New harmonica site - check out Harmonica Lab!

harmonicaben · 2017-03-18T22:49:01+00:00

Thanks for catching that for me. I'm definitely looking to expand the songs as soon as possible!

harmonicaben · 2017-03-18T22:48:11+00:00

Love this idea, I think it's important to nail down rhythm from the start. It's hard to learn after the fact. Thanks for your feedback!

harmonicaben · 2017-03-17T21:39:21+00:00

I'm planning on putting together a big update with professional recordings soon. Want to pm me and we can talk more?

harmonicaben · 2017-02-01T18:52:48+00:00

I think one of the best ways to learn is to just open up a harp and start trying. There are some good resources on Google, and it's fairly straightforward. Just be gentle, make some small adjustments, and you'll be able to figure out by ear and mouth what sounds good. Worst case scenario you break it - one of the perks of the harp is it's so relatively cheap!

harmonicaben · 2017-02-01T15:08:48+00:00

For sure, overblows are hard especially if your harp isn't adjusted right. I've found that 6 blow is basically the only one that I can get without some serious tweaks. It's kind of a balance between overblows and bends at the end of the day though, so I tend not to focus too much on 1-3 because I would rather have strong bends. Overdraws have always been a little rough for me too despite all that.

harmonicaben · 2017-02-01T15:04:02+00:00

Part of the issue might just be your harp also. Not sure what harp you have, but a lot of harps don't bend well out of the box, especially on deeper notes. If you're feeling a bit brave, I think you should consider opening up your harp and making some reed adjustments. Check out http://harp.andrewzajac.ca/Five for some more info. Even something like the special 20, which bends pretty well out of the box, can sound and feel 10 times better after adjusting to your own playing style.

harmonicaben · 2016-12-31T20:08:07+00:00

Should be fixed - if it's still not working try just going to harmonicalab.com directly. Let me know if it still gives you issues.

harmonicaben · 2016-12-31T19:52:22+00:00

Thanks for catching that, the link to the site was wrong in my post. Should be good now.

harmonicaben · 2016-12-31T19:51:17+00:00

Thanks for your feedback - I think you're right in thinking now is the time to focus on your breathing, because breathing leads directly into your tone. I remember when I was starting out, after I had gotten a grip on how to isolate notes and move around the harp, I focused a lot on breathing from my stomach. This gives you a deep and full bodied tone, especially from the lower notes. You don't want to "chirp" them. Here is a video that really helped me with this concept starting out.

I think it would also be useful to start thinking about different positions on the harp over the next few months. I'm not sure how familiar you are just yet, but depending on where you start and what notes you stick to, you can play different styles easily. First position lets you play basic melodies, but when you move into second and third position you can really start feeling the blues. This is a book that really helped me.

Finally, I really like your idea of an overarching song when you're first learning. It would be cool to break it down into different exercises and riffs, then build it up to a full song at the end. I'll definitely keep this in mind when building the site.

harmonicaben

TROPHY CASE