Thursday, March 02, 2006
Harmonica
I think I want to try to learn to play the harmonica. I had one a long time ago in Intermediate School and I thought I was good then, but I'm sure I really stunk. I wonder if it's a difficult "instrument" to learn. Are there any harmonica players out there who read this who can tell me if it's worth trying. I guess anything's worth trying. I also have been wanting to learn to play Bass guitar. But Bass guitars are much more expensive than harmonicas.
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I'd give you some tips and info, but you would just think I was being a know-it-all, so I guess I'll let you figure it out for yourself.
=)
That actually made me chuckle...
;)
You can take the John Popper/Blues Traveler route and have a harp in every key. I don't think he would be nearly as impressive a player if he had to transpose on just one harp.
Ok, Maury, do you actually know anything about playing the harmonica? Have you ever played one yourself?
You're impossiblle.
Okay, fine. I can't stand it.
You need to buy at least 2 harmonicas to start out: one in A and one in C. You can snag a cheap Hohner and it'll be decent enough to learn whether or not you want to stick with it. You also need to get some books that show you how to play, if you really want to learn.
It's also important to understand that you don't play a harmonica in the key a song is in (if you're wanting to play rock or blues, at least). Rather, you play a harmonica in what's called "cross position" — where the harmonica uses a scale a 5th higher than the "natural key" of the harmonica.
So, let's say you have a key of C harmonica and you want to know what keys you can play that harp with. Just go up a 5th in the key of C and you get G, so you'd play a C harmonica when you wanted to play a song in G. An A harmonica would be for songs in E.
I you get yourself an A harp and a C harp, you can play A and C straight, or E and G cross.
How's that for a know-it-all? Now, don't ask me to play a harmonica, because I can't — but I know a little about how.
=)
I don't know anything about Piedmont harps, but here's a beginner's set — case included — for just $27.48 (shipping included) at Amazon.com. That's under $4 per harp, plus you get the case.
It has harp keys A, Bb, C, D, E, F, and G.
Not a bad deal for seeing if it's something you'd want to stick with.
/Mr. Know-It-All tips his hat
//Mr. Know-It-All bows
///Mr. Know-It-All exits stage right
Do you work while you're at work?
Mr. Know-It-All made the whole harmonica thing sound like a complicated mess. Maybe I'll just stick with singing.
I work and then wait for things to catch up with me, then I work some more.
And no, it's not difficult to understand, just print this out and stick it on your fridge (or use a sharpie and write on the harmonica itself):
Harmonica Key — Song Key
C — G
C# — G#
D — A
D# — A#
E — B
F — C
F# — C#
G — D
G# — D#
A — E
A# — F
B — F#
That's not so tough, is it?
I have a barely used bass you can buy cheap. I was a bad student (right M?) and never practiced. It sits in the corner looking sad now.
You'll have to get the details about it to Phillip. Is it safe to put an e-mail address on a blog??
NO! Never post an email.
Which bass is it, Amy? One of Jim's old ones?
Wait a second... I've used the crud out of that bass...
Jim, you and Amy should really discuss things in person.
It's my old white one that you tried to teach me on and I never touched.
I guess Jim has used it a lot. It still has the original strings though. And it still has the screw on the bottom of the cover thingey missing.
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