them trying to bend them some and just play around add more when you feel like it its all good
Last Edited by on Mar 21, 2010 5:12 PM
FIRST: work on "single notes" ( embouchure ) Second: Scales Third: until you are comfortable, play only 1-6 holes Fourth: LISTEN ( this could also be #1 ) Most important: LEARN when NOT to play!
Bro i can hear you we all want to play the Blues,so people offer songs to play,
well ok so i learned that song well i know a blues song am i playing the Blues, i learn another song well i know two blues songs am i playing the Blues,
can i play with other people or jam along to backing tracks yes if they know your 2 songs it might get boring playing to songs all night,
Bro do ya self a favore learn the simple 12 bar blues it will be in one of your Books possible called a running Blues,
you will find it on Youtube this simple tune is the bassis of Blues music the doe that makes the bread,
learn this and you will be jamming with friends or with simple Backing tracks very soon,
then you can start learning songs of your choice, when you get frustrated have a jam with the 12 bar and get back to your new song.. to easy Bro keep on Honkin..
Last Edited by on Mar 21, 2010 5:23 PM
I think a teacher would REALLY help you. Most of us have a time where wee need that guidance to help us break down the wall. I know Chris here gives lessons. I know he also has a deal where if you buy a harmonica you get a lesson with it. Just something to think about and consider, I suppose.
instead of a lesson- try playing/talking with other harpsters. harmonicaclub.com has a live chatroom. you need mic and speakers. folks there will give you some advice after listening to you play. go to the hill country thing adam is having. you will be able to get some great direction from those folks. do you have skype? i am sure one of these folks would give you some free pointers after hearing you play.
TEACHER!!!it'll save loads of time and sanity. it's completely, totally worth it to take lessons from a guy you see out playing at clubs with a rep and whom already gives lessons. expect to pay upwards of $40 per session american. expect to have lessons once a week, perhaps for 1/2 an hour. YOU'LL NEVER REGRET IT.
Get on youtube and find Adams lesson on 12 bar blues. If you get that you should be able to play along with a lot of CD's and other musicians. I know one thing that might sound silly to others but here it is. Pick out a song you know by heart, a simple one. My song was Amazing grace. Play that song until you can play it with out thinking about it. Now get on you tube and pull up Terry McMillan's version and start elaborating on the song you already know. Start with the basics and work your way up. Mike
Teacher. Someone needs to observe you and listen to things you say. A good teacher will pinpoint any areas that will remain brick walls for you if you don't identify them.
Get a teacher. Good luck, sticking with it 16 months shows you have the "want to"..You can't teach "want to."
Last Edited by on Mar 21, 2010 6:58 PM
I think Shredder is coming from the right direction.
Forget about the amps. Forget about mics and different brands of harps. You're in a place where you need to simplify. You need three good harps--A, C, and D--and a room where you can go and play along with some jam tracks. You need to master the 12-bar pattern and the blues scale. That's where it all starts. You need to play one note, any note, and make it sound good. It's probably the 4 draw for you, but it really doesn't matter. You probably need to lay in a stock of beer or booze and a few CD compilations. When you drink to the point where it interferes with your technique and the feeling in your heart, you need to put on some headphones and listen to the music really deeply. In that mood, I listened to Jr. Wells and Buddy Guy in HOODOO MAN BLUES. That's one of the first live blues albums recorded in a club. That would be a good place to start.
"i can bend notes a bit,and work a lot on tongue blocking"
I think at 16 months bending notes "a bit" identifies a need for someone to take a look, since so many notes are missing without bending more than a bit.
It would be pretty hard to sound bluesy without proficient bending. It's possible a single lesson would clear this up and make these notes available.
Hang in there, if it was easy everybody would be playin' harp....I look at it as "paying your dues". Keep at it and the worm will turn. I also agree with taking lessons and or downloading Adam's lessons.
I like kudzurunner's take on it, i was thinking something along the same lines... I've been playing with harps for a month now. I worked on guitar for a time, decades ago... and used to do, what I'll call, 'Hooking my Ear-worm' What I've found to work is getting ahold of an ear worm... (a tune thats stuck in your head) downloading the ear worm's tab from harptabs.com. Then picking the 'hook' that the worm is using to drive ya nuts. Sometimes just a bass line, Short and playable. Once the physical act of playing that worm is muscle-memorized to a minimal degree... the groove can take over, if you're lucky. Then just move the riff around a hole or two. Doesn't matter if it makes theory-sense or even sounds good... its contact with the worms groove that I'm looking for. Being a bit buzzed doesn't hurt either. I used to do this with Jerry Garcia Triad runs on a Les Paul. One night, I'm diddling around with triads. At one point a room-mate walks through the room just as the groove hits me. The guys head snapped around so fast, half thinking frekin Jerry was sitting there playing. Which is silly, but it was a moment of pure groove coming through all my lameness :D I think the key there is feeling it, even if its just a tiny sliver (time-wise) of what a master is feeling (as opposed to thinking,) that offers deep insight into the process.... or maybe not
I think it was this guy's vid that had something to offer OT. I like the way he thinks. It might be part-2 that I'm thinking of.
