Most people associate the harmonica with blues, music sounding like this. A popular tune that lent itself to the harp was the fox chase with its dramatic repeated riffs conjuring up the baying hounds and the hunters cries, all delivered with. You can play all of the songs with any key harmonica you choose. They are arranged in such a way that only the middle octave contains a complete eightnote scale. Early blues was largely a rural music and many harp players would mimic animal noises. Download blues harmonica for beginners pdf ebook blues harmonica for beginners blues harmonica for beginners ebook author by stanley roberts blues harmonica for beginners ebook free of registration rating. Simple blues riffs are perhaps the most common way for one to begin improvising on the diatonic harmonica. The traditional harmonica for blues playing was the hohner marine band, which was affordable and easily obtainable in various keys even in.
Learn to play harmonicablues harp cds with the keys for all the songs and the harmonica type used so you can play along. Blues harmonica riffs beginner bluesharp instruction and. How to play the diatonic harmonica in the key of c. Bendingprocessonthe101hole diatonicharmonicawiththe. Many of the foundational blues players, the little walters and big walters and sonny boy williamsons, played and recorded with the hohner marine band. That should make things easier, but even within the blues harp family youre faced with a choice of many different manufacturers and models. These play along harmonica lessons teach blues harp players 101 fantastic blues riffs for the diatonic harmonica in c. Use repetition of a single riff, and pauses between these riffs, to create a more melodic feeling to your playing. Bendingprocessonthe101hole diatonicharmonicawith thevisual aidofmagneticresonanceimaging mri bydavidbarrett. An instruction method for playing the blues harmonica tony little sun glover tony little sun glover b.
With this complete, clear instruction method, youll learn to choose a harp, play cross position, and bend notes while playing in the styles of blues greats like sonny terry, sonny boy williamson, little walter, jimmy reed, and others. Super harp, a killer player with a performance career spanning over 50 years as a bandleader and backing other players such as muddy waters and otis span. Learn to play blues harmonica blues harp at the blues harp page. Low notes are on the left and high notes are on the right 2. Blues downloadable lesson wildflower harmonica instruction. I personally found many of the advanced songs in this songbook chal.
Clear instructions and just a delight to learn from. If youre trying to learn a song and its not going well, move on to a different song thats easier for you. Blues harp weighs in at 382 mb and features 195 loops recorded at 24bits and between 90 140 bpm. There are separate lists for diatonic and chromatic harmonica. Blues basics in this downloadable harmonica lesson, well learn the basics of cross harp blues, using a c harmonica. Use a 10hole diatonic harmonica thats the most common 10hole harmonica without any fancy stuff or a button on the side. Pdf playing the harmonica download full pdf book download. The essential blues collection has a different cover to blues masters, volume 4.
In this blues harmonica lesson, liam ward gives you some tips to transfer your diatonic skills to chromatic to get a cool blues harp sound on. Highly bendable with a dirty, dark, hard rockin sound, this harmonica emphasizes all the best qualities of blues harmonica playing. Easiest blues harp book by phil duncan book sheet music for. The blue highway one of the best blues sites on the web with tributes to blues greats and a blues mall for finding blues music and merchandise, a blues radio list and links to blues related sites. Modern blues harmonica online harmonica lessons and tabs. For the newbies like me here is a great website with thousands of free tabs to help you learn songs on your harmonica a tab is like sheet music for someone who can not read sheet music. Spanning a wide musical range from classics like aura lee, jingle bells or morning has broken to. Blues harp or cross harp denotes a playing technique that originated in the blues music culture, and refers to the diatonic harmonica itself, since this is the kind that is most commonly used to play blues. Tabs or tablature defined tabs are a simplified way to notate harmonica solos, harmonica parts, melodies and songs, without having to formally read music. You will understand techniques, theory, practice, exercises, riffs, positions. Major key degrees of scale all major keys or scales consist of 7 notes. In contrast to the song lessons section, the tabs section uses a text tab style of notation for ease of tab creation by staff and members. Its a great time to upgrade your home music studio gear with the largest selection at.
Masters of the blues harp a harmonica transcription book by glenn. Each topic is addressed in individual video lessons. However mastering blues is a lifetime project, which starts today. Royalty free blues loops, mouth organ licks, blues harp.
