How hard is harmonica?

[iarwain]

I've recently taken up harmonica, probably been playing about two
months so far. I've got Jerry Portney's lessons on cd. I play a
number of different instruments at different levels of skill, starting
with guitar which I've played for over 30 years.

I'm impressed so far with how much actual skill is involved with
playing the harmonica. I don't think I ever gave it much
consideration as far as being a "real" instrument that took a lot of
practice. But there is a definite facility and finesse needed if
you're wanting to access all the different bends and such effectively.

On the one hand, it's pretty easy to pick it up and sloppily play
something like Mary Had a Little Lamb, and the use of chords is
somewhat limited. But I think if you approach it seriously, it's
actually a fairly difficult instrument to play. Maybe this is just a
matter of an old dog trying to learn new tricks, but so far I'm
impressed that there's more to it than I expected. How hard do you
think it is to play harmonica, compared to various other instruments?

[RPM1]

Post by iarwain
I've recently taken up harmonica, probably been playing about two
months so far. I've got Jerry Portney's lessons on cd. I play a
number of different instruments at different levels of skill, starting
with guitar which I've played for over 30 years.
I'm impressed so far with how much actual skill is involved with
playing the harmonica. I don't think I ever gave it much
consideration as far as being a "real" instrument that took a lot of
practice. But there is a definite facility and finesse needed if
you're wanting to access all the different bends and such effectively.
On the one hand, it's pretty easy to pick it up and sloppily play
something like Mary Had a Little Lamb, and the use of chords is
somewhat limited. But I think if you approach it seriously, it's
actually a fairly difficult instrument to play. Maybe this is just a
matter of an old dog trying to learn new tricks, but so far I'm
impressed that there's more to it than I expected. How hard do you
think it is to play harmonica, compared to various other instruments?

Harmonica is one of those instruments that is easy to play, but hard to play
well. One of the difficulties is that you can't SEE what the really good
players are doing when they play. Check out
http://www.youtube.com/user/KudzuRunner for a lot of really good
instruction.

Have fun!
Patrick

[iarwain]

One of the difficulties is that you can't SEE what the really good players are doing when they play.

Good points all, including this one. But I bet not being able to see
inside the mouth probably adds more variation and individuality among
harmonica players, yes?

Speaking as someone who used to undervalue the harmonica, I can give
one theory for the reason - why they don't get much respect as an
instrument. A great deal of the time in rock, for example, the
harmonica was played by the singer, who often did not play any other
instrument. Like Robert Plant, say. I used to think that probably
meant they weren't very gifted instrumentally - if you've ever seen
Mick Jagger play a guitar you know what I mean. But they did play the
harmonica (maybe not very well), so it must be a pretty easy
instrument.

Also, around here, when I was younger they used to give harmonicas
away to kids as birthday presents. And as far as musical instruments
go, they have to be one of the least expensive, so maybe that adds to
the idea as well.

[salmon]

Good post iarwain. There's been some good responses too from the group
here.

I'm just over a year into harp. Used to blow on one when I was a teen
but that was just mucking about.

I saw one in a shop, had time on my hands, and thought I'd re-visit it
once again. I was quite shocked when
I started to read up on technique etc, as a grown up (well almost).
There was far more to it than I'd anticipated.

I'm having a lot of fun learning how to play and making good progress.
I have a lot more fun and learning to come.

I listened to some Sonny Terry the other day. I don't have acces to
much blues harp, and my computer isn't fast enough
to watch youtube, but Sonny Terry does it for me. I've tried and tried
and tried to sound just a little bit like him and it's impossible.
How the hell he can switch from whooping, playing and barking like a
dog at such a fast pace leaves me dumbfounded.

He is (was) the main man for me. I read somewhere that he had his
teeth knocked out in various bar room brawls, hence his unique
style of playing. I don't know how true that is, but I won't be going
down that road yet for a while.

[Mr Nilsson]

theres a book by Tom Ball on playing like sonny terry, you should
check it out. lots of sonny terry licks in it!

