[Harp-L] harp ain't all that hard to play well -- just practice

[Philharpn@xxxxxxx]

Sorry to disagree with this constant complaint that harmonica doesn't get any 
respect and that it is a really hard instrument to learn to play with any 
competence.

 But, all things considered -- A. range of instrument (3 octaves), B. 
techniques used to play Straight (unbent), bent notes, overblows/overdraws, C. 
performance techniques triple tonguing, lip pursing, tongue blocking, tongue 
switching/corner switching. 

Sure, these things take more than 6 months to master. But anybody practicing 
in a sensible program can probably learn it all in about a year with daily 
practice.

The problem with listing any collection of books or videos is leaving out 
some good ones. So I won't list any. But I will say is just about every book or 
video on the market today will give you at least one valuable tip. What more 
can you ask? Of course, some are better tha others. But the book YOU find the 
most helpful is the one that was a total waste of time for someone else.

But harmonica material is like life: There is no such thing as one-stop 
shopping. If you want to know lots about any topic, you must read more than one 
book -- because one book never has it all, either because the author doesn't care 
about that detail or doesn't know.

But if you put together four or five books or videos, teaching CDs, you can 
come up with a fairly complete picture in relatively short time. And if you 
can't find the answer, or something doesn't make sense, keep going until it does.


Anybody who is just starting out today has so many CDs, DVDs, videos, books 
and music camps, workshops available that the only limitation is cost. And most 
of the material is not that expensive. For the price of a harp or two, you 
can buy just about any teaching/learning item. 

How long does it take to learn to bend a note? On pitch? (you need to know 
the pitch you aiming for) Back in the 60s, there wasn't much to go on. A few 
basic harmonica books (that told you to ignore the low octave because of the 
"missing notes" and don't choke your harmonica because you will wear it out. And 
the only blues harmonica book was full of misinformation and bad guesses.

Every instrument has techniques and characteristics unique to itself. So what?

All instrumental players not only must know their instrument but also know 
music. They can get their "music theory" in a number of ways. They can 
apprentice in a band for a few years and steal all the licks and riffs other players 
use. They can take private lessons or they can go to some kind of music school.

The famous pianist/composter and self-proclaimed inventor of jazz ( after 
much consideration I THINK he was right) Jelly Roll Morton was also a great pool 
hustler. He once said he didn't have any trouble mastering pool. "I play 
piano; I'm used to practicing."