Tip of the Day

Students often start playing along to the harmonica part right away when learning a new song. Get in the habit of listening more before you begin to study. When approaching a new song, listen to it one time each, focusing on the: drummer; bassist; guitarist; pianist or organist (if present); horns (if present); harmonica; and overall dynamics. When you start to learn the harmonica part, loop the first lick and be able to hum it (either aloud or in your head) before picking up the harmonica to try and copy it. continue reading...

Ensure that your throat tremolo is happening in your throat (where your vocal folds open and close, like in a very slight cough)—a lot of new players mistakenly use a Ka Ka Ka Ka articulation with the back of their tongue.

With the Amazing Slow Downer app, you can loop passages and slow them down without changing the key (this combination is essential for effective study). You can also save entire songs that you've slowed down as a new file, or even better, passages (say a chorus that you're working on) with the option of how many times you want it to repeat. I personally use this app, but many students like Transcribe! for its visual nature (using waveforms) and ability to mark multiple sections within a song for study.

The Harp Ninja app uses a visual representation of the harmonica to show you in real time the pitch of your bend. It’s like having a teacher in your practice room saying, “You’re almost there—just a touch lower.” You can also click on any note on the harmonica diagram so that you can match the pitch of a bend by ear.

When you use the cycle of “listen once, play once,” your mind is practicing in the most efficient manner possible.

Speed is the enemy of learning, so make sure to practice your new material slowly. When a song is learned fully at a slower tempo, it is okay—necessary—to work past your comfort zone as you speed up. Circle areas within the song that fail at the faster tempo and practice those individually.

Write your practice time on the family calendar. You and your family should not treat that time as flextime (time that can be used for other “urgent” things). Practice time is often not seen as important, and it’s easy to allow other activities to interrupt your practice. Tell your family that this practice time is important to you. Tell your coworkers that you have a standing appointment during that time and you don’t answer your phone—everyone will get used to not contacting you at that time. You’re gifting yourself this time to learn something that you’re interested in. continue reading...

It’s best to practice daily (an hour a day instead of three hours every three days for example). Your brain needs time/sleep to encode what’s studied.

If you’re not happy with your progress, then you’re not allocating enough time to practice and you either need to back off your expectations to match your input level or change your input level to achieve those expectations.

We can only concentrate well on a given task for15-20 minutes. Take short breaks after 20 minutes of practice.