Blues harp by takashi miike i have to go beyond this place to go anywhere. Blues riffs a riff is a slang term for a short musical phrase that is usually repeated or repeatable. Overall, in the first volume, youll find 12 songs, that are especially made for those who are already able to play blues harmonica and want to get deep into the instrument language studying different styles of blues harmonica masters, such as little walter, sonny boy williamson. You should probably get this book, as its a great historical reference for blues harp players. If you order this set and follow our lead you will definitely become a much more competent and versatile harmonica player. How to memorize notes on blues harp this is the best and easiest way to memorize the notes on blues harp, simple and practical. As the musicians here demonstrate, it can also be a fine solo. Masters of the blues harp is a collection of 21 classic blues harmonica solos by. I will guide you step by step along the dusty road of blues harmonica. Marion little walter jacobs is widely considered the greatest blues harmonica player ever. Its based on the type of key the harmonica is in, example. The language is great and straight out of another era lots of talk about hip cats. By bending notes you will obtain many of the notes that you thought were missing when you first picked up a harp. The essential sonny boy williamson chessmca chd29343 2 cd set out of print, real folk bluesmore folk blues mca 28232 and king biscuit time arhoolie 310.
Send me an email to which i can attached a word or pdf file. The preeminent harp on the market designed for blues music, this harp is engineered for consistent volume and tone when used for intense blues playing. With over 3,000 lesson videos, lesson plans for all skill level players, downloadable mp3s and pdf s, along with forum experts and contributors, is the place to learn. If you want to learn to play the harmonica, youve come to the right place. It also includes chapters on lead and accompaniment, performing, amplified harp, history, and much more. Along with little walter, many of sonny boy iis songs live on as blues standards and have hugely influenced players of today. Just like a blues guitar, the blues sound on a harp is achieved by being able to bend notes. Blues jam factory is all about second position, whereas bones of the blues is all about third, fourth, fifth, and sixth positions. Playing single notes harmonica blues harmonica blues. Ive been creating original blues harmonica tabs for more than 25 years. Pretty soon youll have mastered chord playing will want to progress on to picking out single notes to form melodies, licks or improvised lines.
Beginner blues harmonica lesson blues harp youtube. Then, youll play riffs, blues harp solos, and blues rhythm chord studiesall on the c. What note would you play for the following examples. Blues harmonica accompaniment playing, within the school of the blues lesson series, is an exciting journey into the art of traditional blues harmonica accompaniment playing fills, under vocals and chording patterns as well as modern approaches to playing horn, organ and bass lines. Once you have learnt the basics, you will be able to play blues with musicians everywhere. He took up the harmonica as a child, at first playing polkas and waltzes, and by the time he was 12 he was on his own, working the sidewalks and bars of new orleans with his. Contents include a foreword, general information, questions most often asked about the harmonica, special effects, maintenance and repair, the chromatic harmonicas. A great collection of hymns and songs of worship arranged for blues harp. Apple loops, are also available to purchase separately. Harmonica masters features performances by harp greats like deford bailey, noah lewis, jed davenport, jaybird coleman, and 19 others. The blues unlimited interview is well over 2,000 words. Some harp tabs use the letter b instead of the to represent levels of bending. Easiest blues harp book by phil duncan book sheet music.
Click here for the master songtab list page tab categories use the general categories to find the song or tab of your choice and style. Blues mens thumb techniques with eric noden hohner guitar sessions. Welcome to music that fits in your pocket harmonica foundations for a musical life. Easyharp tabs, blues harmonica tabs by easyharp, a selction of 12 songs with tablature pdf and audio file mp3. Beginner blues chromatic harmonica for diatonic players youtube. The two methods that are used to play single notes are puckered lips and tongue blocking, some argue that you get a. King biscuit time awesome blues site with focus on blues harmonica.
The marine bandthe basic 10hole diatonic harp, not the 14hole version or the deluxe, super, or blues harp versionhas been around for a long time. A few songs may be listed in more than one category. To see if you understand the chart above, here is a little quiz. You can also access our site through your mobile phone. In the second half, he covers application of the earlier blues lessons, gives a little explanation of the blues scale, presents you with a simplified blues scale and. Lonesome whistle the blues harp all about blues music. Welcome to easyharp, the blues harmonica video lessons website where you can easily learn to play blues harp. That said, the info contained in the book is a bit difficult to understand glover seemed to invent his own tab system. Notefornote transcriptions from classic recorded performances by hal leonard corp.
