Firstly, let me thank everybody for their answers and their dissent from
some of those answers. This includes those who wrote me privately as
well. I can't thank everyone individually, so I hope this blanket "Thanks"
will suffice. I am going to like it here.
At 09:39 AM 12/04/2005, Chris Michalek wrote:
If you want to keep your sanity, ego, confidence level in check and
be serious about what you are doing MUSICALLY then stay away from the
harmonica altogether. Learn the guitar or keyboard first. After a
few years, then pick up both concurrently.
Way back when I was a teenager, before the earth cooled, I wanted to play
guitar like so many others of my generation, so I started taking
lessons. After about 3 or 4 lessons my guitar teacher took me aside and
told me to give it up. As anyone who has taken private lessons knows, I
must have been pretty bad for him to say that. Most music teachers will
endure anything to get the fee.
He said words to the effect of, "It's best not to give you any false
hope. I have seen this before. You cannot seem to control your left hand
in any way, shape or form. You can practice all you like, but your left
hand will never improve. Give up now before you frustrate yourself."
I refused to believe him, for another 2 months, but eventually I realized
that those 2 hours of practice a day were not improving my left hand's
responses at all. I had a stupid left hand and I finally gave up.
Which is why, to this day, I am a frustrated musician.
Over the years I have realized how right (no pun intended) he was. I can
barely make my left hand do anything, even the most rudimentary
things. When I smoked cigarettes, I couldn't even smoke using my left
hand. I'd either burn myself or drop the stupid thing. And just how hard
is it to hold a cigarette?
However, I figure I can push and pull a harmonica across my lips with a
stupid left hand. Especially if it's aided by my good, right one.