Post by salmon
Good post iarwain. There's been some good responses too from the group
here.
I'm just over a year into harp. Used to blow on one when I was a teen
but that was just mucking about.
I saw one in a shop, had time on my hands, and thought I'd re-visit it
once again. I was quite shocked when
I started to read up on technique etc, as a grown up (well almost).
There was far more to it than I'd anticipated.
I'm having a lot of fun learning how to play and making good progress.
I have a lot more fun and learning to come.
I listened to some Sonny Terry the other day. I don't have acces to
much blues harp, and my computer isn't fast enough
to watch youtube, but Sonny Terry does it for me. I've tried and tried
and tried to sound just a little bit like him and it's impossible.
How the hell he can switch from whooping, playing and barking like a
dog at such a fast pace leaves me dumbfounded.
He is (was) the main man for me. I read somewhere that he had his
teeth knocked out in various bar room brawls, hence his unique
style of playing. I don't know how true that is, but I won't be going
down that road yet for a while.

[RawFoodGuy]

Post by iarwain

One of the difficulties is that you can't SEE what the really good players are doing when they play.

Good points all, including this one. But I bet not being able to see
inside the mouth probably adds more variation and individuality among
harmonica players, yes?
Speaking as someone who used to undervalue the harmonica, I can give
one theory for the reason - why they don't get much respect as an
instrument. A great deal of the time in rock, for example, the
harmonica was played by the singer, who often did not play any other
instrument. Like Robert Plant, say. I used to think that probably
meant they weren't very gifted instrumentally - if you've ever seen
Mick Jagger play a guitar you know what I mean. But they did play the
harmonica (maybe not very well), so it must be a pretty easy
instrument.
Also, around here, when I was younger they used to give harmonicas
away to kids as birthday presents. And as far as musical instruments
go, they have to be one of the least expensive, so maybe that adds to
the idea as well.

Well, surely the fact that singers, and many other people, pick up
harp and play badly is one reason for it's image. As for its cost,
there are cheap guitars you can guy too. Professional harmonicas are
not cheap at all. I forgot my harp case (first time) a couple of
months ago at a gig and it almost gave me a heart attack. On the
average, good diatonics cost $25-35 each. Customized versions upwards
of $100 or more each. If you have a couple of good quality chromatics
in the case you can add $200-600 or more. A complete set of diatonics,
with flats and low/high versions, with backups, and with possibly
different brands for different tonal qualities (Marine Bands, Delta
Frosts, Lee Oskars, Special 20's, etc. all have different sounds) you
could be looking at 20 or more, plus a couple of harp mics at $200 and
up, that's around $1,000.00. And unlike other instruments, you have to
keep buying replacements forever periodically. A violin lasts decades
with only new strings to buy - a harp player replaces all his
instruments every so often depending on how often and how hard he or
she plays, so over the life of the player, the cost is easily
comparable to the cost of a good guitar or other instrument.

- Robert
www.rawfoodlife.com

[iarwain]

a harp player replaces all his instruments every so often

Yeah, that's a good point, although the casual observer (who would
consider them cheap) probably isn't aware that they tend to wear out,
or that you need a different harp for each key for that matter. I'm
not even sure what the expected lifespan of a harp is either, for that
matter.

Sometimes I think I've worn out my B harp already - sometimes it seems
kind of hard to draw. I've only been playing for a few months but
I've been doing most of my practicing and exercises on that one. My
reasoning was that I like the sound of the lower keyed ones, but
figured I would be less likely to need the B than some of the others.
So I've been using it to practice instead of say, the A, which I'd be
more likely to need later. Do you think it could be wearing out
already? Or maybe it's just gets some moisture clogged in there.

[Keith Adams]

Easy to play. Hard to master

Post by iarwain
I've recently taken up harmonica, probably been playing about two
months so far. I've got Jerry Portney's lessons on cd. I play a
number of different instruments at different levels of skill, starting
with guitar which I've played for over 30 years.
I'm impressed so far with how much actual skill is involved with
playing the harmonica. I don't think I ever gave it much
consideration as far as being a "real" instrument that took a lot of
practice. But there is a definite facility and finesse needed if
you're wanting to access all the different bends and such effectively.
On the one hand, it's pretty easy to pick it up and sloppily play
something like Mary Had a Little Lamb, and the use of chords is
somewhat limited. But I think if you approach it seriously, it's
actually a fairly difficult instrument to play. Maybe this is just a
matter of an old dog trying to learn new tricks, but so far I'm
impressed that there's more to it than I expected. How hard do you
think it is to play harmonica, compared to various other instruments?

