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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