About this course
Perfect for absolute beginner complete harmonica players.
Takes you from beginner to professional level in a variety of styles as well as teaching music theory and improvisation in an interesting and practical way. Uses easy-read notation specially designed for harmonica. This dynamic course features step-by-step guidance with real music examples, and comes complete with audio and video resources to make learning easy and enjoyable. Explore exciting topics like Relative Keys, The F Major Scale, while developing rhythm, coordination, and musical expression.
Develops harmonica skills through study of diatonic and chromatic playing, music notation, improvisation, and analytical techniques.
This course in a printable PDF format
Covers proper harmonica technique and timing through the use of compact discs featuring recordings and drum beats as a reference.
Develops a systematic practice approach for various music styles through efficient daily sessions balancing new material with revision.
Diatonic harmonicas excel in blues and folk styles, while chromatic harmonicas offer wider pitch ranges and complex melodies.
Introduces various harmonica playing techniques for producing notes, chords, and double stops through breath control and sound manipulation.
Introduces a harmonica notation system using numbers and rhythmic patterns to produce distinct sounds and pitches.
Bar lines, time signatures, note values (quarter, whole, half) and repeat signs are introduced.
Consecutive breathing techniques are essential for harmonica players to develop coordination and control.
Recognizing and utilizing rests in music notation, including their duration and role in timing and coordination.
Harmonica technique covers smooth position changes, exploring hole selection and breath control during rests.
Introduces the classic children's song Three Blind Mice while explaining quarter rest notation for one-beat silences.
Vibrato technique for harmonica playing introduces nuanced expression and emotional depth.
Covers basic techniques for creating a train whistle sound using wah-wah effects and harmonica manipulation.
Ties are used to connect notes across bar lines and within a bar, with harmonica exercises providing practical application.
Improvisation techniques cover combining chords and single notes to create train rhythms.
Tonguing techniques are applied to articulate harmonica notes and produce clear, even melodies.
The 12-bar blues pattern is a fundamental harmonic structure used in numerous well-known songs across genres like Blues, Jazz, and Rock.
Effective use of rests creates space for other instruments and enhances overall rhythmic complexity.
Mastering diaphragmatic breathing techniques and exercises enables harmonica players to achieve relaxed, economical airflow.
Relaxation and flexibility are key factors in maintaining good posture while playing the harmonica, both standing and sitting.
The C major scale is covered, featuring harmonica exercises and application in a well-known song.
Introduces fundamental concepts in music theory, covering keys and scales with emphasis on the key of C major.
Displaces accents from the beat to create syncopated rhythms.
Introduces techniques for playing harmonica in various keys using second position and cross harp.
Introduces the 12-bar blues pattern and its connection to the G Major scale.
Roman numerals and chord types are applied to identify and navigate the 12-bar Blues progression.
Root notes of chords are identified and played through harmonica exercises, building confidence.
Elevate your instrument playing by developing a consistent tone and bringing melodies to life.
Improves skills in playing melodies by ear, enhancing musical response and personal repertoire.
Covers techniques for creating and playing harmonica riffs, enhancing versatility in harmonica performance.
Triplets, a fundamental rhythmic pattern in blues music, refers to a sequence of three notes played within the space of two.
Unique rhythmic patterns are created by focusing on the first and third notes of triplets.
The shuffle rhythm is a constant stream of swinging eighth notes, used in Blues music for riffs and songs.
Note bending techniques on harmonica cover inhale and exhale bends.
Introduces musical phrase construction techniques for improvisation and soloing, including note bending and variation creation.
Techniques for achieving nuanced, expressive harmonica bends are covered.
The concept of stop time is explored, including its application in blues music, particularly in Muddy Waters' Hoochie Coochie Man.
Techniques for creating wailing harmonica effects and expressive bends are covered.
The techniques of trilling, a rapid note alternation, are covered, including their application in blues music.
Throat vibrato techniques, including masterful control of harmonic expressions through similar movement patterns.
