Yes, yes, you know that today is Wednesday and I don’t have time. 
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“often fall asleep with a chromatic in my hand. It makes me feel more secure than hugging my firearms during my military days.”
I remeber nearly two years ago when I followed a harmonica practice schedule, I would wake up at 5-6am to practice and I would be feel very alert when doing so because I really wanted to learn, but as I got use to playing moon river, the feeling of being able to play the harmonica and moon river was comforting and relaxing that it made me feel like I can sleep. When I closed my eyes playing it, it would lull more into sleep. It does feel nice.
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Just wow @toogdog !
, Asshole
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Nice part of the world Toog. You seem to be permanently on holiday; do you spend any time at home?
P.S You do know there’s 5 Meter saltwater crocodiles there, right? Maybe don’t play harmonica down by the riverbank.
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On my 59th birthday, three years ago, I gave my family a hint that I would like a harmonica. I had never played a musical instrument successfully before, though I had tried a few times. The extent of my music playing ability came from a cupla classes in middle school, when we played a plastic recorder, and I got to blow into a saxophone a few times (which was super cool at the time).
Besides liking and listening to music, I never had been able to get the feel of a guitar, or piano, or drums, or anything else I happened to pick up, though I had gotten pretty good at whistling a few tunes.
Since that time @HARMONICA HAS CHANGED MY LIFE!
I now carry a different harmonica with me every single day and play them several times during the day. Here is my weekly lineup:
Monday - Lee Oskar in A
Tuesday - Rocket in Ab
Wednesday - Marine Band Deluxe in G
Thursday - Kongsheng Route 66 in D
Friday - Baby Fat in Bb
This is also my “musical challenged” harp day:
Special 20 in Db with blown four draw
Easttop in Bb with a blown 4 blow (compensates the upper end of the Baby Fat which doesn’t exist 
)
Saturday - Conjurer in G
Sunday - Golden Melody in C
On my three-year anniversary of playing, here are a few of my thoughts on this incredible little instrument:
-
Thank you @Luke for your amazing ability to connect with me, and others. Though I’ve seen many different people and videos regarding the harmonica, I have learned more from you and your forum, than any place else. The other people here in the Forum here have also been super to help me understand so much.
-
I just finished my first day of really giving the METRONOME a FIGHTING chance, after trying to do so and failing, several times over the past three years. I always saw it as a strait jacket limiting me, rather than a tool to help me get better. While I’m back to basic scales, I think I finally get why it is such an important a tool. I should have listened to @Luke, and others who have suggested it since the beginning. I’m sure my playing can be greatly improved by getting my timing right.
-
My biggest hope was to be able to play the harmonica for myself, replicating songs I knew, or heard. I am glad I took the time to learn some theory, much of it here on this forum, to put it all in order. I have come to learn that music is a language, and like spoken language, it takes time to learn. Not everyone knows how they speak, but we can all speak. How it all happens, I’m not really sure, but now I can speak harmonica to a great extent, which is super cool.
-
In a world dominated by technological gadgets designed to grab our attention, it is amazing to be able to get so much joy from a small instrument, that requires no batteries, or other auxiliary equipment (my respect for all y’all who like to connect your harp to gadgets
) I’d like to feel I can go out into the world with my harp, a notebook and a pencil and get by in the world for at least a day or two without anything else, but that’s just the dreamer in me. -
I tend to lose whatever harp I am using at least once a day. Even though I have thought a time or two that they were “gone forever”, they have always showed up, so far, but if I ever do lose a harp, I hope who ever finds it has the brains to use it.
My main reason though for this post is to that yes, THE HARMONICA HAS CHANGED MY LIFE FOREVER, and to THANK @Luke and others here on the forum for their help and guidance.
Oh yeah, and by the way:
USE A Metronome 
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Great post @HarpinBobbyMcB. It’s about 2 years for me and like you I had not previously played a musical instrument. I can’t say that it’s changed my life, but it has certainly brought me some happiness.
As you say, Luke is a great teacher, and I am grateful to him and other members of the forum who help and guide us.
I really like your point 4 about the simplicity and joy of harmonica playing in a world so dominated by Technology. Well said.
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that was a nice read, thanks HarpinBobbyMcB!
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Yessah! 
Amen!
Hey Bobby - if the metronome feels like a straitjacket, don’t forget jam tracks are just as good! Thanks for all the kind words. So glad you’re conintuing th journey my friend.
I’d say having more happiness in your life is a good change @PapaCurly . Thanks for the kind words bro. Rock on! 
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I like the idea of carrying a different harp every day of the week. I look forward to the day when I’ve got the skills–and enough harps–to make that happen. Seems it would encourage playing different songs or styles.
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@JohnnyMercer you are probably much closer than you imagine!
Truth of the matter is that all you really need is one harp… Once you can play a song on your trusty C harp, you can play the same tune in any other key 
While I was tempted to buy a set of harps in different keys from the get go, I was amazed at the variety of harps, so instead I just stuck with my C (Easttop 008k) until I literally blew out the 4 draw. Since Christmas was coming I put in an order with Santa 
for a Lee Oskar in A, at @Luke 's suggestion.
I played my blown harp for a couple of months before I got my LO and I think more than anything else, learning to play the upper register, and the lower, really helped my playing!
People seem to put a lot of emphasis on which brand and make of harp they use, but I’ve found how we sound depends much more on technique than the harp.
With that said, I love having a harp for each day of the week 
Harp on
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Welcome, I live in Iowa and I have been to North Canton several times on business.
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Great read, thanks so much for sharing!
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Thank you . Appreciate you taking the time to read it
Rich
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I was crossing the road earlier this week and there was a fellow getting into his parked car. We exchanged greetings, and he asked me,” Were you playing harmonica at the park yesterday?” I said that I was and he thanked me. He said that he was there and had been feeling awful, but my music had turned his crap day into a beautiful day. We had a brief conversation about the harmonica and when I walked away, I started to tear up. To think that I could play well enough and to have changed someone’s day like that, well, I was blown away. So young Luke, I’m starting to feel like harmonica really has changed my life, thanks largely to you and the forum.
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Hey @PapaCurly – I had a similar experience several years ago when playing at a jam session in our local jazz club.
After my several songs were finished and I went to the bar to get a glass of wine, a woman stopped me and tearfully thanked me for playing the blues harp (which is quite uncommon at the jazz club). She said it reminded her of her brother who also played harmonica and had recently passed away.
I drank my wine and found tears in my eyes as well thinking about what I had just experienced and how this simple instrument can be so impacting on people …
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@Carlos1- So often it’s the little things, the simple things in life that are most precious. They connect us to our humanity and realign our hierarchy of what is truly important in life.
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