Harmonica For Dummies

Wail on your harmonica!

The harmonica is one of the most popular and versatile instruments in the world. There are several reasons harmonicas are awesome--you can play them anywhere, they're inexpensive, and you can show off in dozens of musical styles. The friendly and pleasingly tuneful Harmonica For Dummies is the fastest and best way to learn for yourself!

You'll find an easy-to-follow format that takes you from the basics to specialized techniques, with accompanying audio and video content included to make learning even more simple and fun. Before you know it, you'll be playing jazz in your living room and the blues on your way to work or school--and that's just the prelude to mastering classical riffs. That's right, the humble harmonica has graced some of the grandest concert halls on planet Earth!

• Choose the right harmonica

• Enhance your sound with tongue technique

• Develop your own style

• Perfect your live performance

The harmonica is awesome to learn, but even more awesome to&nlearn well, and Harmonica For Dummies will get you on the road from being an occasional entertainer to becoming an accomplished live performer.

P.S. If you think this book seems familiar, you're probably right. The Dummies team updated the cover and design to give the book a fresh feel, but the content is the same as the previous release of Harmonica For Dummies (9781118880760). The book you see here shouldn't be considered a new or updated product. But if you're in the mood to learn something new, check out some of our other books. We're always writing about new topics!

Auteur

Winslow Yerxa is a widely known and admired harmonica player, teacher, lecturer, and author. He has written, produced, and starred in many harmonica books and video projects. He provides private harmonica instruction both online and in person in the San Francisco Bay area. He also offers classes, interviews, and lectures via the Harmonica Collective.

Texte du rabat

• Play right out of the box, with little or no experience
• Get to know scales and chords on a harmonica

• Bend notes like a pro and play multiple styles Add harmonica to your musical repertoire This friendly, step-by-step guide makes it possibleand easyto start making those unmistakable, signature harmonica sounds, even if you've never made music before. Get expert guidance and knowledge that gives you a sure path from selecting your first harmonica to wowing a crowd with your new skills. Discover the many musical styles you can play on the harmonica and develop a repertoire of tunes. Packed with tips, tools, and instructions, Harmonica For Dummies will get you started on the path to playing all kinds of music on this instrument! Inside...

• Selecting your first harmonica
• Getting to know notes, scales, and chords
• Shaping the sound of your harmonica
• Bending notes like the pros
• Exploring popular song styles
• Connecting with the harmonica world

Résumé
Wail on your harmonica!

The harmonica is one of the most popular and versatile instruments in the world. There are several reasons harmonicas are awesomeyou can play them anywhere, they're inexpensive, and you can show off in dozens of musical styles. The friendly and pleasingly tuneful Harmonica For Dummies is the fastest and best way to learn for yourself!

You'll find an easy-to-follow format that takes you from the basics to specialized techniques, with accompanying audio and video content included to make learning even more simple and fun. Before you know it, you'll be playing jazz in your living room and the blues on your way to work or schooland that's just the prelude to mastering classical riffs. That's right, the humble harmonica has graced some of the grandest concert halls on planet Earth!

• Choose the right harmonica
• Enhance your sound with tongue technique
• Develop your own style
• Perfect your live performance
  The harmonica is awesome to learn, but even more awesome to learn well, and Harmonica For Dummies will get you on the road from being an occasional entertainer to becoming an accomplished live performer. P.S. If you think this book seems familiar, you're probably right. The Dummies team updated the cover and design to give the book a fresh feel, but the content is the same as the previous release of Harmonica For Dummies (9781118880760). The book you see here shouldn't be considered a new or updated product. But if you're in the mood to learn something new, check out some of our other books. We're always writing about new topics!

Contenu

Introduction 1

About This Book 1

Foolish Assumptions 3

Icons Used in This Book 3

Beyond the Book 4

Where to Go from Here 4

Part 1: Getting Started with Harmonica 7

Chapter 1: What Is This Thing Called Harp? 9

Considering the Harmonica's Coolness 9

Becoming the Next Harmonica Idol: What It Takes to Play 11

A harmonica 11

A little music know-how 11

Your body 12

Regular practice and unstructured fun! 12

Taking Your Talent to the Next Level 13

Hanging Out in the Harmonica Village 14

Sharing your music with others locally 14

Visiting the repair shop and the accessory store 14

Chapter 2: Becoming a Harmonica Owner 17

Shopping for Your First Harmonica 18

Understanding the construction of the ten-hole diatonic 18

Tuning in to the key of the harp 19

Starting out with a harp in the key of C 19

Pricing a harmonica 20

Determining where to buy a harp 20

Safe and Sound: Caring for Your Harp 21

Collecting Additional Diatonic Harps 23

Purchasing popular keys 24

Expanding your range with harps in high and low keys 24

Adding Variety to Your Harmonica Kit 25

Chromatic harps 25

Tremolo and octave harmonicas 27

Making Your Harps Portable with Carrying Cases 28

Getting to Know You: Discovering How a Harmonica Works 29

Making a five-layer tin sandwich 29

Taking a closer look at the reeds that make the sound 30

Locating different notes 31

Chapter 3: Making Your First Harmonica Sounds 33

Preparing to Play the Harmonica 33

Picking up the harp 34

Putting the harp in your mouth 34

Breathing through the harp 35

Moving through the holes 35

Getting Acquainted with Some Musical Concepts 36

Zeroing in on harmonica tab 36

Counting with musical time 36

Locking in with the beat 37

Using beats as building blocks 39

Developing Your Sound 44

Expanding and sustaining your breathing 44

Cupping the harp in your hands 47

Nestling the harmonica in your mouth 50

Playing some cool rhythms 50

Chapter 4: Relating to Notes, Scales, and Chords 55

Getting in Tune with the Singable Notes 56

Understanding the curious phenomenon of octaves 56

Naming the notes and creating a scale 57

Using octaves to name all the notes 57

Altering pitches with sharps and flats 58

Measuring small distances with semitones and whole tones 59

Sizing Up Intervals 60

Counting out the size of an interval 60

Determining the quality of an interval 61

Finding the Key of a Song 62

Stepping Through Scales 63

Diatonic and chromatic scales 63

Major and minor scales 64

Modal scales 66

Altering a scale with sharps and flats 66

The Building Blocks of Chords 67

Four basic types of chords 68

Adding notes to basic triads 68

Chord progressions 69

Writing Notes Down 70

Placing notes on a staff 70

Writing sharps and flats on the staff 72

Unlocking key signatures 72

Finding harmonica notes on the staff 73

Part 2: Starting to Make Some Music 75

Chapter 5: I Hear a Melody: Playing Single Notes 77

Shaping Your Mouth to Single Out a Note 78

Forming the pucker embouchure 78

Producing a tongue-block embouchure 80

The El…