Anyone who has ever picked up a harp or loves the blues will enjoy this fun read. Blues music sometimes reveals strange characters with extraordinary skills, but few were more talented than harmonica frank floyd. Additional studies cover openings, breaks and endings. Thomas balinger american harmonica songbook blues harp in c more than 60 famous songs, arranged for easy blues harp in c a. Nov 21, 2009 hi all what key harp should i get to play alone with acoustic blues in the key of e.
Book cover of margie goldsmith masters of the harmonica. Masters of the blues harp a harmonica transcription book by. Although the book has gone out of print in paper, it is available here as a pdf. Come in all different shapes and sizes, there are loads of types and brands out there, luckily for playing blues we mainly use one type of harp which it the 10 hole diatonic or blues harp. The smallest and therefore most portable of instruments, the harmonica took a place not unlike that of the violin in blues and jug band combos. First, you will learn the basic techniques needed to play blues harp, such as lip blocking, single tone, bending, the slide, tremolo, and vibrato. There are lots of free harmonica lessons on the net, but here are a few lessons to get you started.
Lots of sound clips, pictures and blues and harp related links. George goodmans harmonica cheat sheet is a combination of three great tools to kick start your harmonica playing. This brief introduction will get you started playing the harmonica which is also called the mouth harp or just plain harp. Paul butterfield, neil young, and bob dylan have made a good living playing the harmonica. A creole who could speak french, he was born in marksville, louisiana in 1930. I know that sounds like a really dumb question but the more i look into it, wikiyoutube etc, the more i have managed to confuse myself. My first harmonica, both blues harp, a bb and a g, had relatively low notes that i enjoyed making bassy, throatsinging sounds like. In the first few lessons, david harp takes baby steps through a series short lessons none is more than three minutes long which cover beginning blues, folk and classical ideas. It can hang with the toughest players on their most serious gigs. If one believes one of the leading experts on asian, especially japanese cinema, blues harp by takashi miike is the film that will shed muchneeded light on the hidden sides of that genuine filmmaker takashi miike. Sh1 solo harmonica study 1 blues harmonica lessons. Little walter jacobsa biographical note by glenn weiser. Feb 11, 2014 how to memorize notes on blues harp this is the best and easiest way to memorize the notes on blues harp, simple and practical.
Blues harp is a fantastically played and recorded selection of royalty free samples, with inspirational melodies and. Awesome book, with great history of the instrument and the players, written in a style you just dont see any more. Mel bays easiest blues harp book is the ideal way to get started playing todays blues harmonica styles. Now i tried out a c, and the lowest note in the range is way higher than either of those. When rice sonny boy ii miller amazed world audiences in the 60s by playing a blues tune on a harp stuck in his mouth like a cigar, he was pulling one third of a trick regularly performed. Hi all what key harp should i get to play alone with acoustic blues in the key of e. Manfred wewers researches how the harmonica has influenced. Blues harp is a fantastically played and recorded selection of royalty free samples, with inspirational melodies and authentic blues style.
Caring for your harmonica first off, dont treat the harmonica like a toy. If you want to play along with a band or an original recording, you will. We start with the blues scale and practice playing along with a jam track, learning to move around using both steady eighth notes and shorter phrases. Masters of the blues harp a harmonica transcription book. If youve never heard the eight note major scale, which i find hard to imagine, it goes like this. If youd like a complete list of my tabs and instructional videos, organized as a searchable, hyperlinked excel spreadsheet that grades the tabs by skill level and tells you what harp key to.
Beginner blues harmonica lesson blues harp youcanlearnguitar. Life and times of the undaunted professor harp is a rant and a rave through harmonica master professor harps decadeslong career as a professional black bluesman in the boston area. Includes standard notation, harmonica tab, guitar chords, complete playing instructions and short biographies of the 17 artists. If one believes one of the leading experts on asian, especially japanese cinema, blues harp by takashi miike is the film that will shed muchneeded light on the hidden sides of. Hold the harmonica with one hand at each end, with the numbers facing you. You will learn quickly and most importantly youll understand. Jun 23, 2009 beginner blues harmonica lesson blues harp youcanlearnguitar. Frequently asked questions faqs for blues harmonica. The blues harp chart this chart provides harmonica tabs, chords, cross harp key, 12 bar blues progression, and blues scale harmonica tabs covering all 12 keys.