Weekly Harmonica Lessons: Tip #1

[maurixiobert]

Great ... but how can you bend on draw 5 ... I can't ... please explain us ... thank you

[MrReloboy]

whats a bend



[andrewvincentconway]

Is a draw bend on #5 the same as a blow 5? I can bend holes 1-4 but not #5. I didn;t know there was a bend on draw 5 . . . should I keep trying?

[Snakbratsch]

@andrewvincentconway from 1 -6 you bend only by drawing, 7-10 you blowbend...

[erikizitoxxx]

HOLY SHIT, IRON MAN



[jamiemacie04]

im just startin out playin harmonica and your videos will be my harmonica bible , lol your killer at the harmonica; excellent, ive subscribed and willl continue to follow your videos.

[natalym36]

thanks. i try!

[mariunik]

muy buena la explicacion



[droverboy1]

Thanks Ronnie, that was great bro!!!

[bayderon]

what do you mean by draw? like how you hold your fingers or inhail exhail or blow?

[adam2969]

How you doing? Been watching your u tube vids. I'm totally new to the harmonica. Just looked at the Ur first one. Going to practice it. You made it simple. It was the 3 4 5 draw 5 4 3 draw keeping your breathing consistance. What can I do or do to build off of that to practice a longer lick or note to sound I'm getting somewhere? And so it sounds like I'm making music besides a short lick that sounds like that all I know. Hope I made sense. Thanks for the help.

[texbls]

u look a little bit like Javier Bardem

[Niles169]

Just ran into you think about playing harmonica in my group. Very good instruction. thank you.

[bottleofhatered]

so ive had a harmonica for a long time never really took the time to learn anything about them, so far the tips tht ive found in the last couple days yours have been the most helpfull, thanks. from AK.

[sfsfhfshfs]

great stuff ! helped me ;-)

[dcalstring]

good exercise. But i'v some confusion in the last note. Is the 2 draw note 'g' ? Pls clarify the descending part.

[spyguys]

@dcalstring 2 draw on a C harp is "G".

[SaucyBa11a31]

thanks for this lesson i will practice it - I just have a random question for you, when I play the harp it sounds like I am pushing each note I don't know what better way to describe it, how can I sound more fluid? will practicing this help me get smoother on it? If been playing for over a year now and when i play a song it just still sounds like im pushing each note - ur advice would be greatly appreciated

[1woodnut]

Man, I can't tell you how much this helps. Let me add this. Practice, practice, practice. Stay loose and relaxed and stick with it.

[dndmatt]

Fucking Progressive ads...

[TheNovemberdays]

thank you SO MUCH!

[tarozzi3]

im liking the videos so far man thanks much iv been trying to teach myself for a while these are a great help

[duvey851]

Good instructions, need more..

[johnwithers94]

playing the harmonica is hard :(

[Qwaybabii]

question so the 5 draw and the 5 bend is that the same note are you doing that all at one time or two different times

[uralumkinman]

holy shit this video was two years ago and you can pop notes out that harmonica so clean!"!!

[quareshmuah]

subbed u dude !!!

:)

[horneydustdevil]

this dude is awesome

[TheOnix123]

i wanna learn so bad, but it is sooooo hard :(

[MsMiwka]

Hi Ronnie

[MrGeoff1957]

Hey Ronnie

I like what you said. It's my first time watching you so keep it up

Geoff

[mighty9178]

is there a way to learn tabs fast?

[mrmuddyshoes]

Good Onya Ronnie From Australia. Thanks for the lessons.

[musicguyelwain]

dear ronnie - thanks for your time for us newbies. we do care and appreciate your help. i will put your lessons to practice.

[RockLakeMama]

Finally have a place to practice without driving anyone crazy, and decided to look for help on Youtube. What a find! Thanks. From one teacher to another ... you're really good!

[fulldesignlive]

thanks Ronnie, El Salvador te saluda.!

[Rader2004]

I need lot's of lessons...lol Just saw this and watching more

[Yellowknight888]

It's hard to follow your tips when we don't have the blues licks with us to practice. But thanks anyways.

[smontylove]

Thanks man! Glad I found you.

[valeriejolie]

Y_Y I wish I was good like you

[lachi1971]

Hi there, great tips! I am an absolute beginner....is this the first video I should look at? or should I practice the very basics first? Thanks.

[RollaSkates]

thats a fresh ass harmonica coat rack in the background!!!! vid is verii helpful too

[footballrocksalot]

Awesome job man!! Thanks!!!!!!!!!!

[javierfeuchter]

i dont know what else to play.. what can i do?

[JBtheuser]

good stuff. im learning how to play thanks

[soulrebel327]

thanks, good skills

[mrmorksstuff]

Brilliant stuff.....plenty of players on Youtube but NOT many good teachers and awesome players....cheers

[zfkzfk]

Good tip man

[kevinpeters78]

You make it seem so easy..??? im musicly handicaped i think !! This is the first instument that i have ever tried to play

and finding it very hard ! thanks for the lesson though!!

