Hey Astrid,
Thank you for the warm welcome and the uplifting words.
It means very much to me to hear that I´m on the right path.
Do you got any recommendations besides tilting and slanting the harp to get a fuller Draw 2 note?
greets
PAScal
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Hey @djpas,
thank you for your thanks 
!
I’ve only been learning and playing for a relatively short time. There are numerous tips, helpful or not. But if you keep going like this, I think you’re on the right track.
Don’t let yourself go crazy, that means don’t get lost through too much YouTube and the like.
When you’re learning, just always add a pinch of relaxation (salt) and a pinch of patience (pepper) and you’ll get a perfect “dish”. 
The rest will come by itself if you stick with it. Give yourself breaks, your brain will continue to work during this time.
Technology will become automated over time.
Regards from Astrid 
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Hi @AstridHandbikebee63 ,
Great to hear that you think I´m on the right track, I agree youtube was a bit much because of the bending issue 
Now I can relax much easier and just enjoy certain channels (like Jason Ricci) besides the course.
Coincidentally I have to do a forced break because a cold hit me and I´m not able to practice 
The itch to play is almost unbearable but Ill try and study more music theory in these times
greets
PAScal
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Hello PAScal @djpas,
then I wish you a speedy recovery!
Playing with an infection really doesn’t make any fun or sense. Maybe I have a tip for that too. I often do this when I can’t play or have a harp with me.
Works similarly to autogenic training or progressive muscle relaxation.
Since you already have prior knowledge of playing the piano, it will definitely work!
Mentally go through the keys. If you want to learn a certain sequence of notes or a song on the harp, imagine these notes on your harp WITHOUT the harp and just play them in your head 
. That’s fun too! I had a lot of trouble playing anything without notes. I’ve improved that really well! And best of all, since then I’ve been able to improvise my own songs or compose them in my head.
I am 20 years older than you and had no prior knowledge of musical instruments. In the net 1.5 years now, I can play some accompaniment on the keyboard to the harp and read music well. Of course no Beethoven, Bach or Mozart 
.
But I look for missing notes on the keyboard, transpose them and play them to different pitches on my harp.
Regards from Astrid from Germany to Australia 
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Great idea to practice mentally, I did that with my martial arts training and it has many great benefits, I´ll definitely start with it asap.
Playing without the notes/tabs is often underestimated, to fully express yourself its necessary to put away the note sheets.
Wow awesome that you can play along with a keyboard, which songs as example?
Beethoven, Mozart, Bach is a pain in the a** to read and play (one of the main reason why I stopped as a child), its way more fun to play blues or rock on the piano (and even more on the harp).
greets from Austr(al)ia
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oops, the spelling correction witch was at work. Austria became Australia… I’m just imagining myself sitting relaxed in a Viennese café 
.
But it explains to me your pleasant correspondence 
and no existing time difference.
If you like, you are welcome to “spy 
” on my YouTube channel. I would be happy!
Never perfect, but goodwill counts.
See you later, have a nice day! Astrid
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Hihihi I just thought it’s this running joke with Austria and no Kanguruhs
If you ever make it to Vienna just let me know, I’ll gladly show you the city
Ohhhh yeah please let me know your YouTube channel to watch and listen 
Greets
PAScal
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@djpas, PAScal, OMG, I’m a bit confused at the moment…! Mornings and time pressure, not a good mix. 
My channel is @harpdreamermusic. Your city is beautiful! I was there on a day trip in 1992. It couldn’t last longer because I had to be back at my rehabilitation clinic in the evening. But I look at a lot of reports and travel reports. Traveling is difficult because I am stuck in a wheelchair. Fortunately, these days there are enough opportunities to see a lot of the world without having to travel.
Unfortunately, there are only a small number of users from Germany here in the forum.
Oh yes, I am a native of Thuringia and have lived in the Ruhr area for 35 years.
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Hi, I totally get it and maybe I’ve confused you as well
Glad to hear you’ve visited vienna in the past, I simply like to offer people with the same interests a tour out of a local perspective
Looking forward to watch your channel, maybe in the future there’ll be more European members in the forum as well.
