Customer Reviews

Complete Chromatic Harmonica Method

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This book is for beginners to learn the chromatic harmonica, and Mister Phil has the big credentials BUT there is a huge Flaw in his method, in that he starts you reading for notes in the lowest octave (Blow and Draw holes #1 thru 4) but he gives you all the fingering as if they are for holes #5 through 8. Then, having learned all the wrong fingerings, in the middle of the book, he then wants you to "nevermind"...and learn the lower (1-4) AND (5-8) middle octaves ALL OVER AGAIN! (For what they actually are!) So you have to unlearn the entire first half of the book and relearn to read, with different fingerings for everything!!!!This is absolutely NUTS! His justification is that he doesn't want you to have leger lines confuse you (there's just one for that low C, buddy!)

Fortunately I had already learned enough about reading for the Chromatic before the book arrived, so I could immediately spot the FLAW! And am very grateful that I tossed this book in the crap pile before it had a chance to mess me up.

Anyway..Learning to read for the Chromatic is not all that hard, if you just use the actual notation for the actual pitch you are going to use, for starters. Once you actually KNOW how to play all the notes, then if a tune calls for "Octave Changing" as Phil likes to call it, then you are going to be grounded enough to be able to switch. But I would steer clear of this book. Really Far!!!