Jason Randall - How To Play The Harmonica: A Beginners Guide to Learn How To Play The Harmonica

The Basics of Harmonica Playing

An Extensive Guide for the Beginner Harmonica Player

Jason Randall

Copyright 2018 by Jason Randall .

All rights reserved.

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Table of Contents

What This Book Will Teach You:

This book aims to teach you as a beginner harmonica player the basics of the harmonica and what you need to know to support your own development of the skill. This book is a general guide and introduction to learning an instrument used on almost every corner of the globe. This book also aims to help develop your overall knowledge and skill of music through the instrument called the harmonica.

More specifically this book will focus on developing correct technique and skills needed to successfully control the instrument and manipulate it to create the sounds that are desired by the player. Techniques such as playing single notes and chords; enhancing sound through the use of the tongue; bending notes; and playing in different keys will be discussed throughout the book and practiced using certain techniques. This book will also take you through the controlled steps of learning different techniques. These steps also act as exercises which you can come back to for constant practice. The book will also bring all of the knowledge learned together for a final section that will round up everything this book has presented.

A harmonica is classified as a wind instrument. A wind instrument is an instrument that requires a player to blow over or into the instrument to produce a sound. A harmonica makes use of resonating reeds to produce sounds. The harmonica is quite a special wind instrument as players are able to produce sounds when breathing both in and out of the harmonica a wind instrument that responds to inhalation and exhalation. The harmonica originates from Asia, more specifically China, where it evolved from an instrument, called the sheng. The idea of this mouth organ then traveled to Europe where it started to evolve into the forms that we find the instrument in today. Harmonica companies were growing at an increasing rate during the 19th century and manufacturers were sending their harmonicas to America a country that took to the instrument very quickly.

A harmonica most often looks like a rectangularly shaped instrument which has 6 flat sided surfaces. The narrower and longer side section placed against the mouth usually has a number of holes which act as airways that make contact with reeds. The opposite side of the mouth piece is usually barred with the same material that the harmonica is cased with, still allowing space at the receiving end for sound to escape. Some different types of harmonicas have added on features such as side buttons, or slides, which can be pushed to alter the notes played. A harmonica is small enough to hold up to the mouth with both hands but can also sit on a holder which allows the player to use his hands for another instrument. Harmonicas were traditionally made with wood but now can be found having been made of metal or plastic. Wooden harmonicas are considered to be highly priced but the material is still used today to produce unique sounds.

There is way more to a harmonica that can just be seen on the outside of it. There are quite a few parts that make up the harmonica and help produce the sounds that it plays. There are five main parts of the harmonica that make it what it is. These parts are the comb; the reed plates; the cover plates; windsavers; and a mouthpiece. Different types of harmonicas have other add-on features but these five main parts are typically seen in all harmonicas in order for them to work.

Lets take a more in depth look at the parts that make up a harmonica.

A diagram at the end of this section will help you see where these parts sit on the instrument.

• The comb

The comb is the main body of the harmonica and is found in the middle of the instrument. The comb is fitted with reed plates on the top and bottom of the harmonicas chambers/ holes in which a players air travels through, striking the reeds and producing a certain pitch. The amount of chambers found depends on what type of harmonica it is and the size of its scale. The comb is usually made out of metal or plastic. Combs were originally made from wood but stress over time caused fractures and cracks. Wood also expands which can affect chamber size and ultimately set the harmonica off-tune. The comb is the base on which the instrument is built.

• Reed plates

Wind instruments often make use of reeds and a harmonica is no different. Harmonicas are made with two reed plates. One reed plate sits on top of the comb while the other sits below both having access to an airflow chamber. Reed plates are usually made from metals or plastic and have reeds fitted on them. Reeds are made from the same material as the reed plate and are fitted onto the reed plate with screws or by welding. Each chamber in the comb is home to two reeds which are facing opposite each other. One reed plate is made to produce sound when a player blows on the harmonica while the other reed plate, in the same chamber, produces sound when a player draws breath on the harmonica. This makes it possible to have two reeds in one chamber without the collision of two notes at the same time. Reeds are fitted specifically to produce certain notes when played by a harmonica player and are pitched in scales. Both the reeds and the reed plate can be replaced which is a must when your harmonica is going out of tune.

• Cover plates.

A harmonica has two cover plates. Cover plates are bolted onto the comb and on the outside of the reed plates. They protect and hold the whole of the harmonica together. Traditional harmonicas have cover plates that are made out of wood, metal or plastic. It is believed that the type of material used as a cover can change the quality of sound heard from the harmonica. Tone can also be affected by the type of material that is used as a cover plate for a harmonica. Cover plates are what makes your harmonica look good so they are usually finished with a strong coat of something attractive to the eye.

• Windsavers.

Windsavers are small strips of plastic which are glued to the reeds on the reed plate. They act almost as air flaps. The position of the windsaver determines whether the strip opens up or closes during inhalation or exhalation. Windsavers are only found in some harmonicas that cannot block certain reeds through inhalation or exhalation. Windsavers are used to block airflow to specific reeds during inhalation or exhalation. Windsavers are used when there are leakages of air out of the reed that is not supposed to be in use remember that this reed would be sharing a chamber with the reed that is in use. Windsavers prevent leakages of air from happening and restrict the harmonica to playing one note at a time from each chamber in use.

• The mouth piece.

The mouth piece is fitted onto one of the narrow and long sides of the harmonica. It is precisely fitted to allow a pathway for air into the chambers of the comb. The mouthpiece is the part of the harmonica that is pressed against the mouth and given airflow. The inward curve or decline of the mouthpiece compared to the rest of the harmonica allows for a better slide of the lips when a player is moving around and playing with notes.