Introduces the concept of sixteenth notes through exercises with scales, sequences, and melodies in various note sub divisions.
Introduces notation techniques for recognizing and playing dotted eighth notes and sixteenth rests.
Introduces techniques for playing songs with first and second endings, examining musical structures and variations.
Introduces techniques for playing complex harmonica rhythms featuring 16th notes and ties.
Musical concepts and scale patterns are applied to harmonica playing.
Introduces the C harmonic minor scale, covering notes, flats, and scale degrees for the harmonica.
Introduces fundamental techniques for playing the C harmonica, including mastering its 3-octave scale and playing in first position.
The C major pentatonic scale is explored, highlighting its versatility and widespread use in folk and gospel music.
Introduces the G mixolydian scale and its characteristic mournful tone, a fundamental element in Blues harmonica playing.
The G major pentatonic scale is introduced, covering its use in music and featuring harmonic playing techniques.
The minor pentatonic scale is covered, highlighting its distinctive features and use in Blues and Rock music.
The Blues Scale is covered, highlighting its role in crafting memorable Blues melodies.
Articulation techniques like tenuto and staccato are examined, highlighting their impact on musical tone.
Introduces the fundamentals of musical articulation, covering tenuto and staccato techniques for adding expression and emotional depth.
Softly played rhythmic accents, or ghost notes, introduce nuanced expression to music.
Articulations from saxophone and trumpet musicians are studied to develop expressive harp playing.
Introduces fundamental techniques for creating original melodies using ear training and familiar sounds and scales.
Covers construction of a Blues turnaround using chords 1 and 5 to establish musical repetition.
Developing ear training skills requires listening, practice, and patience, allowing for melodic playing and improvisation with others.
Blues call and response techniques are explored, featuring instrumental answers to initial melodies.
Covers learning vocal melodies and applying expressive techniques to harmonica playing.
Vocal-style phrasing techniques on harmonica, emphasizing space and pause for expressive soloing in Blues.
The 12-bar blues is a common variation of traditional blues music.
Third-position playing in minor keys is introduced for the C harmonica.
The Dorian scale and its use in harmonica music are covered.
Time signatures cover simple and compound rhythms, including the six-eight pattern.
Covers the D Blues scale in third position for C harmonica, emphasizing melodic techniques.
Playing octaves in third position harmonica requires mastery of this essential technique.
Introduces advanced harmonica techniques, focusing on mastering the C harmonica in the A minor key.
Relate harmonica playing to musical scales by mastering relative major and minor keys.
Sixteenth-note swing rhythms are covered, used frequently in Funk, Hip-Hop, and Rock music.
Introduces the fundamentals of harmonica playing across various keys, covering scales and relative major/minor key relationships.
Introduces techniques for expanding harmonica repertoire through playing harps in various keys to accompany other musicians.
This covers advanced exhale note bending techniques for harmonica blues playing.
Introduces the concept of major chords through understanding major scales' note structures.
Melody and harmony are explored, with a focus on how various instruments collaborate to produce distinct soundscapes.
Minor and diminished chords, along with their construction on major scale notes, are examined.
Introduces chord shapes for keys and provides comprehensive coverage of chords 1, 4, and 5.
The chromatic harmonica has a range of three octaves and is played in all keys using its slide mechanism.
The art of playing the chromatic harmonica involves mastering its distinct position and slide technique to access an extended range of notes.
Written music recognition and brain development are key to building musical literacy.
Staff structure, treble clef, note heads, and stems are introduced in this section.
Staff layout and additional note techniques using leger lines are introduced.
Note values and their corresponding rests are examined, providing a foundation in music notation and timing.
Notes are structured like a tree, facilitating valuation of relative importance and segmentation.
Covers techniques for playing over three octaves on a chromatic harmonica, featuring the C major scale and fundamental sequence patterns.
Traditional Irish melodies such as Londonderry Air are covered, with an emphasis on playing them on the chromatic harmonica.
