Customer Reviews

How to Play the Harmonica for Fun and Profit

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I received a diatonic harmonica for Christmas, then went looking for a basic book and found this one. To my surprise, in my messing about, I had discovered "tongueing." I hadn't meant to. It just seemed the easiest way to play a clear note. And the other techniques covered in the beginning of this book are pretty much things you'd discover on your own if you were paying attention.

After a bit of hands-on experience, including vibrato, bass accompaniement, and tonal quality, the author delves into music theory, but just a bit, so it's not too scary. That happens at page 53. Follows are twenty pages of songs, then a couple of sections on trick effects such as the chuka, the glass effect, and moaning. All in under 100 pages. Needless to say, the author packs a lot of info in a small space, making this a good starter book.

Where he goes awry is on page 93. He uses the next 12 pages to introduce the 10-hole and then the 12-hole chromatic harmonicas. Seems a bit ambitious to me.

Bottom line: If you you want to learn to play the run-of-the-mill, 10-hole diatonic harmonica, you can't go wrong with this little gem. It will teach you all the basics. The book is dated and the songs are kind of corny, but if you work through them, you'll soon be ready for bigger and better things.