Re: [Harp-L] Re: Beginners instruction materials



My favorites were Jon Gindick's Rock 'n Blues Harmonica book/cd combo (which is fun, loose, easy to understand, doesn't require any music theory background but teaches some) and David Barret's series (which is great to follow through as a curriculum but is more scholarly/austere and does I think rely more on reading/theory - do the basic/beginner one at least and then Classic Chicago Blues 1 & 2 which was great - if you are looking to play blues), and then the Portnoy Masterclass cds. There are tons of lessons on youtube, including a well organized set by Adam Gussow (kudzurunner) and ones by Jon Gindick, Jason Ricci, Michael Rubin, Dan Gage, Ronnie Shellist, and many others.

I think these are all great ways to learn and some are better than others depending on your particular "way" of learning (some are disciplined enough to do self-paced, others need the structure of regular classes with a real live instructor (or over skype, phone, etc). I think a combination is good, at least a real instructor once in a while to listen and correct bad habits and keep things in check. Jon Gindick's Jam Camps are a *fantastic* way to start out, very friendly and encouraging atmosphere, fun, and at the same time gets you jamming along with musicians the whole week through and with a live band at the end (which can provide the necessary courage to go home and start hitting jams which is so critical to learning).

Bill Hines




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