Holding the Harmonica
There are many ways to hold a harmonica. Some people even use a mechanical device called a "rack" or "holder", which allows them to play "no hands" while strumming guitar or washing dishes. Bob Dylan is perhaps the best-known musician who plays using a rack.
The best way to hold the harmonica is as pictured, using the left hand, with the low numbered end of the harmonica butted gently between your thumb and forefinger. This hand position will prepare you to later use the sound effect known as the "hand vibrato", as explained in Lesson Eleven. It can be used by right or left-handed players alike. Keep the four fingers of the left hand straight, and pressed gently but closely together, with no visible gaps between them.
The numbers from one to ten on the top cover of your harmonica should be clearly visible (if they are not, you are probably holding your instrument upside-down). The higher the number, the higher the sound of the two notes which that numbered hole can produce. Don’t squeeze the instrument too tightly, or your hand will get tired.
Breathing Through The Harmonica: Low, Middle, and High
Cover a few of the low-end holes (such as the 1, 2, and 3 holes) with your mouth, and gently exhale air through the harmonica.
The harp should be well into your mouth, that is, your upper lip must extend onto the top of the upper cover plate, and your lower lip under the bottom cover plate, as in the picture. In this position, your lips may be slightly in contact with your forefinger on top and your thumb on bottom. Inhale on the low-end holes, also, to produce a different set of sounds.
Cover some of the middle holes (such as the number 4, 5 and 6 holes) with your mouth, and exhale and inhale here to produce two sets of slightly higher sounds.
Cover the highest holes (such as the number 8, 9, and 10 holes) with your mouth, and exhale and inhale to produce two sets of high sounds.
A Random Inhale and Exhale Exercise
After experimenting with inhaling and exhaling on the low, middle, and high notes, keep your lips gently in place against the harmonica, and move the harmonica from side to side against your mouth while inhaling and exhaling at random.
This will be simpler to do if you lightly wet your lips with your tongue first, to avoid friction. Attempt to keep your lips in the same formation that you used when covering three holes at a time, even as your harmonica is sliding through them.
How Much Air To Use
In general, send approximately as much breath through the holes of the harmonica as you would use when talking at a normal voice level. Inhaling or exhaling very forcefully may shorten the life of the harmonica somewhat.
You may notice that less air flow is required to produce the same volume of sound on the higher holes than is needed for the low or middle ones.
Conserving Air by Keeping the Nose Shut
You will find that you use less air when playing if you consciously direct all of your breath through your mouth, rather than through both nose and mouth simultaneously.
Practice breathing through your mouth only for a moment if you need to, to concentrate on keeping the air passage between nose and mouth shut tightly. Nose closure is especially important when doing the inhaling exercises, below.
Rhythm
The term "rhythm" can be used in a general or a specific manner. Generally, rhythm refers to the elements of time in music, such as the speed with which a song is played (also called the "tempo"), or the duration of any note.
In a more specific vein, the term rhythm refers to particular timing patterns of notes in a piece of music, as in anyone of a multitude of "blues rhythms", "rock and roll rhythms", "jazz rhythms", and so on.
The Beat
The term "beat" refers to the basic underlying pulse of a piece of music. When listening to a piece, most people will want to tap their feet at a particular speed. This is the beat of that piece of music.
A beat is usually consistent, which means that the time passing between each beat remains precisely the same. The word beat can also be used to refer to one particular "tap" worth of music, that is, one beat.
The Bars
In blues music, the beat or pulse of the music is almost always divided into repeated four beat units called "bars" or "measures".
Thus, each individual "four tap’s worth" of the following rhythm patterns can be called one "bar" or one "measure". This term "bar", meaning "a four beat section", will be important to remember for later lessons.
Tap your foot so that the amount of time between each tap is exactly the same. If this seems hard to do at first, walk at a very steady pace, observing that the time between each footfall remains the same. It may be easier to learn about this material by listening to the taped accompaniment than by just reading about it.
Now count "one" "two" "three" "four" as you tap your foot. Say each number out loud, exactly as your foot hits the floor. Try to keep the time that passes between each tap precisely the same. You will probably need to catch a very quick breath (inhale) after each "four", without lengthening the time between that "four" and the following "one". Each of these four beat units makes up one bar.
Once this feels familiar, do the same thing, but count only the beats "one", "two", and "three" out loud, and mouth the "four" beat silently. You can then catch your breath while the "four" tap is occuring.
About The Count
It is customary to count a few beats before beginning a song or rhythm, in order to indicate the speed or tempo of the piece. Musicians call this the count or count-off.
Most of the pieces in this book, as demonstrated on the cassette, will be preceded by a count of four beats ("one, two, three, four") to prepare you for the beat of the song or rhythm. Very occasionally, a count other than four (usually three) will be used.
