I get asked all the time “what is the best harmonica for beginners?” It sounds like an easy question but with all of the harmonicas available choosing one can be a little overwhelming! I have created a brief video showing 4 harmonicas that I think would work well for someone starting out as well as seasoned players. Take a look and I’ll have links to purchase the harmonicas shown below
Tag: how to play blues harp
Blues Harp Turnaround
So here is the tablature for a Blues Harp Turnaround. A Turnaround is a riff to get you from the end of a song back to the beginning when you are soloing. Play this a few times at the end of a 12 bar blues song and your solos will instantly sound better!
This blues harmonica tablature goes along with my YouTube video here:
Blues harp Jamming video featured on Harmonica.com
A big thank you goes out to JP Allen for featuring my video on his website!
http://www.harmonica.com/joe-stoebenau-48491.html
We recorded this several years ago and I remember it being done in one take. One take because it was the middle of summer and the bugs were swarming around us. We couldn’t wait to get out of there! The scenery is perfect. We recorded it on an old abandoned railway line in Southeast PA.
Draw 2 or Blow 3?
One of the more common questions I receive from beginning blues harp players is whether to use the draw on hole 2 or blow on hole 3. This is a valid question because they are the same note. However, if you play each one and really listen to the sound of the harmonica you will hear that while the note is the same the inflection and tone of the note is not. For most peoples’ ears, the draw 2 note sounds more gritty and powerful. This is why when playing blues, the draw 2 is king. Also, the draw 2 is the “home base” or root note for playing Crossharp.
While it is preferable to play the draw 2, it is perfectly ok to use the blow 3 as a passing note in order to keep the airflow moving in the same direction which might be needed to play a lick that goes by rather quickly.
Experiment with the Hole 2 draw and hole 3 blow and let me know what you think.
Have fun!