What made you decide to play the harmonica? For me i found my dads old harmonica in a drawer and he always wanted to learn to play but never did before he passed. so i thought i would do it for the both of us, and i love the sound. Plus it would be cool just to be able to pull it out of my pocket and play some tunes or freestyle.
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Iāve told this story countless times to others, but hereās why I started. I remember listening to a local country music station when I was a kid. For context, I grew up in an era where neo-trad and crossover country music were frequently on the airwaves, so the harmonica was still present during those times before the electronic/hip-hop country boom of the 2010s. I heard a Garth Brooks song called āAināt Goinā Down (Til the Sun Comes Up)ā on that radio station and the harmonica playing on that track blew my mind.
I had never heard a harmonica being played with such raw emotion prior to listening to that song, country music or otherwise. Everything I listened to with the harmonica in before that were either sparse licks that felt very mechanical or the āblow and suckā Bob Dylan trope. So getting to hear a harmonica not only having this very bluesy quality to its sound, but also being a major part of a song, broke a lot of the assumptions I had about it at the time. Especially with the licks involving growls, which I thought was an extremely cool sound.
I eventually found out about who was the harmonica player on that song through a memoir Garth wrote called āThe Anthology Part 1ā. There was a chapter dedicated to it and the name of guy who played that wailing harp on that track was a session musician named Terry McMillan. I always loved his playing because how big he made such a small instrument sound. He had a powerful and twangy harmonica tone, a deep throat vibrato, and often inserted a lot of blues licks and techniques into country/gospel harmonica.
Another neat thing about Terry was when he played a song multiple times over a span of years, he never used the exact set of licks for each performance he did as they were all improvised. For example, the thousands of ways he played āAmazing Graceā. Some are just played straight with no variation, some are very heavy on the bluesy elements, and some are in the middle. There is even a version of āAmazing Graceā that he did that was in 4/4 time instead of 3/4.
Hereās the song I mentioned:
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Thatās a cool song just listened to him play it on about 4 different occasions and he seemed to change it every time.
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Thatās what improvisation is about! Otherwise the musician is simply playing a memorized score. While that score might have been created by the musician, that is pretty much just the beginnerās first step into improvising.
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While doing my lessons now Iām hitting YouTube too and just listening to as many different ones as I can to see who jumps out at me.
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I love spaghetti westerns and the harmonica played in their soundtracks, especially the Sergio Leone-Ennio Morricone ones.
The good, the bad and the ugly, For a few dollars more and A fistful of dollars harmonica playing is so emotional to me.
Thatās why 
Ciao
Stefano
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1 Always wanted to learn to play a musical instrument.
2 My brother gave me a couple of old harps I later found before his death..
3 Anyone that sees a harp appear has low expectations from listening to it.
4 Cost is low and easy to transport. If I am waiting for a flight I can find a quiet corner and play.
5 No big equipment to move and maintain.
6 Once a player reaches a given skill level people will like to hear you.
7 Once you get a few good harps your in i.e. no more expenses.
8 Given its size it can create very beautiful music. When finished it goes back in my pocket.
9 A vast majority of harp players really enjoy helping others learn. No male egos and no matter what you do for a living or how big your house is players could care less.
10 It is fun even on days the force is not with you.
11 It can be played no matter what the weather is.
I will never be as good as I want to but I came along at a perfect time. Father time took away everything else I did for enjoyment and the more I play the morte fun I have.
Other than the above I see no reason to play a harp.
I was in northern France and was playing a simple tune and someone stopped and stood at the door way for about five minutes listening, probably to figure out how such a small instrument could play notes from high to low. Not sure about this one.
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Great topic Thank You @kapawayna. I share most of Scottās points above, plus thereās some health issues for me also to consider unfortunately. I have an increased risk of developing a few cognitive and physical health disorders, including dementia and depression, so I work very hard at controlling whatās controllable. Iām told that learning a musical instrument or a second language in retirement is a good way to reduce the chances of developing dementia, by developing new neural connections. Thatās something that has been discussed previously on the forum, but perhaps itās importance is still understated. Harmonica is my choice in that regard. Iām breathing better too, although I donāt have breathing issues, longer, deeper breaths have to be good for all of us.
