Sam Barry - How to Play the Harmonica

By Dave Barry

I have known my little brother Sam since he was born, and I can state for a fact that he has always been an amazing person. At the age of five he was already composing classical music.

No, wait, Im thinking of Mozart. But Sam was definitely a fun little brother, exactly the right height to administer a noogie to. And he grew into a fun grown-up, the perfect person to write a book about playing. Sam has always been playful. Oh, he has done a few serious things in his life. For a while he wasI am not making this upa Presbyterian minister in Omaha. But he was a playful Presbyterian minister. It would not surprise me if, in his day, he was considered the most playful Presbyterian minister in the entire state of Nebraska, assuming there are rankings.

Another thing about Sam is that he is highly musical. He and I belong to a rock band called the Rock Bottom Remainders, which is made up mostly of authors, including Stephen King, Amy Tan, Mitch Albom, Ridley Pearson, Kathi Goldmark, Scott Turow, Roy Blount Jr., Greg Iles, and Matt Groening. The plan in forming this band was to gather together a group of authors with musical talent and raise money for good causes. The only flaw in this plan was that most of the authors dont have any musical talent. Our genre was best described by Roy Blount as hard listening music. We sound like people using amplified instruments to demolish a shed.

But Sam is one of the few shining lights in the band. He is a very good harmonica and keyboard player; in fact, for a while, when he was not in his wacky Presbyterian-minister phase, he was a professional musician. Not only is he musically talented, but he has an amazing ability to transfer his musicality to other people.

For example, I once wrote a song about Tupperware called The Tupperware Blues . At the risk of sounding vain, I am going to state that this song became, over the years, one of the better-known blues songs about Tupperware, and eventually it came to the attention of the folks at Tupperware World Headquarters in Kissimmee, Florida, who asked me to come up there and perform it at a convention of Tupperware distributors. Naturally, I said yes. An opportunity like that comes along once in a lifetime, if that.

Anyway, The Tupperware Blues has an important harmonica part, so I asked my editor at the time, Gene Weingarten, if he would accompany me. The problem was that, although Gene owned a harmonica, he did not, technically, know how to play it. Gene has no natural musical talent. He is so musically untalented thatand I do not make this statement lightlyhe could belong to the Remainders. All he could do with his harmonica was blow into it in a way that upset his dog.

Fact: Mozart was never asked to play at Tupperware World Headquarters.

So I had Gene call my brother Sam in California, and Sam taught Gene, in one lesson via long distance, to play The Tupperware Blues . When we performed for the Tupperware distributors, they gave us a standing ovation. Of course, they also gave a standing ovation to a set of ovenware. But that is not my point. My point is that Sam, thanks to his amazing ability, was able to administer a musicality transfusion to my music-impaired friend over the phone .

I have seen Sam do the same thing many times with crowds. No matter how reserved people are, how timid, how insecure about their abilities, Sam can get them singing and stomping. Its a gift Sam hasthe gift of making music, and getting others to make music, and having fun doing it. Its a gift he will share with you in this book.

This is not a book about learning to play the harmonica, exactlyalthough if you want to play the harmonica, this book will teach you. The real point of the book is what the title saysto learn how to play; or, more accurately, to re learn how to play, which is a skill we all have as kids but tend to lose as we age and develop jobs and responsibilities and gum problems. Sams point is that you can get your playfulness backthat even in a grown-up world, you can play again; you can have fun.

So let him show you how. Read my little brothers book.

Or I will give you a noogie.