Learn to Play Video

This’ll take you 15 minutes to watch and I promise that’ll be enough instruction to have you playing well. Then just practice as much as you can. Oh, it’s pronounced AHM-buh-shure … not ahm-BOO-shure.

Day One Book

• Download the “Day-One Book” HERE

11 Secrets of Harmonica

Here’s the basics everybody needs

1. Wash your hands. You’re gonna end up with them in your mouth.
2. Brush your teeth. Otherwise that junk will be in your reeds.
3. Hydrate. Drink plenty of water. You’ll need a water bottle with you.
4. Sit up tall and pretty. Good posture leads to good tone.
5. Breathe from your belly. Seriously. It helps.
6. Don’t try too hard. Blowing or drawing with too much force won’t give you good tone and it can bends reeds in a bad way and ruin your instrument in addition to your song and your life.
7. Pucker up. Gross! Air needs to go through one hole at a time. Put your harmonica as far into your puckered lips as possible while still getting sound out of only one hole. Somewhere down the road you can try tongue-blocking, but that’s an advanced technique you don’t need to know in the beginning.
8. Kiss the harmonica. Wait, what? Use your kissing muscles for your embouchure. Your muscles and tongue also help you bend notes the right way.
9. Too! Be ready to “tooo” between every note unless it’s a slur.
10. Cup the harmonica Use both both hands when you play so you can make a sound chamber useful for vibrato sounds.
11. Move your hands, not your face. You should always be facing forward to the air comes out of your bod the best.
    

How to Read the Music

• Harmonica Tabs
  • 4 blow
  • ~4 draw
  • 4* blow with button in
  • ~4* draw with button in
  • (456) use multiple holes for chords

• The sheet music includes ensemble arrangements for singers, pianists, guitarists, ukulele players, and any trained musician. And yes, you’ll be a better musician if you learn to read real music.

If you want to help teach somebody else how to play, you can download these slides HERE.