Itās been a blessing to find some joy in making music. Although I would like to play better than I do, same as all of you, if I knew when I first picked up a harp, that I would be able to play as I now can, I would have been surprised and delighted. On days when the force is strong with me, and Iām absorbed by the music, time dissolves into a continuous present, and there is only āNowā and thatās a beautiful thing.
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Well, thatās the theory (& if necessary could be the practice, so it is a valid point). 
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This is absolutely true. I think itās because general audiences are used to the āblow and suckā style from a lot of songs featuring harmonica that broke into the mainstream (especially with the Bob Dylan clones), so theyāre often in awe when somebody can actually play it. I get compliments on my playing every time I do a gig and the most common one I receive is āI would have never been able to play like that.ā I donāt know why I get this so often.
I did a lot of practicing when I got home from school when I first started out and can pick up concepts quickly if itās in my field of interest. For example I actually got bending down faster than most beginners, though I didnāt play any 1st position songs as I was a LOT more interested in the expressiveness of cross harp styles like country and blues. It could also be that because Iāve had such a rough personal life since Iām very open about my past that those negative feelings about myself are transferred over when I play the harmonica. A lot of people consider my style to be pretty ābluesyā and often times, whether Iām playing something for my Youtube channel or doing a live show, I focus on creating a sound that the audience can resonate with rather than technique spamming. A lot of the licks that I play are improvised and arguably simple in structure, but I like to dig into a more emotional vibe with them.
There is an old clichĆ© that āitās not about how many notes you play, itās about the feelingā, but I feel like for harmonica players it should be āitās not about showcasing how many techniques you can do, itās about using them with intentā. There are moments where Iām playing a lot of notes at max volume, typically as a climax to a solo, and moments where Iām playing quietly with longer notes. I personally view solos and doing improv as a way to creatively express my more emotional side so I create these stories with them while trying to pull in a lot of the energy of the mood I want to go for, typically for blues I go for an angry or heartbroken sound.
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So when you are playing gigs you are not just playing tunes you are giving them some of yourself to them and opening up to them with how you play.
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Brian Jones! Iād heard some harmonica on the Beatlesā records in the early 60s but hearing Brian Jones with the Rolling Stones really made me want to start playing myself. Back then there was no clues to what he was playing, I got a cheap tremolo harmonica and obviously got nowhere near the blues sound I wanted. The only diatonic available in Europe at that time was the Marine Band clone the Hohner Echo Super Vamper and once Iād read thatās what Brian Jones played I got one and began my harmonica journey of 60 years!
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8 years old, the Navy PX in Naples, Italy had German harmonicas made by Hohner. I was enamored with the idea you could take an orchestra camping (I loved camping) and sit around the campfire playing Red River Valley.
My father was a consular officer at the American Consulate.
ĀÆ\_(ć)_/ĀÆ
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Lifelong āproblemā
Growing up in the 60s, harmonica playing was everywhere on TV and radio. It just seemed to be in the background. Tommy Morgan was a session musician who played on over 500 movies as well as numerous TV shows and ads. Fun fact: Jerry Murad and his Harmonicats were able to record mostly due to a Musicians strike in the early 40ās and Harmonicas were NOT considered musical instruments! ( Look up āPeg Oā My Heartā) Also the harp was solidly part of the rock and blues genre, Paul Butterfield, John Mayall, James Cotton. My first direct contact with harmonica playing was my best friend in Middle School, David. He was very into Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee. I bought my first Marine Band and was hooked. That was probably around 1971. I had Piano lessons when I was younger, which helped but the piano didnāt stick. I also had the idea to study Bass and Guitar later in life, but I always went back to the harp. frustrated with bends, I bought a chromatic and was ābetween two worldsā. Newer, better harmonicas and much practice helped. Fifty some odd years and Iām still learning and still diggin the groove.