[RawFoodGuy]

Post by Keith Adams
Easy to play. Hard to master

Post by iarwain
I've recently taken up harmonica, probably been playing about two
months so far. I've got Jerry Portney's lessons on cd. I play a
number of different instruments at different levels of skill, starting
with guitar which I've played for over 30 years.
I'm impressed so far with how much actual skill is involved with
playing the harmonica. I don't think I ever gave it much
consideration as far as being a "real" instrument that took a lot of
practice. But there is a definite facility and finesse needed if
you're wanting to access all the different bends and such effectively.
On the one hand, it's pretty easy to pick it up and sloppily play
something like Mary Had a Little Lamb, and the use of chords is
somewhat limited. But I think if you approach it seriously, it's
actually a fairly difficult instrument to play. Maybe this is just a
matter of an old dog trying to learn new tricks, but so far I'm
impressed that there's more to it than I expected. How hard do you
think it is to play harmonica, compared to various other instruments?

I've been playing blues harp for 40 years, on and off, and am just
startng to learn how to play it really well. I can also play mary had
a little lamb on the piano - but that doesn't make the piano seem
ridiculous, only me.

Harmonica is a REAL instrument and is often viewed by other so called
real musicians as second class for no particular reason - perhaps
because it is so small. But harmonica is harder to play than most
other wind instruments, more complex in technique and subtleties or
nuances available with it. First, harmonica is the ONLY instrument
played on the inhalse, as well as the exhale. The inhalation of breath
is literally thesource of life, the root of the word inspire - to
breath in the spirit of life. The inhalation is what is used by yogis
to build spiritual power and energy (pranayam). that in my opinion is
no small difference from other instruments - but after all, I love the
blues.

A single diatonic harmonica, though in a key itself, can be played in
all 12 keys, using multiple bends on various holes. Playing techniques
and nuances come from breath (lungs, diaphram, throat, tongue)
control, embouchure control (lips, cheeks), cupping control (hands,
face) and more (for many harp players, they get their whole body into
it - I know one that virtually dances while playing). Tell me one
other instrument that REQUIRES so much control over so much of the
body to play well.Other wind instruments do use many of the same
physical characteristics, but with much less effect I believe, and not
on the inhale. You could argue, and it would be a real debate, that
several other instruments use as much, but then that also proves the
point - if it is even a close argument, it proves the harmonica is as
serious as any other instrument.

Just some thoughts...

- Robert
www.rawfoodlife.com

[Songsmith]

It's true, there really is a zen of harpooning... after a good blues set,
I'm usually all content and mellow, from all the controlled breathing.
Unless I'm headcutting, then I'm usually content and mellow from stealing
someone's lunch. ;-) ---------->JMS

Post by RawFoodGuy

Post by Keith Adams
Easy to play. Hard to master

Post by iarwain
I've recently taken up harmonica, probably been playing about two
months so far. I've got Jerry Portney's lessons on cd. I play a
number of different instruments at different levels of skill, starting
with guitar which I've played for over 30 years.
I'm impressed so far with how much actual skill is involved with
playing the harmonica. I don't think I ever gave it much
consideration as far as being a "real" instrument that took a lot of
practice. But there is a definite facility and finesse needed if
you're wanting to access all the different bends and such effectively.
On the one hand, it's pretty easy to pick it up and sloppily play
something like Mary Had a Little Lamb, and the use of chords is
somewhat limited. But I think if you approach it seriously, it's
actually a fairly difficult instrument to play. Maybe this is just a
matter of an old dog trying to learn new tricks, but so far I'm
impressed that there's more to it than I expected. How hard do you
think it is to play harmonica, compared to various other instruments?

I've been playing blues harp for 40 years, on and off, and am just
startng to learn how to play it really well. I can also play mary had
a little lamb on the piano - but that doesn't make the piano seem
ridiculous, only me.
Harmonica is a REAL instrument and is often viewed by other so called
real musicians as second class for no particular reason - perhaps
because it is so small. But harmonica is harder to play than most
other wind instruments, more complex in technique and subtleties or
nuances available with it. First, harmonica is the ONLY instrument
played on the inhalse, as well as the exhale. The inhalation of breath
is literally thesource of life, the root of the word inspire - to
breath in the spirit of life. The inhalation is what is used by yogis
to build spiritual power and energy (pranayam). that in my opinion is
no small difference from other instruments - but after all, I love the
blues.
A single diatonic harmonica, though in a key itself, can be played in
all 12 keys, using multiple bends on various holes. Playing techniques
and nuances come from breath (lungs, diaphram, throat, tongue)
control, embouchure control (lips, cheeks), cupping control (hands,
face) and more (for many harp players, they get their whole body into
it - I know one that virtually dances while playing). Tell me one
other instrument that REQUIRES so much control over so much of the
body to play well.Other wind instruments do use many of the same
physical characteristics, but with much less effect I believe, and not
on the inhale. You could argue, and it would be a real debate, that
several other instruments use as much, but then that also proves the
point - if it is even a close argument, it proves the harmonica is as
serious as any other instrument.
Just some thoughts...
- Robert
www.rawfoodlife.com

