[Harp-L] Fwd: Beginner Harmonica Lessons

["Winslow Yerxa" <winslowyerxa@xxxxxxxxx>]

Beginning players vary considerably. You have to figure out where 
they are and start there.

It all starts with the elements that every player needs. Skip these 
and there is a gaping hole, and some intermediate players find 
themselves boxed in because a piece of the fundation is missing. 
Students will vary considerably in how quickly they will progress 
through the elements.

Start with good overall body posture, holding the instrument - what 
are the best ways to do that and why, applying it to your lips (and 
the best way to do that), and breathing both in and out. Some 
beginners have a hard time just with the idea that playing involves 
inhaling.

The most important thing is not to give the student more than they 
can handle, which, at the very beginning, may be very little. The 
most trivial thing to an experienced player may come to a beginner as 
a huge revalation that could take them awhile to get their minds, 
ears, and muscles around.

As Ken points out, giving them a way to have fun with the basics is 
also a great way of drawing them along. The frustration quotient is 
bound to be high at the start, and anything you can do to feed the 
student in small, pleasant-tasting doses will be helpful.

The in-out three- or four-hole chord gets the student doing just one 
thing - breathing in and out. No worries about single notes or moving 
anywhere. Concentrating on relaxation, consistency of volume, and 
fullness of sound can yield good results in tone.

Licks can't be addressed until the student gets an idea of the 
elements of motion: change of breath and change of hole. Again, you 
may need to address these one at a time - first staying in one spot 
and changing between blow and draw, then staying on one breath and 
moving to the neighboring hole and back again. Then combining them. 
Once those elements become familiar, some little bits of melody can 
be attempted (played in chords if the student hasn't mastered single 
notes yet).

Once elements of motion and some basic combinations have been 
absorbed, melodic materials can be approached. Some students will 
want to deal with predefined melodies while others will want to start 
improvising. But first they need to learn where the notes are on the 
harp, at least by ear. This is where those little nursery rhyme 
melodies come in handy. Pick up that little Hohner book and thumb 
through it. You (and the student) will know how to hum at least half 
of them if not more. This means that the student does not need to 
learn the tune; they already know it. What they have to do is find 
the tune in the harmonica. Finding a few of these reinforced the 
elements of motion while also helping the student find where the 
notes are.

At this point, maybe the student is ready to tackle O Susannah - not 
the easiest thing for a beginner.

Once they have a good embouchure seal and decent resonance, they will 
have a foundation to begin bending.

>From the start, encourage beginners to listen to good players in 
their area of interest, and supply names.

Winslow

--- In harptalk@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, "Rich Baum" <rich.baum@xxxx> wrote:
Hello all,

I have started giving some beginner lessons and wanted to ask the 
list, what points would you include for a total beginner lesson?

In my first lesson I worked on :

Learning how to blow (and draw) a single note.
Working on "Oh Susanna"
What is the difference between 1st & 2nd playing / folk & blues.
What to do, look for & listen for when trying to bend.
Harp players to listen to.

Past this I found myself a bit at a loss. I have had great luck 
helping intermediat to advanced players get better and work on 
advanced techniques.

Any help?

Thanks

Rich "ATOM" Baum
--- End forwarded message ---