[gerald554]

please keep this going ive been playing for many years and man am i a slow learner thanks

[zrrack]

I have suzuki easy rider (F) , can i use the harmonica following your lesson?

[abaker1016]

I am having a hard time learning the bend notes... it has been explained to me a lot :( maybe you can explain better.

[divobird]

i brought a childrens harmonica for a £1 will it have the same effect?

[fantasmagoria0]

what kind of harmonica is that? mine sounds nothing like yours :)

[zro415]

sounds good

[Duincyberkonijn]

I like youre music very much.and i'm learn a lot of your lessons...thank you so much.

Greetings from Holland

[fishnbud214]

I think my Harp is broken...lol...I dont sound anything like you...haha

[enigmaCSS]

haah wooo blame it on the harp hahaha

[PageandPlant4Life]

Great Lesson!!!! I am starting out, and you are giving me some good licks. And teaching me better technique. thanks

[Knukleheada]

i'm gonna need to learn some blues rock harmonica because our band wants to play aerosmith-style music and i'm the singer!

this should be helpful, thanks!

[Gina0935]

Very helpful. I just started playing the harmonica, and I need all of the help that I can get!

[miks8]

sweet! looking forward to the next tip!

[tbrab1]

I have messed around for years but never got into now at 37 I found your page and I am enjoying learning to play for real. Thanks! and you ROCK.

[argydubbaya]

I been playing a while and also play slide guitar. I'm a fan. The Outback Larrikin

[bigboy91702]

whats the best way to describe if you will how to bend a note driving me crazy bro sounds like shit when i do and when i do i get lucky heeeeeeeeeeeelp!!!!!!! thhanks ronnie keep up the good work!

[dtecum]

Sounds great!. I am going to try it on all my diatonics.

[jepzone]

I didnt really get what you meant, but hey it sounded nice

[hussle4]

I love these tip's, your a good guy... Thank's

[feiz01]

excellent ronnie,great,simple precise and consice,,perfect tuition post,many thanx brother,,,

[rentonk2]

heyy really helpfull!!

i will do the exercise but you only tell how to do the last great lick but the first and the second? it would be very kind tell hot o do that :D!

take care man

[davesays]

concise, very informative. when you actually say the holes or notes to play, i.e. "2 draw, 3 draw, ..." etc. it makes it so much easier to try to mimic how you do it.

[riffer15]

what type of harmonica is that?

[tyronejohn77]

Mate, your lessons are great. A few other people on here have mentioned the difficulty of bending notes on a new harp. Mine's two days old and I've been playing it (badly) for a couple of hours a day. How long do you reckon it will take to loosen up? And is the 2 draw particularly tricky to master? Cheers mate.

[Ledvolta]

It's mostly having a more polished technique that resolves those problems. :)

[arthur4080]

for the 2 draw you have to draw lightly and consistently. drop your jaw.

[VideoSinger]

An excellent video. You educated because you stuck to a simple point. Going over and over a simple point will succeed. Grandiose coverings of material don't do much.

[ExtraWedgie]

I'm having a hard time to hit single notes. Some one told me to make my mouth in the shape like I'm drinking from a straw. I notice that many people play from the side of there mouth, kinda like a lean. Does your mouth make that shape. I can bend notes and kinda play some stuff BUT NOT SINGLE NOTES PLEASE HELP.

[rsakae]

Very nice man, thanks for the tips. I finally got my harmonica out of the stand, so my goal of this year is to play it, no lessons taken but some practice and, of course, Youtube.

Subscribed.

[ferfunny]

Oh yes thanks a lot these tips are very useful

[jdwhitt]

I'd like to know how you get that vibrato on one note (for instance, the last note you play). Are you just bending really fast?

[loekipankoeki]

I'm gonna try all your lessons and hopefully pick up 10% off your skills!! Thanx for sharing it with the world..

[akalbj]

hey man can u give some tips on what type of harmonica to buy i hav a hohner blues harp g can u teach some stuff in that and some funk really good lesson by the way

[wowmaster5]

what's a bend exactly?

[Egoandstuff]

Hi Ronnie, I've been watchin your vids, and i'm gettin pretty good at playin the harp, but one thing that i cant do is get my mouth position. i cant find any vids of yours that mention it, could you send me a link please?

[CBREWORK]

do you have anything in writing foor instruction? or can I ask you questions? I have been learning the harp but I am at a standstill i think, i don't know how to read the notes and timimgneeds to improve as well as how to develop licks or exersizes that I can proactice help

[gardenharp]

Ronnie - thanks for sharing your technique and tone - these are great lessons.

You mention bending 5 down - what note do you get when you do that? thanks for the help.

[jeroentiessen]

Hi, good tip!

But, last week i bought an E harmonica, is it better to buy an C for this kind of stuff? of will E be just as good as C?

[NebraskaOutdoors]

hey, I have been practicing the harmonica for a little while now and I got some folk songs memorized, I can bend notes fairly well and I have smooth transitions, but I want to try some more blues stuff. Is there a source where I can get some Blues Riffs or even songs from?

[cdurack]

why does my harp not sound like that

[obon1234567]

Got it. I will try.

