The Harmonica

What now is a harmonica, you may ask? It is the small little metallic instrument you often see blues musicians and Bruce Springsteen play that they blow into with their mouths. The harmonica is a widely played instrument that is perfect for any beginner and advanced musicians love it for it dynamic flexibility in producing sounds and adaptability to any form of music.

The harmonica is great as a starting place for anyone aspiring to be a musician. For one, it is one of the cheapest musical instruments available as you do not need to spend hundreds of dollars on a good piece. The harmonica is also extremely easy to learn and pick up, and you can practically start playing your first tune without minutes of owning one.

Most harmonicas will come with some very standard instruction sheet that teaches you the basics of playing the instrument. And it is practically all you will ever need because the rest are dependent on your willingness to experiment and learn. There are many different styles of music and since it can be used in almost all of them, you might become a very skilled musicians well versed in a wide variety of styles. From the blues and pop, to metal and folk, nothing exemplifies the spirit of these styles more than the harp, which is another name for the instrument.

There are several types of harps that one can buy. There is the standard diatonic harmonica which is in the key of C and comprises the usual ten hole form. The diatonic harp should also be the first that all beginners should purchase and start from. There is also the chromatic harp which is much more difficult to start from, but essentially you will inevitably progress to this once you have mastered enough skills on the diatonic.

How do you play the harmonica? There are many free online lessons that will teach you the many basics. From learning how to hold the instrument to forming the correct mouth and lip shape in order to play and sound the correct notes. There are also lessons on the Internet that will teach you how to perform the more advanced skills, such as bending notes. If online lessons are not enough, consider buying some harmonica DVDs that will teach you how to play the instrument in different musical styles, especially the blues. You should also listen more to your favorite players and learn how they play the instrument.

As with all instruments, you should also practice a lot on the harmonica. The fact that it is very portable and easy to carry around means that you can do so at practically anywhere, anytime. It is also why you often see soldiers in the field playing the lonely tune from a harmonica.

The harp is also one of the few rare instruments that you can play together at the same time with another. You can either have it fixed on a stand or wear the apparatus that will wire it in front of your mouth, that you can often see pop stars like Bruce Springsteen do. While you strum the guitar, you can then play the harp at the same time, becoming a one man band of your own design.

The harmonica is most often heard in blues music as it conveys a very soulful sound. The ability to bend notes at will is also a key reason why it is so often used, although it is a skill that must be practiced for long hours before it becomes natural and part of you. Musicians like John Hammond have made it part of their legend so it should be time for you to do the same.