[JOB]

Post by Keith Adams
Easy to play. Hard to master

Post by iarwain
I've recently taken up harmonica, probably been playing about two
months so far. I've got Jerry Portney's lessons on cd. I play a
number of different instruments at different levels of skill, starting
with guitar which I've played for over 30 years.
I'm impressed so far with how much actual skill is involved with
playing the harmonica. I don't think I ever gave it much
consideration as far as being a "real" instrument that took a lot of
practice. But there is a definite facility and finesse needed if
you're wanting to access all the different bends and such effectively.
On the one hand, it's pretty easy to pick it up and sloppily play
something like Mary Had a Little Lamb, and the use of chords is
somewhat limited. But I think if you approach it seriously, it's
actually a fairly difficult instrument to play. Maybe this is just a
matter of an old dog trying to learn new tricks, but so far I'm
impressed that there's more to it than I expected. How hard do you
think it is to play harmonica, compared to various other instruments?

Hey there - excellent reply imho...JOB

[David Raleigh Arnold]

I've recently taken up harmonica, probably been playing about two months
so far. I've got Jerry Portney's lessons on cd. I play a number of
different instruments at different levels of skill, starting with guitar
which I've played for over 30 years.
I'm impressed so far with how much actual skill is involved with playing
the harmonica. I don't think I ever gave it much consideration as far
as being a "real" instrument that took a lot of practice. But there is
a definite facility and finesse needed if you're wanting to access all
the different bends and such effectively.
On the one hand, it's pretty easy to pick it up and sloppily play
something like Mary Had a Little Lamb, and the use of chords is somewhat
limited. But I think if you approach it seriously, it's actually a
fairly difficult instrument to play. Maybe this is just a matter of an
old dog trying to learn new tricks, but so far I'm impressed that
there's more to it than I expected. How hard do you think it is to play
harmonica, compared to various other instruments?

Take a look at my website. daveA

[stolarskin]

Listen to the kudzurunner videos
on youtube.
Then if that's not painful enough
take up guitar. 1st month is really a bitch on the fingers.

[JOB]

Post by iarwain
I've recently taken up harmonica, probably been playing about two
months so far. I've got Jerry Portney's lessons on cd. I play a
number of different instruments at different levels of skill, starting
with guitar which I've played for over 30 years.
I'm impressed so far with how much actual skill is involved with
playing the harmonica. I don't think I ever gave it much
consideration as far as being a "real" instrument that took a lot of
practice. But there is a definite facility and finesse needed if
you're wanting to access all the different bends and such effectively.
On the one hand, it's pretty easy to pick it up and sloppily play
something like Mary Had a Little Lamb, and the use of chords is
somewhat limited. But I think if you approach it seriously, it's
actually a fairly difficult instrument to play. Maybe this is just a
matter of an old dog trying to learn new tricks, but so far I'm
impressed that there's more to it than I expected. How hard do you
think it is to play harmonica, compared to various other instruments?

Hi harpin' buddies....Good thread here! - The inhale-exhale matter is truly
something making it different from other instruments, as well as the fact
that many tonal variations are made with the same parts of our body as our
speech...good harpin' technique is closer to human voice than any other
instrument, and imho a fine combination of singing and harpin' is quite
complexe, and will demand very good skills of co-players on other
instruments...JOB
- ps - Just back from Berlin Germany, where I, a.o. had good converstions
with Gerhard Vohwinkel (Trumpet - Louis Armstrong prize winner 2002,
Germany), concerning tuning a trumpet for co-playing with a diatonic
harpplayer, but that's a different story...
- ps - ps - Some say that mastering the harp can not be taught, but can only
come the hard way...I agree on that