Brocksmith Blake - How to play harmonica: a complete guide for beginners

Thank you for downloading this Simon & Schuster ebook.

Get a FREE ebook when you join our mailing list. Plus, get updates on new releases, deals, recommended reads, and more from Simon & Schuster. Click below to sign up and see terms and conditions.

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP

Already a subscriber? Provide your email again so we can register this ebook and send you more of what you like to read. You will continue to receive exclusive offers in your inbox.

We hope you enjoyed reading this Simon & Schuster ebook.

Get a FREE ebook when you join our mailing list. Plus, get updates on new releases, deals, recommended reads, and more from Simon & Schuster. Click below to sign up and see terms and conditions.

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP

Already a subscriber? Provide your email again so we can register this ebook and send you more of what you like to read. You will continue to receive exclusive offers in your inbox.

Adams Media

An Imprint of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

57 Littlefield Street

Avon, Massachusetts 02322

www.SimonandSchuster.com

Copyright 2018 by Simon & Schuster, Inc.

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information address Adams Media Subsidiary Rights Department, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.

First Adams Media trade paperback edition APRIL 2018

ADAMS MEDIA and colophon are trademarks of Simon and Schuster.

For information about special discounts for bulk purchases, please contact Simon & Schuster Special Sales at 1-866-506-1949 or .

The Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau can bring authors to your live event. For more information or to book an event contact the Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau at 1-866-248-3049 or visit our website at www.simonspeakers.com.

Interior design by Colleen Cunningham

Interior illustrations by Mark DiVico

Cover design by Sylvia Mcardle

Cover images Shutterstock /Attem; 123RF/Constantin Bors

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Brocksmith, Blake, author. | Dorfman, Gary, author. | Lichterman, Douglas, author.

How to play harmonica / Blake Brocksmith, Gary Dorfman, and Douglas Lichterman.

Avon, Massachusetts: Adams Media, 2018.

Series: How to play.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

LCCN 2017055484 | ISBN 9781507206645 (pb) | ISBN 9781507206652 (ebook)

LCSH: Harmonica--Instruction and study.

LCC MT682 .B76 2018 | DDC 788.8/2193--dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017055484

ISBN 978-1-5072-0664-5

ISBN 978-1-5072-0665-2 (ebook)

Many of the designations used by manufacturers and sellers to distinguish their products are claimed as trademarks. Where those designations appear in this book and Simon & Schuster, Inc., was aware of a trademark claim, the designations have been printed with initial capital letters.

This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information with regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional advice. If legal advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought.

From a Declaration of Principles jointly adopted by a Committee of the American Bar Association and a Committee of Publishers and Associations

Contains material adapted from the following title published by Adams Media, an Imprint of Simon & Schuster, Inc.: The Everything Harmonica Book with CD by Douglas Lichterman, Blake Brocksmith, and Gary Dorfman, copyright 2008, ISBN 978-1-59869-482-6.

Have you heard an amazing harmonica riff on one of your favorite songs? Want to figure out how to play one yourself? Youve come to the right place. You dont have to know anything about the harmonica to get started with this book, but even if you have been playing for a little while youll find that this book contains plenty of useful information to improve your understanding, technique, and musicianship.

Whats not to love about the harmonica? Its inexpensive, portable, and full of rich sound. The instrument was an instant hit when first introduced in the United States around the mid-1800s. Back then, it was a favorite of cowboys, soldiers, hobos, and just about anybody with a pocket. Nowadays, the harmonica is still a vital sound in many albums, such as Flight of the Cosmic Hippo by Bla Fleck and the Flecktones and Four by Blues Traveler. Modern harmonica players, such as Frdric Yonnet (a French harmonica player who has recorded with Erykah Badu, Ed Sheeran, and John Legend, among others), continue to amass large fan bases.

The harmonica is well known in blues and folk music, but it also appears in jazz, rock, country, and classical, and its sphere of musical genres is still growing. You can even hear sampled harmonica on hip-hop albums, such as Bad News Browns Born 2 Sin , as well as on techno albums. Sounds youd never believe could be produced by a harmonica appear in some modern rock songs. Whatever style of music you want to play, theres a way to fit harmonica into it.

One reason the harmonica is especially fun is that anyone can get nice sound out of a harmonica on the first attempt. Sure, theres a lot to learn beyond that, but this book will walk you through everything you need to know.

Now its your turn to enter the intense, vibrant, and electrifying world of harmonica music with How to Play Harmonica as your guide.

To get the most out of this book you should know about some of the notation and terms used throughout. You may have seen some of it before, and some of it may be new to you.

In musical notation there is one line of standard notation written on the staff and one line of harmonica tablature below it. Note that the harmonica tab by nature does not indicate rhythmic notation, so youll have to use the standard notation to get that information. Harmonica tab only indicates which hole on the harmonica to play, whether its a blow note or a draw note, and what kind of bend, if any, to use (more on bends in Chapter 2).

Harmonica diagrams are used to illustrate the harmonica itself. They show a front view of the harmonica, with the ten holes indicated and numbered. Hole 1, which appears on the left side of the diagram, is the lowest-pitch note, and hole 10, which appears on the right side, is the highest-pitch note.

HARMONICA HERO: LITTLE WALTER

Marion Walter Jacobs (19301968), known as Little Walter, is widely regarded as the most infl uential harmonica player of the 1940s and 1950s. He transformed the sound of the harmonica through both his electrifying technique and his innovation of using an amplifi er and a Green Bullet microphone (now the most popular harmonica mic in the world largely because of him) to get a purposely distorted sound out of the harmonica. Little Walters sound was smooth and sustained and sounded as much like a saxophone as a harp. He also added the critical innovation of cupping his hands around the back of the harmonica, which added further distortion to his unique sound. In 1964 he toured Europe with the Rolling Stones. He died in Chicago in 1968 after being in a street fight.