Anyone play the HARMONICA ?

I want to buy harmonica ! I am very interested in learning to play.... but know ABSOLUTELY nothing about it ..

could you give me the basics ? .. or do you know of any websites ? AND What Kind Of Harmonica Is Best To Play The Blues ??

Thank U Much

Rock On

thank you so much again conchobor2
=)

Go for it!

When I started, I didn't know anything about it and ended up buying a harmonica which reed doesn't open as wide as it should.

I suggest you get a Hohner Marine Band. They're pretty expensive for a beginner, but worth the quality.

You can either get a personal lessons (they're pretty expensive but it should be easier for you) or you can learn online (which is cheap - or doesn't cost anything- but harder and the process is slower. I did this)...

I almost forgot, if you're buying your first Harmonica, you should buy in either the key of G or C. G if you plan to play Blues straight away...

I'm telling you this, it needs patience to learn the harmonica, because no one can really show you how exactly to bend a note (flat and sharp) since it is done in your throat and mouth.

You should Private Message me because it's hard to explain how to play the harp, you can ask a question and I'll answer it...

Get a small blues harp, any music store has them, great to start on, have fun.

I say pick up a Hohner - a Marine Band if you are doing all around music, a Blues harp if you are doing blues.

In the next day or two, the harp players on this forum will find the question and post a ton of links. If you do a back search, you can find a ton of harp questions on here as well!

Do you have a "good ear" for music? Can you sing in tune? Then you may be able to teach yourself. I was really into the blues and had alot of friends that played in blues bands. One night I was out watching my favorite and someone broke into my house and stole almost everything. I had soo many blues cd's not to mention others that i had collected over the years and my entire stereo system. I was devasted because I love music. One of my friends brought me a Hohner blues in the key of A which btw is the most popular key, then C, and an old cassette player/boom box and told me to teach myself since I could make my own music. I did and played with all the locaL bands and some out of town bands too. You can get instructions cd's at the local music store that teach you how to bend the notes and change the postion of your tongue to get the sounds you want out of it but I would just have fun with it first to see if you like it and haVe a knack for it. My favorite is Lee Oscar's but they are quite expensive.

There is a book called "Blues-Harmonica" which shows you how to play Delta-Blues , it also comes with a Harmonica, any online shop should sell it...its the best way to start.

He's right, this question comes up every week. I say start on youtube. Type in "harmonica lesson" and go to town.

Hohner Marine Band in the key of C if you're starting. Blues Harp after you've gotten into it a bit. Its a difficult instrument to learn because in general there are few teachers and its hard to teach harmonica because you can't really see the actions being made. Make sure you try playing a single note and find your most efficient way of doing it so that you can move around with it. Then start bending the notes and start messing around. All of learning harmonica for me was based on feel and if you do it that way its most fun. Enjoy learning it and mess around. I love the harmonica and hope you do too.

Look up Mark Ford or the Ford Brothers Band. Mark is a great player... His brother is Robben Ford.