The complete idiot's guide to playing the harmonica

The complete idiot's guide to playing the harmonica

William Melton, 1952-

Book - 2006

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Subjects
Harmonica > Methods > Self-instruction.
Harmonica > Instruction and study.
Published
Indianapolis : Alpha c2006.
Language
English
Main Author
William Melton, 1952- (-)
Other Authors
Randy Weinstein (-)
Edition
2nd ed
Physical Description
xix, 247 p. : ill. ; 28 cm. + 1 compact disc (digital : 4 3/4 in.)
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN
9781592574650
  • Part 1. The Harmonica: It's No Toy
  • 1. Versatile, User Friendly, and Fun
  • Why Play the Harp?
  • Becoming a Player
  • Getting Geared Up
  • Practice Smart to Get Good Fast
  • 2. Let's Take It from the Top
  • In the Beginning: Oriental Blues
  • Europe Adopts (and Adapts) the Free Reed
  • Hohner: Harmonicas for the Huddled Masses
  • Harmonicas from Sea to Shining Sea
  • The Pre-World War II Era
  • World War II
  • The '40s and '50s
  • The '60s
  • The Harmonica in Today's Music World
  • 3. The First Step: Spend a Little Money
  • Decisions: Getting the Best Buy
  • Keys and Tunings
  • Musical Style
  • Sound Quality
  • Durability
  • Comb
  • Maintainability
  • Availability
  • Price
  • More Decisions: Tunings for Every Occasion
  • The Choice Is Yours
  • What to Buy Now and What to Buy Later
  • Harmonica Stuff
  • 4. My Harp Will Go On
  • Harmonica Physics: Good Vibrations
  • Working Parts
  • Notes and Keys
  • Be Gentle at First
  • Preventing Harp Disease
  • Care and Not Feeding
  • Keeping It Clean
  • Four Repair Techniques You Can Learn
  • Minding the Gap
  • Tuning
  • Replacing Individual Reeds
  • Replacing the Entire Reed Plate
  • Quandaries and Queries
  • Part 2. Let's Get Blowin'
  • 5. Harp Talk
  • What's Going On Here?
  • The Tablature System
  • What Note to Play
  • How Long to Play It
  • Should You Bend the Note?
  • How Much Should You Bend It?
  • When to Use the Slide Button on a Chromatic Harmonica
  • Some Familiar Tunes
  • 6. Body Language
  • Stand Up Straight! Suck in That Gut!
  • Keep Both Hands on the Harp
  • Take Some Deep Breaths
  • Breathing Exercise
  • Open Wide and Say "Oooh"
  • 7. Playing Your First Notes
  • Let's Start with Some Chords
  • Chord Exercise Number 1.
  • Chord Exercise Number 2.
  • Chord Exercise Number 3.
  • 'Tis Nobler to Pucker or Tongue?
  • Puckering
  • Single-Note Exercise Number 1.
  • Tongue Blocking
  • Single-Note Exercise Number 2.
  • Single-Note Exercise Number 3.
  • More Tonguing Techniques
  • Tonguing Technique Exercises
  • Good Vibratos
  • Don't Just Stand There! Stomp Your Foot!
  • Ten Tips to Top Tone
  • 8. Playing More and Faster Notes
  • Playing High Notes
  • High-Note Exercise Number 1.
  • High-Note Exercise Number 2.
  • That's Really Trilling
  • Trill Exercise Number 1.
  • Trill Exercise Number 2.
  • Grace Notes
  • Slides and Dropoffs
  • Glissando Exercise Number 1.
  • Glissando Exercise Number 2.
  • Hanon for Harp
  • Hanon for Harp Exercises
  • 9. Music Break Number 1
  • Familiar Songs That Are Fun to Play
  • Part 3. Steppin' Up
  • 10. Reading and 'Riting and 'Rhythmatic
  • Why Read Music?
  • Notes
  • Note Names
  • How Notes Are Written
  • Sharps, Flats, and Naturals
  • What Note Shapes Mean
  • The Unnotes
  • Notes with Lines and Dots
  • Chords
  • Minor Chords
  • Broken Chords
  • Note Exercise Number 3.
  • Beats
  • Beat Exercise Number 1.
  • Beat Exercise Number 2.
  • Signs
  • What Speed to Play
  • How Loud to Play
  • Other Important Signs
  • Keys
  • So Just What Is a Key?
  • Key Signatures
  • Minor Keys
