[Harp-L] RE: Chord (and Bass) Harp Instructional Materials



As someone (Emile?) noted, there is a relative dearth of good instructional materials (method books?) for the chord and bass instruments. Here are some resources that I've found to be particularly good. 

If you're serious about learning to play chord harp, the BIBLE of instructional materials has to be Al Smith's:

Chugger's Manual for the 48 Chord Harmonica, item JD48CH, list price $29.95.

It's available from Coast-to-Coast Music:
(http://coast2coastmusic.com/cgi-bin/cart/scan/fi=products/st=db/co=1/sf=category/se=instruction/op=rm/nu=0/sf=sub_cat1/se=orchestral/op=rm/nu=0/ml=50/va=link_banner%3dOrchestral%20Harmonica%20Instruction.html?id=HrNDBHY3)


It's full of very good information, regardless of whether you play a chord harmonica or not. It's not a fancy book; it's just chock full of good stuff about rhythm playing, with a ton of really good exercises. I actually bought it BEFORE I acquired a chord harmonica, because I saw a copy of it at the annual VA Harmonica Fest.

Al (along with Judy, his wife) also wrote a book for the Chordet, but I don't have a copy:

The Little Chugger's Manual for the 20 Chord Harmonica (Chordet 20), item JDCH20, list price $29.95.

I'm assuming that it covers the same information as the book for the 48 chord, but adapted to the Chordet 20.

I've known Al and Judy for several years, having met them and watched their show several times. These are two of the nicest folks in the business, in addition to being a couple of the best players, entertainers and educators that I've ever seen!

Richard Martin, The Harmonica Educator, has several books available on playing chromatic, chord and bass harmonica. Several of his books are also available from Coast-to-Coast Music (see the Web link above). Richard takes a more formal (classical) educational approach in his instructional manuals. (After all, he IS "The Harmonica Educator!") Highly recommended for serious music students who want to play ensemble music using the chord or bass harmonica. Look through the list of books on the referenced Web link above. ALL of Richard's materials are highly recommended! BTW, Richard is an awesome guy to talk with. He really loves fostering better musical education for harmonicists. We've talked on the phone several times (even though we've never met in person), and it's always informative (at least for ME!) and a ton of fun.

Judy Simpson Smith (Al's wife Judy) has a book on playing bass harmonica that is also the BIBLE (IMHO). It's also available from Coast-to-Coast Music. Understanding the root of the chords is important for playing chord harmonica, especially if you are playing a combination bass/chord harmonica.

Robert Berthiaume has a couple of good books on bass playing. The version that I got had cassettes, but the current version comes on CDs. As far as I know, these two books are only available from Mr. Bass Harp, Danny Wilson.
(http://www.bassharp.com/bb-bb.htm)

One of the most exciting things I've seen recently is that David Payne is using the chord harmonica for bluegrass! I am in AWE, because I use Circular Tuned harps to play chords in bluegrass; I can hardly imagine using a chord harp, given the speed of many tunes!! So, when's the instructional book/DVD coming out, David?

HTH,
Crazy Bob 		 	   		  
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