[clrn2mt]

Very good Ronnie,

To demonstrate, you might show what it sounds like when NOT using consistent air flow. I have noticed that one thing separating the great players from the not-so-great is the wonderful fluid flow of air throughout the entire song. Amazing grace can be smooth and beautiful or chopped up even with the correct notes played. I still cannot play it smooth :(

[RonnieShellist]

that is a good idea. perhaps in next weeks video i can do a quick demo in the beginning.

[damnduke]

I got a question about bending.. I think i need to get that down b4 i do this... how do i do it? i watched a video that said the word "hoodle-diddle" works.. but i dont understand. when i do it the note does not change. suggestion please?

[RonnieShellist]

never heard that one before and i really can't imagine how hoodle diddle would get you to the bend...if anything the mouth shape goes to "oh" and the tongue arches up in the back of the mouth.

[amadeusdanger]

@damnduke i try makind the "E" and "O" sounds, works best for me

[matchoo1540]

Dude, I played 10 years ago and stopped. You got me jamming again like back in the day. Thanks for all your posts. Here's one thing I'm wondering about -when I draw with my diaphragm, the pressure is so much that a lot of air gets sucked through my nose, making a "snoring" sound. Is this just something I'll have to build up muscle for or am I drawing too hard?

Anyways, Thanks again for all your posts and making me break out the old Special 20's!

[RonnieShellist]

just pretend like you're breathing through a snorkel under water..that's the best way i can describe to you how not to get air in through your nose.

[stevieboy000]

I just ordered a harmonica and I have no clue how to play one, so I find these vids extremely useful. Keep it up!

[Thelofis]

Awesome tip. Do you also have some long blow note licks. I suppose not as many as the draw. 3 blow stinks compared to 2 draw. David McKelvy suggests that you blow out through your nose when you need air. Works for me. Any comments there?

[QQJJz]

I've found using the side of your mouth to expel air on "chugging" type of licks is very efficient for regulation.

Also thanks for the clearification Ronnie. On a side note this lick sounds real good on a Bb Harp.

[QQJJz]

When you mean 5 bend are you talking about the "top scraped off" of the draw note, or a 5 overblow?

[RonnieShellist]

i mean bend the 5 hole draw

[TheNightRomer]

3draw 4draw 5blow 5draw 5blow 4draw 3draw 2draw

[RonnieShellist]

is this referring to something specific??

let us know.

[TheNightRomer]

it is the correct way of doing what you say as your directing it wrong in this video

[TheNightRomer]

what key is this harmonica in

[RonnieShellist]

the key of C

[slapshot4aero]

He is teaching in the key of C.

[jaiszos]

Very useful, nice video with an easy but great riff. thank you

I like it!

[zyxel2]

Great video.

thnx Ronne

[phunkclubb]

cool thanks bro for the tip. be back next week.

[damonluvisi]

that helps a lot. i was a little disappointed we weren't able to meet up in reno. could you post some tips on using a chromatic harp?

[canucklhead]

As always, much appreciated man. Any advice from you is much appreciated.

[lorenzosmommy]

Great Idea! from your friend in indy Jose

[Shaunh99]

Ronnie, Great idea & thanks for taking the time to help us. How about the next one showing us how you achieve that great vibrato when you hold the note (2 draw)at the end of the riff? Thanks again, Shaun

[whittvet]

This is great stuff Ronnie. I've been playing for a year now and between you, Dan Gage and Jason Ricci I have learned so much. Its been a lot of practice but very much worth it.

[Clarky3009]

nice ronnie :).

- Alex

[tuzian]

nice man, you make it look easy

[Tsutsomu]

nice idea !

Thanks.

[cypher951]

I gotta work on my air flow technique......I passed out on the homework assignment teach.  ;)

Thanks Ronnie great idea

bf

[RonnieShellist]

If you're finding this difficult don't forget to blow out all of your air before trying a draw lick. Also, just use enough air to get a good sound for each note and then move on...hope that helps.

[jmrhsdrummer]

looking forward to the tips every week!  thanks for what you do!

[ChefDan1981]

Awesome man!! Thanks for posting these vids!!!

[jsilvatx]

thank you! will be here every monday! sensei!

[RonnieShellist]

Thanks everyone. I'm glad that you like the idea. I look forward to making these videos. At 1:48 when i say breathing out i meant i'm breathing out before the lick, not that the lick itself is blow notes..sorry if that was not clear.

[thesuperlee]

Great idea, great advice. Thanks for doing this!

[wiget540]

Love all your vids man!!!You should post one thats all about the licks you use and how you practice.

[OnTheRanch]

Thanks! This idea sounds cool :) I will be waiting for mondays..

[camilo862]

It´s a great Idea Ronnie. keep 'em coming that there will be always a lot of people gratefull for this videos.

Greetings from Colombia.

For people like me it´s very difficult to find instructional material, and things like this lesson helps us a lot.

Five stars man!

[boufgreg]

Great video. In all the lessons and books I have obtained I have never heard of anyone teaching this technique. Keep them coming.