Blues harp is such a great instrument, I can’t get enough of it and I’ve just started
Many greets
PAScal
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Congrats, just keep working to see progress.
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Thank you, I’m so hyped since I got my first bends.
I can’t wait to be able practicing again.
Pretty bad timing for a cold but making the time worth it with music theory and YouTube
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Wendy - don’t rush. Start with a solid on-line program for beginners . Record an early effort that you can return to if you get discouraged - it will show you that you are making progress. Harmonica is the easiest instrument to play - but the most difficult to learn.
Good luck,
Robert 
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most difficult instrument to MASTER.
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@djpas ya sometimes a break is just the trick!
@mbhempel welcome to the forum Mary Beth from Georgia! Y’all come back now ya hear? Happy to have you here.
@Luke_Duke right on my friend. So glad to have you here. Welcome to the forum!
@Chris WOW! WELCOME! So cool to have you hear. I wanna be like you when I grow up. Hope you have a blast.
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hey all new guy doug crowe- been playing harp live now for about 5 years. 10 hole diatonic. I play lee oskar and special 20’s. the guys in my band seem to love it. started playing cross style and have really morphed into all sorts of shananigens. they asked me to play on songs I thought frankly you couldnt but thats not true. Id look up some song they were playing and looked for someone playing a harp to it and figured out how to get in there. so straight harp began to get used a lot. blues is really a blast though. use a sure green bullet through a noise gate and some delay and echo when needed. use the amps dirty side to get some Chicago
tone. I def have some questions on harps and some of the problems I encounter. see you all inside
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my first question is what brand harp has a strong reed- I tend to bend [prob hard] alot and I will break reeds or ruin the setup. correcting them leads to the fact that they are now shot and break anyway. kinda expensive. I have done replacement reeds but maybe they are not tuned and I dont get a good result. Playing gently doesnt seem to be going well , i mean I get into it and its part of my style i guess. what say you all?
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Hi Doug @DOUG_CROWE
Stainless steel reeds are very strong. Seydel 1847 models or Yonberg (also stainless steel). Yonberg also makes a model with titanium reeds (said to be very responsive and stronger than stainless steel).
All are not cheap!
Regards,
– Slum
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INDEED- I will check them out. familiar with the seydel but not the others. I guess I may have to try one to see if it makes any economic sense.- thanks slim
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Hi Luke, Bob Feely here I am new to the forum i’m not sure what to do?
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Hans
I am also 68, completely illiterate from a music standpoint. Luke can verify this from reading my questions, Never played any musical instrument. I also like sculpting stone but my specialty is flint knapping, the oldest craft known. I make little rocks out of big ones and occasionally an arrowhead. After almost four months there are three songs I can play, well at least my wife can tell which song I am playing.
One thing you will quickly find out about this forum is everyone is more than willing to help and I have yet to read a post that was negative. I think you will be amazed how something as small as a harmonica gets in peoples blood all over the world. Any question you ask will get responses from people that only want to help. I played chess and the forums were full of people, many were trying to convince each other how smart and good they were. This forum is just the opposite.
I know I will never be a skilled player that is paid to play but more likely one that is paid to be quiet. Who cares? Its all about the fun and help you will get. I know a little about reading music or what third position is. Not really that interested. After raising and educating three kids its all about fun. The lessons Luke offers are great and he is very easy going. Just enjoy it and soon the fact that you can carry something in your pocket that will always be fun to sound. You may well be surprised what you can do in a year and just how fun the hobby is rain or shin. A failure? How many rocks did you break before one turned out right? My back yard is full of what looks like a dumping ground for ugly arrowheads that got tossed off my deck because of a mistake. We both went through a grind to get where we are and I plan to enjoy it even if I suck till am gone. I get up when I want, often do not know what day it is and start off with my harmonica and after that what ever I want to do except fishing, somethings I have loved for 63 years but since moving to central Texas no good fishing to be had. Right now a puddle of water would be nice as we had a brutal summer.
Enjoy it as after 68 years of life you earned it. If you can carve stone you can learn to play the harp.
Scott in Texas
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