6 ms·
Harmonicas are amazing instruments. At first people assume them to be like toys (you can buy really cheap ones everywhere) and initially the concept seems reall
by aspaviento 4y ago
Harmonicas are amazing instruments. At first people assume them to be like toys (you can buy really cheap ones everywhere) and initially the concept seems really easy: 10 holes, drawing air produces some notes and blowing air produces other notes. But the more you get into it, the more amazing it gets. Soon you discover that you can bend notes by positioning your tongue in a specific way and your repertoire increases tremendously. You learn about overbending, tongue blocking, the "Wawa" sound you make covering the flow of the air with your hand rhythmically (don't remember if that has a name)...
I knew very little about music when I decided to play the harmonica. I looked for an instrument that required little maintenance, were easy to transport and easy to play everywhere. So I decided to learn to play the harmonica by myself. It's easy to start with it, but it gets challenging when you try to learn those techniques mostly because you can't see inside people's mouths to see what they are doing and you aren't used to force your tongue to do those specific movements. When you see what people can do with it, it can be jaw dropping. I'm still a beginner at it but it's so rewarding after practising a lot to get your first bending, to reproduce songs you have learned just by muscle memory, to sound a little bit closer to those blues masters... definitely something worth to try in my opinion.
- nstart 4y agoFabulous addition. For anyone looking to see what a master harmonica player looks like, highly recommend looking up blues traveller / John Popper. In particular, there’s a live performance of no woman no cry that has John Popper alongside Ziggy Marley. Mind blowing. Watch it. You won’t regret it. https://youtu.be/9zk0HFG5mDw https://youtu.be/9zk0HFG5mDw
- aasasd 4y agoIn reggae, melodica is also vaguely popular, primarily through Augustus Pablo: https://youtube.com/watch?v=MiaekG1Q0UE https://youtube.com/watch?v=MiaekG1Q0UE
- kk6mrp 4y agoThis one is incredible! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zoauBe465qQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zoauBe465qQ
- I_complete_me 4y agoYep. And I'd add La Cavatina[1] among others. [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Io0Ta9LzASs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Io0Ta9LzASs
- Joeboy 4y ago(Pedantry) That's actually a chromatic harmonica, which is a somewhat different instrument from the diatonic harmonica / blues harp aspaviento is talking about. Chromatic harmonicas have a little lever that mechanically does some of the difficult tongue / breath stuff.
- 0xRusty 4y agoCheck out Mark Felton playing with Oasis https://youtu.be/CZxexZ8v-QI https://youtu.be/CZxexZ8v-QI
- asah 4y agoharmonica solo starts at 4:30 https://youtu.be/9zk0HFG5mDw?t=270 https://youtu.be/9zk0HFG5mDw?t=270
- jacquesm 4y agoDon't forget about this guy, at the ripe old age of 90: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nb-5aQ1EIgc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nb-5aQ1EIgc
- thunderbong 4y agoAfter reading your comment and its replies, I went looking on Youtube for some harmonica videos. I don't play the harmonica, and I don't have any idea about music. However, I do like the harmonica as an instrument whenever I hear it in some songs. I find that usually the harmonica always plays multiple notes together, and to my untrained ears, this always makes me feel that it can never hold the stage like maybe, a saxophone can. Then I came across the video below, and honestly, I was extremely impressed. It felt as if each note was being played by itself and the artist had complete control over the instrument. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIss2Qmmc5k https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIss2Qmmc5k Editing to add: The artist, Indiara Sfair, also has a complete course on her website. https://www.harmoniclass.com/curso https://www.harmoniclass.com/curso
- joveian 4y agoNice one, the only one of these posted harmonica songs I like, although I liked the melodica too. I've enjoyed the harmonica melodies in Falcom games (Ys Origin and Trails in the Sky are the two I can think of but I think there are others): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIROXLCXiQw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIROXLCXiQw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MGEqk6P3AM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MGEqk6P3AM There is also the similar size ocarina: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DHecFcDhbw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DHecFcDhbw