Ask Harmonica Expert Winslow Yerxa

I wonder is there any tips, techniques to learn so that as soon as your mouth

lands on a hole you know what hole it is without looking and without even playing it ?

Do players use any sort of technique to learn this?

Will you guys as professional player always know what hole you are on even without playing it at all?

I think I need to learn this , not just for diatonic but I am learning chromatic too and when I look at a note on screen

I need to land on the right hole :)

I ordered a Marine band Db natural minor harmonica

the problem is that when I try to play 3 hole 1 draw it keeps playing obove note C

Please see this

https://i.imgur.com/DVHWnVk.gif

I know how to tune harmonica but I want to make sure I should go for it 

Should I return it?  I suppose all I need is to tune the 3 hole draw reed 1 semi note down right?

Hi there,

I need to have some ideas about Reverb and delay settings for recording harmonica.

Audacity or what so ever .  I play harmonica with guitar so the sound of harmonica is thin 

with reverb and delay I need to compensate for that too :(

For almost a  year I have taken part in the Blues Harmonica.com lessons.  I have been using a Hohner Special 20, key of A during these lessons.  I am coming along with the bending, although still trying to achieve the 2 draw whole step bend.  My 3 draw bend is working fine.  Recently I purchased a Hohner Crossover, key of A.  I can do all the same bends with this harmonica as with the Special 20, except the 3 draw.  I am having trouble getting this note to bend.  Does this indicate a problem with a new harmonica, or is it just that the harmonica needs continue reading...

Hello Winslow,

Hoping you can help me understand the peculiarities of two Hohner harps.

1) The Golden Melody -- can you translate the terms "equal temperment" versus "progressive?" Am I understanding correctly that on, say, my Special 20, that some of the reeds are not perfectly pitched on purpose, and that on the Golden Melody they are?

  continue reading...

In an earlier post [2013] you talked about a 10 part series of lessons for Blues in E, the post was #10. Where can I find the other 9 parts, in one of your books perhaps?

Hey, Winslow, hope all is well.

I just recently bought a Hohner Rocket in B in order to record one song but I find the 3 draw sticks in unpredicatble ways. I'm slapping and drawing but all I get nothing until a moment passes and then it works. Unfortunately, this delay is enough to completely break my timing.

A few days ago, I started another song on a Rocket in D, a harp that has been little used since I bought it, and noticed the same sticking for a bit, although it was no where nearly as pronounced as on the B harp. I persisted and soon enough the stickiness went away. continue reading...

Can i practice and learn blues on E harmonica? 

Winslow hi. I play a Suzuki chromatix 48 that I love but of late the slide is becoming stuck more frequently than in the past. Easy to clean but having to do it quite frequently is a pain. The slide and mouthpiece have developed a tarnish or worn points at contact points with the original plating having worn to the base metal and that is what I believe is creating adhesive points. Have you got any suggestions on how best  to clean those locations  Many thanks in advance. 

Hello. I just bought a Kongsheng harp one week ago and after playing it for 5 times I  found that one of the reels was stucked not producing any sound, when I've opened I just realized that It had written the Key of the harp inside of it with highlighter as well as I found some minor scratchs in the coverplate that is inside.

Is this normal for a new harmonica? Because I have the feeling that either somebody has used it before or fixed... Perhaps is normal if they assemble it manually.

Thanks!