What's New!

The 9th World Harmonica Festival is available on YouTube to watch here...

FRIDAY: https://youtu.be/LsphLmKW2XI
SATURDAY: https://youtu.be/azoavjW5u1g

Joe Filisko and Eric Noden have a very cool video streaming series of music and conversation with today's top harp players. For more information go to https://34lounge.com. This Friday is Gary Allegretto and next Friday is Jason Ricci.

In the HARPSMITH's latest installment he shows how he replaces a reed and then tunes the harmonica to just intonation. To watch this lesson, visit https://www.bluesharmonica.com/harpsmith_bench

There are some very cool tracks on this benefit album for those affected by Hurricane Ida in Louisiana and Mississippi. Harmonica players volunteered their time to record solo harmonica tunes (self-accompanied... just the harp) on their cell phones or in their home studios. To listen and support go to https://tomwalbank.bandcamp.com/album/low-blows-for-ida

In the HARPSMITH's latest installment he shows reed mechanics and tuning best practices, along with the tools he recommends to use. To watch this lesson, visit https://www.bluesharmonica.com/harpsmith_bench

Joe Filisko just released a DeFord Bailey study song (PDF and MP3) on his educational website https://www.filiskostore.com/product/DFD%20A. For those interested in learning DeFord's highly-influential pre-war harmonica style, this is a fantastic way to approach it.

In this lesson we explore the unique (intuitive) tuning of the new Hohner PentaHarp. This harmonica excels at playing the blues scale, which is simply accessed by performing a sequence of blow and draw notes up and down the harmonica (guitar players will really relate to this tuning, which is very close to the common minor pentatonic scale). Though the harmonica focuses on single notes as its way of making music, there are some cool textures that it can play as well (such as octaves). continue reading...

In the HARPSMITH's latest installment he shares techniques for cleaning and sanitizing your harmonicas. To watch this lesson, visit https://www.bluesharmonica.com/harpsmith_bench

In this ear training study we continue your transcribing training with a focus on harmonica tablature notation symbols. Your goal is to walk through this lesson with me and then transcribe the MP3 example on your own. When you’re done transcribing, make sure to slow the recording down (with a program like the Amazing Slow Downer) to proofread your work. When finished, go to the last page of the PDF to check your work against mine. To get started with this lesson go to https://www.bluesharmonica.com/lessons/ear_training_study_4_transcribing...

In this new series The Harpsmith (Kinya Pollard) shares tips and mini lessons on various topics of interest to the harmonica payer. Topics range from current Harpsmith musings to deeper dives into questions asked in the BluesHarmonica.com forum. In this video he shows you how to use a harmonica selector and chord identifier tool (PDF printable cutouts provided). To dig into this lesson visit https://www.bluesharmonica.com/harpsmith_bench