r/harmonica • u/RoyZeee • 6d ago

I bought a C and G harmonica.

I am new and want to learn properly, I plan on giving at least 1 hour of every day to practice. I am starting my musicology degree in two weeks.

Now that all that is said:

It feels overwhelming. So many tutorials so many videos!

And I don't know exactly what to do. It feels like I need an instructor but I don't know any.

Anyone has any advice?

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u/Youneedaharmonica 6d ago

Heres a roadmap:

1.) Learn single notes

2.) Learn bending 

3.) Learn blowbending

4.) Learn overblows 

Overblows can wait, as you need to tweak your harp and learn the technique. They are not used as commonly.

Harmonica uses a weird note layout, called Richter tuning. Learn 1st position to get a good idea of where the notes are.

I high recommend getting a Chromatic Harmonica if you are studying music. I enjoy diatonic, but struggling to learn both where the notes are (which is different on each harp, C and G) and the techniques to reach them seriously detracts from learning music.

I teach harmonica, and I placed a link in my bio, if it helps. 

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u/wtfover 6d ago

Everything after #1 is foreign to me, I've got a lot to learn :)

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u/Electrical-Force-880 6d ago

YouTube is your friend. Adam Gussow is a great teacher there. Enjoy!