Harmonica?!? I thought this was a uke jam!
During some sessions of the Scarborough Uke Jam, we take a short detour to play our other favourite little instrument, the harmonica.
While not mandatory, if you do wish to participate in the harmonica portion of the night we recommend picking up a standard diatonic harmonica pitched in the key of C. You should be able to get a perfectly good harmonica for about 10 to 15 bucks from most music stores. Avoid all-plastic harps, stick to the ones with metal covers plates. Here are a few names to look for:
The Suzuki Airwave is also a good choice for beginners. It's a larger harmonica designed for kids, the hole spacing makes it easier to play individual notes. (This is the one exception to the 'avoid all-plastic' rule above.)
More expensive harps will work fine too, of course, as long as they are pitched in C.
If you've never played before don't worry, the harmonica is pretty easy to get started on. If you want to practice in advance, here's a basic scale you can try:
While not mandatory, if you do wish to participate in the harmonica portion of the night we recommend picking up a standard diatonic harmonica pitched in the key of C. You should be able to get a perfectly good harmonica for about 10 to 15 bucks from most music stores. Avoid all-plastic harps, stick to the ones with metal covers plates. Here are a few names to look for:
- Hohner Blues Band
- Hohner Hot Metal
- Suzki Easy Rider
- Suzuki Folk Master
- Fender Blues Deluxe
The Suzuki Airwave is also a good choice for beginners. It's a larger harmonica designed for kids, the hole spacing makes it easier to play individual notes. (This is the one exception to the 'avoid all-plastic' rule above.)
More expensive harps will work fine too, of course, as long as they are pitched in C.
If you've never played before don't worry, the harmonica is pretty easy to get started on. If you want to practice in advance, here's a basic scale you can try:
Note that the numbers indicate which hole to blow or draw -- regular numbers mean blow, numbers with the minus sign mean draw.
Also, here's a terrific series of videos on getting started with the harmonica by the great John Popper of Blues Traveler:
Also, here's a terrific series of videos on getting started with the harmonica by the great John Popper of Blues Traveler:
Here's some text to link to