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Yeah, I have about 30 or 40 harps. Itās a sicknessā¦
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I could hear the growls and the amazing movements
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I was thinking about a chromatic but I have heard too many fantastic players with a 10 hole diatonic like Charlie McCoy. he plays has harp and it sounds so rich and there is nothing he cannot play. I like an in the shirt pocket 10 hole as it is easy and any maintenance needed is not so expensive,
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I understand the beauty of diatonic harmonicas, but to play one chromatically is challenging- you have to be able to bend, blow bend and overblow effortlessly. If you get a chance check out Howard Levy, he was with the flecktones and has composed pieces for Harmonica with Orchestra. He plays flawlessly, beautifully on a diatonic. He commented that playing the diatonic this way is like playing a violin. with regard to Chromatics he said āWhy put frets on a violin?ā.
Chromatic harps are more straightforward intruments. They are also challenging to play well, it has taken me years to play scales and know what Iām playing. This also opens up music literature (reading sheet music instead of tabs) and sight reading. The flute is about the same register as a 16 hole chromatic. I can NOT however play a diatonic chromatically with any consistency. Blues, rock, country Iām good, do some bends and blows, switching harp keys as needed. But for full key changes mid tune, a chromatic wins for me.
too much coffee this morning
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@gw5 That growl Terry possessed was always something I wanted to have as a harmonica player, even before I started to learn it seriously. I always loved how he could make the harp express a variety of different emotions like anger, heartbreak, and joy to name a few. His playing really showed me that what determines ābluesinessā is about note choices and how you shape your phrases rather than the specs of the model you play or spamming specific techniques.
Regarding his harp of choice, Terry played the original Hohner Golden Melody for a huge chunk of his career. A lot of people online claim that you canāt play the blues or even licks on it, only melodies, simply because it has Equal Temperment intonation on it. Iām very open about using Golden Melodies for a lot of the stuff that I play, which tends to lean on the bluesy side, because I actually like the sound they have.
Many players would often tell me that I need to switch models, specifically to a Hohner Marine Band, because they think I would sound better on it. When I ask them to play something for me, they donāt or they double down. I swear, they would rather just pull up a random article they found online that doesnāt relate to the conversation and claim it as fact to prove me wrong than just acknowledge that different people have different tastes. I donāt understand why having your own personal tastes as a musician became so controversial because now harmonica players get offended by everything from gear to musical influences to even just me existing.
@kapawayna Pretty much, yes. I more or less try to go for any emotion that fits the vibe of the song. For the songs Iāve been playing for my gigs, they each have a specific set of needs that should be filled.
I always said about my playing that Iām not a blues harmonica player, just a harmonica player. The reason I say that is due to my history with dealing with Facebook harmonica purists who have said to me that I need to fill specific requirements in order to be considered to be āreal bluesā. For example: theyād say I need to have only Chicago Blues harmonica influences, use tongue blocking almost exclusively, and play with specific gear.
Even when I started to switch from blues to country playing, country harp purists have said that I needed to play fiddle tunes and melodies (the stuff that Charlie McCoy is known for) instead of mimicking my biggest influence, Terry McMillan. Many of them didnāt view Terryās playing as āreal countryā simply because his style was considered to be too bluesy to be āreal countryā and the blues players who constantly pushed the myth of āall country players just imitate Charlie McCoy and use Country tuningā also didnāt help much either.
So with either direction I wanted to go, Iād be constantly screwed over by people trying to put me in a box they want me to be in rather allowing me to explore my own sound. So I stopped putting a label on myself as a harmonica player. Since Iāve stopped labelling myself to a specific genre and interacting with the more toxic people in the online harmonica community, I realized that it wasnāt me who was holding me back. It was actually those who would throw me under the bus and claim to be āhelpingā me.
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I was in junior high school then. It seems a vast majority of the best music was written and produced in the 60s. It is still very popular and for a good reason.