Harmonica Lesson for Beginners in 7 Common Keys

[goochbuntu]

ha ha i never learned the blues but i been playing songs for a while i used c then g then now on d

[jawjadancr]

arnt u putting something else on the end of those 2 licks? please provide me the exact tab

thank u

[BluesVinyl]

Thank you for posting this video. Just what I was looking for. My first harp will be a G with that thick swampy blues sound.

[chrisdavies23359]

cant you break a harmonica by blowing too hard? my hole 6 sounds odd all of a sudden lol

[rockplay100]

Damn i bought B harp,but i don't care because it sounds great !!!!!!

[Dzony1996]

how do u do that 3:46

[santseghotmail]

does the Bb harp has a lot of the same notes as an A and C harp??? I don't really know cause I'm a beginner. Sorry for my english... haha

[12gagedan]

@santseghotmail There are only 12 notes in our music system (they repeat in different octaves). The best thing for you to do is do a web search on "diatonic harmonica note layout" and look at charts of the different keyed harmonicas. That way, you can teach yourself what notes are the same. There are good charts on the coast to coast music website.

[johninleon]

Hey Dan, just discovered your series of videos and I'm really inspired by them. Two things come outta them for me. one is your love of the music and your desire to spread your knowledge to everybody who'll listen, and two is, well, what a nice guy you are, keep it up man. Johnny, (an English blues fan who never played a note in his life but who now wants to try)

[TheClickman93]

Ehi, you are very good with the Harmonica ... I like your video lessons about it ... can you tell me what kind of Harmonica must i buy for play blues music, for example, i want play Blues Brothers songs ... you know them? yes, of course :) ... I have got 3 Harmonicas: In C key, D key and Ab key. Thank you ... good luck for your future

[harmonica0909]

man!! your so good on teaching!!! keep it up!!!

[munmmfy]

Bb is my favorite too.. ^^

[Joeys48]

I don't understand the concept of playing the harp in a key that's different from what the band is playing. 1st, 2nd, 3rd position? Are these 3 harps in different keys that will fit in the key the band is playing in? FYI, I'm playing along to Blues CD's with a C Flute. I don't know what key the songs are in so I just figure out what notes fit and play. I'd like to understand it better for communication purposes.

[Joeys48]

I don't understand the concept of playing the harp in a key that's different from what the band is playing. 1st, 2nd, 3rd position? Are these 3 harps in different keys that will fit in the key the band is playing in?

[LVMagician]

Great job sharing useful information, as usual. I enjoy your supporting cast of characters more than "Mr. Ant" from the Box Shuffle lesson (6:00 for those of you interested in back-tracking and tuning in).

Thanks for helping spread the music!

[CHARLIEHARP]

Hello my friend its been a long time that you haven´t done videos. I hope everything is going all right for you. I saw the other day a video of you playing in some festival in the morning and i really enjoy it.. Nice to see you around again, Big Hug from London from your friend, Charlyharp.

[HarPlayer]

Your Cat Slim like hearing you play ; ) Slim was in the whole Vid and left @ the end. look like he was figuring out where the sound was comming from. Can you plays some Octiave's next time in ur play . love Octave Playing . When Joe Filisko does it. It's is Soooo AAAAAAAA Some !!!!!!!!!!!!!! love his playing that what i want to play like. ; ) Harp On

[12gagedan]

@HarPlayer I made an octave video a few years back. Do you mean a 7 key octave video? hmmm. . .

[HarPlayer]

@12gagedan Did i give you and idea? mention my name if you make one . Harp On

[m2dff]

THANK YOU FOR RETURNING WITH MORE VIDEOS! how was the moving?

[ChippyMcBeal]

thanks !! This is awesome! this is helpful because I have the main 7 keys apart from Bb. cheers

[12gagedan]

It sounded better making this than it does through my headphones.

[jtdbs]

Thanks anyway for the quick answer.By the way your harmonica last year was the marineband.Why did you change it?Any diffrents?By the way I watched your videos quit a bit and you inspired me to get a harp.Mine is in the key of C."Hohner Silver Star" I think and it's not very good,but I suppose it's good for a beginer like me.Thanks again for all your videos and we (the harmonica fens) hope you make more great videos.Thank again!

[12gagedan]

@jtdbs I've been playing Marine Bands and Special 20's forever. I started to work on a video last year, to survey different harmonicas. It was partly for youtube, and partly for myself. There have been a lot of new models of harmonicas in the last few years, and I hadn't tried any of them. So, I started buying different harmonicas. I will eventually make a harmonica buying guide vid. I just really like the Hohner Crossover.

[TalkingPoints1]

@12gagedan just for kicks, Dan, and I'm sure you know this already, but I've found Suzuki Manji harmonicas to be the smoothest. The comb is a composite between wood and plastic. You get the warm tonal quality of the wood, with none of the warping problems of beechwood. To me, the 1896 Marine Band is a great sounding harp, but it is such a pain in the butt to work with (the nasty metal rail slices your lips, the comb warps and shifts, among other things) that I wont buy them anymore.

[NinjaOnWheels]

Hey dan, glad to see you're making more videos!

I know this isn't the proper video to ask this on, but I figure there is a higher chance of you seeing it.

So I can't seem to bend a note, that or I am, and I just don't realise it. When I play a note, I can make the note kind of change back and forth, but I think that might be Vibrato (?) and not actual bending. I use pucker and every video says that you bend by moving your tongue, but when I move my tongue the sound doesn't change? Any help?

[12gagedan]

@NinjaOnWheels I shot a video yesterday on bends using all 7 keys as well. Maybe that will help you. I'll try to get it uploaded this week or early next.

[Raidfreak]

G is definitely one of my favorites. Bass sounds though literally change something in my head. Sounds scary, but I just mean that the low rumble of bass or deeper sounds really puts me in a good mood when I can feel/hear them being played.

[jtdbs]

Hi Dan.Nice to see you back in youtube :D Can I ask you to make a video lesson "how to customize your harmonica".I realy am looking forward to this,because I can't find how to customize my harmonica myself.If you do the video I would be so tankfull.

[12gagedan]

@jtdbs I cannot make a customizing video, because I don't currently have harmonica customizing skills. There's a famous video by Rupert Oysler that goes over the details of customizing harps.

[1RAVENGANG52]

nice jam at the end

[1RAVENGANG52]

man glad you are back thanks dan

[KelleyBates]

funny how i only have c and a :P

[12gagedan]

I think I need to reprocess this video. It looks terrible, but shouldn't. Stay tuned. . .

[bettyswolloks2]

Thanks Dan Great to see you back

[jock5dav]

Great to see you back Dan.

Have you ever done a beginners, or intermediates, video on overblows for an uncustomised harmonica? If not, could you?

[12gagedan]

@jock5dav no, but I have spent the last couple of years slowly working on my overblow technique. It is way easier on customized harps, but not impossible on stock harps. I think it just takes practice. Gapping is pretty simple, though. The higher gaps in some stock harps makes them almost impossible to OB.