A guide on how to play the harmonica for beginners
First for a beginner to learn how to play the harmonica, you have to learn how to hold it. Hold the harmonica easily and comfortably in your hands then position it comfortably on your mouth. Start play breathing on your harmonica, that is, breathe in and out on your harmonica without thinking of actually playing it[Do not Blow or suck on your harmonica just yet, just play breathe]. Slowly and gradually start breathing in and out of your harmonica listening to your breathing patterns [Again do not Blow or suck on your harmonica]. This is the most basic and most important step that most people always forget or do not know about when trying to learn how to play the harmonica.
As you breathe
on your harmonica start making your breathes deeper, let the breathes
come down from your diaphragm [think stomach] up to your lungs and out
into the harmonica.Practise this several times and then as you feel your
pattern, try and speak out into your harmonica along with the breathing
patterns.Try the common "Ooh sussannaah". Repeat this several times
keeping in mind where your breathes are coming from and concentrating on
controlling your breathe.Inhale and exhale into your harmonica while
gauging and feeling the source of your breathes.
If
you are a harmonica lover and you are dedicated and really want to
learn on how to play the harmonica, you atleast should have an idea of a
harmonica tone in your head, maybe a blues tone you have heard somewhere
or a harmonica tone you have heard your friends play. If you do, choose
a tone you are familiar with from your head
and then start 'practise playing' it on your harmonica.Hold the tone
while controlling your breathe for as long as you possibly can.Now start
breathing in and out on your harmonica as fast as you possibly can.
Now think of a diatonic harmonica tone you know of, something simple with
like two tones.Now start playing them in the first holes /warps of
your harmonica, slowly and gradually play the tone moving to the middle
section of your harmonica, play your tone concentrating on it and
listening to the rhythm of the tones.Now cover several holes of your
harmonica with your hand and repeat the process, from the first section to the middle
section following a rhythmic pattern. Cover 1 to 4 holes of the
harmonica as you play and follow a rhythm.
After
practising on the above, now you can try practise chugging. Try
breathing in and out of your harmonica in a rhythmic pattern, like,
in/out in/out in-in/out-out in-out-in/in--out-out, create your
pattern and follow a rhythm.Try this repeatedly while controlling
your breathe pattern all along. In case you happen to run out of
breathe, open your throat wide and breathe into your diaphragm[stomach].
Your nose/ lungs breathing is secondary breathing in this case.Whenever
you happen to run out of breathe always open your throat and breathe
into your diaphragm.
