[Harp-L] Harmonica for Dummies

[Richard Hunter <turtlehill@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I acquired a copy of Winslow Yerxa's "Harmonica for Dummies" a couple of months ago, and I've spent some time looking through it.  In my opinion, this book is extremely well done.  It's well-organized, it carries a wealth of information about the instrument and how to play it, and it aims not just to help the player play harmonica, but to play music, solo and with others.  In terms of content and approach, it's certainly one of the best books available for beginning to intermediate level players.

In 300-plus pages, Winslow covers basic music theory, choosing instruments, basic and more advanced techniques, playing various songs, blues harmonica positions, amplification, jamming etiquette, required listening (although somehow he missed Richard Hunter's fabulous recordings, surely a mistake on the copy editor or printer's part), harmonica setup and repair, and more. The obvious goal is to provide everything a beginner needs to make the transition from a wannabe to a player, and this goal is well met. 

There are other good books for beginners on the market, including Jon Gindick's and David Harp's, and those have plenty of good stuff in them.  Winslow's book is a worthy addition to these, and it may be the most complete technical reference of all.  Not all readers will want or need to read the entire book, but the book's organization is so clear that those readers will easily be able to figure out which parts matter most to them.  

I think the best thing you can say about any work is that it will last.  This book will last.

Congratulations Winslow.

regards, Richard Hunter
latest mp3s and harmonica blog at http://myspace.com/richardhunterharp