Tone and phrasing are critical in producing slurs with a mournful quality.
Introduces the concept of Cut Common Time, a rhythmic variation featuring two half-note beats per bar.
Octave playing on the chromatic harp involves blocking three holes with the tongue, a demanding technique.
Music reading skills developed for learning complex songs, expanding repertoire, and improving jazz and classical playing.
Pitch and rhythm recognition are practiced separately to overcome reading music challenges. Repeated patterns help improve reading skills.
Introduces harmonica positions on the chromatic harp and explains how to read melodies in various keys without bending notes.
Introduces sharp (#) and flat (b) symbols used to raise or lower notes on the piano keyboard by a semitone.
The chromatic scale is introduced as a 12-note octave encompassing natural notes, sharps, and flats, universally applied in music.
Introduces interval notation and its applications, covering interval names and types.
Chromatic harp techniques for creating sharps and flats involve sliding to alter note pitches by one semitone.
Major scale structure, tone and semitone patterns, and scale degrees are examined.
Builds on pattern recognition, introducing major scale construction principles for any given note.
The G major scale's fundamental principles, including its patterns and tonal characteristics, are examined.
Identifies and plays notes within a key using key signatures to simplify music notation.
The F major scale's structure, characteristics, and practical uses are covered.
Keys and key signatures are related to scales through sharp and flat notes, featuring patterns of tones and semitones in major scales.
Introduces techniques for transposing melodies to different pitches and keys.
Introduces the concept of the key cycle, exploring movement between keys through the cycle of 5ths or 4ths.
Introduces the construction of major scales across all 12 tones.
Covers principles for playing melodies in various keys and modulating like jazz standards.
Intervals are explained, covering types like unison, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, and octave.
Perfect, augmented, and diminished intervals are examined alongside their relationships with major and minor intervals.
Introduces intervals from unison to octave, covering tritone distance.
Introduces techniques for identifying intervals by ear, honing instrumental skills and refining musical perception.
Introduces the principles of minor keys and scales, covering natural, harmonic, and melodic minor scales.
Covers the harmonic minor scale's distinct features and tonal nuances.
Covers the melodic minor scale's unique properties and its application in different musical styles.
Introduces the relationships between major and minor scales, highlighting shared notes and key signatures within relative keys.
Learning the notes of natural, harmonic, and melodic minor scales in a new key.
Covers the creation and transposition of minor scales, including natural, harmonic, and melodic forms, using a mathematical formula.
Minor scale structures and applications are covered, including melodic, harmonic, and natural forms.
Develops skills through jamming with recorded tracks on harmonica improvisation.
Develops performance skills for diverse audiences, while fostering self-expression and confidence to overcome stage fright.
Fostering confidence through preparation, technical expertise, and personal conviction.
Introduces the importance of establishing an emotional connection with others through deliberate eye contact and visual engagement.
Effective audience engagement through observation of professional performers' nonverbal cues, movement, and expression.
Uncover the art of individual expression through observation and self-reflection.
Techniques for harmonica players cover solo performances, band settings, and microphone mastery.
Dynamic and omni-directional microphones are discussed, highlighting their suitability for live performances and recording sessions.
Harmonica tone is enhanced by connecting to a microphone and amplifier or using a vocal mic with a PA system.
Introduces techniques for creating overdriven sounds with harp mics and amps, drawing inspiration from Little Walter and similar styles.
Playing harmonica with a harmonica rack allows accompanying oneself on guitar or keyboards.
Examines iconic blues, country, folk, rock, and jazz recordings, introducing harmonica skills through vocal and instrumental accompaniment.
Analyzes solo and melody structures, dissects techniques, and integrates innovative approaches to improve musicianship.
Timing and pitch accuracy in vocal recordings are examined for personal assessment and skill development.
Covers music fundamentals beyond melody and rhythm, including chords and harmony, for enhanced harmonica playing and band arrangements.
