The harmonica, also called the “mouth organ” or “french harp”, is a “free reed” wind instrument, played by holding the instrument up to the players mouth, forming a partial seal with the lips and pushing wind into or out of the instrument. There are many different kinds of harmonicas, covering a wide variety of musical genres, from blues, bluegrass and jazz to country and American folk. Harmonicas have many individual reeds, which produce sound when air is pushed or pulled through them, and each reed is pretuned – therefore you have harmonicas which are tuned to different keys, and are used in different musical settings.
An important aspect of learning to play the harmonica well is using your hands and mouth in conjunction to effect the sound. Anyone can blow through a harmonica and make a noise – and that is a very attractive element of this instrument, you literally can pick it up and play it immediately. Similarly you can play a rudimentary scale by alternatively blowing air out or pulling air in through the harmonica, again this is something most people can do immediately upon picking the instrument up.
Where harmonica lessons are going to come in helpful for the aspiring harmonica player is when you desire to move beyond simply making noise to making beautiful music! Whether you want to play along to a favorite song, write your own music or ultimately play with other musicians live, lessons can help you get there. Lessons will include learning the different parts of your harmonica, learning what it can and can’t do, learning different scales and other drills you can play on the instrument, learning how to single out an individual note, also called “bending”. This is a good way to ultimately play a melody line on a harmonica, something which can be hauntingly beautiful.
To sign up for harmonica lessons, either email us ([email protected]), call us (971-227-4222), or use the contact form on our website. We will answer any further questions you have, and based on your address will recommend a teacher in your area. We will have the teacher contact you (usually the same day) and set up a free first lesson. After the free first lesson, if you decide you like the teacher, we will send you your billing information by email.
The Musicality Network is a Portland, Oregon based network of private music teachers, teaching a wide variety of instruments including Piano lessons, Guitar lessons, Drum lessons, Violin lessons, Voice lessons, and more! Our teachers can drive to your house, and we service the entire Portland Metro Area, including Vancouver, Clackamas, Troutdale, Gresham, Tigard, Beaverton, Tualatin, Hillsboro, Lake Oswego, West Linn, Oregon City and more!