Alright guys, the best teachers are lifelong students. I’ve written a little about my own practice routine, but perhaps the best way to talk about the process of learning a new instrument is to actually learn a new instrument. So, I’m going to teach myself to play harmonica, and write about it. This decision was spurred by a couple things. First, as you may or may not know, I play bass in a band called the Creaky Steps. We’ve written a couple songs that could use harmonica, and no one else in the band currently plays the thing. None of the tracks need virtuosic solos, just a little more depth and warmth on some of the progressions to accompany the rhythm guitar. Second, I’ve got a hundred dollars from my mother-in-law from Christmas, and I believe strongly that gift money should be spent on things you want, not things you need. And as it turns out, I found a set of 7 harmonicas (keyed E through Bb), a neck holder, and a beginner book, that taken together are right in that price range. Perfect. So, since this is something I want to do anyway, and that I have a budget it for, it occurred to me that it would also be a perfect thing to talk about on this blog.
Like most musicians, I’ve played harmonica before. Never in a performance or recording, but when there’s been one around at musical gatherings, I’ll pick one up. Harmonicas are a really easy instrument to play competently because they are already keyed, so as long as you know what key you’re playing in, it’s hard to play a really wrong note. But, of course, there’s a big difference between not sounding bad, and actually sounding good. That’s the gulf I’m going to try to bridge here. I want to actually know what I’m doing on the instrument, instead of just filling the air with diatonically correct but randomly chosen notes (right now I play the harmonica the way your friend who doesn’t play piano knows how to “stay on the white keys”).
Since I’m also going to be using this as a teaching opportunity, I want to make sure I set a good example. I told you guys in my last two posts to practice 6 days a week, so I’ll be doing my best to stick to that. But I also said that you can make progress playing 10-15 minutes a day, so I will also be limiting myself to that. I’m going to make it a rule to prove that progress can be made, and I’ll avoid the temptation to play longer than that each day. I already practice 30 minutes a day each on piano, guitar, and bass, as well as 10-15 minutes of ear training, so adding this should round off my regimen to a nice even 2 hours.
The goal will be to get competent enough to incorporate the harmonica into occasional performances with my band, which will of course include the added challenge of being able to play two instruments at once. I’ve done this once before with my band in college. We wrote one song on which I played bass and trumpet at the same time, using left hand slides on the former while holding the latter in my right hand. I ended up writing simpler live parts for each than what I had recorded because I lacked the coordination to play the parts I had written separately simultaneously, and it was primarily a novelty act, which we only did live a handful of times. But it was a lot of fun. I have higher aspirations for this.
And who knows, maybe this time next year JCInstrumental will be offering harmonica lessons. Stay tuned. I’ll let you know when the harps come in the mail.
-Excited for a new challenge, Ben