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Anyone play harmonica?

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Inbred_Redneck
Posts: 2776 - Karma: 28
So i've been contemplating picking up a new instrument to fool around with now (I play electric guitar), and I was thinking either banjo or harmonica, both are pretty sick. However I suck at fingerpicking and i dont have $300 to drop on a POS banjo, so I'm opting for the cheaper route. Does anyone play harmonica? How hard was it for you to get it down and to learn bends?
Nov 10 2009 5:46PM
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I_Am_Mod
Posts: 13214 - Karma: 3,753
harmonica is quite cool and not as hard as you think... you can play recognisable stuff on your first day for sure !

have you tought about a ukulele? 25 bucks will get you a brand new one and it's really fun + you already play guitar so you'll quickly get a hang of playing a uke...
Nov 10 2009 6:07PM
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Inbred_Redneck
Posts: 2776 - Karma: 28
Not really looking at a ukulele, just not something i can see myself enjoying for long time.
Nov 10 2009 7:53PM
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Click_Here
Posts: 1728 - Karma: 14
check out the beatbox harmonica guy on youtube. mad legit
Nov 10 2009 7:54PM
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charmander
Posts: 10636 - Karma: 372
harp is medium-hard, not real tough, but not super simple.

it's pretty fun, i really like it.
also, have you considered gettin a slide? slides add so much dimension to the guitar it's rediculous.
Nov 10 2009 7:56PM
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Inbred_Redneck
Posts: 2776 - Karma: 28
Yup got a slide and alot of other goodies for it. Reason i want a harp is cus i cant take the guitar to college next year, and i'd like to have something different to play with.
Nov 10 2009 8:02PM
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Inbred_Redneck
Posts: 2776 - Karma: 28
Its an electric and i'm going to dorm for the first year. My amp and guitar takes up too much space, plus i dont want it to get beat up or stolen. Its just a really nice guitar that i dont want anything to happen to, so i'd rather not take it. Plus i'm kinda dry on it right now, i've reached that shitty plateau that all guitar players get every once in awhile, so i just need to step back and play something else for a change.
Nov 10 2009 8:09PM
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MAPLE_SYRUP
Posts: 1910 - Karma: 68

i didn't have my guitar at college all last year, i forgot a lot, (Mainly because i didn't know much to start with) but now i have it in my room and its a great time killer.

And its great for the ladies : D

anyone want to recomend some easy acoustic songs to learn? +k

Nov 10 2009 8:12PM
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erichkuss
Posts: 839 - Karma: 12

Harmonicas are pretty sick. I dont know how you would learn to play though.

Nov 10 2009 8:20PM
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PattyFow
Posts: 540 - Karma: 51
i do!
it really was not too hard to learn, i know this old dude who looks like willie nelson who was willing to help me out at the beginning and that was really it. as soon as you learn the basic notes and shit it just comes easy. then you can start messing around with it and doing some improv and it gets way fun. if you just start playing everyday for a little bit at a time you will pick it up quick. 
Nov 10 2009 8:23PM
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Inbred_Redneck
Posts: 2776 - Karma: 28
How long did it take you to learn bends?
Nov 10 2009 9:06PM
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Malcolm
Posts: 15949 - Karma: 9,431
hell yeah! i bring mine in the chairlift and rip up some gnar tunes. i suck at it but im getting better
Nov 10 2009 9:08PM
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DrZoidberg
Posts: 5675 - Karma: 4,268
Nope, but it would be awesome on the hill. Imagine sitting on the chair and jamming on a harmonica. It seems like a fun thing to learn though.
Nov 10 2009 9:11PM
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Corben
Posts: 710 - Karma: 49
This is the way to do it. Super fun if you can play a few good jams. I've had chairs behind and in front start singing along.
Nov 20 2009 10:05AM
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sconniestyle
Posts: 3945 - Karma: 26

bends are easy to do after you get them once. you are just changing the shape of the sound in your mouth, for lack of a better way to describe it. the angle at which the air hits the hole (and the reed) determines how flat/sharp it is, so if you control that angle you control the pitch of a hole.

try saying "wahwahwah" and then try to move the words back in your mouth and make the same sound without moving your lips. that is the basic feel for how to bend.

check out sites like harptabs.com, etc... for more info and a bunch of tabs if you want to learn how to play that way. if you are pretty musical you can probably pick a lot up by ear, but if you don't have a good foundation in scales, keys, things like that, you would only be helped by picking up a book or a cd to get started.

when i started playing i just listened to a bunch of neil young, bob dylan, dispatch, things that i could just learn the harp parts for, and then i started jamming along with other songs, playing with friends, etc... and haven't ever stopped.

in my book there aren't many better ways to kill some time and have fun than to rock out on your harp for a while.

