Blues harp players!!!!?

ive just bought a hohner marine band in c chord, its a much better sound than the cheap silver star range,can anyone give me any blues harp playing tips?

Ahhhh! Marine Bands, my Harp of choice!

Firstly, realise you will playing G on a C harp...that way you can get the 'missing' notes on the scale (Hint: spread your left hand...Call the Thumb C, or what ever key your harp is in...then count forward to you little finger....C, D,E,F,G..this is a quick and easy way to tell which key you need)

Listen to as many Harp players as you can, Except John Popper....he is SO 'out-there' he will make you want to give up and collect butterflies!! the Likes of Little Walter, Jimmy Reed, Mark Feltham, Charlie Musselwhite, Rod Piazza or Paul Lamb can all be learnt from..
Personally I don't tounge block (covering certain holes with the tounge as you play) and my playing hasnt suffered over the years.
Simple tips...Always make sure your mouth is clean before playing, 1 small piece of food can ruin a 拢20 harp!!
Always tap the harp on the palm of your hand after playing, this will help avoid a build up of saliva.
The MB is a Wooden combed harp, so NEVER get it too wet...ignore what some people will tell you about soaking them in Whisky or Beer...all you will get is a spolit harp!

I suggest you get a couple more harps in D, A and maybe G
letting you play in A, E and D (remember the 5-finger trick?)
If you get a chance go along to any local Jams or live music pubs that have Blues Bands...MOST harp players will be happy to have a chat and offer advice...once you get the bug though, you will start to realise that you will develop your own style and tone....

Good Luck

Mitch, The Harp Hog

Listen to Charlie Musselwhite and practice, practice, practice!

http://www.charliemusselwhite.com/

"C" is okay, but not the best for blues. Also, try buying one of Hohner's "Blue's Harp" - They have a better tone than the Marine Band, and the tones "bend" easier....up AND down. I prefer the keys of A, B, D, and F for most stuff - Hohner even makes "dual" key bones that sound great. As for playing tips, I'd say that learning proper breathing and HOW to use your tongue are most important. There are good books on this stuff available, but hang out with other blues players and they'll usually be nice enough to teach you their techniques.

The best tip I ever got was to get as many jam tracks togeather and just play. No amount of licks, individual lines, and premade solos will prepare you as well as jamming. If you ever get the money, invest in Lee Oskar Harmonicas. Huge difference. Has all keys and different tunings as well. Just remember - play or go home!!!

listen to as much charlie musslewhite as you can get your hands on and play along

Remember that the key of the harp must be four notes down from the key the band is playing in otherwise you won't get those blue notes!

First don't dip it in water, some players do that to give life to an old worn out harp this will only swell the wooden comb and limit the life of tour harp. Play scales get used to where the notes are and learn easy to remember songs like shorting bread, micheal rowed the boat ashore.
Now once you get used to where the notes are the lower notes are easier to bend sucking in. Its kinda like swallowing the note the tounge is what makes the note bend. Hope this helps
Oh ya listen to the blues

Yeah, play something else. Blues suck, and blues harmonica geeks suck even worse. Unless you're in jail,then it's cool.