How to Learn Harmonica at Home by Yourself
The harmonica is probably the least expensive of all the musical instruments that you will ever find. This small instrument that is part of the wind family is very small in size, but the sound that it produces is quite magical. It can be found in a wide range of musical genres from classical, to jazz, to rock and roll. While it may seem like it would be an easy instrument to learn how to play, but the truth is you would be better off taking some harmonica online lessons to get started.
This article was designed to help harmonicist and those beginners who just want some help getting better. For this article, we have included the top five ways for learning how to play the harmonica on your own at home.
5 Methods on How to Learn Harmonica at Home by Yourself
1) Online One on One Tutoring
One on one tutoring is one of the best ways possible for learning how to do things that a harmonicist has an interest in. Whether you are talking about a subject in school or a musical instrument, harmonica learners have been getting help from someone else who has the knowledge that they are needing. Today’s digital technology has taken this to a whole new level thanks to the Internet and high-speed wireless technologies. Using software like Skype and Apple’s Facetime, you can find an online tutor that is willing to help you learn the harmonica.
2) Online Digital Harmonica Instruction Guides
The Internet has also brought us another very useful digital format that has made learning how to play a musical instrument like the harmonica much easier. Today, you can go online to a number of websites that offer a digital ebook version of old-style instructional guides. These guides are filled with full-color pictures, diagrams, and step by step instructions. These digital ebooks can also be checked out from most libraries all across the country.
While not everyone will reach the heights that today’s professional musicians have in the musical world, but fortunately, there are people like Howard Levy. Howard is a world-renown harmonica player who loves several different genres of music like; classical, jazz, and Latin. Thanks to today’s digital technology, Howard Levy is able to record hundreds of useful lessons on video. All of his videos have been uploaded into ArtistWork’s massive video library and all paid members have full access to all of the lessons with reliable Internet access.
Another great way that today’s Internet and digital technologies can help you learn how to play the harmonica on your own at home is a website called Udemy. This online university-style website put together a library of video-based training courses that cover a wide range of topics including learning to play the harmonica. As an enrolled student, you will full access to all of the course material 24/7 as long as you have reliable Internet access.
5) How-To lessons on Video on YouTube.com
Last but certainly not least, how-to videos are the fastest growing method that people are using today to learn how to play musical instruments like the harmonica. YouTube.com is the largest repository of videos online, with its library of billions of uploaded videos, it is highly likely that you will be able to find a video that you would be able to use to teach yourself how to play the harmonica. As long as you have a reliable Internet connection you will have full access to all of the free to access videos.
9 Useful Tips for playing better Harmonica
- Always keep it clean
The harmonica uses a reed to produce the unique sound and tone that comes out of it and that means it is very important that you need to keep it very clean. It is essential to keep any dirt and other debris from building up in and around holes where you blow into. It is highly recommended that you pack it inside a protective case when you are not playing it.
- End each playing session by cleaner out your harmonica
Establishing a good practice is an important thing when you are learning to play a musical instrument like the harmonica. One very good practice that you should be doing after each and every playing session would be to carefully tap the harmonica on a hard surface a few times to ensure that you knock out any moisture or debris that might have accumulated during your playing time.
- Do some specialized exercises regularly
Like with all wind family instruments, it is important that you are able to produce high volumes of air in your lungs so that you blow it into the harmonica. Since playing the harmonica regularly involves highly demand for the act of blowing air and lung capacity, you should be doing plenty of cardiovascular exercises to help bolster your breathing quality and overall lung capacity.
- Be deliberate as you are practicing
Do not ever be in a rush when it comes to practice, you should always relax and enjoy it. Life is truly too short to rush through your sessions as you are trying to learn and or get better playing skills. Your lips will continue to respond to your practice and there are no worries about permanent health issues such as arthritis or other injuries common with other types of musical instruments.
- Never share your instrument with others
Since the harmonica and other wind instruments involve putting parts of the instrument in your mouth, letting any other person play your harmonica is highly discouraged. If you are even considering it, you should be looking at giving it to the person as a gift and tell them not to try and give it back. For serious hygiene reasons, it is recommended that you only give away an unused harmonica to avoid any health issues.
- How to clear a stuck reed
One of the primary issues that you may run up against when you play the harmonica is debris stuck in one or more of the reeds. Having excessive debris in the area of the reeds will negatively affect the ability of them to vibrate. If you suspect an excessive build-up of debris do not hesitate to open up the harmonica and attempt to clear out any and all debris that is possibly built up around the reeds.
- Keep an open mind to new ideas
The harmonica sound can be found in a wide range of musical genres. Many people make a mistake and try to stick steadfastly to only a couple of them. If you are able to keep an open mind, you will soon realize that learning how to play other types of music using your harmonica will only help you to better appreciate and likely improve the playing of your favorite music.
- Be a good listener
In order to get really good at playing harmonica, you need to be sure to listen closely to the kind of music that you are wanting to play with it. Some times, it may even require you to listen to music over again. The more that you listen the better you will be able to play.
- Enjoy yourself at all times
Enjoying yourself while you are playing is probably the most important thing you will ever be taught. It is truly a waste of time for you to learn how to play the harmonica if you do not ever get true enjoyment out of it. It will be really easy for the people to hear that you are playing the harmonica for if you are not having fun.
Steps to Self-Taught Harmonica
How to learn Harmonica at home by yourself is by far easier to do these days with the aids of much improved digital technology. Using one of a number of digital wireless devices and the Internet you are able to get access to a wide range of training lessons and other mediums that were designed to be used to learn how to play the harmonica.
For this article, we did a lot of online research in order to come up with all of this useful information on learning how to play the harmonica. We found and included a detailed description of the top five methods that we found online. We also included 9 very useful tips that we hope you can use to improve your playing skills. The only real requirement for you to use any of them is that you need to have a reliable Internet connection.
I am learning to play the Harmonica at home and would like to have a full video lesson plan. thanks