Nov 20 2009 10:20AM
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yuck
Posts: 8384 - Karma: 2,090
i found harmonica super easy to learn. the only difficult part was learning to pucker well enough to play single notes consistently...

you can pick up a legit harp for $35 too, i have 3 "Hohner Big River Harp"'s , in C, G, and F

i love it!
Nov 20 2009 10:59AM
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ace_
Posts: 3189 - Karma: 39
So my dad and i were really interested in learning to play so we did some searching around/looking for videos and just gazing and dreaming. so my dad runs across this video, and looks up the guy and comes to find that he lives in michigan! so they got to talking and the guy lives in lansing and we live in kalamazoo so we were going to go for a few lessons. even better! they got to talking more and his sister lives in kalamazoo and he forgot his guitar there!!! Long story short, he's coming to our house for a couple hours to teach my dad and i how to break it down

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Dec 30 2009 11:48PM
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ace_
Posts: 3189 - Karma: 39
s
Dec 30 2009 11:48PM
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Drop~The~Disk
Posts: 96 - Karma: 11
I WANt to. but i dont know any harmonica teachers round
Dec 30 2009 11:51PM
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SHieder
Posts: 59 - Karma: 10
i wish i could that is the most legit instrument
Dec 31 2009 12:02AM
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nightscraper
Posts: 198 - Karma: 9
i picked up harmonica in a day. its not difficult. and you could prob find an online guide to teach you
Dec 31 2009 12:06AM
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r0dubs
Posts: 1764 - Karma: 19
i used to be so into harmonica...then it broke, i should start again
Dec 31 2009 12:13AM
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GORlLLA
Posts: 1950 - Karma: 45
if you can read guitar tab you can read harmonica tab, really easy, my 1st day i couldplay like all the beatle's songs
Dec 31 2009 1:01AM
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double_D
Posts: 778 - Karma: 25
lol there are such thing?
Dec 31 2009 2:34AM
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EmperorKuzco
Posts: 6660 - Karma: 254
I started playing yesterday and picked up some easy stuff like Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and just got Piano Man and now can do it with out reading notes. STOKED!

sorry for the bump just didnt want to make another thread
Jul 25 2011 4:28PM
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EmperorKuzco
Posts: 6660 - Karma: 254
I cant wait to play on the chairlift at hood.
Jul 25 2011 4:36PM
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JakeAssBeatClap
Posts: 6673 - Karma: 2,535
i had two guitars in my dorm last year nothing happened to either of them just put em in your closet.
Jul 25 2011 4:38PM
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grown-ninja
Posts: 3031 - Karma: 175
dont waste youre money on a 25$ uk, not a good decision, wont stay in tune, hard to play...you get the point.  I 'play' or at least try to play the harmonica, bends once you get them the first time are realitivly easy.  and for 25 bucks you can get a nice harp
Jul 25 2011 5:39PM
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egg.
Posts: 3231 - Karma: 3,477
its super fun and easy. plus you can just put it in your pocket and play it whenever you want. what i did is took 2 lessons to get the basics really and then just learnt on my own.
Jul 25 2011 5:41PM
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EmperorKuzco
Posts: 6660 - Karma: 254
Yea same here I took one 2 hr lesson and learned bends and easy songs
Jul 25 2011 5:58PM
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Ski..4..Life
Posts: 1347 - Karma: 97
I'd also like to learn how to play.

If i am correct there are harmonicas in different tunes/pitches or whatever they're called.

What would be the best harmonica to learn on and the most widely used one in most songs? C, G, etc. ???
Jul 25 2011 7:15PM
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Ski..4..Life
Posts: 1347 - Karma: 97
bumping this cause i would like an answer if anyone knows
Aug 15 2011 6:17PM
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soulskier
Posts: 17805 - Karma: 3,821
i'm thinking i might run next door and pick up a harmonic
Aug 15 2011 6:23PM
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