[Harp-L] Re: Harp-L Digest, Vol 29, Issue 35 (Teaching Young Students)

[MilwHarmonica@xxxxxxx]

Hello, Marianne, this is John Broecker, Milwaukee Harmonica Club. I have  
taught 10-hole diatonic harmonica to young students. If you have many students  
in a class (more than 7),
you should teach slowly. Make sure that every student gets your  attention.
 
If you have 5 or less students in a class, you should be able to teach more  
concepts. Make sure that every student gets your attention. For beginners, the 
 easiest concept is chording. 
 
I use "Mary Had a Little Lamb," played with chords, holes 3-4-5. Keep the  
harmonica at those holes, don't move the harmonica.
 
Next, I use the Beach Boys tune, "Barbra Ann," for it's chord rhythm  
(Ba-Ba-Ba___Ba-Ba-Ba-Ran, etc.), while playing the following blues  chord progression 
in C. In this progression, we move to different holes on the  harmonica:
 
C chord-4 bars (anywhere on the harp, blow chord, 16 foot taps); F chord  
(partial, holes 5-6 draw, 2 bars (8 foot taps); back to C chord, 8 foot taps; G7  
chord, draw holes 2,3,4,5, 8 foot taps, back to C chord, 8 foot taps.
 
When all of the students can play the above chord progression, start on the  
techniques of single note playing.  The easiest method is to use the index  
fingers to surround a hole. Keeping the fingers on the harmonica, pucker and  
blow or draw into a selected hole. This will give the student an audio feedback  
of a single note. 
 
Next, remove the fingers, and try the single notes without the fingers, in  a 
pucker embouchure again. It seems that for most beginners, the pucker  
embouchure is the easiest.
After every student has mastered the pucker, introduce tongue blocking and  
the U-block.
 
After all embouchures have been introduced, learn a new melody. The  students 
don't need to be able to play all of the single note systems perfectly  (I've 
still got trouble playing the tongue block and pucker, after 37 years  
playing). 
 
I add the tune, "In the Mood," played by the Glenn Miller Band, over the  
"Ba-Ba-Ba-ran" rhythm: split the class into melody and chord players. Play the  
verse only. 
 
This should give you a start on adding more to your classes. Good luck.  HOJO.