I have researched the net and cannot find steps. All I want is the steps from beginning to end so I can work on them one by one. I am an absolute beginner and have no knowledge of the harp. I have a c and g harmonica along with a 12 hole harp that I never use. I’m thinking I am gonna learn the C first. Essentially — I’ve only been playing for a few months, so my answer is far from guru-level. Learn: 1a. How to hold the harp. There are a few ways, but there is a standard one. 1b. Proper embouchure, whether you use lip pucker/purse or tongue block. Most people start with lip pucker I believe. 1c. Blues scale, which is played in “cross position”, a. K. A. 2nd position. It just means your root note starts on the 2 draw. Anyways, this will also involve learning how to BEND. Very important. 1d. Single notes — playing one hole at a time. Also work on the tone, which depends on whether your embouchure is good or not. 1e. The hand wah-wah effect. 1f. Cleaning your harp. Smack the harp (not excessively hard), with the holes pointing in to your shirt or pant leg after playing. This knocks the saliva out. Wipe away skin cells that came from your lip because they harden if left on the harp. Depending on how often you play, you’ll need to open up the harp and clean it (rubbing alcohol, or any other stuff people have suggested). 2. Licks. Find any on the internet, whether on websites or on YouTube. All the notes will normally fall on the blues scale. Add these to your repertoire. You also get more used to listening and figuring things out by ear. 3. Vibrato. There seems to be a lot of differing opinions on this, as there are supposedly various ways to do it. Anyways, it makes your tone nicer. 4. Blues songs. The link below contains a large listing of blues artists and their albums and songs, and more importantly it tells you which key harp to use, and which position the song is played in.
It is all in the rhythm baby. The harp is a Hohnor in the key of C. I think it is my Marine Band, but I recommend the Blues Harp because they bend much easier. . . .