What Books To Learn To Play Harmonica?
Posted by: JohnA reader asked for suggestions for a book to get for her husband to help him learn to play the harmonica she’d bought him for Christmas. I asked her a few questions to get a better idea of what type of book would be most beneficial for her husband:
Q: What kind of harmonica did you buy?
A: Hohner Special 20 in C
Q: What type of music does he want to play?
A: He plays “folky” type music a lot, but likes all kinds of music
Q: Is he starting from square one or does he have some experience playing either harmonica or another instrument?
A: He plays guitar and ukelele, but has never played harmonica
With those facts in mind, I made the following three recommendations:
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Mel Bay Deluxe Harmonica Method – has about 100 songs in it, mainly traditional. Mel Bay courses are generally pretty good and this one has gotten good reviews. |
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Complete Idiot’s Guide to Playing the Harmonica – the reviews on this one are excellent and I know this series is usually very good. |
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Jon Gindick’s Rock ‘n Blues Harmonica – I learned from a book by Jon Gindick called “Country and Blues Harmonica for the Musically Hopeless” which unfortunately appears to be out of print. Jon is an excellent teacher and knows his stuff. Obviously, this one is oriented more toward rock and blues than the other two. |
So, what do you think? What’s your favorite book that you’ve used to learn to play harmonica? Leave a comment and let’s hear about it!
April 13th, 2010 at 10:35 pm
Jerry Portnoy’s Blues Harmonica Master Class. This is an extraordinary set of CD’s. Good from beginner to master.
http://www.harpmaster.com/lessons.htm
April 13th, 2010 at 10:53 pm
Hey, Jeremiah,
I agree. I’ve owned this course since it first came out and it’s excellent!
Thanks for the pointer.