  • Identifying the Key
  • Checklist for Reading Music
  • 11. Tongue-Blocking Tricks
  • Tongue-Block Octaves
  • Tongue-Block Octave Exercise Number 1.
  • Tongue-Block Octave Exercise Number 2.
  • Tongue-Block Chords
  • Tongue-Block Chords Exercise Number 1.
  • Tongue-Block Chords Exercise Number 2.
  • Tongue-Block Chords Exercise Number 3.
  • Tongue-Block Chords Exercise Number 4.
  • Tongue-Block Chords Exercise Number 5.
  • Tongue-Block Chords Exercise Number 6.
  • Tongue-Block Tremolos
  • Tongue-Block Tremolo Exercise Number 1.
  • Tongue-Block Tremolo Exercise Number 2.
  • 12. The Art of Bending
  • Draw and Blow Bends
  • The Basics of Bending
  • The Physics of Bending
  • The Technique of Bending
  • Note Bend Exercise Number 1.
  • Note Bend Exercise Number 2.
  • Note Bend Exercise Number 3.
  • Note Bend Exercise Number 4.
  • Note Bend Exercise Number 5.
  • Note Bend Exercise Number 6.
  • Note Bend Exercise Number 7.
  • Note Bend Exercise Number 8.
  • The Music of Bending
  • The Art of Overbends and Harp Valves
  • 13. Harp Positions and Musical Modes
  • The Circle of Fifths and Harmonica Positions
  • And You Thought the Kama Sutra Had a Lot
  • Ionian Mode (First Position)
  • Mixolydian Mode (Second Position)
  • Dorian Mode (Third Position)
  • Aeolian Mode (Fourth Position)
  • Phrygian Mode (Fifth Position)
  • Locrian Mode (Sixth Position)
  • Lydian Mode (Twelfth Position)
  • Modes and Chord Progressions
  • 14. Alternate Tunings
  • Why Differently Tuned Harmonicas?
  • Harmonic Minor Tuning
  • Natural Minor Tuning
  • Melody Maker Tuning
  • But Wait...There's More!
  • Part 4. It's Showtime
  • 15. Ready for the Blues (and Improvisation)
  • Improvisation: Making Your Story Make Sense
  • Puffing up a Groove: Simple Ain't Easy
  • The "Straight Eight" and the "Shuffle" Rhythms
  • Six Basic Riffs
  • Call-and-Response
  • Twelve-Bar Blues Techniques
  • Sequencing Call-and-Response Units
  • Creating an Ending
  • Licks: Spicing up the Meat
  • Blue Notes
  • Rhythmic Placement and Phrasing
  • Melodic Ornaments
  • 16. You Got More Than the Blues
  • Country Harping
  • Rock Harp
  • Erin Go Harp
  • Fiddling on the Harp: Appalachian Fiddle Tunes
  • 17. Keep Your Day Job
  • Jamming
  • A Little Harp Can Go a Long Way
  • Forming a Band and Getting Gigs
  • Finding Musicians
  • Getting Organized
  • Playing Amplified
  • Getting the Word Out: Marketing
  • Taking Care of Business
  • Leave 'em Screaming for More
  • 18. Music Break Number 2
  • Putting It All Together
  • 19. Showtime! Finale: Putting It All Together
  • The Big Sendoff
  • Appendixes
  • A. Complete Glossary of Harp Terms
  • B. Resources
  • C. About the CD and Website
  • Index
Review by Library Journal Review

These entries in the phenomenally popular "Complete Idiot's" series are, like the "For Dummies" books, longer and somewhat more comprehensive than the straightforward self-instruction and method books. All three cover choosing an instrument, tuning, playing technique, and a broad range of musical styles. Unlike the "For Dummies" books, they also cover reading music, though that information is so extensively available that a library choosing between these series should not base its decision solely on this. The harmonica title dwells more on playing with others and favors a kind of tablature notation over actual printed music. This series is suitable for beginning teen and adult musicians. Forthcoming in November 2009: The Complete Idiot's Guide to Playing Percussion (ISBN 978-1-59257-929-7). (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

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