Try this: whisper the word 'banana' over and over so that it's syncopated - the first 'na' of banana falls on beats 1 and 3 in a 1-2-3-4 count. The 'ba' is on the off-beat. When you've got this, do it *breathing in*, but at the end of every 'banana', push the air out so you can keep going indefinitely, sort of 'banana-hah!-banana-hah!', etc. where the 'hah' is breathing out on ONE BEAT. Needless to say, do this with nobody watching. Finally, apply low end of harp to lips.
Last Edited by on Mar 22, 2010 2:27 AM
Hey Dambuster, i remember this feeling very well and i got passed it by using Adams song lessons,i was flitting from here to there and wasting money on gear instead of spending FOCUSED time on progressing. By downloading some of Adms song lessons and actually putting in the time to learn them i found that my improvisation and musicality both increased, i started to make the sounds through the harp that i heard in my head and on my CDs. The lessons are graded and VERY good value for money, i tried paying for private lessons but because of my lack of ability felt under pressure and stressed which doesnt encourage creativity, but using Adams lessons there was no pressure just pleasure!.
firstly good people let me just just say how overwhelmed and humbled i feel at the response you have given to my pleas of help, its clear to me now that i have months of ground work to do just to grasp the very basics of playing this magical instrument ,work that all of your comments have inspired me to undertake i will put the graft in i promise you all that , i will take all of your words of wisdom and advice collectively and try and do them all justice over the forseeable future until i can get out of this place i have found myself in, and maybe one day do the harmonica justice , many of you are no doubt professional musicians so thanks again for your time in responding , and thankyou adam for for your advice which will be heeded , looks like im gonna be busy with all the different tips , but i swear if my wife walks in in on me doing the ba-na-na i think it will be a divorce in 2010 for me lol , she already thinks ive cracked up lol altough i will give it a go , i probally would take professional lessons in time but my thinking was i would wasting there time and my money if havent got a good understanding of the basics ,and i would probally have ended more confused than ever ,i will go and study the 12 bar pattern and grasp it if i can ,but like today ive had a day of work ,and spent 4 hours practising ,single notes mainly ive tried to play a lot slower than normal and really try and listen to what im doing [ dont laugh ] im wuffling now so thanks again to each and every one of you for your advice dambuster. P.S does anyone know a teacher of the harmonica in or around the home counties in blighty for future reference
@dambuster - fellow Brit here. I teach using Skype if you want to go the 1 on 1 route.
email me at: blowtheblues at hotmail.com (substitute @ for 'at') if you'd like to discuss further. ---------- "You will never get every possible thing out of an instrument, but the instrument will get every possible thing out of you" - Ray Charles.
i have been playing just over a year now.. just recently, i took a few weeks, to dial in my bends.. all i worked on was hitting the bends when i wanted to hit them.. and a few weeks ago, i felt just like you.. i can hit some over blows, a few blow bends, and i can play a few licks.. but you know what, i realized i sucked.. i sucked at really playing the blues.. i can play, just noodle around, sounding ok to people that dont know, but if i posted something up here, i would get flamed.. so, i decided to just start learning an actual blues song.. i chose all my love in vain.. i figure, start with one song, then another, and another... see, i cant seem to find a teacher in cleveland, so i figure who better then the greats.. the book im learning these songs from is "blues harmonica collection" by david McKelvy..
if i had a choice, i would LOVE to have a teacher first.. i have bought a few lessons from adam, and have all of his and jasons vids on my ipod, but they cant hear me.. i wish i could find a live teacher.. if you can, find one.. but, i think learning songs of the greats might just be the next best thing... at least till i figure out something else..
the breaking point for me, and no doubt many others, was Adams lesson (Gussow .024) Front Porch Blues. I too, was frustrated at the beginning, but found that this lesson provided me with very valuable things...the means of which to watch it repeatedly, getting the gist of it bar by bar, and its a solid foundation for playing along with any blues track... also. for the bends on 3 and 4. Look up Adam's vid with Jimi Lee playing Comin' Home Baby. you hit all of em in that song, use your ears as a guide. hope it helps...
