online harmonica lessons

Keeping your embouchure (lips, mouth and tongue) and auxiliary muscles (throat, neck, shoulders and back) relaxed are key to good tone and fast movement on the harmonica (a tensed muscle is a slow muscle). For tongue blockers, a light touch with your tongue is essential (the more pressure you use, the more your tongue pushes inside the holes of the harmonica... this all creates more drag and more effort to pull the tongue on and off for our standard tongue blocking techniques and articulations).

You've learned that many options for articulation exist. Which articulation is correct? That is an answer only history or you can answer. As your instructor at BluesHarmonica.com I will share which articulations work best for a given passage when it's appropriate (I feel it performs the job best or is what a given artist used for an Artist Study for example), otherwise, when I say, "articulate this or that note or chords," I am leaving it up to you on what articulation feels and sounds best for YOU personally... just get the job done.

Join Joe Filisko again for his latest insight... the Exhale Push and Nose Push lesson.

Join Brandon O. Bailey and I for a journey into the new harmonica style Harpboxing. This is outside the traditional blues focus of BluesHarmonica.com, but I thought you would enjoy this lesson into something completely different. Grab your B-flat harmonica and let's get started! Videos include: Introducing Brandon O. continue reading...

When playing multiple holes on the harmonica, such as holes 1 2 3 in common chugging passages, you have many articulation options to use. Let's start with an awareness of what you use... not everyone has an awareness of what they use to articulate notes or chords. Open the PDF for Solo Harmonica Study 1 and play Ex. 1.2 with any harmonica of choice. What are you using to separate these two chords?

Let's now talk about your new lick in for position...

D Harmonica (2nd Position): 3' 3" 2 1 2 = This is a very doable lick... standard bluesy bending on the harmonica... using all draw notes to achieve maximum bluesy potential with bending... your skill level in bending needs to be high though, so it may not be the right choice. continue reading...

Gary Smith completes his thoughts on the blues harmonica instrumental song writing process in this final video of the series.

Let's now work on a new lick. Play the following blues lick on the D Harmonica in Second Position...

D Harmonica (2nd Position): 3' 3" 2 1 2

Work out where this lick will happen on the G Harmonica (for 3rd Position) and the A Harmonica (for 1st Position). Which position is easier for you to play and which version sounds best to YOU?