[Harp-L] Blues harp for young kids

[Mike Fugazzi <mfugazzi67@xxxxxxxxx>]

For the past couple of years I have taught my 5th
graders (I am teacher) some blues harmonica. Recently
I was asked to do a "workshop" on blues harmonica for
about 20 kids. They will have harmonicas and about two
hours to learn to make some noise with them. This
sponsored by my local blues society who is getting
younger bluesmen like myself (26yrs) to reach out to a
new generation.

I was hoping to demonstarte several tunes with my
guitar player. We'd perform a timeline of blues harp
going from train calls to the stylings of modern
players like Jason Ricci and John Popper ( I need to
only fudge the styles for one song and not a whole
set, whew).

Then afterwards, I would actually teach a few
techniques to the kids. I am hoping to give some very
basics and a handout with a few tabs and web/store
links to more materials. The idea is to split my time
between a half hour history and then an hour and a
half of letting the kids play. We'd start with how to
hold it, how to play notes, and then maybe learn a
short song together. Maybe a little bit about the
blues scale and how to learn to play on your own.

Any thoughts or advice? Is there a good Internet
article on the history of blues harp? Does anybody
have a similar experience to share?

I would love to have a structured 2hr presentation. 
In the future it would be fun to actual make it a
Blues Harp in the Schools sort of thing.  My costs are
super low, and as long as the school or kids can pick
up the costs of some cheap harmonicas I should do ok. 
My goal would be to spread the word more then to make
a mint.

Mike Fugazzi
http://www.myspace.com/mikefugazzi
http://www.niterail.com

"Music should be healing; music should uplift the soul; music should inspire. There is no better way of getting closer to God, of rising higher towards the spirit, of attaining spiritual perfection than music, if only it is rightly understood."
-Hazrat Inayat Khan

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