Ask Harmonica Expert Winslow Yerxa

Hi, Winslow. I recently came into possession of a large Hohner chord harmonica. I'm blown away by the sound this thing produces. It is to harmonicas what a violin is to stringed instruments; beautifully depressing, you know? Although I think it sounds great, it's around 40 years old (no idea how to figure out the date) and in need of a deep cleaning. Is there any advice you can give me on cleaning this instrument, preferably with the cover plates (and possibly reed plates) removed, or even a general direction you can point me in. continue reading...

I saw a YouTube clip of Rick Estrin playing without using his hands, just the harp in his mouth. It's a cool gimmick, but it doesn't work for me at all - air just escapes through the back. Any idea how he does it?

Hi Winslow,

I'm not about gossip and rumors but I heard Jason Ricci may be back and playing at Spring Harp Fest in SD. Have you heard anything about this that you can comment on?

-Taylor

Hi Winslow,

I'm not about gossip and rumors but I heard Jason Ricci may be back and playing at Spring Harp Fest in SD. Have you heard anything about this that you can comment on?

-Taylor

Hi Winslow,

I'm not about gossip and rumors but I heard Jason Ricci may be back and playing at Spring Harp Fest in SD. Have you heard anything about this that you can comment on?

-Taylor

Hi Winslow.
I know scales are a necessary thing to train but it is not the fanciest thing to do.
Do you know about any back track for playing scales?

Recently I have heard about modal jazz, What is this about? Is something about playing only a couple of scales but using modal changes for the back chord changes?

Thanks.

Hello, Winslow!

David Barrett instructed me to ask for your assistance in the above referenced matter. My interest lays within the realm of classical music and I would love to be able to find someone who can instruct me in playing this musical fach on the chromatic harmonica, specifically the 16 hole Chromonica 280C. continue reading...

Hi WInslow.
Reading harp-l archives I found a term I don't know nothing about it
What is "spit position"?

I think is something related to the embouchure.

A puckerer or tongue blocker? Do you know?
-Taylor

Just got my membership renewal in the mail and will get it in tout de suite! When will the voting thing happen? Will it be at SPAH in Texas or by mail or ???

It sure would be nice to be able to renew on line like with most other things these days (at least from this old guys point of view).